The blue blades begin moving.
Hundreds of glowing weapons descend from above the mountain path, each one aimed directly at me.
Elara remains between the blades and me.
"Move," I tell her.
"No."
"This isn't the best time to become protective."
"You saved my life. I'm not letting Aldric kill you before he even speaks to us."
The old man's voice echoes from the pillars.
"Step aside, Princess."
"He is with me."
"He carries a power that should not exist in this world."
"That doesn't make him our enemy."
"It makes him a threat."
The first blade shoots toward us.
I grab Elara by the shoulder and pull her aside.
The weapon strikes the ground where she stood.
Stone explodes across the path.
That was not a warning.
The remaining blades descend.
I summon my scythe.
Black smoke gathers around my hand as the weapon forms. Purple lines glow along its handle, responding to the awakened Mark in my palm.
"Stay behind me."
Elara raises both hands.
Silver light forms around us.
"I can defend myself."
A barrier appears just as the next group of blades reaches us.
Blue weapons crash against the silver shield.
Cracks spread across its surface.
Elara's feet slide backward.
Mara grabs her arm to keep her standing.
"There are too many," Elara says.
"I noticed."
I step through the barrier.
"Shin!"
The next blade flies toward my chest.
I strike it with the scythe.
The moment the weapons connect, blue energy runs through the handle and into my arm.
Pain burns across my skin.
The blade shatters, but its fragments remain suspended in the air.
They turn toward me.
"That's inconvenient."
The pieces attack.
I release Dread Aura.
Dark pressure spreads from my body.
The fragments slow, but they do not stop.
They have no minds.
No fear.
My new ability is useless against them.
I swing the scythe in a wide circle.
"Death Arc."
A curved wave of black energy cuts through the air.
It strikes dozens of blue blades.
Some decay immediately.
Others flicker before repairing themselves.
The symbols carved into the pillars grow brighter.
Aldric's voice returns.
"Death energy. A soul weapon. A Mark fed by fear."
He knows too much.
"You've seen this before?" I ask.
"No."
The blades gather above me again.
"But I have spent sixty years studying everything that should never be created."
They fall.
I move toward the nearest pillar.
The ward must be drawing power from the symbols.
If I destroy the source, the blades should disappear.
A blue weapon passes close enough to cut my cheek.
Another strikes my shoulder.
The night elk coat prevents it from piercing completely, but the impact nearly knocks me over.
I keep moving.
The pillar is only a few feet away.
I place my palm against its glowing surface.
Death energy flows from the Mark.
The blue symbol turns black around my hand.
Then the entire pillar reacts.
A surge of energy throws me across the path.
I land on my back.
The scythe leaves my grip.
A burning symbol appears on my palm, surrounding the eye of the Mark.
Foreign seal attempting to bind the Mark of Dread.
Blue chains emerge from the ground.
They wrap around my wrists and ankles before I can stand.
Another closes around my chest.
I pull against them.
The chains tighten.
The awakened Mark opens in my palm.
Purple light spreads through the restraints, but they do not break.
Aldric's voice sounds almost curious.
"Your power resists direct sealing."
"You sound surprised."
"I expected you to be reduced to ash."
"That makes two of us."
The blades above the path stop moving.
Elara rushes toward me, but a wall of blue fire rises between us.
She steps back.
"Aldric, release him!"
"Not until I know what he is."
"He told you what he is."
"He told you what Death wanted him to believe."
The words silence Elara.
I look toward the monastery hidden farther up the mountain.
"You think the Reaper lied to me?"
"I think beings with power rarely tell mortals the entire truth."
That is difficult to argue with.
The Reaper gave me a second life, but he avoided many of my questions.
He never explained why he could not travel between worlds.
He never explained what happened to previous World Raiders.
He never warned me that gathering fear would feel addictive.
The blue chains tighten again.
I focus death energy around my arms.
The restraints begin turning gray, but the symbols repair them faster than I can destroy them.
Aldric is studying me.
This is not an execution.
It is a test.
"You could have killed me already," I say.
Elara looks toward the pillars.
The old man does not answer immediately.
"What makes you believe that?"
"The first attack forced me to defend myself. The second trapped me. If you truly wanted me dead, you wouldn't be explaining anything."
The mountain remains silent.
Then the blue fire separating me from Elara lowers slightly.
"You are more observant than the royal reports suggested."
"You've read reports about me?"
"Every communication crystal in western Asteria is carrying your name."
That was faster than expected.
"How much of it is true?" I ask.
"Very little."
"That sounds right."
A figure appears at the top of the mountain path.
An old man walks slowly toward us.
He wears long blue robes covered in silver symbols. A dark wooden staff supports his weight, although his steps do not appear weak.
His hair and beard are completely white.
Several metal rings float behind him, rotating around one another without touching.
Aldric.
Fear Sense reveals a thin chain stretching from his chest to the Mark inside me.
He is afraid.
But not for himself.
His fear is directed toward Elara, the kingdom, and something beyond either of them.
When his eyes settle on me, the chain becomes stronger.
"You can see it," he says.
"Your fear?"
Elara turns toward him.
Aldric stops several feet away.
"That ability alone would be enough to destabilize a kingdom."
"I've already started."
"So I have heard."
His eyes move toward the chains surrounding me.
"You gather strength through fear, yet you allowed the bandits to live."
"They'll spread the story."
"That is not the only reason."
He is watching me too closely.
"What other reason would there be?"
"You did not enjoy what your Terror Mark did to their leader."
Elara looks toward me.
I keep my expression still.
Aldric continues.
"The monastery wards do more than detect magic. They examine intention, memory, and damage to the soul."
"You searched my mind?"
"I saw what your soul allowed me to see."
"That doesn't make it better."
"No."
At least he is honest.
Aldric raises his staff.
The chains around me loosen, but they do not disappear.
"What did you see?" Elara asks.
"A man who was murdered by his own world."
My body becomes still.
Aldric's eyes remain on me.
"A dark room. Three officers. A chair with restraints. Poison entering his blood while innocent men watched."
Mara looks at me differently.
Elara already knows I was executed, but not the details.
Aldric's expression hardens.
"I also saw Death waiting for his soul."
The Mark in my palm burns.
A memory flashes through my mind.
The Reaper standing in the endless darkness.
All I want you to do is create a little chaos.
Then another image appears.
A shape behind him.
Something enormous hidden beyond the darkness.
It watches us.
The memory disappears before I can focus on it.
I look toward Aldric.
"What was that?"
His grip tightens around the staff.
"You saw it too."
"Saw what?"
"The thing behind your Reaper."
Elara approaches the blue wall again.
"What are you talking about?"
Aldric lowers his voice.
"Death was not alone."
The statement sends a cold feeling through me that has nothing to do with the Mark.
"When I met him, there was no one else."
"Not someone," Aldric says. "Something."
The floating rings behind him stop rotating.
"For a single moment, when the wards touched your soul, I felt another presence connected to the power inside you. It was distant, but it noticed me."
The symbols across the pillars flicker.
A crack appears in one of the stone surfaces.
Aldric looks toward it.
Fear rises from him sharply.
Not fear of me.
Fear of being observed.
"What did it feel like?" I ask.
"Empty."
"That explains nothing."
"It felt like a place where entire worlds had once existed."
The Reaper claimed he needed fear to restore his fading power.
He said he could die if the worlds remained peaceful.
He never mentioned anything capable of erasing worlds.
Perhaps Aldric's wards are mistaken.
Or perhaps the Reaper left out more than I thought.
The chains around my body fade.
I stand slowly.
My scythe dissolves into smoke and returns to my hand.
Aldric watches the weapon but does not attack.
Elara crosses the lowered wall of fire.
She stops beside me.
"Are you hurt?"
"Not much."
She examines the glowing symbols around my wrist.
"You were nearly crushed by magical chains."
"I've had worse."
"Stop saying that as if it makes everything acceptable."
Aldric turns away.
"Follow me."
Mara looks toward the royal soldiers positioned farther up the trail.
They have not moved during the entire attack.
"What about them?"
"They are not royal soldiers."
One of the armored figures removes his helmet.
There is no face beneath it.
Only blue fire.
The other figures do the same.
Empty suits of armor animated by the monastery wards.
"Seal guardians," Mara says.
"I rebuilt them after Malrec discovered my location," Aldric replies.
"You knew he knew you were alive?"
"I allowed him to know."
Elara looks at him.
"Why?"
"To control where he searched."
"That plan seems to have failed."
"It succeeded for eleven years."
Aldric continues walking.
The blue flames surrounding the path separate, creating an opening.
Elara follows him.
Mara stays close behind her.
I remain still for a moment.
Fear Sense reaches toward the monastery.
There are no other living people ahead.
Only Aldric.
But something feels wrong beneath the mountain.
A faint pressure pulses through the stone.
It resembles a heartbeat.
A very slow one.
Aldric glances back.
"If you intend to enter, do it now. The wards will not remain open for you indefinitely."
"You still consider me a threat."
"I would be a fool not to."
"That's reasonable."
I follow them through the barrier.
The moment I cross, the wall of blue fire rises behind me.
The Red Knives are gone.
The mountain path curves upward through ruined pillars and broken statues.
Most depict robed figures holding circles or chains.
Some have been deliberately damaged.
Their faces are missing.
Symbols are carved into the stone beneath each statue.
World Translation allows me to understand parts of them.
Binding.
Protection.
Sacrifice.
The final word appears far more often than the others.
"What was this monastery used for?" I ask.
"The Order of Saint Orin trained seal masters," Aldric replies.
"What happened to them?"
"They learned something the Crown wanted forgotten."
Elara touches the mark on her neck.
"Something involving royal seals?"
"Something involving the royal bloodline."
Her seal glows faintly.
Aldric stops immediately.
"Do not ask further questions until I suppress that mark."
"You can remove it?"
"I can attempt to."
"That isn't very reassuring," Elara says.
"No honest healer promises success before examining a wound."
Aldric places two fingers against the air.
A silver symbol appears.
It floats toward Elara and settles over the seal on her neck.
The golden mark darkens.
Elara takes a sudden breath.
"What did you do?"
"I placed it to sleep."
"For how long?"
"An hour. Perhaps less."
"Can I speak about what happened now?"
"No."
Aldric continues walking.
"The seal is inactive, not gone. Breaking its restrictions would wake it immediately."
The path ends at the monastery.
Most of the building has collapsed.
Only one tower and part of the central hall remain intact.
Blue symbols cover every surviving wall.
There is no visible door.
Aldric raises his staff.
The stone splits down the center.
A narrow entrance appears.
Inside, hundreds of candles ignite at once.
The central hall is larger than it should be.
Rows of bookshelves stretch far beyond the outer walls of the monastery. Floating staircases connect different levels.
Thousands of metal rings turn slowly beneath the ceiling.
A circular platform occupies the center of the room.
Elara stares upward.
"This place survived?"
"Not exactly," Aldric says. "The original monastery was destroyed. This is a sealed space attached to its ruins."
I step through the entrance.
The pressure beneath the mountain becomes clearer.
It is coming from below the platform.
"What is under us?"
Aldric looks at me.
"You can sense it?"
"Yes."
He does not answer.
That is becoming irritating.
Mara closes the entrance behind us.
"We came here for the princess's seal."
"And I will examine it," Aldric says. "But first, I need to know why Death sent him to Elaris."
"I already told you," I say. "To create fear."
"No being with access to countless worlds chooses a destination randomly."
"The Reaper said he selected this world because it had been peaceful."
Aldric walks toward the central platform.
"Asteria has not been peaceful."
"The kingdom hasn't fought a war in eighty years," Elara says.
"There are forms of war the public never sees."
He places his staff into a hole at the center of the platform.
The metal rings above us begin rotating faster.
Images appear in the air.
Cities.
Forests.
Battlefields.
Faces of people I do not recognize.
Then the image changes.
A massive chamber appears beneath a palace.
Hundreds of people are trapped inside glass structures.
Symbols cover their bodies.
Elara becomes pale.
"What is that?"
"The foundation of your kingdom's peace," Aldric says.
The image moves closer.
Energy flows from the prisoners through golden chains.
The chains gather beneath a throne.
A man sits upon it, but his face is hidden.
"The royal family has maintained Asteria's barriers, harvests, and military strength through a network of living seals," Aldric continues. "Every generation, people with rare mana are secretly taken and bound beneath the capital."
Mara looks horrified.
"How many?"
"Thousands over the centuries."
Elara shakes her head.
"My father would never allow this."
"Your father attempted to end it."
The image changes.
King Asteria stands inside the chamber.
He is older, with silver hair similar to Elara's.
Prince Lucien and Prince Caelan stand behind him.
The king raises a sword toward the golden chains.
Then the image becomes distorted.
A dark figure moves behind Lucien.
The entire vision disappears.
Aldric grips his staff.
"The records after that moment were erased."
Elara's voice trembles.
"My brothers told the court that my father became ill."
"He did not become ill."
Aldric looks toward her seal.
"He was sealed."
The room becomes silent.
Elara takes a step back.
"No."
"The royal throne is connected to the blood and soul of the reigning monarch. Lucien cannot take complete control while your father remains alive."
"Then where is he?"
"Beneath the palace."
Elara presses one hand against her mouth.
Her fear rises.
Not toward me.
Toward her brothers.
Toward the capital.
The Mark absorbs a small portion before I can stop it.
Dread received: 3
The notification feels wrong.
I close it immediately.
"What does Elara have to do with this?" I ask.
Aldric points toward the dark seal on her neck.
"She discovered part of the truth. Her brothers could not kill her because all three royal children are connected to the same inheritance seal."
"So they bound her instead."
"Yes."
Elara forces herself to speak.
"You said the throne is connected to the reigning monarch. Why do they need me alive?"
Aldric hesitates.
The seal around her neck flickers.
"Do not push it."
"Aldric."
His expression softens slightly.
"Because the inheritance cannot pass to Lucien while another suitable heir rejects him."
Elara becomes still.
"You mean me."
"You possess a stronger connection to the throne than either of your brothers."
Mara looks between them.
"Then Elara is the rightful heir."
"The throne believes she is."
"That is why they need her," I say. "They can't take control without forcing her to accept Lucien."
Aldric nods.
"The binding seal was designed to erase her resistance slowly. Once her memories and will were weakened, she would publicly recognize Lucien as king."
Elara's hands tighten into fists.
"And my father?"
"His soul powers the royal network."
The fear inside her turns into anger.
Silver energy gathers around her body.
The candles flicker.
"I'll kill them."
Mara moves beside her.
"Your Highness—"
"I will kill both of them."
Aldric removes his staff from the platform.
The images vanish.
"You will do nothing if the seal destroys your heart."
Elara touches the mark.
Her anger does not fade, but she forces the magic around her to settle.
I look toward Aldric.
"Can you remove it?"
"Yes."
Elara stares at him.
"You said you could only attempt it."
"I needed to see whether the seal had changed."
"And?"
"It has."
He walks toward one of the bookshelves.
A large book floats down into his hands.
He places it on a nearby table and opens it.
A drawing of the chained-circle symbol covers the first page.
"The original royal binding seal was created to prevent heirs from being controlled by foreign magic," Aldric says. "Lucien reversed its purpose."
He turns the page.
The same seal appears, but black lines spread through its center.
"What are those?"
"Corruption."
The Mark in my palm opens.
A thin purple light shines from the eye.
The black lines in the drawing respond.
Aldric notices.
"That is what I feared."
"What?"
"The power corrupting the royal seals is similar to yours."
Elara looks toward me.
"My death energy?"
"Not identical," Aldric says. "But related."
I move closer to the book.
The black lines resemble the energy I use, but they feel empty.
Dead.
My death energy still contains intention.
The corruption in the seal feels like a hole where something should exist.
The same emptiness Aldric sensed behind the Reaper.
"You think the Reaper is involved," I say.
"I think whatever stands behind him is."
The pressure beneath the monastery pulses again.
The eye in my palm turns toward the floor.
Aldric immediately closes the book.
"What is below us?"
He remains silent.
I place my scythe against my shoulder.
"You attacked me the moment I arrived, searched my soul, and accused the being who gave me a second life of hiding something. I think I've earned an answer."
"You have earned suspicion."
"So have you."
Mara steps between us.
"We do not have time for this. Malrec will bring soldiers."
"He will not enter the monastery," Aldric says.
"He entered Briarwood."
"This place is different."
A deep sound moves through the floor.
The candles shake.
Dust falls from the ceiling.
A crack appears along the edge of the central platform.
Aldric looks down.
For the first time since we entered, his control breaks.
Fear pours from him.
The chain connecting him to my Mark becomes almost solid.
"What was that?" Elara asks.
Aldric raises his staff.
Blue symbols cover the platform.
The crack continues spreading.
"It felt him."
"Felt who?" I ask.
The old man turns toward me.
"The first World Raider."
The platform explodes.
Stone and blue fire burst through the hall.
Mara pulls Elara behind a bookshelf.
I shield my face with the scythe.
A column of black mist rises from the opening beneath us.
Chains emerge from the darkness.
They wrap around the broken platform and pull it farther apart.
Something climbs upward.
First, a pale hand appears.
Symbols have been carved into every finger.
Then an arm covered in black armor reaches through the opening.
The pressure filling the monastery is far stronger than Malrec's.
Far stronger than mine.
A man pulls himself onto the platform.
His armor is broken and rusted.
A sword remains buried through the center of his chest.
Dark chains extend from his back into the pit below.
His face is hidden behind a cracked metal mask.
One eye glows red through the opening.
The other burns with the same purple light as the Mark in my palm.
A message fills my vision.
A compatible Mark has been detected.
World Raider designation confirmed.
Status: Failed.
The figure turns toward me.
The eye in my palm opens completely.
Pain runs through my arm.
The failed World Raider tilts his head.
When he speaks, his voice sounds as though several people are trapped inside it.
"The Reaper sent another one."
Aldric raises every ward in the monastery.
Thousands of blue symbols ignite.
The man ignores them.
His purple eye remains fixed on me.
"Tell me," he says, pulling against the chains attached to his body. "Did he promise you a second life too?"
END OF CHAPTER 9