The fire crackled, throwing shifting shadows across the leader's cloak. The camp held its breath, every Exile watching as if the night itself depended on what was about to be said. The leader's voice was low but carried, each word weaving into the silence.
"The Bond you carry is older than your council knows. It was born from destruction's will, not as a curse, but as a weapon—a weapon meant to reshape the world."
Reid frowned, every muscle tense. "A weapon for who?"
"For itself," the leader replied. "The Bond is alive, as much as you are. It chooses hosts not to serve them, but to grow stronger through them. You are not its master. You are its vessel."
The Bond spoke, almost tender, "Do not believe them. I am yours… unless you fail me."
Kaela stepped closer, her eyes never leaving Reid's. "We have lived beside its influence for generations. We know its hunger. Some who carried it were consumed, others… became legends."
Reid's grip tightened on his knife. "And what am I becoming?"
The leader's tattoos burned brighter. "That depends on what you choose next."
The murmurs of the Exile crowd rose and fell like waves, their glowing tattoos flickering in rhythm with the firelight. Kaela's voice cut through the noise, clear and sharp. "You have passed the trial. You have proven strength and will. Now, we offer what no council ever will—knowledge and power untainted by their chains."
Reid's expression remained cold, but his curiosity was impossible to hide. "What do you want in return?"
The leader smiled faintly beneath the hood. "Only that you listen and decide for yourself. Align with us, and we will teach you to wield the Bond without losing yourself to it. Refuse, and the council will break you, as they have broken so many."
The Bond's voice was quieter than usual, almost thoughtful. "They tempt you with control. Interesting… because control is an illusion."
Kaela stepped closer, lowering her voice so only he could hear. "You felt it in the fissure, didn't you? The power that comes when you stop fighting it. We can teach you to use that without letting it devour you."
Reid's jaw tightened. "And what makes you think I trust you?"
Kaela's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. "You don't. Not yet. But you came here, Marked One. That means you already trust us more than them."
The leader raised a hand, and the murmurs ceased. "There is a war coming. Not between us and the council, but against what lies beyond—something even the Bond fears. If you walk away, you will face it blind. If you stay, you will see."
System text appeared faintly:
[Quest Choice: Accept Exile Offer or Refuse]
[Warning: Choice Will Alter Future Paths]
The Bond chuckled low. "Choose wisely, host. They offer power, but at a price. I wonder if you'll pay it."
Reid stared at the leader, the firelight reflecting in his eyes. He didn't answer—not yet. The Exiles watched him with silent expectation, their chants beginning again, low and steady, like a heartbeat.
The fire's glow stretched long shadows across the faces of the Exiles as the chanting grew louder, a steady rhythm that seemed to echo the pounding of Reid's heart. The leader waited in silence, offering no further words. They had said enough—now the choice was his.
Kaela stepped closer, eyes locked on his. "If you accept, you begin the path tonight. If you refuse, you leave now and carry whatever strength you have back to the council. Either way, you will be hunted by someone."
The Bond whispered, but not in its usual goading tone. "Host, this path… it smells of danger. Yet danger is how we grow."
Reid glanced at the Exile leader, then at Kaela. "If I accept, what happens first?"
Kaela's expression hardened. "You will undergo the Binding—a ritual that deepens the Bond's connection to you while severing the council's hold. You'll gain power, but the risk is yours alone."
The Bond's tone shifted to something darker, almost amused. "A deeper link? I like the sound of that. But can you handle it?"
Reid let the silence stretch, every eye on him, every chant beating into his mind. Finally, he spoke. "I'll take the risk."
The crowd erupted into a low roar of approval. The leader's tattoos flared with light, and the air grew heavy with an energy that made the ground tremble. "So be it," they intoned. "Tonight, you walk further than any council pawn ever dared."
System text flared faintly:
[Quest Updated: Binding with the Exiles – Commence the Ritual]
[Warning: Extreme Danger – Bond Surge Expected]
Kaela stepped beside him, her voice low. "Once this begins, there is no turning back. If you lose control, no one can save you."
Reid met her gaze. "Then I won't lose control."
The Bond laughed, sharp and cold. "We'll see about that."
The leader gestured to the center of the camp, where the fire roared higher, the flames shifting to an unnatural blue. The Exiles formed a circle, their chanting reaching a fever pitch. Kaela guided Reid to the center, her hand briefly brushing his arm—whether for reassurance or as a final warning, he couldn't tell.
"Step into the flames," the leader commanded. "And let the Binding begin."
Reid took a deep breath and stepped forward, the blue fire licking at his boots without burning. The Bond surged inside him, thrilled and unrestrained. "Yes… this is where we become more."
As the chanting thundered, the flames rose, twisting into shapes that clawed at the sky. Pain lanced through Reid's body, white-hot and all-consuming, as if the Bond itself was being torn open and rebuilt inside him. He screamed but didn't fall, forcing his legs to hold against the overwhelming surge.
The leader's voice cut through the roar. "Endure, Marked One. Endure and rise anew."
The fire engulfed everything. The Bond howled—not in rage, but in exultation.
The flames roared higher, swallowing the night sky above the Exile camp. They didn't burn with heat; instead, they radiated an energy so intense that the air shimmered around them. Reid stood at the center, muscles locking as waves of raw power crashed against him from every direction. His vision fractured, colors bending, the chanting of the Exiles pounding like war drums.
The Bond writhed inside him, not in protest but in ecstasy. "Yes! This is the storm we were promised. Give in, host, and let me show them what we can become!"
Pain speared through his chest, his veins igniting with a searing light that raced to every limb. His breath caught, torn between a roar and a scream. The blue fire coiled around him, forming tendrils that pierced into his skin, burning marks that glowed faintly as they spread across his arms.
Kaela watched from the edge of the circle, her expression taut with tension. Few had ever endured this stage without being consumed. She gripped her spear but didn't move. "Hold on, Marked One," she muttered under her breath. "Prove them wrong."
The energy spiraled inward, focusing on his core where the Bond's essence merged with his own. For a heartbeat, his mind wasn't his—he saw flashes of a vast, endless void where tendrils of destruction writhed like serpents, a colossal eye opening in the darkness, staring directly into him. It wasn't hostile. It was waiting.
The Bond's voice was everywhere, no longer a whisper but a chorus. "Do you see now? We are not a curse. We are the key to everything they fear."
Reid gritted his teeth, forcing words through the pain. "I… am not your vessel. You are mine."
The energy flared, as if responding to his defiance. The blue flames turned white, then collapsed inward, blasting outward with a shockwave that threw the Exiles back but left the circle unbroken. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
System text shimmered in the air:
[Binding Complete – Bond Strength Increased]
[New Ability Unlocked: Veil Rend]
[Warning: Bond Influence Heightened]
When the light finally dimmed, Reid stood in the ashes of the ritual circle. The glowing markings on his arms pulsed once before fading into faint scars. His breathing slowed, but power hummed under his skin like a coiled spring.
The leader stepped forward, their cloak swirling with the aftershocks of the ritual. "You have endured what few could. The Bond within you is stronger—and so are you. But every gift carries a shadow. With this power, the line between master and weapon blurs."
Kaela approached, her voice steady but her eyes bright. "You've changed, Marked One. I can feel it. The others will feel it too. Use it well—or it will use you."
The Bond purred, its voice now threaded with a strange, dangerous calm. "We are more than before. Let them watch. Let them fear."
Reid flexed his fingers, feeling the strength thrumming there. "You've given me what I need. Now tell me what comes next."
The leader raised their gaze to the horizon, where storm clouds gathered unnaturally fast. "What comes next is the reason we sought you. The enemy that wakes does not wait for council or exile to decide its fate. It devours. And now, it knows you exist."
Lightning split the sky, casting the valley in white light. For the first time, Reid sensed the Bond grow silent—not from weakness, but from recognition.