Tave kept his distance, his boots scraping across scorched stone as he struggled to stay upright. The chains were still pulling, dragging the spirit inch by inch toward the sword, but every second felt like standing inside the heart of an inferno.
Her screams, blistering and raw, shook the entire cavern.
Flames lashed in every direction as she fought back, and the lava churned violently, rising higher, sloshing against the edges of the pool like a beast trying to break free.
"NO! I WILL NOT BE BOUND BY A MORTAL WRETCH!"
"LET ME GO! I WILL NOT YIELD!"
The sword shuddered in the center of the circle, trembling uncontrollably as though it might snap in half. The sheer energy of the spirit was too much. More than the relic had been designed to contain. Tave's throat felt like sandpaper. He tried to swallow, but his entire body felt parched, bone dry. It was like every drop of moisture had been burned out of him.
A few more minutes of this and he'd be nothing but charred remains.
His vision blurred. His armor glowed red-hot against his skin. His breath came in short, searing gasps. He wanted to scream from the heat, desperately. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. He had to endure.
One of the chains snapped loose.
A violent pulse surged from the spirit, and with a deafening crack, another chain flew off, flung into the darkness.
Tave's heart pounded.
If this kept up. She'd break free. And everything he'd done, every burn, every ounce of pain. It would all be for nothing.
"Damn it!" he hissed, staggering forward.
He had to act.
Now.
"Submit to me!" Tave roared, his voice hoarse but unwavering. "I broke through to Gaia Apprentice less than a month ago! And look at me now. Level 18! I'll reach Gaia Guardian inside this Rift! I'll hit Gaia Master in six months, mark my words! If I fail, then burn me alive for it!"
His words tore through the scorching air, defiant, desperate, fueled by the very flames threatening to consume him.
"A lowly human who dares reject his own fate dares to negotiate with me?" the spirit's voice came like a thunderclap, sharp, echoing, furious. "You are less than an insect before me!"
"I aim to be strong! Stronger! The strongest!" Tave shouted back, staggering a step forward. "My old body. My human body was limited by the Gaia Force. But did I give up? NO!"
"You call me pathetic for abandoning that weakness?" His voice cracked as his chest heaved with each breath.
"Wait until I change everything. My body, my race, my bloodline! I'll reshape it all for power, for greatness! And you, you'll be by my side to see it happen! SURRENDER!"
"HELL NO!!"
A surge of fire exploded from her like a volcanic scream. The blast was massive, furious, the very air splitting as heat blasted outward again, shaking the cavern walls, fracturing the stone.
Tave hit the ground hard, his breath ripped from his lungs.
But he didn't stop. Couldn't.
His body was failing, so close to collapse. His skin burned raw. His vision was blackening at the edges. The heat was suffocating, stripping away his will, his strength, everything.
But his voice, that was all he had left. His words, his truth, his rage.
And he'd thrown them all at her.
What else could he say? What more could break through to her?
He was this close to passing out. The heat, the pressure, the pain. It was overwhelming.
Damn it! There had to be something that could reach her. Something real. Something undeniable.
"Listen!" Tave shouted. "I'm no ordinary human! I survived everything this world threw at me, before it was reset!"
And suddenly… The fire faltered. The heat held back, just for a moment.
Was it working?
Tave blinked through the haze of heat and pain. The pressure that had been crushing him like a vice now wavered. The lava no longer churned as violently. The flames around the spirit still burned, but they didn't lash out.
Wait… But… how?
Still gasping for air, he pushed forward.
"This world, it was reset by someone's wish. But I'm an anomaly. The one who slipped through it. I carry the memories of the old world. Every event. Every war. Every truth."
"LIAR!"
The spirit's voice boomed again, but this time, it was different, less rage, more disbelief.
"A mortal… remembers the world before the reset? Impossible!"
But it wasn't rage that flared next. It was hesitated.
Tave could feel it.
"You feel it, don't you?" he said. "That I'm not just some reckless child reaching too far. I know things I shouldn't. Because I was there. When it all fell apart."
And now… he had her attention.
"Like I'd ever believe the words of a weak, filthy creature like you!" the spirit spat, her wings flaring again as heat surged around her once more.
"Then ask me!" Tave shouted back. "Give me a question, anything. That only a higher-grade spirit would know! I'll answer it without hesitation!"
"I do not negotiate!" she roared. "I'll burn you alive and make you choke on your delusions!"
But Tave didn't flinch this time. Instead, he threw the truth right at her face.
"The Spirit Vault in the Ember Domain collapsed 1,000 years ago!" he barked. "It wasn't because of a war. It was because the Spiritbound Emperor tried to fuse four Unique-grade spirits into one vessel. The fourth spirit. Skarial, the Voidbrand Djinn refused and annihilated the emperor's soul from within!"
A pause.
A flicker.
The spirit's eyes widened slightly.
That was no rumor. No myth. It was forbidden history, known only to higher grade spirits or ancient archivists of the elemental realms.
"You want proof? Fine. I'll give you truth after truth. Secrets only a higher-grade spirit could recognize!" he shouted.
"Two! The Skyforge Pact between wind and fire spirits was never broken by betrayal, but by fear. A low-tier wind spirit ascended unnaturally and absorbed a fragment of Solar Flame. That anomaly terrified even the High Seraphs and led to the severing of the alliance."
"Three!"
"And the Spirit Eclipsing Ritual, banned across every known elemental realm, wasn't designed by mortals. It was created by the High Spirits themselves as a fail-safe to unbind spirits gone rogue. But you all swore an oath to bury its existence… and I still know it!"
Silence.
A heavy, pulsing stillness. The fire didn't lash out this time. It hovered, burning, waiting.
"You know I speak the truth," Tave said. "You feel it in your essence. I'm not lying, Kaelira. I remember. I am the anomaly that was never meant to exist."
And for the first time. She didn't answer.
"Surrender to me!"
Tave's voice echoed, cracking under strain. "Stay with me, for six months! If I fail to earn your trust, if I can't prove I'm worthy… I'll set you free."
The chains tightened, responding to his vow.
The spirit's flames dimmed, her once-raging form now flickering like a dying star. Her body began to drift, dragged toward the sword's hilt by an unseen force. She glared at Tave, her eyes still burning. Not with rage, but with a deep, stubborn resistance. Like she wanted to fight… but couldn't.
It felt like an eternity.
With a sudden, violent pull, the energy surged. The binding circle flared to life, and the spirit was sucked into the sword. Her form collapsed into radiant flame, swirling in a vortex of light before disappearing into the blade in an instant.
And then… Silence.
Tave's body collapsed to the ground, scorched and broken, his strength finally giving out.
[ Forced Binding Completed ]
[ Kaelira – The Flamebound Seraph (Unique-Grade Spirit) has been successfully sealed into your Relic Vessel. ]
[ Binding Status: Conditional Contract Initiated ]
[ The spirit has not fully submitted. ]
[ You have 180 days to earn her willful allegiance. ]
[ Failure to gain her acceptance will result in auto-release. ]
[ Spirit Status: Sealed – Dormant Phase Active ]
[ Kaelira's full power is currently locked. ]
[ Partial access to Fire Affinity and Seraphic Aura granted. ]
[ Affinity Update: Fire Affinity (High) Acquired. ]
[ You have been exposed to intense elemental fire and survived repeated contact. ]
[ Your body has developed resistance and resonance. ]
[ Warning: Internal Burn Trauma Detected ]
[ Immediate recovery is advised. ]
Tave's breath caught. His body was on the verge of collapse. He barely registered the flickering texts before one more notification appeared:
[ Core Containment Failure Imminent ]
[ Risk: Core rupture. Internal backlash possible. ]
At that exact moment, his heart pounded, sharp, rapid, dangerous. The pressure built in his chest like something ready to burst.
Too much. Too fast. And if the core failed, he might not survive it.