The Yandere Demon Lords & Me-Chapter 23: Thorns, Mirrors, and a Goddess? - 5

He didn't know how far he ran.

The mirrors had no end, no corner, no walls to guide him.

Just endless corridors of glowing obsidian, reflections that weren't him watching him from every side, whispering silent prayers as he passed.

But then—

The light changed.

It stopped feeling warm.

It became heavy.

As if the air itself had weight.

His boots hit a raised dais without warning—a perfect white circle inscribed into the floor. Gold vines curled inward, forming glyphs that shimmered under his steps.

"No," Rein muttered. "No no—"

Too late.

The moment he crossed the ring's edge, the circle lit up, sealing behind him with a sound like glass locking into place.

He tried to move back—his foot hit invisible resistance.

Solid. Unyielding.

A divine barrier.

Above him, light poured through the shattered dome of the cathedral like a focused eye of judgment.

He turned.

Seraphael stood across from him now—barefoot, hair aglow, eyes wet with what looked like tears.

Her voice was not loud.

But it carried like thunder in a dream.

"You've forgotten who you are. That is forgivable."

She stepped into the circle.

"But to deny me love... is the true heresy."

Rein's jaw clenched. "This isn't love."

"It's devotion."

"It's obsession."

"It's sacred."

She raised her hand and the circle pulsed beneath him.

Gold light spilled upward around him, forming pillars like ribs from the earth.

Scripture crawled along them like vines.

"Confess," she said.

"No."

"Confess your longing. Confess your denial. Confess your fear. Let the burden leave your chest and return to mine."

He laughed bitterly. "I don't owe you anything."

"You owe me your truth."

"You want my truth?" he snapped, stepping forward.

The light sparked under his boots—but he didn't stop.

"You don't love me. You love an idea. A shadow that once flattered your delusion."

She flinched.

"You don't want a partner. You want a prayer with a pulse."

Seraphael's lip trembled.

"You said I was your light?" he growled. "Then why are you the only one shining?"

Silence.

Then—

She reached for him.

This time, slowly.

Carefully.

He didn't move.

She touched his cheek, thumb brushing the dried blood at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not strong without you," she said softly.

"You shouldn't need to own someone to feel whole."

"You said you'd bless me," she whispered.

"Then I lied."

He said it without flinching.

Her eyes filled with golden tears. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

The light around them dimmed.

The ribs of light cracked at the top.

Something inside her broke.

He felt it like a pulse against his ribs.

"You... deny your vows," she said, voice shaking.

"I never gave them."

"You were mine."

"I'm no one's."

Her expression shattered.

And so did the circle.

With a sudden, thunderous crack, the light around them burst outward, hurling Seraphael back into the far wall.

The glyphs seared white, then flickered into ash.

She lay on the ground, shaking, eyes wide, arms wrapped around herself.

But she wasn't weeping.

She was glowing.

And the glow was burning red.

The light wasn't warm anymore.

It bled.

It screamed.

Rein staggered to his feet as the divine circle cracked beneath him, its shattered glyphs writhing across the floor like severed veins.

The gold that once glowed with sacred warmth now dripped in streaks of molten red, pooling around Seraphael as she knelt on the far side of the chamber.

She wasn't crying anymore.

She was glowing—head bowed, arms trembling, her breath a sharp rhythm against the silence.

Her halo spun above her like a dying sun, flickering, stuttering, spitting sparks.

Then her fingers dug into the stone floor, nails screeching against the marble.

"Why won't you love me?" she whispered.

Rein opened his mouth—but there was nothing he could say.

There wasn't language enough for this.

"I gave up the heavens," she said. Her voice echoed, layered now—three voices at once. Hers. Something ancient. Something broken. "I laid down my sword. My divinity. My name."

"You didn't do that for me," Rein said. "You did it because you couldn't bear to be alone."

"It was all for you."

She stood.

Slowly.

Unnaturally.

The light around her warped into jagged beams that hissed where they struck the stone. Her body rose off the floor—levitating again, but not gracefully this time. Wrong. Tilted. Dangerous.

Her eyes shone pure white. No pupils.

No mercy.

"If you won't bless me..." she said softly.

Her hands lifted. Palms open. A circle of golden fire erupted around her.

"...Then burn with me."