The Guardian's firestorm receded, leaving behind a scorched wasteland of shattered stone. Arhaan's barrier of chains hung in the air, cracked and trembling. Each link pulsed with dimming light, as though straining against the heavens themselves.
Arhaan staggered forward, his knees threatening to buckle. Every breath rattled his chest like broken glass. Yet he did not fall. His eyes burned with defiance, his gaze fixed on the towering beast that had chosen him above all others.
Why me? Why not Kael, who devours heaven's flames like a demon?
The answer came to him like a whisper inside his bones:
—Because chains do not bow.
The Guardian roared again, molten eyes blazing. It raised both claws this time, gathering a storm of fire hot enough to melt the mountain itself.
Disciples screamed in despair.
"No one can withstand that!"
"Even Kael cannot…!"
And yet Kael stepped forward. Shadows curled at his feet, his aura drinking in the heat like a starving predator. He glanced at Arhaan, his lips curved in a thin smile.
"You've done well to catch its attention," Kael said, voice smooth and calm. "But if you stand alone… you will break."
Arhaan clenched his fists, chains rattling defiantly. "I will not break."
Kael's eyes glimmered, amused. "Then allow me to help you."
The beast struck. Fire cascaded downward, enough to erase the entire plateau.
Arhaan's chains surged upward, forming a vast dome. At the same moment, Kael's shadow aura rose to swallow the flames. For a brief instant, light and darkness clashed side by side, neither yielding, both consuming.
The disciples could not breathe. The mountain itself seemed to tremble.
When the fire cleared, Arhaan stood hunched and bloodied, his chains fractured but unbroken. Kael stood tall beside him, his aura whispering like hungry serpents.
To the disciples, it appeared as though the two fought together. But in Arhaan's heart, he felt the truth—Kael's power hadn't shielded him. It had pressed against his chains, forcing them to the brink, as if testing how much more Arhaan could endure before snapping.
Arhaan's blood dripped onto the stone. His chest heaved. But his voice was steady.
"I… will not fall. Not to the beast. Not to you. Not to heaven itself."
The Guardian roared in fury, preparing its deadliest strike yet.
And Kael's faint smile deepened.