Celis’s body trembled from the aftermath of the Mana Devourer’s awakening. Every inch of her skin buzzed with the raw, untamed energy she had just absorbed. She’d gained a power beyond her understanding—yet it felt like a double-edged sword. The weight of it pressed on her chest, a constant reminder that she now held a dangerous and forbidden ability.

  The temple was still and silent, the once vibrant runes etched into the walls dimming as if the ancient magic within them was now afraid of her. She had just barely escaped the crushing presence of Sevios, but her victory felt hollow. For a moment, she was free—but she could already feel him, watching, waiting.

  He had let her go.

  But for how long?

  Celis pushed herself to her feet, her knees buckling under the strain of her exhaustion. She had barely enough strength to stand, but she couldn't stay here. She couldn’t let Sevios track her down again. Her eyes scanned the temple, searching for a way out. There had to be something—some means of escape.

  Her hands trembled as she grasped the walls for support, her fingers tracing the strange, glowing symbols. The air felt thick with mana, as though the very atmosphere itself was alive. She could still feel the pulse of the Mana Devourer, flowing through her, but it wasn’t enough. Not yet.

  Her gaze turned toward the shattered entrance, where the door had once stood. Sevios had come for her, but now he was gone. Or so she hoped.

  But she couldn't be sure.

  She closed her eyes, letting the energy around her swirl and gather in her chest. She would leave. She had to leave.

  With a determined breath, Celis stepped toward the center of the temple, where the mana was most concentrated. Her hands began to glow with energy, and she focused, pulling it into herself. She felt it, the surge of power from the Mana Devourer coursing through her like a living current. The temple’s magic bent to her will as she reached out for the rift she would need to escape.

  The air around her pulsed and crackled as she wove the spell. Her heart raced, but for the first time in a long while, she felt a semblance of control. She could escape. She could get away.

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  A crackling rift appeared before her, its edges shimmering with unstable power. The world beyond it seemed distant, dark—a place that promised safety, or at least a momentary reprieve. She stepped toward it, ready to leave the temple and the looming threat of Sevios behind.

  But then, it happened. A ripple in the air, a pulse of overwhelming power.

  She froze.

  No…

  From the rift, a figure emerged—tall, imposing, and impossibly calm. His golden eyes gleamed, as though the universe itself bent under his gaze. Sevios. His presence filled the temple once more, suffocating, inescapable.

  “I thought you were smarter than this, Celis,” Sevios’s voice came, smooth and dangerously soft. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

  Her heart pounded, but she refused to show fear. Not again. She had power now. She had to be able to stand her ground.

  “You can’t keep me here, Sevios,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “I’ll escape, no matter what it takes.”

  Sevios’s lips curled into a smile, a twisted mockery of affection. “Escape?” He took a slow, deliberate step forward, the ground itself seeming to bow to his presence. “My dear, you’re already in the place you belong. You were never meant to escape.”

  Celis’s blood ran cold at his words. His tone wasn’t just one of control—it was the voice of someone who loved her with a terrifying, consuming force. The type of love that could break the world in its wake.

  She steeled herself against the rising panic. “I don’t belong to you,” she spat, her fists clenched, glowing with mana.

  “Oh, but you do,” Sevios said softly, his voice dripping with something like adoration. “You always have, and you always will. You can’t run from me, Celis. You’re mine, in every sense of the word.”

  Her heart raced, her mana flaring as she gathered the energy to strike. But before she could act, Sevios raised a hand, and the very air around her seemed to crush in on her. A suffocating pressure filled the space, and Celis’s vision swam with darkness. It felt like her lungs were being squeezed, her heart gripped by an invisible hand.

  Sevios’s laugh echoed, low and dangerous. “Do you feel that? That’s me. I am the world that surrounds you, Celis. You can’t escape what’s inside you. You can’t escape me.”

  With all the strength she could muster, Celis struggled against the overwhelming force, her body aching under the pressure. She had to act. She had to—

  And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the weight lifted. Sevios was gone. The space around her returned to normal, though the residual feeling of his presence lingered, like a shadow.

  Celis sank to her knees, gasping for air. Her heart was racing, her head spinning. The rift she had created, her only hope for escape, flickered and sputtered, fading away.

  “Celis,” his voice whispered from nowhere, filling the very air. “You can run, but you will never be free. I will always find you. Always.”

  She collapsed to the ground, her body exhausted, her mind reeling. Sevios’s love, twisted and terrifying, was not something she could escape.

  Not yet.