The transformation of the whispers into physical manifestation happened so gradually that neither Selena nor Dante noticed it until it was nearly complete. The words that had spread across dimensions—*Blood Queen*, *corrupted*, *changed*—weren't just descriptions anymore. They were becoming reality, crystallizing into something tangible, something that bound and constrained and shaped according to the fears and expectations that had given them power.
Dante saw them first as glimmers in the void, subtle distortions in the space around their merged form. At first he thought it was an optical illusion, a trick of perception caused by the revenants' presence and Selena's darkening flame. But as he focused, as his storm-touched senses sharpened, he realized with growing horror what he was seeing.
Chains.
