"We have to leave. **Now.**" Her voice cut through the air like a blade, sharp with urgency that made Finnian's blood run cold.
But Finnian's eyes blazed with defiance, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. "What about my mother?!" The words erupted from his throat like a desperate roar. "We can't just abandon her! I won't leave without—"
"She'll be fine," Seraphina interrupted, her hair whipping around her face as she spun toward the window. "I'll leave clues—magical markers only she can detect. She'll find us."
"That's what you'd say if this was all part of some elaborate scheme!" Finnian's voice cracked with emotion, his hands trembling. "How do I know you're not just—"
Seraphina's eyes flashed dangerously, her patience snapping like a taut wire. She turned to face him fully. "Listen carefully, *hero*," she drawled, her voice dripping with sardonic venom. "You have exactly two choices right now: stay here like a stubborn fool and die a meaningless death, or follow my plan and actually live long enough to see your precious mother again. Tick-tock, Finnian. What's it going to be?"
The sarcasm in her tone was so thick it could have been cut with a sword, but beneath it, Finnian caught something else—genuine fear. Not for herself, but for him.
"Seraphina, I—"
**CRASH!**
The front door didn't just open—it *exploded* inward like it had been struck by a meteor. Splinters of wood erupted through the air in slow motion, each fragment catching the lamplight like deadly confetti. The very foundations of the house groaned and shuddered under the impact.
Through the smoke and debris poured an army of nightmares. Shadow Wraiths, their forms writhing like living darkness, phased through the walls. Crimson-eyed Hellhounds with molten saliva dripping from their jaws bounded through the doorway. Skeletal warriors wreathed in ghostly flames raised bone swords that hummed with malevolent energy. Behind them came towering Void Stalkers, their multiple arms ending in razor-sharp claws that could tear through reality itself.
At least twenty creatures had invaded their sanctuary, and more were pouring in every second.
"Well," Seraphina muttered, a dangerous smile playing at her lips. "Finally, something interesting."
Her entire demeanor shifted. Gone was the urgency, the barely controlled panic. In its place stood someone who had clearly been holding back her true power. Seraphina raised her hand, and the air around her began to shimmer with raw magical energy that made Finnian's skin tingle.
"*Astral Dominion: Release!*"
The words weren't just spoken—they were *commanded* into existence. Seraphina's eyes blazed with starlight as her true power awakened. Her hair lifted and began to glow, floating around her like she was underwater. Runic circles materialized in the air around her, spinning faster and faster until they became wheels of pure light.
The first wave of creatures lunged forward.
"*Stellar Execution!*" Seraphina's voice rang with divine authority.
Pillars of starlight erupted from the floor, each one precisely targeting a different enemy. The beams didn't just burn—they completely annihilated. Three Shadow Wraiths simply ceased to exist, their forms scattered like smoke in a hurricane. A Hellhound's howl was cut short as stellar fire reduced it to cosmic dust.
But there were too many. Even as she destroyed half a dozen, twice as many more poured through the shattered entrance.
"*Gravitational Maelstrom!*" Seraphina spun, her hands weaving complex patterns in the air.
The very laws of physics bent to her will. A localized gravity well formed in the center of the room, dragging the skeletal warriors together before crushing them into powder. But a Void Stalker managed to slash through her spell with its reality-rending claws, lunging directly at Finnian.
Without missing a beat, Seraphina appeared between them in a flash of silver light. "*Aurora Blade!*" A sword of pure cosmic energy materialized in her grip, and she severed the creature's arm in one fluid motion. Her follow-up strike carved through its torso like it was made of paper.
"Stay close!" she shouted to Finnian, never taking her eyes off the battle. Her movements were like a deadly dance—every gesture precise, every spell perfectly timed. She was clearly in her element, magic flowing from her like she was born from the stars themselves.
"*Nebula Storm!*" Clouds of cosmic dust and energy swirled around the room, each particle charged with destructive force. The remaining Hellhounds were caught in the storm, their howls cut short as they were torn apart at the molecular level.
But even as she fought with the power of a goddess, more creatures kept coming. The shattered doorway had become a portal, disgorging an endless stream of nightmares. For every enemy she destroyed, two more took its place.
A massive Void Stalker, larger than the others, materialized directly behind Finnian. Its multiple arms raised for the killing blow.
"*Temporal Shield!*" Seraphina's spell froze the creature mid-strike, but the effort was taking its toll. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she maintained multiple high-level spells simultaneously.
"There's too many!" Finnian shouted over the chaos of battle.
Seraphina's eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. She could keep fighting—probably win eventually—but not without leveling half the neighborhood. And more importantly, not without risking Finnian's life.
"*Cosmic Flare!*" She raised both hands skyward, and brilliant light erupted outward like a miniature supernova. Every creature in the room screamed as the radiance burned them, buying her precious seconds.
"Change of plans!" Seraphina grabbed Finnian's hand, her grip surprisingly gentle despite the power coursing through her. "*Portal Nexus: Emergency Transit!*"
The air behind them began to tear like fabric, revealing a swirling vortex of silver and violet energy. The portal hummed with dimensional power, its edges crackling with electricity.
"But my mother —" Finnian started.
"Will survive!" Seraphina cut him off, pulling him toward the portal as the cosmic flare began to fade. "I have placed a clue she will use to track us in the house!"
The creatures, momentarily blinded and disoriented, began to recover. Their inhuman shrieks filled the air as they spotted the escaping duo.
"*Barrier Matrix: Maximum Defense!*" Seraphina's final spell created a wall of interlocking energy shields between them and their pursuers. The barriers wouldn't hold long against this many enemies, but they didn't need to.
"Trust me," she said, her eyes meeting Finnian's emerald ones as they stood at the threshold of the portal.
Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him through.
The last thing Finnian saw was the living room filling with frustrated monsters clawing at Seraphina's barriers, before the portal snapped shut behind them with a sound like thunder, leaving only scorched floorboards and the lingering scent of starlight to mark their passage.
They tumbled through the dimensional void, Seraphina's magic carrying them toward safety as the battle-damaged house—and all its nightmarish invaders—disappeared into the distance like a fading dream.