NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73: Chains or Vows
Scene 1 – The Weight of the Blade
The golden void hung in silence after the explosion.
Not silence of peace—silence of pressure. Every mote of light pressed down like a mountain, every breath felt stolen from the edge of a blade.
Jemil's hand was still outstretched, inches from the predator-blade's hilt. His fingers trembled, veins lit with searing light as the curse writhed up his arm like molten shackles. The burning mark across his chest pulsed in rhythm with the colossal weapon, as though his very heart had been chained to its will.
Take me… the blade whispered, the sound not in his ears but inside his skull, slithering into thought. Take me, and never bend again. Power without betrayal. Chains that hold only others—never you.
Jemil's jaw clenched. Sweat rolled down his cheek, evaporating before it touched his jawline. The weight of the offer pressed against his very bones, a temptation not of flesh alone, but of his deepest fear—being abandoned, betrayed, broken again.
Kaelina staggered closer, sword dragging in her hand, her knees threatening to buckle. She had no strength left to fight the predator directly. But her eyes—steel, unbreaking—fixed only on Jemil.
"Don't you dare," she whispered, her voice hoarse but cutting through the heavy void. "If you take that blade… you'll lose yourself before you swing it once. You'll lose us."
Her words rang truer than steel. Jemil's heart twisted. The predator's voice pushed back, silk wrapped in thunder:
She doesn't understand. Vows break. Desire falters. But chains… chains endure.
The curse flared hotter, searing up to Jemil's throat. He gasped, choking, as if every vow he'd ever made was being burned alive inside him.
Still, Kaelina did not flinch. She took another step, her own legs shaking. "Look at me, Jemil. I swore myself to you. Not to your strength. Not to your curse. To you."
For the first time, Jemil's trembling hand faltered—caught between the blade's glow and the fire in Kaelina's eyes.
The void itself seemed to hold its breath.
Scene 2 – The Predator Strikes Again
The stillness shattered.
The colossal blade pulsed, and the void rippled like a pond struck by stone. Chains of golden fire lashed outward, hissing as they coiled through the air, seeking Kaelina.
She raised her sword, too slow, too weary—yet she met the first chain with a defiant slash. Sparks burst, her blade trembling against a force no mortal steel could cut. The recoil drove her to her knees, blood flecking her lips, but her gaze stayed locked on Jemil.
"Don't you dare touch it," she snarled, voice raw, more command than plea.
The predator's laughter rolled through the chamber, neither male nor female, but a chorus of whispers layered into thunder.
Look at her break. She will fall. They all will. Take me, and you will never need their vows again. You will hold them. You will own them.
The words sank into Jemil's chest, piercing deeper than any blade. The curse mark flared in response, golden fire crawling down his arm, spreading toward his heart. He staggered, clutching his chest, feeling the predator's promise burning through his veins.
Kaelina slammed her sword into the ground, using it to stand, her body shaking. She was bleeding, bruised, nearly broken—yet her eyes blazed brighter than the chains.
"I won't let it take you," she whispered, not to the predator but to him. "Even if I have to chain myself to you forever."
The predator seized on her words, its laughter sharper now.
Yes… chains. Chains that bind. She offers herself, and yet she does not see—she speaks my language.
A dozen golden shackles whipped toward her, snapping like serpents, intent on wrapping her throat, her wrists, her waist.
"Kaelina!" Jemil shouted, torn between reaching for the blade—or reaching for her.
The void thundered as the predator pressed the choice to its breaking point.
Scene 3 – The Breaking Moment
The chains closed in. Golden links wrapped around Kaelina's arms, yanking her forward, dragging her to her knees. Another coiled around her throat, glowing hot against her skin. She choked, teeth gritted, blood running from her split lip. Still, her eyes never left Jemil.
"Don't—" she gasped, straining against the bindings, "don't you give in… not to it… not to fear."
Jemil's hand hovered over the blade's hilt, trembling so violently it hurt. The predator's whisper thundered in his skull, flooding every thought:
She breaks. She bleeds. All vows crumble. But if you take me—
The curse erupted, golden fire racing down his body like veins of molten steel. The burning mark seared across his chest, pulsing in rhythm with the predator-blade. Jemil screamed, staggering forward, clutching his heart.
—you will bind her forever. You will bind them all. No more betrayal. No more loss. Chains that never break.
The whisper became a roar. The blade's hilt lowered to meet his hand, heat radiating from it like the sun itself. One touch would seal it.
Kaelina's face twisted in pain, the shackles tightening. Blood smeared her cheek as she forced the words through her throat, ragged and raw:
"Jemil… I chose you. Not your curse. Not your power. You. Don't let it win. Please."
Her plea cut deeper than the predator's roar. Jemil froze—hand inches from the hilt, his heart a battlefield torn between two voices: temptation and vow.
The void trembled. Chains rattled, sparks showered, the predator screamed.
Choose, Chainbreaker.
And Jemil's hand—closed the gap.
But whether it touched the blade… or Kaelina's chains—remained unseen.
The chamber detonated in golden light.
Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 74: The Choice Made
The golden void erupts in blinding light. Jemil's hand has moved—but whether it claimed the predator-blade or shattered Kaelina's shackles, none can tell. The predator laughs, its hunger unbound, while Kaelina's vow trembles on the knife-edge between salvation and loss.
When the light clears, the truth will be revealed.
Did Jemil surrender to temptation, taking the blade into his grasp?
Or did he defy the predator, choosing Kaelina's vow even as the curse burns him alive?
The answer will shatter the trial's balance and define the fate of every vow yet to be tested.
⚔️ The golden storm hides Jemil's choice—blade or vow, chains or love. When the light fades, everything will change. Will he seize forbidden power, or cling to the bond that burns brighter than the curse?
👉 Keep reading to uncover the truth in Chapter 74: The Choice Made—where temptation collides with devotion, and a single decision rewrites the path ahead.