SAGE POV
I threw my power around Luna like a shield the second she called the fake Lady Seraphina "Mother."
"Everyone get back!" I shouted, feeling the dimensional energy in the room spike to dangerous levels. "Something's about to happen!"
The creature wearing Lady Seraphina's face growled, its beautiful features melting away like wax. Underneath was something far older and more terrible - a being of pure void energy with eyes like black holes.
"Clever little memory keeper," it hissed at Luna. "But you're too late. The anchor is already in place."
"What anchor?" I demanded, but even as I asked, I could feel it. A magical tether twisted around Lily's dimensional energy, pulling her toward something I couldn't see.
"The trials were never real," Luna said, her voice carrying the weight of countless lives. "They were a distraction. While we argued about authority and tests, this thing was weaving a binding spell around Lily."
