******Author's pov
Seraphine stood frozen.
The figure before her was tall, unnaturally pale, and terrifyingly thin. His long black robes seemed woven from shadows themselves, dragging across the floor without making a sound.
His face was incomplete.
Where eyes should have been, there were only hollow sockets filled with endless darkness. No eyeballs. No pupils. Just an abyss that seemed capable of swallowing souls.
His lips were cracked.
His skin was deathly pale.
Even the air around him felt cold enough to extinguish life.
The King of the Underworld.
Abyssion.
He looked at Seraphine with unmistakable displeasure.
When he finally spoke, his voice echoed unnaturally through the room.
"This is not what we agreed on, Seraphine."
Seraphine's body trembled.
She knew exactly what he was referring to.
She lowered her head.
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"I haven't gotten what I wanted yet."
Abyssion tilted his head slightly.
"Kael is not the Demon King yet."
Silence.
Then Abyssion laughed.
The sound was low, mocking, and utterly devoid of warmth.
"You still cling to that dream?"
His laughter faded.
"The time for you to fulfill your promise passed long ago."
He took a step forward.
"I need my slave."
"Now."
Seraphine instinctively stepped back.
"Please…"
Her voice shook.
"Calm down."
She glanced nervously toward the door.
"Kael might be nearby."
Abyssion remained unmoved.
"I promised you," she continued desperately, "once I obtained what I wanted…"
Her hands clenched tightly.
"Kael would be yours."
Abyssion stared at her in silence.
Outside the room.
Kael stood quietly in the dim corridor.
His hand rested loosely by his side.
He could hear everything.
Every word.
His face remained expressionless.
After a long moment, he simply sighed.
The sound was almost inaudible.
********
Back inside the room.
"Give me more time."
Seraphine looked directly at Abyssion.
"Please."
Abyssion's hollow sockets seemed to peer straight through her soul.
"I am giving you seven days."
The words fell like a sentence.
"When I return after seven days…"
His voice became colder.
"I am coming for Kael."
Seraphine's heart sank.
Seven days.
That was enough for her.
But not enough for her son.
She lowered her head.
Then suddenly looked up again.
"I have a better offer."
Abyssion remained silent.
"In seven days, I will have completed half of what I need."
Her voice steadied.
"But Kael will still need time to complete the rest."
She took a deep breath.
"When you return after seven days…"
She closed her eyes.
"I will give you my soul."
Abyssion did not move.
"I will follow you to the Underworld."
Her lips trembled.
"I will become your slave instead."
Silence filled the room.
"Then…"
She looked at him with unwavering determination.
"You can come back seven days later for Kael."
Inside her heart, she had already made her decision.
Fourteen days.
That was enough.
By then, Kael would be strong enough.
Strong enough to stand against the King of the Underworld himself.
Her sacrifice would not be meaningless.
She had died once already.
If dying again could save her son…
Then she would do it without regret.
Abyssion slowly smiled.
It was a horrifying smile.
"Very well."
Dark smoke erupted around him.
His body dissolved into the darkness.
And he disappeared.
************
Far beneath the world.
In a place where no light existed.
The Underworld stretched endlessly.
A frozen land of black stone and crimson rivers.
Countless souls wandered through the darkness.
They worked endlessly.
They no longer spoke.
No longer cried.
No longer remembered who they had once been.
They simply obeyed.
Abyssion walked through the desolate landscape with slow, deliberate steps.
The souls instinctively moved aside.
A figure hurried toward him and knelt immediately.
"My king."
The figure lowered its head.
"You have returned."
Abyssion stopped.
"How did it go?"
Abyssion smirked.
"Seraphine thinks she is clever."
His hollow face somehow became even more sinister.
"She believes I cannot see through her plans."
He looked into the endless darkness ahead.
"She is trying to buy time."
A soft laugh escaped him.
"Let her."
His voice echoed across the frozen land.
"This will be interesting."
************Harper's POV
The fusion was nearing completion.
My face had become deathly pale.
Sweat covered my forehead.
My breathing was uneven.
I was reaching my limit.
"I…"
I struggled to remain conscious.
"I can't…"
Seraphina's voice was gentle.
"Be patient."
"Just a little longer."
Ravenna looked at me with unusual seriousness.
"The spell is almost complete."
Golden and black energy continued to merge around my body.
The pressure was unbearable.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Then—
My ears twitched.
Footsteps.
I recognized them immediately.
Kael.
Panic flashed across my face.
I was far too weak.
If Kael entered now…
I forced myself to continue chanting.
Faster.
Faster.
The spell book glowed brilliantly.
The runes around my body accelerated.
The fusion reached its peak.
*********Outside the door.
Kael raised his hand.
His fingers touched the door handle.
**********Inside the room.
I spoke the final incantation.
Light and darkness merged completely.
My eyes shot open.
The room became still.
The spell was complete.
The door opened.
Kael walked in.
He looked around quietly.
Everything was normal.
I stared at him.
Something was different.
He looked…
Lost.
There was a heaviness in his expression.
For a brief moment, I almost believed it.
Then i immediately rejected the thought.
*Don't be fooled.*
*He's deceptive.*
*He always is.*
"What are you doing here?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward me.
I instinctively moved backward.
"Don't come any closer."
He continued walking.
I raised a trembling hand.
"I'm warning you."
He stopped in front of me.
Gently, he reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.
I stiffened.
I was too weak to push him away or fight him.
He looked at me quietly.
Then he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss against my forehead.
I frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Kael looked at me for a long moment.
His voice was low.
"Looks like…"
He smiled bitterly.
"…we're both the products of our mothers' desperation."
I stared at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
I was about to ask another question.
But Kael simply looked at me silently then....he kissed me.
His eyes were filled with emotions I could not understand.
The room fell into a heavy silence and only the sound of him tracing kisses down my body could be heard....