*********Harper's pov
I woke up to silence.
For a few seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling above me, trying to remember where I was. My body felt strangely heavy, as though every muscle had been drained of strength.
The spell.
Ellis.
Natalie.
My eyes widened.
I immediately turned my head toward the side of the bed.
Empty.
Kael was gone.
A strange emotion settled in my chest.
Relief.
I exhaled slowly.
I didn't know when he had left, and I didn't know why he had come in the first place, but his absence made the room feel less suffocating.
Pushing the blanket away, I stood up.
My legs almost gave out beneath me.
The fusion had completed, but my body clearly hadn't recovered from it yet.
I steadied myself against the edge of the bed before walking towards the bath chamber.
The room was enormous, carved from black marble and silver stone. Steam rose gently from the bathing water in the center, and a massive mirror stretched across the far wall.
I stopped in front of it.
Then I froze.
The girl staring back at me didn't look like me.
My eyes…
One eye was blood red.
The other was pitch black.
I stared at my reflection in disbelief.
My hair had changed too.
It was no longer dark brown.
It had become the darkest shade of black I had ever seen, almost as if it absorbed the light around it.
Then my gaze fell to my neck.
A faint mark rested against my skin.
I instinctively touched it.
A bite mark.
My fingers trembled.
Ravenna's voice broke the silence.
"So this is what I saw."
I looked at my reflection again.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw fragments of your future."
"You have demon powers now."
I turned sharply.
"What?"
"Because of Kael."
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
"No."
I looked back at the mirror.
"No…"
The red eye.
The black hair.
The mark.
It all made sense.
I whispered, "So I have both witch and demon powers?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
I laughed weakly.
"How am I supposed to handle that?"
Seraphina appeared beside me in the mirror, her expression calm.
"You'll get used to it."
I looked at her.
"Get used to it?"
"Yes."
Her golden eyes were unusually gentle.
"The fusion has already reshaped your magical foundation."
Ravenna folded her arms.
"You're no longer just a witch."
Seraphina continued quietly.
"But there is one thing you need to know."
A strange uneasiness settled inside me.
"What is it?"
"The warmth you possess…"
She hesitated.
"…and your empathy."
I frowned.
"What about them?"
"They will slowly fade."
The room became completely silent.
I stared at her.
"What?"
"The more your powers stabilize…"
Her voice softened.
"…the more your emotions will disappear."
I shook my head.
"No."
Seraphina looked at me with pity.
"You will slowly become emotionless."
I looked at my reflection again.
One red eye.
One black eye.
A stranger.
I didn't know how long I stood there.
Finally, I turned away from the mirror and walked toward the bathing pool.
The water was warm.
I stepped into it slowly and sank beneath the surface.
The warmth surrounded my body.
I closed my eyes.
Emotionless.
Could that really happen?
Would I stop caring?
Would I stop feeling?
I didn't know.
But right now…
I didn't have the luxury of fearing the future.
I had to find Natalie.
******Somewhere beneath the demon castle.
Ellis and Vaelthor walked through another endless corridor.
The dungeon was unlike anything they had ever seen.
The walls seemed alive.
The shadows shifted constantly.
Every path looked identical.
Every turn led to another dead end.
Ellis stopped walking.
She let out a quiet sigh.
"No matter how much we move…"
She looked around.
"…we still end up in the same place."
Vaelthor remained silent for a moment.
"I wonder where Harper is."
His grip on his sword tightened.
"We haven't heard anything from her"
Ellis nodded.
"I tried to talk to her using my spells but...
Nothing."
Not even a trace.
"She's alive. Natalie has to be alive."
Ellis looked ahead.
"I know she is. I can still feel my daughter's presence in one of these places."
She began walking again.
"We keep moving."
"There has to be a way out."
Vaelthor followed her without another word.
They had barely taken a few steps when the sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Both of them stopped instantly.
Vaelthor drew his sword.
Ellis raised her hand, silver runes gathering around her fingertips.
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Ellis's eyes widened.
"Harper?"
********Harper's pov
I kept walking.
The corridor seemed endless, but I could hear voices ahead.
Familiar voices.
Ellis.
Vaelthor.
Relief flooded through me.
I quickened my pace.
As I got closer, I finally saw them.
They looked terrible.
Their clothes were torn.
Blood stained their bodies.
Bruises covered their arms and faces.
"Ellis?"
I called out.
She looked toward me immediately.
"Harper!"
I took another step.
Then stopped.
A transparent barrier stood between us.
I frowned.
"What?"
I reached out.
My hand touched an invisible wall.
A barrier.
Ravenna spoke immediately.
"It's Seraphine's work."
"Ancient demon magic."
Seraphina's voice followed.
"Be careful."
I nodded.
I summoned my spell book instinctively.
Dark energy gathered around my hand—
"Stop."
Ravenna interrupted me.
I blinked.
"What?"
"You don't need the spell book ."
I looked at her.
"You possess both my power and Seraphina's now."
She smiled faintly.
"You can remove the barrier with a flick of your hand. Try now"
I hesitated.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
I looked at the barrier.
Then I flicked my fingers.
Nothing happened.
The barrier remained completely intact.
Ellis frowned.
"Harper?"
I tried again.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Frustration rose inside me.
"What is wrong with this thing?"
Seraphina looked at me calmly.
"You're forcing it."
I looked at her.
"What should I do?"
"Think."
I frowned.
"Think about what you want to accomplish."
I looked at the barrier again.
I took a deep breath.
I raised my hand again.
This time…
I understood the power inside me.
I flicked my fingers.
Crack.
The barrier shattered.
The invisible wall dissolved into countless fragments.
Ellis and Vaelthor stepped through immediately.
Vaelthor looked at me carefully.
His gaze lingered on my eyes.
"You have powers?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
Ellis stared at me.
"Your eyes…"
She looked between the red and black colors.
"Why are they different?"
I looked away.
"There's no time to explain."
"We need to find Natalie."
Ellis nodded immediately.
"There's something strange about this dungeon."
"No matter which direction we walk…"
"We always return to the same place."
I looked around.
Ravenna had already figured it out.
"Seraphine used ancient demon magic."
I turned to Ellis.
"She placed traps and looping barriers throughout the dungeon."
Ellis looked at the broken barrier behind me.
"So you removed them? Why couldn't I sense it before though and you could?"
I nodded to removing the barrier but didn't tell her yet that I possessed demon powers.
"Yes."
The power still felt unfamiliar.
But it responded to me.
"For now, we can move freely."
Vaelthor sheathed his sword.
"Then let's stop wasting time."
I looked ahead.
"Natalie is somewhere here."
"We'll find her."
No matter what.
We began moving through the dungeon together.
***********Author's pov
Far away.
In the Realm of the Timekeepers.
The sky was silver.
Countless clocks floated through the air, turning endlessly.
Ancient towers surrounded a massive gate carved with symbols that controlled time itself.
Kael stood before the entrance.
Two Timekeeper guards blocked his path.
"Halt."
One of them stepped forward.
"You are not permitted to enter."
Kael sighed.
"I was hoping you wouldn't make this difficult."
He reached into his cloak.
A small dagger appeared in his hand.
The guards immediately drew their weapons.
In the next second—
He disappeared.
Slash.
One guard fell.
The other barely had time to react.
Slash.
Another body hit the ground.
More guards rushed forward.
Within seconds—
Silence.
The silver courtyard was stained with blood.
Kael looked at the dagger in his hand and smiled in satisfaction.
He turned toward the gate.
Just as he was about to enter—
"You shouldn't have done that."
Kael stopped.
A familiar voice.
He looked back.
A man stood behind him.
Calm.
Silent.
His silver hair moved gently in the wind.
Kael's smile widened.
"So…"
"You finally decided to crawl out of your shell, Zareth."
Zareth looked at the fallen guards.
Then at Kael.
"Kael."
His voice was quiet.
"You're already being corrupted."
Kael remained silent.
"The corruption has begun consuming you."
"If you continue…"
Zareth's eyes hardened.
"You will be corrupted completely."
A long silence followed.
"And I will have no choice…"
"…but to kill you."
Kael laughed.
A genuine laugh.
As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Kill me?"
He looked at Zareth with amusement.
"Nothing can stop me from getting what I want."
His smile slowly disappeared.
"I have nothing left to lose."
Zareth looked at him carefully.
"You know about the King of the Underworld?."
Kael's expression didn't change.
"So you do know."
Zareth took a step forward.
"Listen to me."
"You don't have to do this."
"I can help you."
Kael cut him off immediately.
"I don't need anyone's help."
His voice became colder.
"Enough talking, Zareth."
He tightened his grip on the dagger.
"Let's do this properly."
A violent wave of demonic energy erupted around him.
Zareth looked at him silently.