The gates slammed open with a metallic groan, spilling a wave of cold air that smelled of rust and ozone. The streets beyond were empty, yet alive—chains slithered along walls and across rooftops like predators waiting for prey. The city whispered. Every step Reid took made the runes in the chains flare, and the voices in his head sharpened, almost forming words.
Kaela moved beside him, spear raised. "Stay close. This city isn't abandoned—it's hunting us."
Lira tilted her head, watching the chains coil above. "Creepy. Love it."
Mara kept her bow drawn, scanning every shadow. "No civilians, no guards. Only those… things. It's a trap."
The Bond murmured, almost mocking. "Not a trap. A test. They want to see if you're worthy of what sleeps beneath."
Reid said nothing, but the corruption under his skin pulsed in response to the city's whispers. The blue light from the chains reflected in his eyes, mixing with the black veins crawling up his neck.
As they advanced deeper, the streets shifted. Stones rearranged themselves, forming narrow paths and dead ends where there were none before. The city moved, guiding them toward something.
Kaela hissed under her breath. "It's herding us."
Reid pressed forward. "Then we follow. Whatever's at the center, that's what this is all about."
A shriek tore through the silence. From the walls, chainbound sentinels dropped down, their bodies twisted and hollow-eyed. Smaller chains writhed from their armor, lashing out with unnatural speed.
Lira smirked, spinning her blades. "Finally. Something to cut."
Mara loosed an arrow, piercing one's chest. The sentinel didn't fall; it kept moving, chain-whips striking the air. "Headshots," Mara muttered, nocking another arrow.
Kaela engaged the first wave, her spear cracking through chain-armor joints. Reid stepped into the fray, Veil Rend glowing with a mix of darkness and blue energy. Each swing cut not just metal, but the runes binding the creatures together. They fell in bursts of light and ash.
The Bond's tone was unnervingly calm. "These are fragments of the chains' will. They want to stop you, but they also want you to understand them."
As the last sentinel dissolved, the streets fell silent again—only the whispering chains remained.
The Red Fang regrouped in an empty square, the glow from the chains casting eerie patterns on their faces. Warriors exchanged uneasy glances; even the bravest looked shaken.
Kaela wiped sweat from her brow. "These things don't die easy. Every fight's getting harder."
Reid leaned against a wall briefly, visions flashing behind his eyes—chains wrapping around gods, ancient battles under a bleeding sky. The whispers grew louder, one voice emerging clearer than the rest. Come deeper.
Lira noticed his distant stare. "You okay there, hero? You're zoning out more than usual."
Mara narrowed her eyes. "He's hearing them again."
Reid's jaw tightened. "They're not just voices. They're memories. These chains… they've seen everything."
The Bond growled softly, for once not mocking. "Do not let them drown you in their past. You are not their history—you are their future."
Far above, Selene watched from the tower, her voice a whisper to the unseen figures behind her. "He's inside. The relic heart is waking."
The figures shifted in the shadows, their voices like wind through dead leaves. "Then the seal will break."
Selene smiled faintly. "Exactly."
The streets led to a massive courtyard where a single chain as thick as a tree trunk rose into the sky, connecting to the central tower. Blue runes pulsed along its length, each one humming with an otherworldly rhythm. The whispers in Reid's head were no longer faint—they were a chorus, speaking directly to him in words he couldn't ignore.
Kaela stepped closer to him. "What do they want from you?"
Reid's voice was low. "Everything."
The Bond hissed, almost possessive. "Do not give it. Take what you need, and destroy the rest."
From the shadows of the courtyard, the ground trembled. Another guardian rose—larger than the last, its chains glowing with blue fire. The air warped around it, distorting the space between them.
Reid raised his blade, eyes locked on the towering figure. "This is where it starts."
System prompt:
[Objective: Defeat the Flamebound Guardian]
[Optional Objective: Resist the Chains' Will]
The guardian roared, and the chains of the city stirred like a storm.
The guardian's chains burned with blue fire, the heat radiating across the courtyard like a furnace. Sparks scattered with every movement, and the ground beneath its steps turned black. It raised a hand, and flames shaped like chains coiled around its arm before lashing toward the Red Fang.
Kaela shouted, "Spread out! Don't let it catch you!"
Lira rolled aside as a flaming chain struck where she stood, the impact sending shards of stone flying. "That thing's got reach. Watch your backs."
Mara's arrows streaked through the heat, piercing the glowing joints between the chains. Each hit dimmed a rune, but the flames burned hotter in response. "It's feeding on its own damage!" she yelled.
Reid charged, Veil Rend crackling with a fusion of darkness and relic blue. The Bond's voice rose, firm and commanding. "Strike at its heart, host. Its fire is not real—it is the chain's memory of burning."
The guardian swung a massive chain arm, forcing Reid to duck and counter. Sparks ignited as his blade met the chain, slicing through one link. The severed piece exploded into blue fire, scorching his arm. Pain flared, but he pressed on, driving forward.
Kaela and Lira coordinated, attacking from opposite sides to draw its focus. The guardian turned with unnatural speed, chains spiraling around it like a vortex. The air shimmered with heat, distorting their view.
Lira shouted over the roar. "We're not breaking it fast enough!"
Reid gritted his teeth as another vision slammed into his mind—gods screaming in fire, chains binding a colossal shadow. The whispers of the city roared louder, urging him to let go. His vision warped, edges turning blue.
The Bond snarled. "Hold, host. Do not give in. Use it—do not become it."
Reid steadied himself and roared, channeling both shard corruption and relic energy through Veil Rend. The blade flared, cutting through a burning chain with a burst of power. The guardian staggered, runes flickering.
Kaela seized the opening, thrusting her spear into a glowing rune near its chest. Lira vaulted off its arm, driving both blades deep into the joint at its neck. Mara's final arrow struck the rune at the back of its head, detonating in a flare of blue fire.
The guardian howled, chains flailing wildly as it burned from the inside out. Blue fire erupted across its body, and the courtyard filled with searing heat. Reid leapt onto its chest, plunging Veil Rend into the heart rune. Darkness and blue light exploded together, tearing through the creature in a shockwave that shattered the square's stones.
When the light faded, only scorched chains remained, twitching faintly before turning to ash. The air smelled of burnt metal and something older—magic stripped bare.
System prompt:
[Flamebound Guardian Defeated – Path to the Inner Tower Opened]
[Hidden Effect: Relic Fire Integrated into the Shard]
Reid stood amid the ash, his veins now glowing with streaks of blue flame. The whispers quieted, but a single voice lingered, speaking a word he almost understood. His head pounded.
Kaela approached, her voice tight. "You're burning up."
He met her gaze, eyes glowing faintly. "I can control it."
The Bond's tone was softer than usual, almost wary. "For now."
The inner tower loomed ahead, its chains glowing brighter than ever.
The inner tower rose like a black spire against the burning sky, its surface wrapped in chains that pulsed with both blue and red runes. Each pulse sent ripples through the air, distorting the courtyard. The whispers that had been a chorus now became distinct voices, murmuring fragments of memories and commands.
Kaela scanned the structure, gripping her spear tightly. "That's not just a tower. It feels alive."
Lira whistled low, her smirk tempered by caution. "Alive or not, we're climbing it."
Mara's eyes narrowed on the glowing runes. "Those chains are binding something inside. Whatever it is, the council wants it locked away."
The Bond's voice slid through Reid's thoughts, quiet but sharp. "Not locked away—imprisoned. And they used these chains because they fear what's inside."
Reid stepped forward, the blue flames flickering faintly in his veins. The tower's chains reacted to his presence, tightening around the spire with a metallic screech. "Then we're going to see what they fear."
The entrance yawned open as they approached, the doors splitting apart without being touched. Inside, the air was thick with power. Runes glowed on every wall, shifting patterns that seemed to follow their movement. The staircase spiraled upward, disappearing into darkness.
Kaela moved first, leading the way. "Stay close. If the building reacts like the streets, we're in for surprises."
Chains slithered along the walls, some snapping out like snakes. Lira sliced one mid-strike, its pieces dissolving into sparks. "Yep. Called it."
Mara loosed arrows into moving glyphs, disrupting their glow and clearing a path. "They're trying to stall us."
The Bond whispered to Reid with unusual intensity. "The voices… they want you to climb. They crave your arrival as much as they fear it."
Reid's hand tightened on Veil Rend. "Then let's not keep them waiting."
Halfway up, they entered a vast chamber lined with mirrored chains. Each link reflected distorted images of themselves—Kaela's reflection bled shadow, Lira's grinned with jagged teeth, Mara's stood frozen like a puppet. Reid's reflection, however, burned with blue fire and darkness, its eyes hollow and endless.
Kaela shivered. "These aren't just reflections."
The Bond's tone turned low. "This is the chain's memory of you. Do not look too long, host."
Chains peeled off the mirrors, forming humanoid shapes that moved with eerie precision. The reflections attacked, mimicking their fighting styles but faster, stronger.
Lira laughed despite herself. "Fighting myself? Finally, someone on my level."
Kaela and Mara engaged their doubles, while Reid's flaming reflection clashed with him in a storm of energy. Each strike felt like striking his own thoughts—visions flashing with every hit. The whispers roared.
With a final surge, Reid drove his blade through the reflection's chest, shattering it into shards of light. The room stilled, the mirrors going dark.
Kaela breathed hard. "That… felt wrong."
Reid's voice was quiet. "The tower is testing us. The closer we get, the harder it'll try to break us."
The staircase resumed, but the air grew heavier. The whispers condensed into a single phrase, repeating in an ancient tongue. Reid almost understood it—Release us.
The Bond hissed, louder than before. "Do not listen. They are liars. Whatever they are, they deserve their prison."
Mara shot him a glance. "You're hearing them again, aren't you?"
Reid nodded once. "They want freedom. But I don't know what they are."
Lira shrugged with a dangerous smile. "Guess we'll find out the fun way."
At the top of the stairs, a massive door of glowing runes awaited. Chains coiled around it like snakes, their ends sinking into the walls. The whispers rose to a deafening pitch.
Reid stepped forward, placing a hand on the door. The runes flared, and the chains tightened.
System prompt:
[Objective: Break the Tower Seal]
[Hidden Objective: Decide the Fate of What Lies Within]
The Bond's voice trembled with something close to fear. "Host… think carefully before you open this."