A wave of sinister energy shot forward. The red tide moved like lightning, shooting from box to box. Each snap sounded off like cannon fire, binding the stone and revealing the dozens of enchantments hidden underneath.

When it reached our box the floating container jerked with an abrupt holt that sent things flying. I wrapped my tail around Arturous' leg and held my ground but the malicious mana wasn't done. A sharp trill was all the warning we received before the enchantments bloomed in my senses and burned in my vision.

The red energy consumed them, devouring the runes and leaving them hollow, malleable. In it's place, the lines turned amorphous and shifted into a new configuration.

Warning signs flared and I tried to shout but it was too late. The new runes stitched themselves together and gravity took hold, crashing the box toward the earth.

SLAM!

A barrier helped hold us together but Celanae strained as twelve bodies and a massive bear piled into the contained box. She let the first shatter, followed by the second, third and fourth. By the fifth our momentum was halted enough the stronger folks of the party dug in and pulled people up.

"Report!" Teddy commanded.

A series of affirmatives rang out, and I included my own.

"I'm good," I said.

"Us as well," Sereza said after helping Khrem to his feet.

"I'm not! Arturous stomped on my wrist," Isaac grunted.

I channeled mana into my skill and summoned Áine. Teddy had already started blasting his aura but I had my familiar take over and complete the job.

"Don't. I have more mana than you, keep yours in case you need it," I said.

Teddy nodded and he started summoning his gear. The others had already pulled out theirs, dawning their full kits. We were all dressed for battle within seconds, all of us except…

"Mother? Father?" Teddy asked. "Is something wrong?"

"We're being suppressed," Nathan replied, his voice strained. He raised his arms but the effort visibly tired him as he moved in slow motion. "Can't activate… Skills."

It wasn't just Teddy's parents. The king looked less encumbered, but hard lines etched the corners of his mouth. His arm trembled, yet he held his ground and forced himself to stand tall. When I glanced at Tyrrion, he looked completely unaffected by the curse. Strange, considering he was also a tier three.

Why-no. Later, focus on the now.

It didn't take long for the tier threes to figure out the anchor for the binding, all one had to do was look at their hands. Blood-red mana stitched itself like gossamer into their flesh, fusing the metal with their fingers.

Those on Broken Tower's digits were less intensely bound but mana held like glue and their attempts to pry the jewelry off met in failure. There suppression was less than the tier threes as well. With only some of their skills being offline versus the entirety of their skillsets.

Only those at tier one, including my own we're unrestrained. Or at least I thought so. When I was able to safely remove my ring, Sereza and Khrem failed the same as Broken Tower.

"What in the hells is this? Why is yours the only one not working?" Sereza growled.

"It's him, of course he's immune to this shit," Isaac snapped.

"I want a visual on my children," Allaron stated, voice cutting through the minor grunts of those trying to work themselves free.

"Your majesty, Protocol Zenistar is in effect. We must leave. Nathan and Anastasia will handle operation point from here and attempt the rescue," Tyrrion said.

"That's not possible and you know it. Don't bother with the protocol. I wan't to know what happened to my children."

"Allaron, he's right. We'll handle it from here, the best thing you can do is get somewhere safe. Once your secured we'll do everything in our power to rescue them, we swear. They're our family too."

The king showed true emotion for the first time as his mask finally cracked. The scowl that bit deep sent a static of mana from his eyes and into the crystalized bits of his hair. He shook his head and raised his hand.

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A small crystal started to form but it quickly shattered.

"It's no use, I'm bound," he groaned. The feedback hit him like a gutpunch but he weathered the strain and straightened. "Nathan, Anastasia. I need you to break free."

Nathan shook his head. "If you have an chainbreaker on you, use it yourself. There's no way this is effecting the entire city. Go out and gather help."

"I can't…"

"Oh stop being a fool, Al. We swore to you we got this, trust us. Besides, we have Tyrrion, we'll save them," Anastasia said.

Still the king didn't budge. Tyrrion stood beside him uncomfortably, his fists tight. He looked ready to shake the king but held himself back. Instead, he looked toward Teddy's parents and grimaced.

"I can't go with you."

"Cut the dragonshit, Tyrrion. Allaron's safer teleporting alone. Once he's there he can go to the bunker and teleport to Novranus. The king's safety is a priority but so is the bloodline," Anastasia scolded.

This time, Tyrrion matched the king in scowls and looked away.

I narrowed my eyes. Myol's words fluttered in as I examined the man and things started to click. Every little instance before the auction and after, filtered through and I stretched my senses, probing for something specific.

Come on, tell me I'm wrong…

When I failed to taste anything but the remnants of living earth and wild creation, I almost sighed in relief. Then Tyrrion grunted as Nathan placed his hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed. In that brief instance, the facade fell away and my senses entered deeper finding another impression, one shown to me an hour before.

Ah fuck.

"You can't can you," I muttered. All eyes turned to me and my shouldlers dropped. "Myol's right. She said the king would have you guarding one of the border cities. You're not even here right now."

"Cyrus?" Teddy asked, confusion evident.

I pointed toward the king who deeply sighed. "He showed us earlier. His ability to make perfect copies with blood and his skill. Able to perfectly match mana signatures and copy their skills. This isn't the real Tyrrion Solcrust. And he can't stay here and help because the king's mana is being suppressed. Im guessing the power of the clone is tied to the king actively empowering the skill. It's why the curse isn't affecting him like your parents, he's not even a real tier three right now."

Eyes widened and shot toward Tyrrion and the king. The king chuckled to himself while Tyrrion looked ready to explode before ultimately deflating.

"Observant too. Always the annoying type to deal with," he raised a hand and then grabbed his sleeve, pulling it back. "I can't leave and the chainbreaker won't work on me."

I winced at the devastation invading the king's arm. Unlike Teddy's parents, the blood mana stitched itself down his fingers and up through his limb. It moved like an angry chainsaw, tearing rips and microtears before stuffing them full of thread. The wounds were roped together, sealed shut while being pierced even deeper. Only a band of gleaming tattoos, each flickering with tiny flames, held the corruption at bay. The runes fought to contain the invading mana, but they couldn't fully repel it.

A misshapen cord stretched taught as it slithered over his bicep and past his exposed skin. The king winced and a single drop of blood dripped from his nose, shattering into tiny fragments as it hit the floor.

"The more powerful you are the stronger it is," Khrem remarked.

He pulled out a potion and tried to hand it to the king only for Tyrrion to grip his wrist tight enough to creak bone.

Allaron gently pried the man's hand away.

"Sire-"

Allaron turned to Khrem. "What's in the vial?"

"A curse inhibitor," Khrem replied. "I'm not able to make one myself so I bought one in case to study and if Cyrus experiences another incident like that in the arena. I should have bought more, my apologies."

I smiled at that. Good to know he was already thinking of me long term. But I quickly sobered and stared at the curse gaining more mass by the second.

"Up to what tier?" Allaron asked.

"Two. With his natural resistances, I didn't feel it worth it to buy the more expensive kind. The price between the tiers is exorbitant."

"Smart." The king took the potion and swirled it around. "There's no guarantee this will help. An inhibitor is not a cleanser. It's something strong enough to bind even me."

Teddy looked to his parents but they were equally conflicted. A frown spread and he bit his lip. "Uncle Allaron… You and Uncle Brelten have been at the peek for awhile. Could you tier up?"

"There's a reason why I haven't attempted it yet. There's no chance, not in these circumstances and not with this curse eating at me," Allaron replied, shaking his head. "No. Nathan, Anastasia one of you has to use it. It won't last but we only need a moment. Rush out of here and get the hand. Have them grab Graves and come back."

"If that's the case then Ana, you go. You're the fastest one," Nathan said.

Teddy's mother looked ready to protest but she held it in. A swipe grabbed the bottle from Allaron's hand and the curse in her ring yanked her arm downward. The two forms attempted to merge, stitching separating like demented centipedes.

"That's foul," Eodyne remarked.

"These kind of curses always are." Teddy said.

Anastasia gave her husband a kiss and one to Teddy as well, on his forehead. "I'll be back before you know it. Whatever you do, don't kick too much ass without me. Save me some of the fun."

"We don't know if this will work," Igas pointed out. "What happens then?"

"We figure it out, but no use shooting ourselves in the foot if we don't need to," Nathan replied.

Anastasia uncapped the bottle and moved to down it but I held out my hand.

"Wait."

She lowered it, frustration showing. It was strange, almost terrifying to see Teddy's parents give me a look that wasn't a smile. It reminded me of another pair, and I squashed that feeling before clearing my throat.

"Cyrus?" she asked.

"Before you drink that, I think I have an idea. I… don't know if it'll help but maybe? I know there's not a lot but-"

"It's okay dear. Just explain and we'll see if it can work."

I bit the insides of my cheek, shaking away the fluttering of anxiety.

Damnit, I guess I'm not entirely over my fucking memory issues. Fuck, I need a therapist, a real one.

I steeled myself and felt a gentle thump on my back. Teddy smiled warmly and nodded for me to continue.

"Alright," I breathed. "Here's what I'm thinking."

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