Chapter 64 - True Nature

The light in the cell slowly grew to a soft radiance, exposing Winter to Antrandis’s gaze, but at the same time casting deep shadows that accentuated her features. She stared at him as he steadfastly kept his eyes on hers. Her breathing quickened as he smiled warmly.

“I have already seen everything that matters, Winter.” Antrandis said, stepping closer.

Her eyes closed momentarily, the look of bliss on her face as a faint moan escaped her expressive lips, her tapered brows knitting together. Her statuesque and sculpted body rocking a little as a tremor ran through her.

“You said my name.” she whispered, “Do you see what you do to me, Master?”

He continued to keep his eyes on hers as she opened them again, the fire lit within them. He watched an apologetic expression grow on her face as she expected the reprimand. Her cheek was on fire under his touch as she glanced from one eye to the other, time seemingly expanding in the silence between them. Her expression shifting from longing to faint uncertainty.

“Not yet, Winter.” he said quietly.

“You said ‘yet’, Master.” she said lustfully, her eyes on fire, “Look at me. See what is yours. Please. I beg of you.”

She watched him as he stepped back and let his eyes wander. She stood at a similar height to himself, her body strong, intimidating, yet purposefully and undeniably desirable and amazonian. Long and lustrous raven hair hung down her back, split into three drops as it cascaded down her broad shoulders, over the roots of her wings and framing her narrow tapered waist. Her broad hips led to powerful long legs that now shook slightly as she watched his eyes roam her body. Her naked ivory flesh did not concern him as he looked upon her feminine whiles, letting his eyes glide over the expanses of smooth, silken skin that flowed like water over her contained strength. The firm curve of her breasts was alluring, drawing is gaze momentarily before he took note of the span of her dragon-esque wings, their ebony membrane stretched taut as she unfurled them to their fullest. He noted the profile of her snakelike tail, its shimmering diamond obsidian scales and leaf shaped tip.

Narrow horns erupted from where her forehead met her temples, just within the hairline. Bending back, following the contour of the top of her head before spreading slightly away from each other over the back of her head. Finally, his eyes returned to her face, expressive and fine featured it captured his gaze, drawing him closer, entrapping him. A face that was both Winter’s, yet more. Everything about her screamed of the inescapable demonic seduction of the succubus.

She was chained at wrist and ankle, arms out wide, her legs shoulder-width apart, restrained. Her eyes were on him, burning brightly they met again.

“Restore me, claim me. Please, Master.” she pleaded.

Antrandis stepped close enough that their bodies touched, his eyes looking into hers, consuming her before kissing her deeply.

She stared at him, her breath and voice ragged, tremors wracking her body, “You wouldn’t.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I beg of you, Please, more.” she said, pleading unashamedly.

He smiled, his eyes on hers, “Would you not prefer your first proper time in the flesh, whole and complete, not trapped within these confines?”

She looked at him expectantly, not quite trusting his words, “You are going to restore me?”

Antrandis shook his head, “I believe you can remove those chains yourself. Fight for what you desire, show me what means most to you. Prove it to yourself. No more projected claws tearing at walls. Your fear kept those chains on you, Winter. Nothing more.”

She looked at him in desperation, suddenly understanding, “Free me. Master, please free me.”

Antrandis stared at her firmly, “Our discussion has told me one thing, you do not need me to save you. You need to save yourself.”

He closed in and slid a hand to the nape of her neck, his eyes on hers as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. His hand and fingers entwined in her hair, holding her in place.

Breaking off his kiss roughly, his stormy blue eyes glowing fiercely, he spoke, his lips brushing hers, “The power you need to overcome your restraints has been on your side from the very moment you became mine. From the very beginning. You have until I leave the labyrinth to free yourself, to break free of your fear. Show me, Winter. Take what you desire with your own two hands.”

Her eyes stayed trained on his as he stepped away, her voice wavering with uncertainty, “Master?”

“Show me that you deserve to be whole and at my side. Say my name.” he said as he continued to back away.

Her eyes widened in fear, “Master? Don’t go. Free me. Please!” the panic raising in her voice.

As he turned and stepped from the room, he winced, a pained expression on his face as he committed to the path. The sounds of Winter’s uncertain screams and thrashing against her restraints reaching him as he slowly walked past the empty barred rooms.

“Master!? Don’t leave me! Please!” Winter’s shrill scream tore the air in the passage, as he momentarily rested his back against a wall, rubbing his wrists, feeling the bite of the shackles as she tore at her restraints.

He continued to walk, following the path of scratches back toward where he entered. Winter’s screams of fury continued to echo, becoming quieter with distance. He could make out her screaming, pleading for him to return.

Then there was a sudden silence, a dull roaring disturbance started to grow in the walls, causing the surface to fray and ripple. Antrandis smiled, slowing his walk and stopping, waiting and facing the exit as he heard her approach.

Winter desperately thrashed against the chains that bound her, pulling and straining as she had done so many times before over her long incarceration. The steel of the cuffs that bound her bit into her wrists and ankles, blood dripping and leaving runnels on her unblemished ivory skin. Yanking at her bindings she screamed in frustration, raging at her own impotence.

“Master?! Please… Come back… Master…” Winter yelled, between each time she tore at the chains.

Her eyes widened, fear building in the pit of her stomach. She could feel that he was nearing the exit, his path along the passages of the labyrinth unrelenting. Straining, she tried to pull her hand free, the flesh of her wrist tearing. But she knew the outcome, she may tear her arm free, but her hand and cuff would be restored almost immediately, rebinding her in place.

She calmed, fighting the fear inside of her. The jangling clink of the chains falling silent. Her Master’s words returned to her, she could feel his thoughts on her. His lips on hers, the look in his eyes as he looked upon her. The words he spoke, their lips just touching, his words telling her that from the moment they were first bound she had the power to overcome her prison. She stood still, her wings limp as she fought the fear, feeling his steps drawing close to the doorway.

“Say my name?” she whispered, “An invocation of power?”

She stilled her breath, a tight knot in her throat, trying to will the very beating of her heart to still, to breathe in the silence. Time seemed to stretch as she fought herself.

Finally, she whispered, “Antrandis?”

Her eyes widened, there was a feeling deep inside, a sensation never felt before. She opened her eyes slowly, sharp light filled the room that had contained her for millennia. She glanced about, the walls suddenly had a strange quality, as if they were on the verge of becoming transparent. She breathed, nothing felt the same.

“Antrandis Kahn’Draneth Darkfall, my Master, the one who moulded my designed obedience into love. I invoke your blessing and accept your word.” she said, the last syllables being torn out of her at a terrible scream, the copper light from her eyes blazing with the intensity of the sun.

She felt the power surge through her, unlike anything she had felt before. Her nerves screaming, her body rigid as she accepted the full and complete binding that she was created for. A dull throbbing roar built in the walls and rooms around her. A sharp vibration resonated in the air. Winter stood, savouring the truth of her creation, she could feel her two halves joining, overcoming the Host’s forced segregation. The unification of the physical and the imprisoned, now a complete creation. She ran the tip of her tongue over her teeth, smiling.

Winter slowly opened her eyes, their steel depths smoldering with copper fire. Her personalities now combined, her different characteristics finally brought together. The physical self now bolstered with the concealed knowledge and elements that were taken from her. She blinked slowly as her now combined self, ratified and came into being. The head and commander of the gifted forces finally formed and whole. A serene calm spread within her as her master’s power flooded through her, claiming her. She could feel his will within her, words were no longer necessary. She let out a breath as a pleasurable shudder ran through her body, causing her to gasp quietly.

Stretching out her hand, she wrapped her fingers around the thick chain. With barely a thought, power surged into it and she closed her grip. The links crumbling under the monumental pressure and force of will she projected on them. Bringing her hand in front of her she flexed it, looking at it in fascination as she broke the chain binding her other arm. A small chuckle of amazement burst from her, two hands. Crouching, she split the cuffs on her ankles, one after the other. Standing she looked at the open door as it beckoned to her and in less than a heartbeat she was through it.

Winter ran down the narrow passages, feeling Antrandis’s path. Only one goal in her mind as the construct of her prison vibrated and thrummed around her. Within moments she was at the final corner, the feeling within her chest of both agony and sublime rapture. Clearing the corner, she placed her hand on the opposing wall, her arm outstretched as she saw him, her steps now slow as she used the wall to steady her movements. Her eyes flared as she looked upon him, her breath catching as he turned, his eyes on her, watching her.

A smile grew on her face, her whole body on fire as he held out his hand to her, waiting. She put one foot in front of the other, her eyes on his as she closed the distance between them. He nodded as he took her hand, looking down as he turned it over in his own. Winter watched in rapt silence as he took the first cuff in his hands and split it, its strength no longer as he let it fall to the floor with a heavy clink of steel. He gently ran his fingers over her wrist, gliding them over the flesh of her wrist before taking her other hand, splitting the cuff and checking her other wrist with care. Her eyes watched his face as he gently took her hands and held them together in his own, the flow of his will washing over her.

His eyes met hers, his voice in her ears and mind, “What do you want, Winter?”

She looked at him, her mind screaming as her voice softly spoke, barely above a whisper, “I want you, Antrandis Kahn’Draneth Darkfall, child of Lumos Darkfall, Goddess of the Three. I will settle for nothing less.”

Antrandis smiled slightly, “Is it your desire for it to be so, or is it the…” he stopped, watching her face, smiling.

“It has been my desire, always. My understanding of love is not governed by the bounds of my creation. You have always treated me as your partner, your lover. Never a servant or slave.”

She let her eyes flare slightly, “You always respected me, you showed me my path to freedom.”

He nodded, pulling her closer, reaching out and sliding a hand around her waist, drawing her in. A small laugh escaped her as she read his thoughts.

“I will show you.” she said as guided him out of the labyrinth that had acted as her own personal prison.

The construct crumbling behind them as they passed through the re-materialised door, and out onto the white marble dais beyond in the dreamscape. The one and only prisoner finally walking free.

Shadow of the Eclipse: Chapter Timeline

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