Chapter 20 · Pay Up. In Blood.

"Don't move, little vessel," the white-armored man barked, his voice cutting through the ringing in my ears like a blade. He didn't look at me like a person. He looked at me like a cracked vase that needed to be smashed before the water leaked out.

I tried to step back, but my legs felt like lead. My lungs were burning, and every breath felt like I was inhaling shards of glass. The seal—that damn mark on my collarbone—wasn't just broken. It was gone, and it had taken a chunk of my soul with it.

"Get away from her," Cain snarled. He stepped in front of me, his physical form still shimmering, like a smudge of ink on a clean page. He didn't look at me, but I could feel the heat radiating off his back, a wall of oppressive, dark energy that made the air vibrate.

"The Abyss Lord," the golden-eyed hunter whispered, a predatory grin spreading across his face. "I didn't think you'd actually manifest. How much of her did you have to eat to get that much mass?"

"Shut up," I gasped, clutching my chest. I tried to summon that gold light again, but it wouldn't come.