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The walls of the isolation chamber pulsed around Cassia. Her third eye thrummed, washing the room in purple light. Truthfully, said eye remaining intact was a minor miracle. The rest of her undulated as a gelatinous mass, pale and sickly like her former form.
She knew what this meant: the end of her life was coming. After proudly serving as the Navigator of House Orsellio, Cassia’s ultimate fate was to die alone. She didn’t even have access to her books, as she was unable to hold them in her current state.
In the distance, she could feel the deception toiling in her husband. She knew that her death would lead to him usurping her portion of the family. Cassia’s mass fluttered in protest as the walls flashed purple again. The neurons in her brain were starting to crack. Soon, she’d be little more than a puddle of flesh on the floor.
“May this end soon,” Cassia whispered to the walls. Her voice could not escape her body anymore, and her thoughts were a mess of pain and light, but the words came out all the same. “May the pain and suffering eventually cease.”
Within the swirls of colors dancing around in her head, a splash of red. It was faint at first, a mere speck. But as Cassia fluttered, the color came into focus.
It was not a splash, not a thread of silk like the rest. This one was solid and fleshy. Cassia metaphorically squinted. She could smell ash and blood.
The realization hit: this was no thread of reality. This was a Daemon Prince worming its way into her mind. Cassia’s mass jerked in fright. But then, a new sensation.
Love. This Daemon Prince did not come for her with ill intentions. But how could that be? Cassia fluttered again as it came into focus: a tall, muscular figure with dark red skin and spikes, an etching of a cyber-mastiff on his horn.
“Who… what has led you here?” Cassia’s voice reverberated in her mind. For a moment, the Daemon Prince simply stared at her. Then, a smile.
“We promised to always remain together, regardless of circumstance. Or did you forget, Cassia?” That voice. It was deeper now, hungrier, but she recognized it.
“Von Valencius?” She dared herself to hope. The smile on his face widened.
“Hello again, my sweet.” Cassia jerked again, this time out of shock instead of fear.
“What… what happened to you, my dear?”
“A reward, given upon the end of my mortal life. I have now come to offer the same to you.” Cassia gasped, mind swirling. She could tell that von Valencius wasn’t lying, that he didn’t have some scheme in mind. For all of his heretical actions and demonic visage, his intentions with her were pure.
“Will… will I become something like you?” He could hear the fear in Cassia’s tone.
“It will not hurt. If it did, I never would have come to you.” He reached his hand out, one long nail skating across the edge of Cassia’s mass. “But besides, I can tell that any amount of pain would be better than what you currently experience.”
“How perceptive of you.”
Things seemed to slow down. Cassia stared up at the walls of her prison and the colors that swirled throughout. She turned back to von Valencius; a soft sigh escaped her membrane.
“I always appreciated your letters. I kept them behind one of the shelves in the library. When I was sad, I would read them again.” Cassia looked away for a moment. “Do you remember when we consummated our relationship?”
“It has never left me, my sweet.” His palm finally settled onto her flesh. Cassia shivered at the touch.
“Perhaps we will be able to resume our physical activities.” She saw von Valencius suppress a smirk.
“So you have wished, and so it will be done.” Comfortable silence fell upon them for a moment. His hand gently moved up to her cracked third eye, careful not to poke or prod with his claws. “Are you ready, Cassia?”
She did not answer at first. But then, Cassia slowly pressed herself into von Valencius’s hand. The colors around her began to thrum and pulse, but she did not fear it.
“Beyond the stars, we go,” she whispered. He nodded, his grip on her tightening while still being gentle.
The room emptied in a brilliant kaleidoscope of red and purple light.