Story 716: Hollow Devotion

The torches lining the Rotting Cathedral’s corridors burned with eerie green fire, casting elongated shadows that slithered like unseen horrors. Seraphine Vale followed behind Selene Nocturna, her footsteps lighter, her breath slower—unnatural.

She was no longer the righteous knight who had been dragged in chains the night before. She had become something else.

Selene could feel it—the venom had fused with Seraphine’s blood, corrupting her essence. Not dead, not entirely living—something in between. A thrall of her making.

"Does your heart still beat, Seraphine?" Selene purred, turning to walk backward, observing her new creation.

Seraphine touched her chest, her gloved fingers pressing against her skin. There was a rhythm, but it was sluggish, wrong. Her lips parted slightly as realization dawned on her.

"It does… but it is not my own."

Selene smiled, her bloodstained lips curving in satisfaction. "No, my dear. It belongs to me now."