Aria's POV
The Abyssal Temple stood at the edge of the world.
Or at least, that's what it looked like. We'd driven for hours to reach the coast, then taken a boat to a small island that didn't appear on any map. The temple rose from black rocks like a wound in reality itself.
"That's it?" Luna's voice shook. "That's where we're going?"
"Yup." Ryker hopped out of the boat, looking way too cheerful. "The Abyssal Temple. Built a thousand years ago to contain the worst spirits in existence. Spirits so evil, so powerful, that even death couldn't hold them."
I stared at the structure. It wasn't made of stone or wood. It looked like it was carved from darkness itself, with symbols that hurt to look at glowing across its surface.
"My grandmother is in there," I said quietly. "Suffering. For twenty-five years."
Kael's hand found mine. "We'll get her out. I promise."
"If she's still sane," Ryker added helpfully. "Twenty-five years of torture tends to break people. Or spirits. Whatever."
I wanted to punch him. "You could be more sensitive."
"I could. But lying won't help anyone." He pulled out a worn notebook. "According to my research, the temple has seven levels. Each level has guardians—spirits that attack anyone who enters. They can't be killed, only commanded. Which is where you come in."
"What kind of guardians?" Luna asked.
"Level one: Wraith Sentinels. They drain your spiritual energy until you collapse. Level two: Soul Eaters. They feed on memories, making you forget who you are. Level three: The Broken—spirits driven insane by the temple who attack anything that moves." He flipped a page. "It gets worse from there."
"How much worse?" I demanded.
"Level seven is guarded by the Temple's Keeper. A spirit so powerful it makes legendary spirits look like house pets. No one's ever gotten past it and lived." Ryker closed the notebook. "But hey, you've got Soul Dominion and six merged contracts. Maybe you'll be the first."
"Maybe?" Luna looked like she might throw up. "We're risking our lives on maybe?"
"Life is risk, sweetheart." Ryker started walking toward the temple. "Besides, what's the alternative? Let grandma stay tortured forever? Let Aria never learn why daddy dearest cursed her? No thanks. I've got questions, and that temple has answers."
I followed him, my merged spirits stirring uneasily inside me. They could sense something wrong about this place. Something that made even legendary beings nervous.
"Aria, wait." Kael grabbed my arm. "Once we go in there, we can't turn back. The temple seals itself behind anyone who enters. We either make it to level seven and find a way out, or we die inside."
"I know."
"I'm serious." His red eyes burned with intensity. "I've lost you once already. A thousand years ago, I watched you die and couldn't stop it. I won't lose you again."
Something in his voice made my heart ache. He really had loved her—the original Aria. Loved her so much that even a thousand years hadn't dimmed the pain of losing her.
"You won't lose me," I promised. "We're going to get my grandmother, get our answers, and get out. All of us. Together."
He didn't look convinced, but he nodded.
Luna transformed her Kitsune spirit into armor around herself. "Okay. Let's do this before I change my mind."
We approached the temple entrance. The doors were massive, covered in seals that pulsed with dark energy.
"How do we open them?" I asked.
"You tell them to," Ryker said. "Soul Dominion, remember? Command the seals."
I raised my hand toward the doors. Felt the dark energy resisting me, trying to keep us out.
Open, I commanded, pushing my power forward.
The seals shattered like glass.
The doors groaned open, revealing a hallway that descended into absolute darkness.
"Well, that was easier than expected," Ryker said cheerfully. "Everyone ready?"
No one answered. We weren't ready. How could anyone be ready for this?
But we stepped inside anyway.
The doors slammed shut behind us with a boom that shook the walls.
Darkness swallowed us whole.
Then lights flickered on—not normal lights, but glowing symbols carved into the walls. They cast everything in a sickly green glow.
"Level one," Ryker announced. "Watch for—"
Something screamed.
Not a human scream. Not an animal scream. Something that made my bones vibrate and my teeth hurt.
Shapes emerged from the shadows. Dozens of them. Humanoid but wrong, with too many limbs and faces that shifted like smoke.
"Wraith Sentinels!" Luna shouted. "Aria, do something!"
The wraiths rushed toward us, their mouths open in silent screams.
I raised both hands and channeled my Soul Dominion. "STOP!"
My power exploded outward in a wave of purple light.
The wraiths froze mid-charge. Their bodies trembled, fighting my command.
"Bow to me," I commanded. "I am the Bloodline. I am your master."
For a moment, nothing happened. These spirits were ancient, bound to the temple for a thousand years. They didn't want to obey.
But I pushed harder, letting all six of my merged contracts flow through my voice.
One by one, the wraiths dropped to their knees.
"Master," they whispered in voices like wind through graves. "The First Blood returns."
I'd done it. Controlled the guardians without even fighting.
"Show off," Ryker muttered, but he looked impressed.
"Can we move forward?" Kael asked, watching the kneeling wraiths warily.
I nodded. The wraiths parted to let us pass, creating a path deeper into the temple.
Level two was worse.
The Soul Eaters didn't attack our bodies. They attacked our minds. I felt them trying to slip into my memories, trying to steal my past.
But my Soul Dominion pushed them back, forced them to kneel just like the wraiths.
Level three tested us differently. The Broken attacked in waves, mindless and savage. Luna's Kitsune fought beside us. Kael's demon power tore through them. But there were so many.
I commanded them to stop, but these spirits were too far gone. Too insane to recognize authority.
So I did something else.
I channeled my Phoenix flames and burned them into submission. Not killing them—they were already dead—but purifying them. Freeing them from the madness.
They dissolved into light, finally at peace.
"Four more levels," Ryker said as we descended deeper. "Everyone still alive?"
"Barely," Luna gasped. Blood dripped from a cut on her arm. "This place is a nightmare."
She was right. Each level drained us more. Each guardian was stronger than the last.
Level four: The Devourers, who tried to consume our souls.
Level five: The Forsaken, who whispered our worst fears.
Level six: The Undying, who regenerated faster than we could hurt them.
By the time we reached level seven, I could barely stand. My merged spirits were exhausted. Luna could barely maintain her Kitsune form. Even Kael looked tired.
"The final level," Ryker said quietly. All his usual cheer was gone. "This is where your grandmother should be. Along with the Keeper."
We stepped into a massive chamber. Unlike the narrow hallways above, this space was huge. Empty except for a single figure chained to the far wall.
A woman. Translucent, glowing faintly. Her head hung down, her spirit form flickering like a dying candle.
"Grandmother?" I called out.
The spirit's head lifted slowly.
I gasped.
Her face looked like mine. Same eyes. Same features. But twisted with pain and rage from twenty-five years of torture.
"Grandmother, it's me. Aria. Your granddaughter. I came to free you."
The spirit stared at me. Then she started laughing.
Not a happy laugh. A broken, terrible laugh that made my skin crawl.
"Free me?" Her voice was like breaking glass. "You came to FREE me? You're twenty-five years too late, child."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I was just a baby when father—"
"When your father MURDERED me!" She screamed it, her spirit form flaring with dark energy. "When he cursed you and I tried to stop him! When he sealed me in this hell to keep his secret!"
The chains holding her shattered.
She rose into the air, power radiating from her broken spirit.
"I suffered here because of you," she snarled. "Because I tried to save you. And where were you? Living your pathetic little life while I BURNED!"
"I didn't know!" I pleaded. "Please, I'm here now. Let me help you. Let me—"
"Help me?" She laughed again. "The only help I want is REVENGE! Revenge on your father! Revenge on your family! Revenge on the entire world that left me to suffer!"
Dark energy exploded from her body, filling the chamber.
"And I'll start with you."
She attacked.
Fast. Too fast. Her spirit form slammed into me, knocking me across the chamber.
"Aria!" Kael rushed forward, but my grandmother's power threw him back like a toy.
"You carry the bloodline," she hissed, circling me. "The same power that should have saved me. But you're weak. Pathetic. Just like you were as a baby."
"I'm not weak anymore!" I struggled to my feet, channeling my merged spirits. "I didn't choose what father did! But I'm here now to make it right!"
"Too late." She raised her hands, dark magic gathering. "The temple has given me power. Fed me strength through twenty-five years of agony. I am the Keeper now. And you will suffer as I suffered."
Reality cracked around us.
She wasn't just my grandmother anymore. She'd merged with the temple itself. Become part of its cursed power.
This wasn't going to be a rescue.
This was going to be a fight to the death.
"Aria, we need to leave!" Luna screamed. "She's too powerful! We can't—"
"I won't leave her!" I shouted back. "She's family! She tried to save me!"
"And now she wants to kill you!" Ryker yelled. "In case you hadn't noticed!"
My grandmother's spirit form twisted, growing larger. More monstrous. The temple's corruption eating away what was left of her sanity.
"I'll devour your soul," she whispered. "Consume everything you are. And then I'll use your body to kill your father. Kill your mother. Kill your sister. Kill everyone who let me suffer."
She lunged forward, mouth open impossibly wide, ready to consume me whole.
And I had a split second to decide.
Fight her and risk destroying what was left of the only family member who'd ever loved me?
Or let her kill me and doom everyone I cared about?
The choice would define everything that came next.
But I was out of time.