The darkness was absolute, and for a moment, Damien felt as if he were floating in a void, not tied down from his body or from reality itself.
But within that void, something stirred—heat, a presence, a current of power far stronger than anything he had felt before. It coiled around him, pulling him down deeper, dragging him back toward the Sire's influence.
When his eyes snapped open, he wasn't in the corridor anymore.
He was in a vast, dimly lit chamber. The walls were lined with dark, blood-soaked stone, pulsating faintly like a living organism. At the center of the room, on a raised dais, stood the Sire, her eyes glowing in a deep, predatory crimson.
Her presence was overwhelming, and this time, Damien felt no urge to resist. Something had changed within him—his body felt lighter, more attuned to the energies swirling around him, yet there was a heaviness in his heart.
He had succumbed, though it felt like that was natural.
