Zone Ten was burning.
Liam stood at the canyon's edge, watching fire crawl along the ridgeline, smoke coiling into the sky like a warning. The ground trembled under his boots… not from raiders… but from what waited ahead. This was not a scavenger raid. This was not a test. This was war.
Behind him, eight wives moved through the ruins of Zone Nine's war camp, footsteps tapping against scorched stone, tension thick enough to choke on. Sorek was dead, the chains were quiet, but the aftermath had not settled… not with Kaelithra a few paces behind him, newest and sharpest, silent and watching.
He did not turn. He could feel her gaze on his back… hungry, challenging… almost amused.
Rena passed him, sword strapped tight, eyes on the smoldering horizon. "We do not get breaks anymore," she said. "Not at eight wives."
Liam said nothing.
Kaelithra's voice slid in, low and entertained. "Correction… eight, and rising. Unless you are getting cold feet, Overlord."
Sarya checked the fletching on a bolt, eyes down. "He will break you before you get that far."
Kaelith turned from the supply cache, tone flat. "You already lost once. Want a second."
Kaelithra's eyes glinted. "I was not trying."
"Enough," Liam said, and the word cut the camp clean.
Silence landed.
Vexa stepped out of shadow, knuckles cracking. "They will keep circling unless you remind them who leads."
Kaelyn rolled a dagger across her fingers, slow and deliberate. "We are all watching, Liam… make it count."
Ice Queen waited at the edge, arms folded, frost curling at her feet. Her voice was calm, and sharp. "You hold them… or you lose them."
Liam's hand found his sword hilt, not to draw, only to feel the weight of it… leadership, power, every bond forged in blood and will. He faced them.
"I did not fight to stand in a camp full of enemies."
Rena stepped in. "Then tell her," a glance at Kaelithra, "where she stands."
Kaelithra smiled, too sweet. "At his side. Maybe more."
Elyra drifted close, silver eyes warm. "Let her try. He always comes back to me."
"He belongs to no one," Vexa growled.
"I do not belong," Liam said, voice hard. "I lead. You stay if you can stand beside me, not tear each other apart."
The system struck like a drum.
> [System Alert]
Bond count, 7 of 99
Loyalty sync, 69 percent, tension rising
Conflict warning, Rena versus Elyra versus Kaelithra, high risk
Bond integrity, unstable
Buff summary, Duel Guard II (Rena), Veil's Insight (Elyra), Frost Dominion (Ice Queen), Blade Mastery II (Kaelith), Twin Synergy (Kaelithra), Unbreakable Core (Vexa), Trapfield (Sarya), Assassin's Reflex (Kaelyn)
Territory, Zone Nine secured
Zone Ten status, enemy Overlord detected, engagement imminent
Recommended action, assert bond hierarchy or prepare for loyalty break
Kaelithra stepped in front of him, eyes fixed. "You have collected warriors, but you have not claimed them. Not really." Her voice dropped, hot and close. "If you want to keep me, prove I am not just number eight."
Her fingers brushed his chestplate.
"Touch him again and I break your hand," Rena said, steady and lethal.
Kaelithra did not flinch.
Elyra laughed softly. "Careful, Rena… he likes it when we fight."
Ice Queen lifted a hand, frost gathering. "Or we can end this."
"We end it now," Liam said, moving into Kaelithra's space, gaze never leaving hers. "You want more than eight… earn it."
Her eyes gleamed. "I thought you would never ask."
The system pulsed, bright and cold.
> [System Alert]
Challenge triggered, bond hierarchy trial, Kaelithra
Trial type, submission by combat
Condition, physical domination, non lethal
Time limit, five minutes
Reward, loyalty stabilized, Twin Synergy upgrade
Failure, bond loss, severe loyalty drop
"Do not," Rena warned.
"This is mine," Liam said.
"Finally," Kaelithra breathed. "A real fight."
She struck first. Blade flashing, wrist snapping. Liam caught and twisted, forced her back. She dropped low, swept his legs. He stumbled… did not fall.
"You are quick," he said.
"I am better," she whispered.
They grappled. Dust kicked up as they slammed into stone. Her blade slid for his throat… he trapped it, turned her, pinned her shoulder to the wall. She laughed, breathless. "Stronger than I thought."
"I am in control," he said, tightening the hold.
Her breath hitched.
The system surged.
> [System Update]
Submission detected, bond loyalty secured
Twin Synergy, enhanced
Bond count, 8 of 99
Loyalty sync, 75 percent, stable
Warning, incoming signal, Zone Ten raid force approaching
Liam let her go.
Kaelithra dropped to one knee, grinning up at him. "Overlord."
Rena nodded once. "She is yours."
"For now," Elyra murmured.
"Do not forget it," Kaelith told her sister.
Ice Queen's gaze moved to the horizon. "Prepare. The next fight comes."
"Zone Ten," Liam said. "We take it."
They moved.
War did not wait for anyone.
---
Zone Ten was not like the others.
Liam stood on a ridge above a sunken fortress carved into the canyon floor. Its walls were split and sagging, overrun by black vines that pulsed with a faint crimson glow. A sick wind climbed the stone, carrying ash… and rot.
The wives fanned out behind him, watching, weighing.
Kaelithra crouched on a ledge, twin blades loose, gaze pinned to the warped gates. "Whatever lives here… bleeds darkness."
Sarya peered through her scope. "Raid force at least fifty. Something bigger in the core."
Kaelyn rolled her shoulders, daggers ready. "Feels wrong."
"Then we crush it," Vexa said.
Elyra slid to Liam's side, fingers ghosting his arm, eyes bright. "Old magic… twisted."
Ice Queen stepped forward, frost spilling down the slope. "Corrupted zone," she said. "It will not obey us… not until the Blight Heart is taken."
"What kind," Liam asked.
The system answered.
> [System Alert]
Zone Ten, corrupted
Blight Heart detected
Boss, Overlord Vorn, the Blightbound
Combat class, berserker and mage hybrid
Objective, defeat Vorn, purify the Blight Heart, stabilize the zone
Warning, bond instability risk, territory effects will weaken loyalty sync
Time limit, two hours, raid trigger
"Two hours," Liam said.
"Kill him now," Kaelithra grinned.
"We have not fought this," Rena said. "Not like this."
"Then it will be fun," Kaelith answered.
"If the Heart warps our power," Elyra said, voice softening, "we are vulnerable… especially the bonds."
Ice Queen nodded. "Cleanse it fast, or he will break our sync."
"And I thought the last raid was rough," Sarya muttered.
Liam lifted his sword. "We go in, we take Vorn, we cleanse the Heart. No mistakes."
Nods around him… some tense, some hungry.
"Let us see who kills more," Kaelithra told her sister.
"I do not compete," Kaelith said. "I finish."
"End him," Vexa rumbled.
Liam led the descent.
They entered the corrupted fortress.
---
Inside was worse.
Rot clung to the walls, vines twitching underfoot. Symbols glowed in the stone, red and wrong. The air was thick, hot, sick.
Liam pushed forward, sword humming with system light. Frost trailed behind him as Ice Queen damped the corruption, every breath colder, every step steadier.
A roar rolled through the halls.
"Vorn," Liam said.
They reached the central chamber.
The Blight Heart pulsed like a tumor in the ceiling, veins of crimson feeding a massive figure at the altar. Dark plates stitched into twisted flesh, eyes burning red, chains wrapped along both forearms. A greatsword, wet with shadow, breathed with him.
Vorn turned.
"You bring bonds into rot," he said, voice like cracking stone. "I will undo them."
"You can try," Liam answered.
Vorn raised his blade. "Die with them."
He charged.
The system struck.
> [System Alert]
Boss battle initiated, Overlord Vorn
Corruption active, all buffs reduced by twenty percent
Bond sync, draining
Recommended action, cleanse the Blight Heart during the battle
Reward, territory, core control, loyalty stabilization
Vexa met him first, fists and fury, catching the opening swing on raw strength. Rena slid in at Liam's shoulder, steel ringing. Kaelithra cut low. Kaelith cut high. Sarya's bolt cracked against a shoulder plate. Elyra's voice threaded the air, charm turned to focus. Ice Queen froze the ground, slowing Vorn's rush.
Liam drove in, sword to greatsword, light to black.
The impact shook the chamber.
"I break bonds," Vorn roared.
"Not mine," Liam growled, forcing him back a step… only a step.
The Blight Heart pulsed harder, red veins crawling across the floor. Buffs dipped. Sync bled.
"Heart first," Liam snapped, eyes never leaving Vorn. "Ice Queen, Sarya, give me a window."
"Understood," Ice Queen said, frost racing up the vines.
"On it," Sarya called, swapping to blightbreaking heads.
Kaelithra flashed behind Vorn, knives like lightning. Kaelith took the front, blades sparking. Vexa shouldered him sideways, a living wall. Rena's strike found a seam, bit deep, drew dark fire.
Elyra's whisper curled through Liam's ear, clear and ringing. "Now."
He saw the line, felt the opening.
They went for the Heart.
The fight had begun… and only one side would walk out.