---
The pendant's magic wraps around us like a second skin.
Lyara's gift is extraordinary—we move through the shadows like ghosts, invisible to the guards pacing the walls above. I can feel its power draining slowly, a timer ticking in the back of my mind.
{Pendant Charge: 58 minutes remaining}
**{Use wisely.}}\]
Fifty-eight minutes to infiltrate, rescue Aelira, and escape. Against fifty-plus guards, detection wards, and unknown magical defenses.
No pressure.
Lilith presses close beside me, her wings folded tight to avoid catching the light. Fenris crouches on my other side, Shadow and the pack spread out behind us, hidden in the treeline. The wolves are our contingency—if things go wrong, they cause chaos.
If things go really wrong, they die buying us time.
I push that thought away. Focus on the mission.
{Prison Layout Confirmed:}
{Main gate: Guarded by 4, plus 2 archers in towers}
{Side entrance: Unlocked, but warded with detection magic}
{Sewer access: Open, but disgusting and possibly trapped}
{Wall breach: Eastern wall has a crack from old damage, too small for most, but Fenris...}
I look at the boy. At his leaner, wolf-like form.
"Think you can fit through a crack in the wall?"
He studies the eastern face, eyes calculating. "Maybe. Shadow could come with me. We're both... smaller than we look."
{Primal Fenrir: Shape adaptation}
{Can temporarily compress body to fit through tight spaces}
{Duration: Limited by stamina}
{Risk: Moderate}
It's risky. But the sewers are a deathtrap, and the main gate is suicide.
"Alright. Plan A: Fenris and Shadow slip through the breach, find Aelira's cell, unlock it." I hand him a small pouch of tools—lockpicks I've carried since my mercenary days. "Lilith and I go through the side entrance. Pendant hides us from the wards. We cause a distraction on the other side of the prison, draw guards away from you."
Fenris nods, focused. "And if something goes wrong?"
"Then the wolves cause chaos. All of them. We fight our way out together." I meet his eyes. "But nothing's going wrong. We're professionals."
He snorts. "You're a mercenary who died a week ago."
"Exactly. Professional."
Lilith smothers a laugh. Even Fenris cracks a smile.
{Party Morale: High}
{Bond bonuses active}
{Soulmate Link: Lilith and Kael sharing sensory information}
{Pack Link: Fenris connected to wolves}
{Let's move.}
---
We split at the base of the cliff.
Fenris and Shadow vanish into darkness, heading for the eastern wall. I watch them go, heart pounding. He's just a kid. A powerful kid, sure, but still a kid. If anything happens—
Trust him.
Lilith's voice in my mind—warm, steady. The Soulmate Bond lets her feel my fear.
He's strong. You made him strong. Now let him prove it.
I take a breath. Nod.
She squeezes my hand. Then we move toward the side entrance.
---
The door is unremarkable—wood and iron, set into the cliff face, probably used for supply deliveries. But I can feel the magic radiating from it. Detection wards, keyed to alert the guards if anything non-human passes through.
{Wards detected: Life-sign classification}
{Differentiates between human and demi-human life force}
{Lyara's pendant: Masking as human}
{Passage: Safe}
We press through. The wards shimmer as we pass, sensing something, but the pendant holds. A moment later, we're inside.
The prison corridor stretches before us—torch-lit, damp, smelling of rot and despair. Cells line both sides, their occupants hidden in shadow. Some stir as we pass. Others are too broken to move.
My jaw tightens.
Later. Save them later. Focus on Aelira first.
Lilith's hand on my arm, guiding me. She can feel the life forces through her Succubus senses—knows which cells hold the strongest presences. Aelira will be one of them.
{Cell Block C: Ahead}
{Guard presence: Light - shift change in progress}
{Opportunity window: 10 minutes}
We move.
---
Fenris slides through the crack like water.
Shadow follows, his lean body compressing in ways that shouldn't be possible. On the other side, they land in a storage room—old crates, broken equipment, dust.
{Location: Cell Block B storage}
{Guards: None currently}
{Distance to Aelira's cell: 2 levels down}
He presses his ear to the door. Listening. The wolves outside are his eyes—he can feel their positions, their alertness. No alarms yet.
Big brother? He thinks the words, unsure if they'll travel through the Pack Bond.
A moment later, warmth. Kael's presence in his mind.
I'm here, kid. What's your status?
Inside. Moving down.
Good. We're at Block C. Starting distraction in five. Be ready.
Ready.
Fenris grins—a wolf's grin, sharp and eager. Then he opens the door and slips into the darkness.
---
"Now."
Lilith's aura flares.
Not the gentle version—the aggressive one. Succubus Queen's Aura, tuned to fear and confusion. It floods through Cell Block C, washing over the guards like a wave of primal dread.
They stumble. Grab their weapons. Look around wildly for an enemy that isn't there.
One screams—a man, breaking under the psychic pressure.
"Intruders! INTRUDERS!"
Perfect.
{Distraction: Successful}
{Guards converging on Block C}
{Fenris: Path clear to lower levels}
We slip past the chaos, invisible, untouchable. The pendant hides us from the guards' frantic searches. Lilith's aura keeps them disoriented.
{Cell Block D: Maximum security}
{Aelira's location confirmed}
{Guard presence: 2 at her cell specifically}
{Wards: Personal containment field}
{Difficulty: High}
Two guards. A containment field. And somewhere in this prison, a warden who's probably already been alerted.
We don't have much time.
---
The cell is at the end of a long corridor.
I see her before she sees us.
Aelira.
She's younger than I expected—early twenties, maybe, in human terms. Her silver hair is matted with blood. Her robes are torn, revealing bruises and older scars. But her eyes... her eyes are fierce. Silver, like her mother's, burning with defiance even now.
She's kneeling in her cell, facing away from the door, her posture proud despite everything.
The guards flank the entrance—bored, complacent. They don't expect trouble down here.
They're about to be surprised.
Lilith touches my mind. Together?
Together.
We move.
---
The first guard never sees me coming.
My blade takes him in the throat—clean, silent, merciful. He drops without a sound. Lilith has the second before he can react, her hand over his mouth, her power draining the life from him in seconds.
{Soul Drain: Silent elimination}
{Guards neutralized}
{No alarm raised}
{Yet.}
I'm at the cell door in seconds. The containment ward glows faintly—different from the others. Stronger.
{Analysis: Personal ward keyed to Aelira's bloodline}
{Cannot be bypassed by standard methods}
{Requires: Blood sample from immediate family}
{Alternative: Raw power (500+ mana)}
{Your mana: 134}
Damn.
Aelira turns at the sound. Her silver eyes widen—first at the dead guards, then at me, then at Lilith. Taking us in. Assessing.
"Who—"
"Your mother sent us." I cut to the chase. "Lyara. She said to tell you she loves you and she's sorry she couldn't come herself."
Something cracks in that fierce expression. For just a moment, she's not a prisoner—she's a daughter, missing her mother.
"Lyara," she whispers. "She's alive?"
"Alive and waiting. But we need to get you out of here first." I gesture at the ward. "Can't break it. Need your mother's blood, or five hundred mana. I've got a hundred and thirty."
Aelira's eyes sharpen. "I have mana. Not much—they've been draining me—but maybe enough if we combine."
{Proposed: Combined mana burst}
{Kael: 134 + Aelira: estimated 80 = 214}
{Still insufficient: Need 500}
{Alternative: Soulmate Bond sharing}
{Lilith can contribute through bond}
{Kael + Lilith + Aelira = 134 + 290 + 80 = 504}
{Barely sufficient}
"Lilith." I don't need to explain. She's already moving, pressing against me, her hand finding mine.
{Soulmate Bond: Mana sharing active}
{Kael's mana: 134 + 290 (borrowed) = 424}
{Aelira: Contribute now!}
She understands. Presses her palm against the ward from inside. Her mana flows—weak, but present.
{Total: 504/500}
{Threshold reached}
{Bursting ward in 3... 2... 1...}
The ward shatters.
Light explodes. Alarms blare. Somewhere in the prison, bells start ringing.
{Alert: Prison-wide alarm triggered}
{All guards responding}
{Estimated time to location: 3 minutes}
{MOVE.}
---
The cell door swings open.
Aelira stumbles out. Lilith catches her, supports her. The elf is weak—too weak—but her eyes are clear.
"Can you run?" I ask.
"I can try."
"Good enough." I grab her other arm. "We're getting out of here. Fenris—where are you?"
{Pack Bond: Response}
{Fenrir: Coming up from lower levels. Three guards down. Found others.}
Others?
He emerges from the stairwell a moment later—and behind him, a flood of prisoners. Demi-humans of every kind. Elves, Beast-kin, even a pair of Dwarves. They're gaunt, wounded, but free.
"Big brother!" Fenris bounds toward us, eyes bright. "I found them. They were in the lower cells. I couldn't just leave them—"
"You did good, kid." I ruffle his hair, then turn to the crowd. "Listen up! There's an exit through the eastern storage room—crack in the wall. It's tight, but you can make it. Fenris will guide you. The wolves outside will protect you. GO!"
They move.
Not all of them—some are too weak, too broken. But most stagger toward freedom, hope kindling in their eyes.
Aelira watches them go, then looks at me. "You're letting them escape? All of them?"
"That's the idea."
"But... you don't even know them."
"I know they're in cages. That's enough."
She stares at me. Something shifts in her expression—recognition, maybe. Understanding.
"You're him," she whispers. "The one my mother spoke of. The Architect."
{Aelira: Compatibility detected}
{Species: High Elf}
{Compatibility: 91%}
{Note: High Elves require Soul Bond for full Harmonization}
{Aelira is of age. Future potential detected.}
I file that away for later. Right now—
Shouts. Heavy footsteps. Guards, converging on our position.
"Go!" I push Aelira toward the stairs. "Fenris, get them out! Lilith and I will hold them off."
"No!" Aelira grabs my arm. "You'll die—"
"We'll be right behind you. Now MOVE."
Fenris hesitates for one heartbeat—then nods, grabs Aelira, and runs.
The prisoners flood after them.
Leaving me and Lilith alone in the corridor as the first guards round the corner.
---
{Combat: Initiated}
{Enemies: 8 guards, 2 officers, 1 mage}
{Party: Kael (78 STR, 134 MANA), Lilith (318 combat power)}
{Soulmate Bond: Active (+30% stats)}
{Odds: Even}
"Together?" Lilith's eyes blaze gold.
"Together."
We charge.
---
The fight is brutal.
Lilith is a whirlwind—wings, claws, draining touch. She takes down three guards before they can react, their life forces feeding her strength. I'm slower, less graceful, but my sword finds flesh and my new regeneration seals minor wounds as they come.
{Kill confirmed: +50 points}
{Kill confirmed: +50 points}
{Damage taken: 45 HP}
{Regeneration: +5 HP per minute}
{Lilith drain: Restoring health}
The mage is the real threat.
He hangs back, chanting, his hands gathering fire. I see the spell forming—a fireball big enough to take out the whole corridor.
"Lilith—!"
She's already moving.
Her wings carry her forward faster than he can react. Her hand closes around his throat. Her eyes blaze.
Soul Drain.
The mage screams—once—then crumples, his magic fizzling into nothing.
{Elite enemy defeated: +200 points}
{Mana restored: Lilith +50}
But more guards are coming. I can hear them—dozens of them, pounding down the stairs.
"We need to go. NOW."
Lilith grabs my hand. We run.
---
The eastern storage room is chaos.
Prisoners squeeze through the crack one by one, Fenris guiding them, Shadow and the other wolves pulling the weak ones through. Aelira is already outside—I catch a glimpse of her silver hair through the gap.
"Kael!" Fenris waves frantically. "They're almost through! Come on!"
Behind us, the door bursts open. Guards pour in.
Lilith spins, her aura flaring. Fear hits them—but they're too many, too determined. They push through.
"GO!" I shove Lilith toward the crack. "I'm right behind you!"
She hesitates—one terrible second of refusal—then trusts me and goes.
{Soulmate Bond: Trust confirmed}
{Lilith exits}
{Fenris exits}
{Last prisoners exit}
{Guards: 20 feet away}
{You: 10 feet from crack}
I run.
An arrow whistles past my ear. Another grazes my shoulder—pain, blood, but I keep moving. The crack is right there. I can see moonlight through it. Freedom.
I dive.
Stone scrapes my sides, tears my clothes, but I squeeze—and then I'm through, tumbling onto grass, gasping, alive.
Lilith catches me. Pulls me up.
"Run," I gasp. "They'll follow—"
"Let them." Fenris's voice is cold. "Shadow. Now."
The alpha howls.
From the darkness, eight Dire Wolves surge forward—not toward us, but toward the crack. Toward the guards trying to squeeze through.
The first guard emerges. Shadow takes his arm off.
The second screams as two wolves drag him back into the hole.
The rest hesitate. Pull back. The crack is too narrow for more than one at a time, and the wolves are waiting.
{Escape: Successful}
{Prison break: Complete}
{Casualties: 0}
{Rescued: 23 prisoners}
{Bonus: Aelira saved}
{Quest Complete: Rescue Aelira}
{Rewards: 2000 System Points, Lyara's Alliance, Sanctuary Wards unlocked}
I slump against a tree, breathing hard. Lilith collapses beside me, her wings trembling with exhaustion. Fenris falls to his knees, panting.
Around us, the rescued prisoners weep, laugh, pray. Free. All of them, free.
And standing over us, silver eyes wet with tears, is Aelira.
"Thank you," she whispers. "Thank you for not leaving us."
I manage a tired grin. "Told you. No one gets left behind."
She kneels beside me. Takes my hand. Presses it to her forehead—an ancient gesture, I realize. Elven. Sacred.
"I am Aelira, daughter of Lyara, last princess of the High Elves." Her voice shakes, but steadies. "You have my life debt. My loyalty. My everything. Ask what you will, and if it is in my power, it is yours."
{Aelira: Bond Level 8 achieved}
{Life Debt: Special bond}
{Compatibility confirmed: 91%}
{Future Harmonization possible when she's ready}
I squeeze her hand. "Just stay alive. That's all I ask."
She smiles—the first real smile I've seen on her—and it transforms her face.
"I can do that."
---
{System Broadcast: Sanctuary Progress}
{Current population:}
{- Lilith (Primal Lilim)}
{- Fenris (Primal Fenrir)}
{- Aelira (High Elf Princess)}
{- 23 rescued prisoners (various races)}
{- 8 Dire Wolves}
{New quest: Return to Lyara}
{Reward: Ancient Knowledge, Sanctuary Wards}
{Then: Build your kingdom.}
I look at my family—bloodied, exhausted, free.
"We're going home," I tell them. "All of us. To the valley. To build something the Empire can never touch."
Lilith leans against me. Fenris grins. Aelira watches with wonder in her eyes.
Behind us, the prison burns.
Ahead, the future waits.
---
End of Chapter 6