NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76: The Curse Awakens
Scene 1 – The Moment of Impact
The predator's chains descended like a storm meant to erase the world. Each link gleamed with a cruel brilliance, heavy enough to crush steel, sharp enough to pierce through vows. The sound was deafening—a thousand whips cracking through the void at once.
Kaelina's throat tore with a scream. "JEMIL!" Her sword whirled, sparks flying as she struck desperately against the avalanche of bindings. The weight of them nearly drove her to her knees.
Lyra hurled herself forward, her arms outstretched as fire detonated into a blazing wall. "Come on then! Let's see you burn!" she roared, her flames devouring the first wave.
But the chains kept coming. For every one shattered, three more snaked from the shadows.
Nyssa's body fractured into illusions, a dozen false selves scattering in every direction. "Catch me if you can," she hissed, darting through the battlefield, her real body cloaked in shadows. But the predator's fury was indiscriminate—it lashed at all of them.
Elira slammed her staff into the void-floor, light rippling outward into a dome. Cracks splintered across it at once, each strike threatening to shatter her defenses. "I can't—hold it—" she gasped, sweat dripping down her temple.
Through the chaos, Jemil stood still. His body trembled, but he didn't raise a hand to defend himself. His eyes were half-lidded, his breath uneven.
Because he felt it. The mark was alive now, not just burning but writhing, like a beast pacing in its cage.
And as the predator's wrath came crashing down—he let it out.
Scene 2 – The Curse's Power
Light erupted from his chest with a roar like thunder.
The mark split wide, its jagged lines glowing brighter than any flame, brighter than Elira's wards, brighter even than the predator's chains. A golden firestorm exploded outward, searing through the bindings that had nearly struck him down.
Chains of his own burst from the blaze, uncoiling from his arms, his back, his chest. They weren't metal—they were fire and light twisted together, pulsing with every beat of his heart.
The predator's bindings lashed forward to meet them. Gold clashed against gold, each strike scattering sparks into the void. The battlefield rang with the scream of chains tearing against chains.
Jemil roared through clenched teeth, his voice raw.
"Your chains… can't bind me anymore!"
His golden chains lashed outward, wrapping around several of the predator's bindings, snapping them apart in a shower of fragments. The predator reeled back as its weapon was shoved aside e.
For the first time since the battle began, Jemil wasn't falling behind. He was fighting back.
Scene 3 – Wives in Awe
The blaze threw his wives into stunned silence, each one staring at him with wide eyes.
Lyra stumbled back a step, her fire dimming as the golden radiance swallowed even her inferno. "He's… burning hotter than me," she whispered, half in disbelief, half in awe. For once, the firebrand wasn't the brightest flame in the fight.
Nyssa's smirk flickered across her lips, but there was a tightness in her voice. "Always full of surprises, aren't you, summoner? Hmph. But is that really you, or something else wearing your skin?" Her illusions wavered, uneasy, as if even her tricks couldn't mask the dread prickling at her spine.
Elira clasped her hands together, her staff trembling in her grip. "That mark… I've read of nothing like it. It shouldn't even exist. Jemil…" her voice cracked, eyes wide with terror and wonder, "what are you becoming?"
Kaelina, closest to him, shielded her face from the burning light. The heat licked across her skin, but she didn't back away. She stepped forward, her hand reaching toward him. Her eyes shone—not just with fear, but with a a dangerous kind of pride.
"Jemil…" her whisper trembled, soft enough only he could hear. "Don't lose yourself. Not to this. Not to her."
He didn't answer. His chains lashed outward instead, sparking against the predator's, his face twisted in a mixture of agony and defiance.
Scene 4 – Predator's Recognition
The predator staggered as Jemil's golden chains struck its greatsword aside, sparks bursting across the void. For a moment, it faltered. For a a moment, Jemil's defiance forced it back.
And then, the predator laughed d.
The sound was jagged, harsh, stripped of seduction—it was recognition, raw and bitter.
"So. That's it."
Its golden eyes narrowed, its grin twisted. "You bear her mark. The curse that no vow can break. The Mistress's gift."
The words stabbed into Jemil sharper than any chain. He froze mid-strike, his glowing bindings flickering.
"Her… mark?" His voice rasped, strangled by disbelief.
The predator tilted its head, savoring the shock. "Did you really think this was your strength, little summoner? No. You are nothing more than a vessel. A vessel wearing chains you cannot hope to control."
The predator's chains surged again, stronger, greedier.
"You have awakened the power of the Mistress herself. And sooner or later, you will belong to her—because no one escapes the shackles of eternity."
Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 77: Chains of Truth h
The battlefield trembles under the clash of golden chains, but Jemil's heart stumbles at the predator's words. The curse burning across his chest—the power that just saved them—wasn't born from his will. It was a gift, or a trap, from the Mistress herself.
Kaelina's vow holds firm, but her eyes reveal doubt. Lyra's fire rages brighter, yet behind it burns fear. Nyssa, always cunning, whispers suspicions Jemil isn't ready to face, while Elira prays for an answer that won't come.
The predator doesn't relent—it presses harder, feeding on their hesitation. Every chain it throws isn't just an attack, but a truth meant to shatter their unity.
Jemil must decide: is the curse a weapon he can master, or a chain already tightening around his soul? And if it truly belongs to the Mistress, how long before she comes to claim him?
The chains of truth are heavier than steel—and they may break him before the predator ever can.