The air inside the caves was heavy—thick with moisture, shadows, and something far older than either of them had ever faced. The walls pulsed faintly with crimson veins of energy, like the Core's heartbeat echoed even here. A whisper, neither wind nor voice, beckoned them forward.
Selena's grip tightened around Dante's hand.
"Do you feel that?" she whispered.
Dante nodded, jaw set. "It's starting."
They descended deeper into the belly of the earth, their torchlight flickering against rough-hewn stone. At the base of a spiraling staircase carved into obsidian, a door awaited. Not wood. Not metal. Bone.
Carved with ancient symbols. Locked not by keys—but by will.
Selena stepped forward. The glyphs on her arms pulsed in response. The door groaned, opened inward, revealing a chamber bathed in blood-red light. At the center stood a stone altar. Around it, six thrones made of blackened bones—and seated upon them, silent figures in robes of ash and smoke.
"The Tribunal," Dante muttered. "The Core's ancient guardians."
A voice echoed—not from a mouth, but from every shadow around them.
"You enter not as warriors. You enter as bound. Prove it. Or be devoured."
Selena swallowed. "What do we do?"
A robed figure pointed to the altar.
"Lie together. Blood to blood. Memory to memory. Heart to heart. The bond must be witnessed. Must be tested."
Dante stepped forward, guiding her gently to lie beside him on the altar. Their fingers intertwined. A sharp blade, levitating by unseen force, hovered above them.
It slashed—quick, clean—across both their palms.
Blood spilled. The glyphs on their bodies ignited. The altar shuddered. And then—reality shattered.
---
Selena opened her eyes into a world she didn't recognize. A battlefield, scorched and littered with corpses. Her body was clad in dark armor, hands stained in blood.
Across the field, Dante stood—but he was no longer Dante.
His wings had turned to pure shadow. His eyes, molten gold. Around his neck, the Core pulsed like a living thing, chained to his spine.
"Selena," he said, voice distorted, "you weren't supposed to be here."
"What is this?" she asked. "A vision?"
"No," he said, pain crossing his face. "A prophecy."
She blinked, heart slamming against her chest. "Of what?"
"The future. If we fail."
He raised a hand. The ground split. From the chasm crawled beasts—limbs of ash, teeth like daggers, eyes glowing with Core fire.
"No—this isn't us," Selena cried. "You wouldn't become this."
He turned to her, a tear tracing his cheek despite the power coursing through him. "Then stop it. Prove our bond is stronger than the Core."
The world burst into flames.
---
She gasped awake—back in the chamber.
Dante jolted upright, sweat glistening on his chest. "Did you see it too?"
She nodded. "You were a monster. I was... watching. Frozen."
"I destroyed everything."
One of the Tribunal spoke, its voice dry as dust.
"The Core's will is chaos. To resist it, you must unify. Soul to soul."
Another added:
"Face your shadow selves. Or become them."
Darkness swirled again. This time, it pulled them under—together.
---
They stood now in a distorted reflection of the Valerio estate. But everything was wrong. The halls dripped blood. Mirrors showed not reflections—but memories.
Selena approached one. Inside, she saw herself as a child. Alone. Crying. Unwanted.
"I always thought I had to be strong," she murmured. "To deserve love."
"You don't," Dante whispered. "You already deserve it."
The mirror cracked.
Another appeared behind Dante. His memory.
He knelt at his brother's grave—Lorenzo's first death. His hands shook. His mouth moved. "It should've been me."
Selena turned to him. "You still blame yourself."
He looked away. "Don't you?"
The walls trembled. A thunderous roar shook the chamber.
From the far end of the hall came their shadows—twisted versions of themselves.
Selena's doppelgänger bore wings of black fire, eyes bleeding crimson. Dante's wore a crown of bones, a chain of souls around his neck.
They didn't speak.
They attacked.
The battle was fierce—power against power, thought against fear.
Selena was thrown against the wall. Her darker self sneered. "You're weak. You're afraid to be what you truly are."
Dante grappled with his own, fangs bared. "I'll never become you!"
"You already have," the shadow hissed.
Selena clenched her fists. "This is just the Core trying to divide us."
"We are it," the shadows said in unison. "You gave it a vessel."
Dante stumbled, wounded. Blood soaked his shirt.
Selena screamed, something primal rising in her. Her glyphs flared, and her eyes burned with inner fire. She lunged at her shadow, striking with both hands. "I. Am. Not. You!"
The mirror shattered.
Dante's shadow snarled. "She'll destroy you."
Dante threw him back with a blast of fire. "Then I'll burn with her before I let that happen."
Selena reached for his hand.
The shadows lunged one last time.
Their palms met.
A blinding light exploded around them.
---
When they awoke again, the Tribunal stood, all six robes now empty. The chamber pulsed gold—not red.
The altar was cracked.
The glyphs on their bodies had changed—no longer wild, but refined. Controlled.
A voice, now warm, echoed.
"The bond is forged. The balance held. You may leave. But beware—balance must be maintained. Should one fall, the other follows."
Selena and Dante stumbled from the chamber, hearts pounding.
Outside, Elias waited. "You passed."
Dante looked at Selena, still gripping her hand. "Barely."
"But we passed," she said.
Elias gave them a solemn nod. "Then the next step is clear. You must prepare for what's coming."
Selena arched a brow. "What exactly is coming?"
A voice behind them answered—
"Me."
They turned—eyes wide.
Lorenzo stood at the edge of the path, blood dripping from his mouth, a jagged wound across his chest glowing with unstable energy.
And behind him?
Dozens of hooded figures. All marked with the Core.
"I told you," Lorenzo grinned. "This wasn't over."
And this time, he didn't come alone.