GOD REALM THE VEILED THRONE
Storms clashed in the divine skies, furious and unrelenting.
The MoonBlood Goddess Nythera stood on the balcony of the Veiled Throne, her silver hair whipping in the wind, her eyes glowing like twin eclipses. Below, the god realm quaked. Trees older than galaxies groaned as the barrier between worlds rippled. Power surged, chaotic, corrupted, unnatural.
He was pressing in again.
She could feel it. She was pissed. Not today devil.
The evil that had slithered through time and shadow, older than sin, colder than space. He was always watching. Always waiting.
But never seen.
"Show yourself," she whispered into the storm.
Thunder answered.
She raised her hand, summoning celestial flame, but it flared wild and unsteady. He was slipping through again, masking himself in void and venom, just out of reach.
Her fists clenched. A single scream of frustration cracked the sky like glass, and lightning rained down in jagged shards.
The guardians assembled behind her, phoenix riders, serpent kin, timewalkers and flameborn gods. They formed a circle, calling on ancient rites.
The barrier shimmered.
The entity surged forward.
A monstrous shadow blotted out the stars, its laugh a scraping echo of madness. He pushed everything he had at the veil, cackling like a wild and mad thing.
He almost broke through. He was so close.
Almost.
But not quite. He roared in anger. Fucking gods!
The gods pushed back, barely holding the breach. But the cost was high. One guardian turned to ash. Another screamed as shadow worms devoured his soul.
The Moon Goddess dropped to one knee, her body weakening. Her soul mourned for the losses and her anger was chaos. They beat the Entity back and he retreated, howling into the wind. He would be back.
"I can't hold him back much longer," she murmured. "Find her. Protect her. The pentacle must be completed." She sent strength to the demon mate with a message. She would need all her mates for the coming madness.
HELL REALM THE PIT OF SPIRES
The entity raged. His fury white hot and vengeful.
His shadow slammed through the black stone corridors of his fortress like a hurricane made of teeth and fury.
He ripped apart two lesser demons with his bare hands, their screams echoing like music. Tortured souls lined the walls, strung up like ornaments, some still begging, some already broken.
"USELESS." His voice cracked the foundations of hell. "You fail me. All of you." He refused to acknowledge that the gods were just stronger, or that it has been his failure. He instead took it out on his slaves. The remaining ones scattered and made themselves scarce so they wouldn't be brutally murdered.
He stormed into the Chamber of Chains, where Sable knelt in the center of a burning sigil, arms bound in obsidian cuffs, eyes wild and red rimmed.
The demon prince growled low, but said nothing. He rattled the chains, laughing. "Didn't make it through the veil?" He tainted. Already knowing what had happened he could hear the Entity screeching about it from here.
The entity circled him like a serpent. "Still fighting it? Brave. But foolish. You dare disrespect me while I have you chained. I own you demon" He snarled.
Sable snarled back. "You can't own me. My heart is hers. My soul as well. You can't fucking have it." He spat at the entities feet.
"You're already mine. You just don't know it yet." The Entity gloated, back handing Sable hard, blood flying from his mouth. He grinned with wicked amusement.
The sigil flared, sending agony through Sable's body. He screamed, but his spine held. Barely.
Inside his mind, Sable saw her.
Rhiannan.
Her voice echoed, distant and faint. A whisper through the bond he refused to claim. "Find me." She always said, her voice like stars.
It made him rage. He had to get the fuck out of here. He wouldn't allow her to be tainted with this evil even if he had to stay away.
Why did her voice make him feel weak? Why did her eyes haunt his dreams?
He slammed his head back against the stone and roared. "GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!"
The entity leaned in, a shadow of infinite hate, he mistakenly thought Sable was talking about him.
"Oh, but I'm not in your head, little beast. I'm in your soul. And I will use you. I will twist your love into a blade. And when she comes to save you, you will gut her like a lamb."
Sable trembled.
Not from fear.
From fury.
From resistance. He would die before he allowed this freak to harm her. He fought hard, pushing his entire being and strength into his magic. It almost felt like he had received a burst of strength from something...or someone. He wasn't about to waste it.
A crack formed in the sigil. Small. Barely visible.
But it was there.
The entity paused. "Interesting..."
He turned away, whispering to the shadows, "If he breaks the chain, we'll lose him. Bind him tighter. Bleed him if you must. But keep him mine." He muttered to himself.
In the corner of the chamber, a whisper moved across the stone. A creature of smoke with razor wings slithered forward. The Entity lowered his hand and the creature lunged for the demon.
And Sable's scream echoed through all of hell.