Jason's mind raced, piecing together fragments of information like shards of broken glass. The watcher. the barrier, the mana he had absorbed, and the way the roots parted for him but attacked Ylva.
"If this creature was here, and what I defeated was an essence of him, then the power I absorbed originally belonged to him."
The realization hit like a thunderbolt.
"That should make it possible for me to resist his powers. To an extent."
It was why he had been able to move his head when no one else could. Why his barrier had manifested without conscious thought and why the roots had never attacked him.
Jason knew, in that moment, that he had to confront this creature eventually. There was no running, no hiding, and no bargaining.
"You..." Jason muttered, his voice strained against the weight pressing down on him. "You subdue us with your power... but you're bound to that chair like a slave."
