The Devourer's Dominion

Darkness clawed at the edges of Aetheron's mind.

His body felt heavy—burning.

Something inside him stirred.

A voice, not his own.

You are mine.

Waking in Chains

Aetheron's eyes snapped open.

Cold steel bound his wrists.

He was in a dimly lit room, stone walls surrounding him. A dungeon?

Memories blurred together—the fight, the Enforcer, the robed figure… the mark.

He struggled, but the chains wouldn't budge.

"Finally awake?"

Aetheron turned sharply.

Oris.

The warrior stood near the doorway, arms crossed, his usual smirk absent.

Aetheron exhaled. "Where am I?"

"In a holding cell."

Aetheron frowned. "You locked me up?"

Oris shrugged. "You lost control. We didn't have much of a choice."

Aetheron's blood ran cold.

What did he mean—lost control?

Fear in Their Eyes

Footsteps echoed.

More figures entered—Reina, Cael, Varian.

They didn't look relieved to see him awake.

They looked wary.

Cael was the first to speak. "You attacked us."

Aetheron's breath hitched.

Reina's voice was softer. "Your power… it wasn't just you anymore."

Aetheron swallowed hard.

Flashes of memory—his body moving on instinct, power surging, the pull.

The hunger.

Varian frowned. "We had to restrain you before you did something you'd regret."

Aetheron's fists clenched.

No.

This wasn't him.

Was it?

Inside His Mind

You are weak.

Aetheron froze.

The voice—inside him.

It rumbled, deep and ancient, laced with hunger.

He felt something shift—a presence, deep in his core.

Something watching. Waiting.

Aetheron gritted his teeth. "Get out of my head."

The voice only laughed.

You think you control this power?

The air around Aetheron distorted.

It controls you.

Aetheron gasped, his vision warping.

Suddenly, he wasn't in the cell anymore.

He stood in a vast, endless void.

And before him—

A figure loomed.

Tall. Cloaked in shifting shadows.

And in its chest—the same mark as his own.

His pulse pounded.

This wasn't just some lingering essence.

This thing was alive.

The Sovereign's Whisper

The figure stepped closer.

Each step shook reality itself.

Aetheron forced himself to stand his ground.

"What are you?" he demanded.

The figure's voice was like a storm.

I am what you will become.

Aetheron's gut twisted.

"No," he growled. "I'm not turning into anything."

The figure only chuckled.

Denial will not save you.

The mark on Aetheron's chest burned.

Pain flared through his body, like something pulling him apart.

His knees buckled.

The figure loomed over him, whispering—

You cannot escape me.

Then—a surge of power.

And Aetheron was ripped back to reality.

Breaking Free

He gasped, the dungeon walls snapping back into view.

His body was drenched in sweat, heart racing.

The others watched, silent.

They had seen it.

Felt it.

Aetheron's fingers twitched, the chains rattling.

He had to fight this.

He had to get stronger.

Or the next time he lost control…

It wouldn't just be his friends restraining him.

It would be his own destruction.