Adriana stood up, straightening her clothes, before she walked away. She paused, turning to face Daemon, her eyes bore into his. "Daemon, you can keep your secrets and your cold detachment, but don't forget that every soul we save matters. You might see them as pawns, but to me, they're people. And I'll fight for every last one of them, even if it means risking everything."
He sees them as pawns, but each life matters. I'll make him see that.
Daemon looked up at her and asked quickly, "And how are you going to deal with it?"
Adriana met Daemon's gaze. "Either you help me, or we're both going to die," she said.
Daemon hesitated, glancing away briefly before he replied "...No, I'm not,"
"This is his domain. If I fail, there's no saying you won't too," Adriana countered.
'She's right. Just like she's a level threat, so is he, and there's no telling how much experience he has,' Daemon thought. "Fine."
Daemon stood up, side by side with Adriana. She snapped her fingers, and a gold and white halo materialized around her head, then a golden light covered her, and shimmering celestial symbols began to appear in the air, written in an ancient, holy language. These symbols slowly rotated and moved, forming a protective circle around her, the holy language was a lost tongue known only to the highest clerics and angels.
'A halo as a shield... Even I feel like it's trying to block me and cleanse me,' Daemon thought.
Her light, it's not just defensive. It's a challenge to my very Nyx.
The fake reaper in front of them sensed Adriana's energy, which attacked his own. A mocking laugh echoed through the carriages. "Welcome to my domain, reaper and angel. You will find no escape here," he said.
Daemon's eyes narrowed, a cold, dangerous glint reflecting in them as he stepped forward, the oppressive energy of Adriana's halo seemed to challenge him, trying to cleanse his very presence again.
But his focus was on the fake reaper. "Your domain?" Daemon's voice was as icy as death itself. "You dare mock the true reaper in his own element?"
He took another step, as the temperature in the carriage dropped noticeably, due to his presence exuded an undeniable power, suffocating and dark.
"I don't need an escape, pretender. I am the abyss you'll fall into. You think your cheap tricks and borrowed power make you a reaper?" He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "I am the end of all things. You're just another soul waiting to be claimed."
The fake reaper's confidence wavered as Daemon's presence grew, overwhelming the feeble facade of power the impostor clung to.
Without warning, the fake reaper lunged at them, his scythe slicing through the air. Daemon, unable to call upon Raven Sword, he suspected it was blocked out by the domain power, so he parried the blow with his leech, the clash of metal reverberating through the train.
Adriana, ready to attack, saw the fake reaper's grin as he hopped back. He waved his hand, and the train car morphed, stretching and twisting into a maze of jagged metal and swirling shadows, causing Daemon and Adriana to lose their balance but remain standing.
"Let's dance," the fake reaper hissed, his voice dripping with malice.
Daemon and Adriana stood back to back, their eyes scanning the ever-changing landscape.
"Stick close. It seems like he controls the train environment," Daemon said.
"I'm right with you," Adriana replied.
Suddenly, the fake reaper's laugh echoed through the maze.
"You'll never escape my labyrinth!" the fake reaper taunted.
Without warning, the shadows around them surged, forming clawed hands that reached out to grab them. Daemon reacted instantly, his leech slicing through the shadows.
Adriana's halo glowed with divine light, dispelling the shadows that tried to envelop them. She cast a barrier around them, the light pushing back the encroaching darkness.
Suddenly, the walls shifted, jagged metal spikes thrusting out to block their path. The fake reaper appeared, his form flickering like a dark flame. As he lunged, Daemon managed to slash at him, but the fake reaper disappeared before he could see if the blow landed.
Daemon noticed that Adriana's halo had already cleared the changes around them, and the train returned to normal. The fake reaper reappeared right in front of Daemon, this time without his scythe.
He lunged at Daemon, his hands crackling with dark energy. Daemon met him head-on, their fists colliding with bone-jarring force. The fake reaper was fast, but Daemon, being a real reaper, had an edge.
Adriana found herself facing spectral manifestations, conjured by the fake reaper to distract her. She dodged a clawed swipe and hopped onto a train seat, launching into a spinning kick that shattered the ghostly form. Her fists glowed with divine power as she struck down another, her movements fluid and graceful.
Daemon and the fake reaper clashed, their blows reverberating through the narrow confines of the train car. The fake reaper's hands crackled with dark energy, each punch a lethal force. Daemon blocked with his forearm, feeling the impact rattle his bones, but he pushed back with equal ferocity.
A swift uppercut from Daemon sent the fake reaper staggering. He followed up with a knee to the gut, but the fake reaper twisted, his form becoming shadowy and insubstantial. He reappeared behind Daemon, landing a powerful kick that sent Daemon crashing into a row of seats.
"You betrayed the wrong people," the fake reaper sneered before turning his attention to Adriana.
Adriana, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of divine energy. She ducked under a shadowy tendril that kept emerging from the train walls, her fists glowing with light as she struck. Her left hook dispelled a spectral claw, and her right jab shattered another illusion.
The fake reaper, seeing his constructs failing against her, turned his full attention to Adriana. He launched a barrage of dark bolts, but Adriana deflected them with her halo. She countered with a spinning kick, her foot connecting with the fake reaper's jaw, sending him reeling.
The fake reaper landed and snarled, retreating briefly to reassess. "Impressive, but can you handle this?"
With a wave of his hand, the fake reaper fused himself with the train, becoming a monstrous entity. The train's walls stretched and twisted, creating appendages that lashed out at Daemon and Adriana.
Daemon ducked under a swipe, rolling to his feet and launching himself at the heart of the creature. His scythe cut through the tendrils with ease, but the train's form shifted constantly, making it difficult to land a decisive blow.
Adriana soared above, her halo allowing her to levitate briefly, creating a shield of light that deflected the train's attacks. She cast a series of spells, divine runes from her halo forming in the air and striking the reaper with holy fire. The fake reaper roared in pain, the train shuddering under the assault.
The train shifted again, splitting the car in two and separating Daemon and Adriana. Daemon found himself in a twisted version of his past, surrounded by the souls of those he had reaped. The ghosts reached out, their whispers filling his mind with doubt.
"Why didn't you save us?" they all asked.
"Nothing stops me from my vengeance," Daemon said coldly.
Daemon slashed at the souls surrounding him, but they kept coming back, more and more. He slowly realized, 'Just like before with the thorny poison, I am immune to it,' he thought.
Meanwhile, Adriana observed Daemon attacking the apparitions around him. She thought, 'There is a 35 percent chance of us winning, but better not jinx it.' Then she called out, "After it merges back, that will be the perfect time. He'll be in range to manipulate the win."
Her halo cast a bright light, clearing all illusions, even for Daemon, and the train returned to its normal state.
The fake reaper retaliated, merging with the train once more. The walls warped, tendrils of metal and shadow reaching out to ensnare Daemon and Adriana.
At the same time, a bright ring of light spread out from Adriana's feet, encircling Daemon and the reaper. Only she could see it as it was her fate zone. Her two Judicium Sentinels appeared around her, translucent, humanoid figures made of shimmering, white-gold energy.
Adriana looked at Daemon. "Daemon, you know what to do," she said.
Daemon saw the two Judicium Sentinels move towards the fake reaper. 'Those two Sentinels—he won't be able to move,' he thought.
The Sentinels levitated quickly through the air toward the fake reaper. Before he could react, they grabbed both his arms, blocking his ability to merge into darkness with their light.
Daemon didn't fully understand what Adriana meant, but he subconsciously raised his hand. Daemon drew multiple sigils in the air with dark energy, his voice deep and resonant as he began the incantation. "Nihilum Inferno, ex abyssus venite, Tenebris nexus, animam capite, Mortis vincla, lux est obsoleta, Daemonum voco, umbra devorate." He took a small breath before continuing, "Vitale nexum, anima dissolvite, Portae inferni, flammas ignita, Aeternum clamor, animae discede, In inferno cecidisse, in aeternum oblita."
Behind Daemon, the Infernal Gate manifested, a pure darkness vortex that started pulling everything around him. Adriana, having anticipated this, was already far enough away not to get pulled in, though it still challenged her.
The fake reaper was getting pulled in, doing everything to stop himself, even attacking the vortex, but instead, it got stronger.
"No!" the fake reaper shouted.
He continued to be pulled in, even trying to use his scythe to stop himself, but it just cut through the metal until he was about to be sucked in. He shouted, "My vengeance will be wrought upon the Cartel, mark my words!"
At the same time, he was completely pulled in, and the Infernal Gate disappeared.
Daemon suddenly felt drained of Nyx energy, unlike the first time when it hadn't affected him as much because it was his initial attempt.
However, he was more focused on what the fake reaper said. "Goddammit," Daemon muttered under his breath, his e clenched causing his knuckles whitening as the realization struck him.
"I forgot about the plan with the Whisper..." His voice grew louder, tinged with urgency and regret. Daemon's eyes darted around the train car, as if searching for a way to rectify the situation.
"I'm sure he got to the Cartel first," Daemon continued as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sure he said a bunch of lies!" he shouted.