**** Chained Realm ****

[Billion's PoV]

I flew through the chains one after another without stopping for even a second. Steve and North were right behind me, standing on the staff as it cut through the void.

My mind burned with rage, but I kept it buried deep inside. Now wasn't the time to lose control, the only thing that mattered was surviving this cursed place.

As we moved forward, I caught sight of a Feran Grandmaster rushing through the chains ahead, heading in the same direction. His Essence trail flickered in my senses, rough and unstable. Without hesitation, I tapped into the Law of Polarity.

The effect was instant. His body froze mid-flight, his momentum snapping backward as my attraction force took hold. He struggled, but it was useless, within moments, he was dragged toward me like a puppet on invisible strings. I stopped in place, facing him as his body came to a halt right before me, locked in the air.

The Feran's eyes widened in shock.

His throat rumbled, a low growl building up, but I didn't care. I reached out with my domain and activated Verdant Extraction. The space around him pulsed green. His skin began to crack, glowing lines spreading across his body as the vitality was ripped straight from his flesh and blood.

He tried to scream, but his voice was gone. His eyes dimmed as the light in them flickered out, and within moments, the once-proud Grandmaster was nothing more than a shriveled husk.

Three orbs of vital Essence floated in front of me, glowing with rich life energy.

I absorbed two instantly, feeling the strength rush through my veins, while the third I sent toward North. The orb melted into her chest, and I watched as her broken arm adjusted itself, bones knitting together and wounds closing in seconds.

The remaining Essence surged into my left arm, fueling my regeneration. I could feel the cells rebuilding, the nerves realigning, the bone reforming beneath the skin. My left arm was fully restored within moments, the pain fading away like mist.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, letting the exhaustion pass before moving again.

The next two Feran Grandmasters I found met the same fate. Their Essence became my strength, their vitality my fuel. By the time I was done, Steve and North were both fully healed, their movements sharp again. My own left arm was whole, and my right had recovered all the way to the wrist.

We didn't stop to look back.

The chains blurred past as I pushed our speed higher and higher, but the more distance we crossed, the heavier the feeling in my chest grew.

Something was wrong. Primus and Anjee were strong, but not enough to face multiple Feran grandmasters, not in this cursed place, and certainly not with the chain acting against them. Even Dante had barely endured.

The unease kept growing until it twisted into certainty. Ahead of us, the air trembled. An Essence storm raged in the distance, violent and uncontrolled. My senses flared and then I felt it. That signature.

"Vaelix," I muttered, coming to a sudden stop.

I tapped my foot, forming a wide ice platform behind me. Steve and North leaped onto it without needing to be told. My left hand lifted, and my staff spun once before locking perfectly into my grip.

The storm drew closer. Its pulse was wild and full of rage, tearing through the Essence field itself. Then, it entered my perception range and my expression hardened.

It was Vaelix, radiating fury so strong that Essence itself trembled. His body pulsed with power, scales cracked with heat and raw Essence leaking from every wound. Behind him trailed Princess Velaira and several Feran grandmasters, each of them trembling under the sheer pressure coming from their leader.

But what froze me were the two figures floating behind him, Anjee and Primus. They were both half-conscious, bodies broken and burned, chained like trophies. I barely recognized them through the blood and wounds.

My Essence surged on its own, spilling outward to shield Steve and North from the crushing pressure. The void around us moaned and creaked as the two opposing auras collided.

Vaelix halted a short distance away, his gaze locking onto me.

"Was it you who dared to kill my son?"

I stared back into his eyes. Countless thoughts flashed through my mind, deny it, mislead him, blame the chain. But something deep inside me refused. My blood was still hot from Dante's death, my emotions far from settled.

"Yes," I said quietly.

The word hung in the void and then everything exploded outward as our auras collided. I watched Vaelix's jaw clamp shut so hard I could see blood beads form in the air around him like dark pearls.

I had choices flash through my head, each more dangerous than the last. Dante's warnings ran on a loop in my mind.

If I struck first, I would lose access to my laws. I might still hurt him, but it would be a blind fight and Vaelix's talent made him deadly in combat.

If he struck first, he'd be the one to lose his laws, but I'd still be forced into a duel with him. That left Steve, North, Primus, and Anjee exposed to the other grandmasters. They would be sitting ducks while we battled. The Ferans could easily use that to blackmail me, fight Vaelix or let them tear my friends apart.

Then there was the chain itself. It was a trap with its own rules. Move wrong and the chain would force us into positions where the puppet links could be born, or worse, it could drag someone into the abyss.

I had seen what those links did to Ragnar and Dante. I would not risk anyone else becoming a puppet.

I clenched my jaw and let my anger simmer down into a cold focus. I was not going to attack Vaelix first. Winning a fair fight without my laws against his blood talent was almost impossible.

I needed another way, a move that kept my laws, kept my people safe, and forced him into a choice that didn't hand him everything. I breathed, tuned my Psynapse, and waited for the moment I could force the odds in our favor without falling for the chain's rules.

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