"Going back to my body? But I'm still in my body," I said, frustration bleeding into my voice. "I'm just… controlling this one."
Victoria tilted her head, studying me with those emerald eyes that seemed to know too much. Then, she smiled—a slow, mischievous smile. "You think this is a golem, my love? That you are piloting it from that crystal husk?"
"Yes," I snapped, pointing toward the shimmering form of my body wrapped in vines. "That's me. This is just an avatar."
She laughed—a sound so rich and musical that it almost disarmed me. She leaned in, close enough that her breath warmed my cheek. "Then your 'avatar' has quite the impressive spear between its legs. Are you controlling that too?"
Heat exploded in my face. "I—what—"
Her laughter bubbled out, sweet and unrestrained. I wanted to sink into the shadows and hide, gamer introvert instincts flaring. She pressed her hips subtly against mine, sending another wave of embarrassment crashing over me. I cursed my own avatar body for betraying me.
"You really don't understand," she whispered, her voice shifting from playful to reverent. Her fingertips traced my chest, leaving a trail of fire. "This is you. Not a puppet. Not a projection. You've split yourself in two. What you are here is forty percent of your essence—the rest still bound over there, struggling against the Thorn of Ra."
Her teasing faded, replaced by a shadow in her eyes, a fury barely contained. "That cursed spell…" she hissed, her voice trembling with hate. "They forged it from the last light of a dying star, bound with the essence of oblivion itself. No mortal, no undead, not even the one who cast it can unravel it. Once it coils around your heart, your power is chained forever."
The words struck like hammers. My fists clenched. A spell that could bind me eternally? Strip me of everything? I'd rather die than live in chains.
"Then why," I growled, glaring at her, "did you add your own rope around my heart? Wasn't one prison enough?"
She didn't recoil. She only gazed back at me, calm, unflinching, as if she could see every raging thought in my skull. "Oh, you mean Grand Master Yosi's spell?" she asked softly, almost wistfully. "A shame. He was one of my strongest sorcerers. You crushed him with your shield before your Dominion could absorb his power. Had you taken him whole, your realm would be stronger."
Her lips curved, both proud and possessive. "But even without him, you have thirty Grand Masters and three hundred Horde Knights fueling your Domain. More than enough."
I stared, suspicion coiling tighter. "Fueling? For your purpose?"
She touched my cheek, smiling like a woman in love—and a general planning war. "To prepare you. To strengthen you. To make sure no one can take you from me."
Her words soothed and unsettled in equal measure. I pressed harder. "And the rope you tied around my heart?"
This time, her voice broke. She pressed herself against me, hugging me fiercely, trembling as tears welled in her eyes. "It wasn't to chain you. It was to save you."
I froze.
She pulled my hand to her chest. My eyes widened as I felt it—the same rope of darkness coiled around her heart, pulsing in rhythm with mine. The same chain. The same fate.
"If you die, I die," she whispered, her tears hot against my skin. "If you're taken, I am taken. I gave you half of my heart, my love. So even if the Thorn devours you, you will never be alone."
The weight of it sank into me. This wasn't a prison. It was a bond. A tether. A vow in the language of magic.
My mask of shadows dissolved, revealing my true face. For once, I didn't care if she saw me. I pulled her close and kissed her—desperately, hungrily, as if anchoring myself to life through her lips. She kissed me back with fire, with possession, with the promise of both salvation and ruin.
When we finally parted, I held her gaze. My heart thundered, my mind alight with a single truth: I could not let her go.
I would not let her go.
In that moment, everything crystallized. My purpose was no longer survival, conquest, or vengeance. It was her.
I would live for her.
I would fight for her.
I would burn worlds for her.
And in her name, I would conquer them all.
I am her Dark Lord.
Suddenly I felt my declaration rippled through the darkness. Turning to an echo of malice, rage, greed, and hunger. Something moved deep within the shadows stalking, listening, waiting. My heart drummed in anticipation and caution. We are not alone.