Lucian's POV
Falling through nothing.
That's what it felt like being absorbed into Malevolent. The absence of everything. No up, no down, no air to breathe, though somehow I didn't need it. Just an endless void that pressed against my consciousness from all sides.
Then I landed. Or stopped falling. It was hard to tell which when there was no ground, but suddenly I wasn't moving anymore.
The void shifted, and I found myself standing in... something. Not a place, exactly, but a space where thoughts had form. Two massive presences loomed on either side of me, both pulling at my essence, trying to claim me.
On my left, Malevolent's corruption writhed like living shadow. It whispered promises of power, of never being weak again, of being able to protect everyone by controlling everything. The vampire side of me leaned toward it, recognizing something familiar in that hunger.
On my right...
"Lucian?"
My heart stopped. Or would have, if I had had a physical heart in this place.
