The dawn sky bled red as the barrier came into view, its chains twisting like serpents against the canyon walls. Each link glowed with a harsh, pulsing light that seemed to breathe. The air smelled of ozone and something older, almost rotten. Even from the ridge, the Red Fang warriors felt the magic's weight pressing on their chests.
Reid stepped to the edge, eyes locked on the barrier. The shard under his armor pulsed in rhythm with the runes. His arm ached where the black veins spread, but he ignored it. "We go through," he said, his voice low.
Kaela's spear tip scraped against stone as she tightened her grip. "You realize what's waiting past that wall."
He gave her a short nod. "I do."
Lira tilted her head, smirking as always. "Guess I'll follow the crazy guy into hell, then. Wouldn't want to miss the show."
Mara checked the fletching on her arrows, voice clipped. "Stay sharp. Those glyphs are hungry. They'll drain mana and life if they touch you."
The Bond's whisper crept through Reid's thoughts, almost a purr. "Let them try. Their chains are mine to break."
Without waiting for further words, Reid took the first step into the barrier's outer field. The others followed.
The world changed as soon as they crossed the invisible threshold. The air thickened, every breath like swallowing liquid. The light dimmed unnaturally, as if the barrier itself drank in the dawn. Each step dragged against them, stealing their strength.
Kaela gritted her teeth. "It's pulling the mana right out of us."
Lira's movements slowed, yet her grin never faded. "Still walking. Still breathing. That's enough."
Mara's voice came strained. "The runes—they're focusing on Reid. It's feeding on him."
The Bond hummed in satisfaction. "They're afraid. They should be."
Dark energy sparked at Reid's feet, clashing with the glowing glyphs. Sparks jumped between chains, and the magic shrieked like something alive. The first anchor point loomed ahead, glowing brighter with each step.
The pillar rose from the canyon floor, wrapped in layers of chains that writhed like they felt his presence. Council soldiers waited around it, weapons drawn, their armor glowing faintly from reinforcement runes.
Kaela tightened her stance. "Here they come!"
The soldiers charged, unleashing a storm of mana bolts. Reid darted through, Veil Rend cutting attacks out of the air. Kaela's spearwork held the front line, Lira danced through the chaos, and Mara's arrows found weak spots in their armor.
The Bond's laughter vibrated inside Reid's skull. "Pathetic. Tear them apart."
The last guard fell, and Reid drove his blade into the anchor. Corruption surged down the weapon, twisting into the chains. The glyphs screamed, their light bursting in a violent flash before shattering completely.
System prompt:
[Anchor Destroyed – Barrier Weakening]
[Corruption Surge Detected]
Reid staggered, breath sharp, veins glowing faintly. Kaela caught his arm. "You're burning up."
He pulled free, voice hard. "One down. Two more."
The barrier didn't take the loss of its first anchor quietly. It howled across the canyon, a chorus of grinding metal and magic tearing at the air. The light along the chains pulsed erratically, as though the barrier itself had gone mad. Bolts of energy lashed out at the ground, leaving scorched craters.
Kaela shielded her face from a blast of heat. "It's getting stronger!"
Reid's glow intensified as he steadied his stance. "Then we break it before it breaks us."
The Bond's voice slithered through his head, no longer calm but exultant. "Yes… more. Feed me their strength."
The mist thickened ahead, and silhouettes emerged—more council soldiers, this time armored in blackened steel laced with glowing glyphs. Behind them, robed casters wove mana into the chains, keeping the barrier alive. Each chant made the air heavier.
Mara fired first, her arrow cutting down a chanter mid-incantation. "Casters first!" she yelled.
Lira charged without hesitation, weaving between the soldiers like a phantom. Kaela blocked a heavy blow meant for Reid, twisting and countering with precision. Reid cut forward, his blade carving bursts of black energy that chewed through reinforced armor.
The soldiers fell, but their formation slowed the advance. The chains hissed, lashing out like living things. One wrapped around Lira's leg, dragging her toward the anchor.
"Lira!" Kaela cried, spearing the chain and snapping it free.
The Bond laughed low in Reid's mind. "They're desperate. Good."
The second pillar loomed ahead, its runes glowing so brightly they hurt to look at. Casters surrounded it, hands raised high as they poured energy into the chains. The hum was deafening.
Reid sprinted ahead, cutting down soldiers as he climbed onto the platform. Every step burned as the magic fought him, sapping his strength. Kaela and Lira followed, striking down the last defenders, while Mara's arrows disrupted the spellcasters one by one.
The pillar fought back when he reached it. Chains whipped around his arms, burning hot and cold at once, leeching energy directly from the shard. The Bond's roar filled his head. "Do not let them bind us. Tear it apart!"
With a roar, Reid wrenched free, driving Veil Rend deep into the pillar's core. Darkness surged up the blade and exploded outward, shattering the glyphs in a flash of light and shadow. The blast hurled him back, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.
System prompt:
[Anchor Destroyed – Barrier Critically Weakened]
[Bond Synchronization Rising]
Kaela knelt beside him, gripping his shoulder. "You're falling apart."
Reid forced himself up, his arm trembling but steady. "Not yet. One left."
The barrier's scream rose, shaking the canyon walls as its light burned like a dying star. The final anchor waited.
The barrier's last anchor towered like a fortress at the heart of the canyon, its glow so intense it turned night into crimson day. Energy roared around it, chains whipping through the air with a will of their own. Each lash cracked the ground and sent shockwaves through the defenders.
Kaela wiped blood from her cheek, eyes narrowing. "It's pulling everything the barrier has left into that point."
Reid's veins burned, black lines spreading beneath his skin as the shard throbbed violently. "Then we take it now."
The Bond's voice surged, no longer a whisper but a commanding presence. "Strike, host. Claim what's ours."
Council elites ringed the anchor, their armor infused with living glyphs that shimmered with protective light. Behind them, a circle of master casters chanted, their voices rising in an oppressive hymn that strengthened the chains. The ground itself seemed to resist every step forward.
Lira grinned despite the weight pressing down on her. "Guess they saved the best for last."
Mara's arrows lit up the sky, each shot disrupting the hymn's rhythm, creating cracks in the magic. "Break their circle, and the rest falls apart!"
Kaela charged with a shout, spear striking with blinding speed, while Reid tore into the elites head-on. Their defenses held longer than expected; every strike he landed rebounded with magical backlash. The Bond snarled in frustration. "Push harder. Do not let them stand."
Reid unleashed a surge of power, Veil Rend crackling with dark energy that shattered their guard one by one. Kaela and Lira carved a path while Mara silenced the last caster with a precise arrow through the chest.
The anchor's runes faltered, exposing the core.
Reid climbed the pillar under a storm of energy lashes, each strike burning against his skin. The shard's power roared through him, twisting pain into strength. At the top, the core pulsed like a living heart, radiating unstable magic.
The Bond filled his mind completely, voice layered and resonant. "This is the end of their cage. Strike now."
With a roar that shook the canyon, Reid plunged Veil Rend into the core. The explosion was instantaneous—light and shadow tore across the canyon, shredding the chains as the barrier's scream drowned out everything else. The anchor erupted, fragments spinning skyward like falling stars.
Reid crashed to the ground, body wracked with pain. The black glow of corruption flared, spreading briefly before settling under his skin. Kaela reached him first, voice breaking. "Reid! Stay with me!"
He coughed, forcing himself to his feet. Above them, the crimson light faded, revealing a clear sky for the first time in days. The Red Fang erupted in cheers, though many stared at him with a mix of awe and fear.
System prompt:
[Main Objective Complete – Barrier Destroyed]
[Hidden Effect: Corruption Stage Three Achieved]
Kaela's eyes searched his face. "You're changing too fast. This power is eating you alive."
Reid stood tall, expression unreadable. "Then let it. Nothing will stop us now."
The Bond purred with dark satisfaction. "And so it begins."
The canyon lay silent except for the wind carrying away the ashes of shattered chains.