When "The Vampire Diaries" season 7 returns to the small screen, the Salvatore brothers will remain trapped in their own personal type of hell. Fans already know that Damon will be contending with Civil War flashbacks but Stefan's dealings are still shrouded in mystery.

It looks like the show is preparing a big reveal for Stefan's arc given that executive producer Julie Plec is being a bit too coy about Stefan's fate inside the Phoenix stone. Plec believes that it is best for fans to discover for themselves what will happen to the brothers.

"What's great about the episodes that are coming up in the next chapter is that our winter season launches with a really great concept episode that features Damon's experiences as a result of being trapped in this personal hell," Plec told Variety.

"The way that we unveil his journey and we unveil Stefan's are completely different and that's kind of the fun of it," the EP added. That being said, it looks like fans won't be treated to a juicy spoiler until "The Vampire Diaries" season 7 comes back next year.

As fans already know, the flash forwards have already proved that Damon and Stefan managed to get themselves out of the Phoenix stone and into safety. The question that remains is how.

But getting out of the stone does not promise safety. Evil won't take a break in troubling the brothers. Apparently, there will be a new baddie in town to hunt down Stefan. Leslie-Anne Huff, who coincidentally bears a striking resemblance to former series lead Nina Dobrev aka Elena Gilbert, was cast as the vicious vampire huntress Rayna, who is on the move to capture Stefan.

While it is unclear why she is after Stefan, Melty speculates that Rayna will come for him after he manages to kill Julian — something that she has been wanting to do as vengeance for her father, who Julian killed back in the 1800s.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 7 returns on Jan. 29 on The CW.