Icca crouched in the shadows of the cavern wall, silver-violet hair glowing faintly as she listened to Ghost and Elisha's conversation.
Her eyes widened.
Zyla. Souls. Elyon. Theft.
"Ohhhh… Father needs to hear this."
She smirked, vanishing upward like smoke.
But before she left—
she cupped her hands, blowing a faint silvery dust across the cavern floor.
False scent.
Elisha sniffed, growled, and bolted in the wrong direction entirely.
Icca giggled.
"That should buy me time."
She reappeared in the depths of Hell, running toward her father's chamber.
"FATHER!" she shouted, bursting into the throne room.
The King of Hell turned, amused and annoyed.
Icca spilled everything she overheard—
Zyla, the soul thief, Ghost, Elisha, everything.
Her father listened…
silent…
smiling slowly.
Then he reached beneath his throne and handed Icca a small vial of shimmering black-red liquid.
"My blood… mixed with an old power.
Something even Death fears."
Icca held it carefully, eyes glowing with greedy desire.
"What do I do with it?"
Her father smirked.
"Whatever you want."
Icca giggled, teeth sharp.
"Oh, I know exactly what I want."
Icca crept up to the glowing orb that Benjamin and Cyrus built around the survivors.
The barrier sparked when she neared it—
the light hissing against her hand.
She jerked back.
"Ugh. Angels."
Her eyes narrowed with irritation.
"I can't get through this thing."
But then she smirked.
"That's why she will do it."
Icca scanned the humans inside the orb.
Exhausted faces.
Scared mothers.
Injured survivors.
Then she spotted the perfect target:
A lonely woman warming her hands by the stove.
Icca extended one finger toward the barrier—
a thin needle of her magic slipped through the orb, almost invisible.
It didn't let her enter…
…but it let her touch minds inside.
The woman blinked once.
Her eyes glazed white.
Then violet.
Hypnotized.
Icca whispered through the barrier:
"Go to Cyrus.
Make him drink this."
She held up the vial, letting the woman see it.
She didn't need to cross the orb—
the hypnotized woman reached between the bars of the barrier, took the vial from Icca's hand, and stepped back inside.
Icca giggled softly.
"Good girl."
Inside the shelter, Cyrus leaned on the counter, rubbing his temples.
"Finally… peace," he muttered.
"Everyone's asleep."
The hypnotized woman approached him—smiling far too sweetly.
"You must be tired," she said.
"You should drink this. It will calm your nerves."
Cyrus thanked her and drank.
The effect was immediate.
His wings flickered.
His vision warped.
His strength began draining from his limbs.
"What… what is… happening…?"
He stumbled.
Fell to one knee.
The woman glanced at the hallway—
clear. Silent.
She grabbed the nearest frying pan—
and CRACKED it across his jaw.
Cyrus hit the floor with a grunt.
Not unconscious, but close.
She hit him again.
And again.
Finally, he stopped moving.
She grabbed his arms, dragging him toward the back exit of the shelter—
but his body was too heavy.
She couldn't get him out.
Icca appeared outside the barrier, watching her struggle.
"Pull harder!"
The woman strained—
But the orb repelled Cyrus's body like a forcefield.
Icca hissed.
"Of course. He's protected while he's inside…"
Her eyes flashed.
She took a deep breath.
Then she used her true gift—
body enchantment.
She pushed her hands against the barrier—
her magic threaded through the unseen cracks of the spell.
It infused the hypnotized woman—
even inside the orb.
Muscles swelling.
Strength multiplying.
Eyes glowing violet.
The woman grinned emptily and stepped forward.
She grabbed Cyrus by his wrists—
and dragged him THROUGH the outer edge of the orb,
a loophole made possible ONLY because Cyrus was weakened and the woman's will was magically altered.
Once his body crossed the boundary, the orb didn't protect him anymore.
Cyrus was outside.
Icca's eyes grew wild with triumph.
She stepped to his side.
Kneeling.
Staring at his unconscious face.
"You're mine now," she whispered, brushing his hair from his forehead.
"And as soon as you start waking up… I'll finish what I started."
But she saw his skin beginning to glow—
his angelic energy fighting back the poison.
Icca smiles and vanishes quickly feeling happy.
Moments later—
Cyrus gasped awake.
The cold ground.
Snow.
Stars above him.
His head throbbing violently.
A voice called:
"CYRUS! What are you doing out there?"
Benjamin.
Cyrus sat up fast, dizzy.
"I… I think someone dragged me out…"
He stood shakily, passing back through the orb—now fully recovered and glowing.
He scanned the shelter.
Everyone sleeping.
Everyone safe.
But someone inside had betrayed him.
And Cyrus knew one thing:
Icca wasn't done with him.