𝓓𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓮

𝑳𝑰𝑰...𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒔

"ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀɪᴄᴋ ɪꜱ ʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪᴢɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ"
—ꜱᴛᴇᴘʜᴇɴ ᴋɪɴɢ

𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑
‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭

Dominic stood outside Luke's door, unmoving.

His fist hovered inches from the wood, but he didn't knock. He could sense something off. Something waiting.

And then—

"I wouldn't bother."

Kelli's voice slithered into his ear like oil.

She was lounging near the doorframe, eyes glowing faintly red in the dim corridor light, one fang barely visible behind a smirk.

"He's not in there," she added, inspecting her nails.

Dominic side-eyed her. Didn't say a word. Just turned back to the door, jaw tight.

That's when it happened.

A pressure slammed into the hallway like a wave. The lights flickered overhead. The walls groaned. Even Kelli straightened, her smile vanishing like it had been scrubbed from her face.

Then the voice came.

"Enter."

It wasn't a request.

Dominic's feet moved before his brain did.

He stepped inside.

The room was dark save for the golden glow radiating from the sarcophagus in the center. The aura pulsed like a heartbeat. Heavy. Wrong. Time itself seemed to slow in its presence.

He dropped to one knee, head bowed, barely breathing.

"Something troubles you."

The voice didn't echo. It settled into the air like dust. Like judgment.

Dominic's heart raced. His palms were damp. He couldn't tell the truth. Not here. Not like this.

So he lied.

"I... summoned Lysander from the dead," he said, forcing calm into his voice. "To ask him something."

A beat of silence.

The room watched him.

Then: amusement.

"You lie."

Dominic flinched.

"But your fear tells the truth. You wanted to see what you could do... how far you could go."

Dominic swallowed hard, throat dry.

Kronos' presence deepened, pressing into his ribs, his lungs, his skull.