Gordon turned in a slow circle, his eyes wide as he tried to pierce through the void. Every sense felt dulled, warped. Even his light-enhanced vision was utterly useless here.
His heart pounded. He wasn't afraid of many things—but this? This was unnatural.
"What kind of spell is this?" he growled, lightning beginning to crackle faintly across his arms. "I don't care who you are, you've made a huge mistake dragging me into this—"
"Oh, I'm counting on that mistake," Seraphina interrupted sweetly, her voice now laced with venom. "Because it's in mistakes… that people expose their weakest selves."
A sudden flash of silver sliced through the dark, and Gordon barely jerked his head to the side as something sharp grazed his cheek. Blood ran warm down his face.
"I'm not here to fight fair, darling," she continued, her voice now circling him like a predator playing with its food. "This is my domain. My rules. And rule number one?"
Another whisper, this time directly behind his ear—
"Never touch what's mine."
Gordon roared and spun, lightning exploding from his palms in a wide arc. The violent surge lit the void briefly, casting jagged shadows—but there was no one there.
Then, just as quickly, the light vanished.
"Wasting energy already?" Seraphina said mockingly. "Tsk. I expected more from someone with demon blood. You must be such a disappointment to your patron."
Gordon's breath caught. "You—how do you know about—"
"Please. I don't just know about it. I can taste it." Her voice now dripped with glee. "It reeks in this space. Wild and crude. Like a child trying on a king's crown."
He clenched his fists. "You think words scare me? You think playing ghost in the dark will stop me from breaking your little game?"
"Oh, I don't expect to stop you," Seraphina whispered, now impossibly close to his other side. "I expect to break you."
Suddenly, the darkness shifted.
It wasn't just black anymore.
Shapes began to emerge in the void—eerie reflections of Gordon himself. Twisted. Smiling. All staring at him with glowing red eyes.
Seraphina's voice returned, velvet and cruel:
"Now let's see just how much of yourself you can really handle… before you shatter."
The twisted reflections of Gordon closed in with feral grace, moving like nightmares given flesh. Each one bore his face—but not the one he saw in the mirror. These versions had warped expressions—mad grins stretched too wide, eyes gleaming with bloodlust, and cracks running along their skin like broken porcelain. They whispered things he couldn't make out, voices layered and distorted.
And then, they attacked.
One lunged at his side, another swept low at his legs, while two came down from above like shadowy reapers. Gordon raised his arms to block, lightning crackling as he summoned a shield of myst-infused stone—but it shattered on impact. He grunted, stumbling back, fists glowing with raw Gaia energy as he swung at the phantoms. Each punch connected, breaking a few into dust—but more emerged, climbing out of the shadows like maggots from a corpse.
He roared, skin beginning to harden into bark-like stone, veins glowing with greenish myst as the transformation began. Horns started to twist out of his skull. His back arched as the power of the Gaia Demon form surged through him.
"You think you can drown me in fear?" he snarled, voice deepening. "I'll show you the wrath of Lord Sylvathar's chosen!"
Just as the transformation was nearing completion—
Seraphina's voice cut through the darkness like a knife. Cold. Clear. Commanding.
The word echoed like a divine decree, and in that instant, Gordon felt it all snap—his energy, power, and his very connection to myst.
He gasped, staggering as if the floor itself had dropped out beneath him. The bark hardened skin on his arms cracked and fell away like ash. The glowing veins dimmed and vanished. He clutched at his chest, eyes wide in panic.
"W–what… what did you do?" he breathed, feeling the vast emptiness where his magic had once been. He reached out mentally, desperately trying to call Ember—his fellow hybrid —but there was nothing. A void. Silence. Even worse, he couldn't feel the presence of Lord Sylvathar, his patron. It was like he'd been erased from their memory.
Seraphina's laughter danced in the air again, sultry and victorious.
"Oh, Gordon. Did you really think I'd let you go full monster in my little theatre?" Her voice was everywhere and nowhere, wrapping around him like silk. "This is my domain. And Nullify strips you of everything you are... especially when you're built on borrowed power."
Gordon fell to one knee, breath shaking, sweat running down his brow. His eyes darted around at the encroaching reflections—dozens of them now. Without his powers, they weren't just illusions anymore.
They were executioners.
"You…" he whispered, rage trembling beneath his voice. "You've made a mistake."
A sudden pressure wrapped around his throat—cold and invisible—and lifted him off the ground like a doll. Seraphina finally emerged from the void, stepping into his fading vision like a queen in her court. Her green eyes shimmered with cruel delight.
"No, darling," she said, tilting her head as shadows wrapped tighter around Gordon's body. "You're the one who mistook a viper for a lamb."
Seraphina's grip tightened around Gordon's throat, her expression gleaming with cruel satisfaction as his body began to go limp. His vision dimmed as her fingers dug in. She relished every second—this wasn't just punishment; this was pleasure. He had dared to lay hands on what she considered hers.
Just as her mind slipped further into the euphoria of vengeance, a calm voice echoed in her thoughts.
"C'mon, Sera. I need him alive to get what I want from him," Mystica said smoothly.
Seraphina exhaled through her nose, a wicked smile curling her lips.
"Fine," she whispered, her voice laced with dark amusement. "Wasn't planning to kill him. Just… leave him with something memorable."
Gordon's eyes rolled back, body going slack—unconscious. In that moment, the endless void began to recede, shadows unraveling and spiraling back into Seraphina as if sucked into her very soul.
The corridor reappeared, its light stark against the fading darkness. Liam stood a few steps away, expression unreadable as he watched Seraphina lower Gordon's limp form, still clutched in her hand.
"Thanks to your Nullify spell, he can't reach Lord Sylvathar in any way," Mystica said, stepping out of a portal that shimmered into being beside Liam.
"Yeah, well, whatever questions you've got—make them quick," Seraphina replied, casually dropping Gordon to the floor like trash. "The spell won't last long outside my domain."
"Any estimate I can work with?" Mystica asked.
"Hour and a half. Maybe less," Seraphina said with a careless shrug.
"Alright. Thanks, Sera. I owe you," Mystica said, and with a flick of her hand, Gordon's body vanished into a pocket of spatial energy.
"Don't mention it," Seraphina purred. "Besides… I'm just keeping my baby safe." She sent Liam a smoldering look, her smirk wicked and laced with intent.
"Thank you, but please don't do or say that again," Liam replied flatly.
"Anyway, let's go, Liam. We've got things to discuss," Mystica said, turning as the portal behind her flared open once more. Liam stepped in behind her without hesitation.
"Bye, darling," Seraphina cooed as the portal began to close. "Try not to break him before I do."