The room was totally dark, but there was only a book.
A book!
A book hovered in mid-air, bound in black and dark-blue leather that shimmered. Its cover was carved with intricate, flame-like blue patterns that curled around a skull that was embedded into the surface, its hollow eyes lit with a cold blue glow, exhaling a thin mist that drifted into the surrounding air.
Chains wrapped tightly around the book's body. Ethereal smoke—dark blue—swirled around it, shifting with a slow, unnatural rhythm.
When I stepped through the doorway, it pulsed once. Then twice.
I took one cautious step forward. The pulsing grew stronger, steady now—like a heartbeat. The smoke thickened, curling tighter around the book, and the chains began to rattle softly, as if reacting to something too my power. Then the air shifted.
It appeared from nothing, with a brutal shift in the air that made me stagger back a few steps from the force of it. I raised my hands to shield my face from the thin rocks that scattered with it.
The land around us stretched, then began to crack. Jagged rocks rose from the ground, and the air hung heavy with dust.
She stood tall, wrapped in a dark-blue cloak that fell from her chest to the space between her thighs, leaving them exposed. Her skin—or whatever passed for it—was the same shade, blending into the fabric. The hood covered her face, and in its place sat a glowing diamond-shaped disc. I couldn't tell if it was looking at me or through me.
Detailed gold strips lined her chest, shoulders, and thighs, shaped like armor. Thin golden spikes extended from her arms, angled like horns.
She didn't move. Neither did I.
"NO!" I heard a cry from behind. It was Lucius. "What have you done?" She made a small gesture with her hand, and he was thrown across the room, crashing into one corner and falling unconscious.
Suddenly, I felt hands wrapping around my consciousness, they were . Everything became distant and blurry, as if I were watching the scene from somewhere else. It was like a sudden, suffocating pressure. It was trying to take hold of me. My body wouldn't move—stiff, unresponsive.
"You're mine," a voice said from far away. The hands reached deeper, aiming for my soul—and then they stopped, suddenly, cold shock that wasn't mine jolted through me, but it was nothing compared to my rage that followed.
No.
Fire. Anger. Burning, red fire began to fill my mind and soul.
My mind was no longer a blurred landscape; it was a furnace. A deep, red fire roared to life inside me. And I found it there, lost in my consciousness, surrounded by flame, trying to escape. But I didn't let it.
How dare you? No. You belong to me.
And I swallowed it.
The fire settled inside me—quiet. The room was still. The dust hung in the air, unmoving. She stood beside me now, silent, waiting. The book hovered between us, its chains slack, its glow dimmed. I reached for it. My fingers touched the cover, and it opened without resistance.
When Lucius woke up, he retreated into himself when he saw me holding the book, opened. I smiled and commanded, "Demonia," and gestured toward him.
She moved without hesitation. Her hands hovered above his chest, and the light from the diamond on her face pulsed once. Lucius gasped, eyes wide, then went still.