The cavern hung in a heavy silence. Dust drifted in beams of faint moonlight, catching on Nexus's black hair, highlighting the gold in her eyes. Rayon stood before her, chest heaving, strings slack but still coiled like living shadows around his fingers.
Nexus stepped closer, close enough that her presence alone pressed against him. Every movement was deliberate, predatory. Her golden eyes locked on his, and though she didn't speak at first, her gaze carried a weight—a claim.
"You fought well," she said finally, voice low and smooth, carrying both amusement and authority. "Few… dare push me this far. Fewer leave unbroken."
Rayon smirked, brushing a streak of blood from his lip. "And yet here I am."
Her lips curled into a teasing, almost mischievous smile. She pressed a hand to his chest, letting her claws just barely graze his suit. "No," she murmured, "here you are… mine."
Erethon stirred in Rayon's mind, dark amusement flowing through his voice. Oh, she's finally decided, hasn't she? How… bold.
Rayon tilted his head, eyes narrowing, a slow grin spreading. "Mine? That's a dangerous word for a dragon."
"Dangerous?" Nexus's laugh was soft, sultry, and dangerous. "Yes… that's the point." She leaned closer, letting the weight of her presence press him back. Even as a humanoid, she radiated power—feral and commanding. "I mark what I want."
With that, she traced a faint line across his shoulder with her claw, almost like a signature, almost like a warning. A mark only she could enforce, visible in the subtle glint of her power against his skin. It wasn't blood. It wasn't a bite. But it was a seal—a declaration.
Rayon didn't flinch. He laughed softly, dark and low. "Bold. I like that. But remember…" His fingers twitched, strings coiling lazily around her arms, just enough to tug her attention. "…I'm not someone you can control either."
Nexus arched a brow, golden eyes glinting with amusement and hunger. "I don't want to control you," she whispered. "I just want to own the moments where you can't escape me."
The tension between them crackled, almost tangible. Every breath they shared carried heat and danger, every move a test of strength and dominance. Rayon moved closer, matching her, coiling his own shadow threads around her lightly—playful, teasing, but perfectly controlled.
"I can play that game," he said, voice low, confidence absolute. "But know this… I bend only to myself. And I fight only for me."
She tilted her head, golden eyes flickering with respect, amusement, and a thrill of challenge. "Then we understand each other. For now… you are mine. And I will not forget it."
Erethon purred inside Rayon's mind. Oh, this is delicious. Let the dance begin.
Rayon allowed himself a slow grin, adjusting his blood-soaked suit, brushing dust from his shoulders. The cavern, the ruined forest, the scattered corpses—they all faded into the background. One predator, one dragon, one man and one madness, standing in perfect tension.
Marked. Bound in respect, dominance, and a dangerous, unspoken promise.
And both knew—this was only the beginning