Hollow Bastion rose from the earth like the bones of a dead god.
Black spires pierced the sky. Gates of iron and obsidian groaned as they opened, not with force, but invitation. A trap disguised as a welcome.
Ariana stood before it, cloak flaring in the wind. Damien flanked her, his expression unreadable.
"She's in there," Ariana whispered. "I feel her."
Damien nodded. "Then we take it apart piece by piece."
But as soon as they crossed the threshold, the world fractured.
---
Ariana's Side – The Labyrinth of Lies
The walls closed around her like breathless shadows.
Damien was gone.
So was light.
She moved through the maze, each corridor changing, shifting like a heartbeat. Doors whispered her name. Mirrors showed her not her face—but Damien's, twisted in agony.
Then she saw him.
Or thought she did.
He stood across the hallway, chained and bleeding, whispering, "Don't trust it."
But then another Damien appeared, this one with open arms and familiar eyes.
"You're mine, Ariana. Come to me."
She froze.
This was Xander's trap.
One of them was real.
One was death.
She looked between the two—heart pounding.
Then she closed her eyes.
And whispered, "He never begs."
She drew her blade and struck—right through the illusion.
The false Damien shattered like glass.
---
Damien's Side – The Hall of Regret
He moved through a field of corpses—every one of them people he'd killed.
They rose. Whispered his sins. Accused him.
"You'll never be more than a killer," they hissed. "She deserves better."
And then he saw her.
Ariana. Dead in a coffin made of fire.
He lunged forward—
But chains coiled around his limbs.
Xander's voice echoed in the shadows.
> "She'll die screaming, brother. Just like every other thing you love."
Damien roared and broke the chains with raw fury. Blood burst from his palms as his claws extended fully.
He didn't care about redemption.
Only her.
---
The Reunion – Blood and Fire
Ariana reached the center first.
Clara lay bound to a stone altar, unconscious but breathing.
A tall figure stood behind her—hooded, silent.
Not Xander.
A sentinel.
Damien burst into the chamber a heartbeat later.
Their eyes locked across the room.
No words needed.
They attacked together.
Ariana went low, blade slicing through the sentinel's ankle. Damien hit high, his claws raking down the thing's spine.
It shrieked, inhuman, as their power synchronized—the bond pulsing between them like a war drum.
Ariana leapt from the altar, spun midair, and Damien caught her by the waist—twisting, lifting her, and launching her over him.
She drove her dagger straight into the sentinel's skull.
It collapsed—dead before it hit the ground.
---
Breathing hard, Ariana stumbled toward Clara and untied her bonds. She stirred weakly.
Damien watched her, chest heaving, covered in blood and smoke.
"You're insane," he said softly.
"And you love it," she replied, brushing hair from her face.
He crossed the room in a single step, pulled her against him, and kissed her like he'd lost her.
When they broke apart, she whispered, "We're not done yet."
"No," he said darkly. "Now comes the part where we end him."