Bound to the Obsidian Demon King

Chapter 1: The Summoning I sit alone in the dim glare of a flickering battery-powered lantern inside the abandoned room, listening to the rain as it drums relentlessly against the cracked windowpane. The rusted, overgrown landscape of the discarded ghost town whispers threats outside. Here, miles away from the neon-lit skyscrapers of the main city and the grandeur of my former life, the memories replay like a cruel loop in my mind. I can still hear the maids’ hushed voices from that fateful morning, their whispers slipping through the corridors of The Voss Mansion as they thought I wasn’t listening. "Poor Lady Liliana… always so soft-hearted. Saving the beggar's child with forbidden sorcery? What was she thinking?" one had said. "Too spoilt for her own good, if you ask me," another had replied with a sniff. "Lady Seraphina is twice the lady she’ll ever be... brave, confident, graceful. The family is lucky to have Seraphina as the true heir." Their words had stung then. They sting even more now. The memory shifted to the boardroom that same day, where everything shattered. My family—the most influential dynasty beneath the highest ranks of the federal government—had gathered in the mansion's boardroom like judges presiding over a trial. Father sat at the head of the polished obsidian table, Mother beside him, while Seraphina stood elegantly at their side. "Daddy, please don’t send her away," Seraphina’s voice had rung through the grand space, full of concern. "I know what she did is wrong, but she’s still my sister. Our family." "You’re too kind, Seraphina," Mother had said, her voice laced with disappointment. "If only Liliana could be half as good, brave, and confident as you are." The words had cut deep. My stepsister was now the golden child, the treasure. I had become the discarded rag. "Sara…" Father had called her with the loving tone I could only dream of hearing directed at me. "I know you love your sister, but some mistakes can never be forgiven. Your sister used forbidden sorcery for a useless cause." "Saving a child is never useless!" My voice had burst out before I could stop it. I wasn’t given the chance to finish. Mother’s hand had struck the back of my head sharply. The first punishment, as always, was delivered by her. "How dare you? You don’t even acknowledge your mistake. Still proving you’re right?" Father’s voice had thundered like judgment from the high courts. "I have made my decision. Liliana Voss, from this day forward, you are stripped of your inheritance, your security clearance, and your name. You cease to be part of the Voss global empire. Throw her away." "Father..." I had muttered in disbelief. I had searched his eyes desperately for the man who once treated me as the sole heir to his legacy, the father who smiled while correcting my mistakes. He was gone, replaced by cold rage and disgust. Mother, the woman I had loved as my own after my real mother’s death, showed no mercy either. She had raised me like a princess. Now she looked at me like I was filth. As the private security guards dragged me out like a common criminal, Seraphina’s voice called out. She had ordered them to stop, and they obeyed instantly. All authority now flowed to her. In a few months, she would be officially named the Chief Executive of Voss Enterprises, the exact position Father had once promised me on my twentieth birthday. Seraphina had approached with majestic grace, every step cultured and perfect. "Dear Lily," she had said softly, "I’m sorry things have to be this way, but I promise you’ll never feel lonely." She had signalled the guards for privacy and pulled me aside, pressing a folded script into my hands. "Read this when you feel lonely, okay?" I had stared at the strange words, confusion swirling with my heartbreak. "I… don’t understand any of it." "You don’t need to understand the meaning," she had whispered. "Just memorise the words and say them. It will summon something that will make you comfortable and you will never feel lonely. Ever." There had been tears in her eyes, but something in her voice had felt… off. I remembered how she had encouraged me to use that forbidden sorcery to save the dying child. That act had led me here. Was this another act of kindness, or the final step in my destruction? I couldn’t tell. The guards had interrupted. Seraphina had smiled beautifully with the lovely face that charmed everyone and shoved the paper into my dress. “Don’t let anyone see it. This is my only chance to right my wrong and my farewell gift to you.” For a split second, her expression had turned cold and sarcastic, sending a shiver down my spine. Farewell. The word echoes ominously. My phone is blacklisted, my accounts frozen, and I am driven out and dumped in this rundown, toxic-zone town far outside the city grid, left with nothing but a single duffel bag, my curse, and that mysterious script. Now, weeks later, the loneliness has become unbearable. The soul-devouring curse gnaws at my chest nightly, but the emptiness in my heart hurts worse. No one to talk to. No one who cares. Perhaps the maids were right; I am a spoilt little brat who knows nothing of the world and isn’t worthy of power or love. I am disowned and cursed because I foolishly followed my sister's advice and used forbidden sorcery to summon a lowly demon—the Whisperer—to save a dying village child. The spell backfired, leaving a soul-devouring curse upon me and barely a year to live. I pick up the script with trembling hands. Seraphina’s words echo in my mind: "It will help you summon something that will make you comfortable… never feel lonely." Something feels deeply wrong. It isn’t just the tone of her voice that day, but the unsettling reason behind her sudden kindness. I know I shouldn’t trust her, not after her previous “advice” led me straight into this nightmare. Yet a desperate, lonely part of me clings to the comfort she promised. My silver-blonde hair falls over my shoulders as I kneel in the centre of the blood-drawn circle I have carefully recreated on the floor. My white nightgown clings to my skin from nervous sweat. With a deep breath, I prick my palm with a sleek tactical switchblade and let the blood drip onto the runes. My voice trembles as I force the harsh, unfamiliar syllables of the ancient script from my throat. "I invoke the forgotten sovereign of the ash and shadow," I read softly, my hands shaking. "The Black Lion of the infernal realms. King of the broken battlefield. I invoke the ancient blood contract of House Voss. Come forth and bind yourself to me as my companion..." The air grows thick and oppressive. The lantern's light flickers and dies, leaving only the chemical glow of the spray-painted runes twisting into unnatural black and crimson. Thunder cracks overhead. Shadows pour into the circle like living smoke... The demon appears. My breath catches. He is magnificent and utterly terrifying. Over six and a half feet tall, with a warrior’s sculpted body straining against a long, elegant black jacket. His fair, pale complexion contrasts with swirling obsidian flame tattoos. Raven-black hair with crimson streaks frames a lethally handsome face: sharp high cheekbones, a strong square jaw, and full lips curled in a sneer. But his glowing amber eyes burn with pure evil and ancient fury. Everything about him screams Do Not Dare. Subtle black horns crown his head like a dark king. A long, muscular lion-like tail lashes behind him. He moves with predatory grace. For a heartbeat, silence hangs between us. Then his glowing eyes narrow with volcanic rage. “Another human?” he growls, his voice like thunder and smoke. “You dare summon me?” Shadows explode around him. Before I can speak, he lunges. His massive clawed hand wraps around my throat, lifting me off the floor and slamming me against the cracked concrete wall. My feet dangled helplessly. Pain flares where his claws prick my skin. “I do not serve humans,” he hisses, tightening his grip until black spots dance in my vision. His handsome face is inches from mine, fangs bared. “I kill them.” Terror floods me. This isn’t the companion I had hoped for. “Please…” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. His free hand rises, claws aimed at my chest. “You will die for this insolence, mortal.” Suddenly, agony explodes through me. Crimson light erupts from my chest, surging into him. The room shakes. Strange crimson chains burst from the circle, wrapping around our wrists. Burning symbols appear on both our skins. Damien stares at the burning mark on his wrist. Genuine shock crosses his face. Slowly, his gaze lifts to mine. "No..." His eyes narrow in disbelief. “What… have you done?”