At dawn, the camp changed.
Not with trumpets. Not with blood.
With silence.
With the way people straightened when Ares passed.
With the way conversations stopped mid-sentence when his gaze swept through them.
With the way no one looked to Bellamy anymore without glancing at Ares first.
It wasn't a coup.
It was order.
Clarke moved through camp like normal—checking wounds, rationing supplies, running lists—but those who'd watched her the night before noticed the difference.
Her eyes followed Ares now. Not suspiciously. Not fearfully.
Anchored.
Ares said nothing about the bond.
He didn't need to.
SYSTEM UPDATE:Bond Integration – Clarke Griffin (Complete)
Emotional Sync: 78 %
Subject Instinctively Aligns Host's Leadership in Moral & Tactical Matters.
Passive Boost: +1 Intelligence while linked in proximity.
The system whispered deeper data—details it hadn't revealed before.
[Blood of the Gods — Active Bonds: 1]
Function: Divine Imprint of Loyalty.
Description: Bonded subjects experience rewired neurochemistry and psychic imprinting.
Host's survival becomes intrinsic to subject's sense of self.
Betrayal equals self-destruction.
Obedience equals purpose.
Devotion equals bliss.
Loyalty: Absolute.
Ares stared at the glowing text.
Divine imprint.
Soul-level control.
He could feel Clarke's pulse, faint and steady in the back of his mind—like a heartbeat beneath his own.
He didn't smile.
He simply understood what this meant.
The world was full of chaos.
He had just found its cure.
Kael stood guard at the perimeter—motionless, vigilant. The aberrant's obedience was pure instinct now; his eyes tracked movement with predatory stillness.
Octavia approached before midday, arms crossed.
"Clarke looks at you different," she said.
"Everyone does."
"You bonded with her, didn't you?"
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
Octavia's expression shifted—less envy, more curiosity. She wanted to understand the power she'd witnessed.
"I want to fight," she said. "Not stand behind my brother. Not just survive. I want to matter."
"You already do."
"Then make me more."
SYSTEM PROMPT:Bond Opportunity Detected
Subject: Octavia Blake
Compatibility: 89 %
Psych Profile: High aggression, emotional isolation, craving recognition.
Optimal Bonding Conditions: Shared trust after combat or personal test.
"You'll get your chance," Ares said. "Tonight."
The King's Command
By afternoon, the delinquents gathered around him. No ceremony, no questions—just expectation.
"We build now," Ares said. "Not just walls—command.
We assign roles. We form structure. We make survival predictable."
He pointed toward the crowd.
"Monroe. Miller. Harper. You're scouts. Octavia leads."
(Murmurs rippled.)
"Clarke handles health and logistics.
Atom, you manage discipline. Bellamy, you assist him."
Bellamy's jaw flexed but he stayed silent.
That silence was the victory.
SYSTEM TRIGGER:Domain Formed – Camp Drakon Established
Bonus Activated: Organized Structure — Morale +10 %, Loyalty Boost among new recruits, +15 % XP gain for successful missions.
New Menu Unlocked: Domain Management.
When the meeting ended, Clarke approached, arms folded tight.
"You really think they'll follow a chain of command?"
"They already are."
"That's not luck," she said. "That's control."
"That's survival," he corrected. "Leadership is just control people choose to believe in."
She watched him for a long moment.
Then nodded. "I can work with that."
Trial Run
That evening, the scout team left—Octavia at point, Monroe and Miller on her flanks.
They returned at sunset with small game and no casualties.
Ares waited by the fire.
"You did well."
"Told you I could be more," Octavia said, smirking.
He stepped closer. "You will be."
The air between them tightened—an unspoken challenge, not tenderness.
Night fell. The fire dimmed.
Octavia came to his tent in silence.
Neither spoke.
The system pulsed once.
SYSTEM ALERT:Blood of the Gods – Activated
Subject: Octavia Blake
Stat Transfer: 15 % of Host Stats
Status: Loyal (Fierce)
New Ability: Shadowstep — Enhanced stealth, reflex, and proximity awareness.
Bond Trait: Subject fights with doubled aggression when Host is threatened.
Team Effect: Bonded Allies gain increased coordination within 50 m radius.
He opened his eyes before dawn.
Two bonds. Two souls rewritten.
Each heartbeat in camp now pulsed in rhythm with his own.
He could feel it—the faint hum of devotion, the invisible web drawing them all inward.
They didn't just obey him anymore.
They belonged to him.
Beyond the perimeter, Grounders gathered in the shadows, spears glinting in torchlight, watching the strange new order that had taken root where chaos once ruled.
Let them come.
The sky had already fallen.
And the king had already risen.