"What's forged to end you, may end up setting you free."
---
đ Outskirts of Ember Citadel â Forbidden Ruins
The air trembled.
Kael stepped through the shattered archway of an old ritual chamber. The wind was unnaturally silent â the kind of silence that pressed on the eardrums like a threat.
> [Mana anomaly detected â Density: Extreme]
[Hostile presence cloaked â Class: Unknown]
The stone around him cracked slightly with every step he took.
Then it dropped.
From above â a figure wrapped in violet iron and black flames â Breaker of Chains.
Humanoid, but skeletal, with long chain-blades dangling from each arm. No eyes. Just a burning brand across its chest: â
---
đ Vel'Zhara's Command Link
> "This one was not born. It was built to dismantle you."
> [Anti-System Core Active]
Effect: All Shadow Servants within 20m â Suppressed
Effect: Systemic Skills â 50% Efficiency Reduction
Kael staggered as his connection to his shadows dimmed.
> [Servant Link Interference Detected!]
[Shadowheart Disruption ImminentâŠ]
Kael: "You want to tear me from what I've builtâŠ"
The Breaker responded with silence â and then violence.
---
đ Battle Initiated: Kael vs Breaker of Chains
The chains lashed out.
Kael dodged, barely. His usual precision dulled â like his instincts were fighting through mud.
He summoned his Guardian â but it flickered.
Still, Kael pushed forward. A blade of condensed dusk energy formed in his hand.
Clash.
Clash.
The Breaker twisted its own body mid-air, embedding one of its chains into Kael's shoulder and hurling him across the chamber.
> [Wound Severity: Moderate]
[Vitality: Stable]
[System Sync: Fluctuating]
Kael gasped.
And thenâŠ
He let go.
Of fear.
Of calculation.
Of hesitation.
---
đ New State Initiated: Partial Gateform
His body shimmered with Architect energy â skeletal lines forming along his arms like runes of design.
> [Partial Gateform: Active â 30 seconds max]
Effect: Immunity to suppression. Manual control over shadow-realm interface.
His Guardian snapped back online â roaring into full form behind him.
Kael: "My shadows⊠aren't chains. They're my will."
He moved faster than before â ducking, feinting, weaving.
He sliced off one of the Breaker's arms.
---
đ System Update â Tactical Override
The Breaker's form pulsed â chains wrapping around its core. It tried to self-repairâŠ
Kael reached in.
His hand plunged into the being's heart.
And with a mental commandâ
> [Override Confirmed â Core Absorption]
New Passive: Resilience of Chainbane
Grants temporary resistance to suppression effects. One-time immunity to forced disconnection.
The Breaker screamed.
And shattered.
---
đ Aftermath
Kael knelt, breathing hard. His form flickered back to normal.
The chamber collapsed around him â but he stood unshaken.
> [Level Up]
[Trait Evolution Progress: 23%]
[Mission Branch: Survive All Creations of the Arcontes â 1/7 Complete]
Myrla's voice came through a crystal comm:
â "Are you alive?"
Kael: "Barely. But the thing they sent⊠it knew what I was."
Myrla: "Then this was just a warning."
---
đ Final Scene â Arconte Council
Vel'Zhara: "He survived."
Another Arconte: "Of course he did. You forged a destroyer⊠and gave it his name."
Vel'Zhara stared into the flames.
"He has a taste for defiance now. The next one will not be so merciful."
---