NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: The Memory Seal Breaks
🌌 Scene 1: Nightfall After the Duel
The arena lay hushed beneath a silver moon, its vast expanse littered with shattered stones and fading echoes of the fierce battle. Jemil sat alone at the edge of the ruined battlefield, the soft glow still lingering on his palm from the Spirit Splitter — the final strike of the duel that had shaken realms.
Behind him, the wives rested, their breaths slow and even — even Seraphira had found a moment's peace. Nearby, the academy staff scrambled urgently, weaving spells and murmuring incantations to mend the battered stage. But in Jemil's chest, a quiet fracture spread — invisible to all but him.
A voice whispered low and urgent, threading through his thoughts like a thread of ice.
"You've met four… only seven remain."
"Unlock the origin, or lose everything you've bound."
Suddenly, the system's interface shimmered faintly in his vision.
System Update: Memory Seal Fragment — Cracked 34%
Jemil's breath hitched. The deeper mysteries were stirring.
🧬 Scene 2: Into the Astral Garden
Kaelira's footsteps were soft but deliberate as she approached. Her eyes narrowed, noticing the faint radiance pulsing beneath his skin.
"You're glowing again," she remarked dryly, "but like… trauma-glowing."
Jemil forced a half-smile, masking the storm inside. "It's the seal. When Seraphira touched me, something… changed. Something unlocked inside me."
A complex glyph flickered on his wrist — a shifting pattern of ancient beast script blended with summoner runes. It pulsed like a heartbeat, alive with deep magic.
Mira stepped forward, her eyes shimmering with clairvoyant light. "I can guide us. We'll enter the Astral Garden — the memory realm you once locked away."
Together, they stepped into the surreal realm of floating islands — fragments of Jemil's lost memories, suspended in the endless void. One island drifted closer, fractured and flickering like a candle in the wind.
Jemil reached out — his fingers brushing the unstable surface.
⚠️ Scene 3: The Forbidden Memory
"This one's unstable," Mira warned gently, her voice barely above a whisper. "You really want to do this?"
Jemil swallowed hard. "I think… I have to."
The memory burst open like a collision of flame and ice, engulfing his senses.
He saw himself — younger, cloaked in crimson and gold — standing before a stone altar wrapped in chains binding fierce beast spirits.
A harsh voice echoed in his mind, commanding:
"Name them. Bind them. Wife them. Or they'll die alone."
One by one, memories flickered:
Flare, trapped in volcanic cuffs, snarling with raw fury.
Mira, fading in a crystal prison, her light dimming.
Kaelira, restrained in a laboratory, subjected to cold experiments.
Seraphira, weeping silently behind a throne of shadows.
Each time Jemil reached out to break the chains, the memory rewound — forcing him to face the choice again, and again.
Finally, with a heart heavy but resolute, Jemil whispered:
"I'd rather bind them by heart than by force."
In that moment, the Bond Mechanic was born — not as a mere summoning tool, but a desperate life-saving choice. In a world that rejected mythical beasts, the only way to stabilize their spirits in the human realm was through a soul-partner bond — a bond now known as "wives."
🌠 Scene 4: System Revelation
The system pulsed, the glow intensifying as the revelation settled within Jemil's core.
[Bond Level: Ascending]
[Mythical Threshold Tier Unlocked: Soul Union > True Partner > Core Wife]
[Memory Seal: 67% Broken]
Vel'Zara drifted in, folding her arms with a knowing expression. "So it was your choice all along. To give us freedom — but tie us to your soul."
Jemil nodded slowly. "It was either that… or let you die. The world rejected mythical beasts outright. The only way to keep you stable was through me."
Kaelira's voice barely rose above a breath, tinged with shock. "You saved us… by marrying us."
Mira's eyes shimmered with tears unshed. "You never told us the truth."
"I sealed it away," Jemil confessed. "I didn't want you to feel trapped."
💍 Scene 5: The Wives Reaffirm
One by one, Jemil's wives stepped forward, their expressions resolute.
"Then let me choose it again," Flare said, flames flickering behind her fierce eyes.
"Even if it was survival once," Mira added softly, "it's love now."
"You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore," Kaelira said, voice steady.
Even Seraphira, arms crossed but eyes softer than before, muttered, "Fine. One chance. Don't mess it up, husband."
Jemil chuckled, pulling them into a tight embrace — the bond reaffirmed, stronger than ever.
But above them, the skies darkened ominously.
The system's voice echoed with a final warning:
"Final wife awakens in the Eternal Abyss. Prepare."
💬 End of Chapter 21
📌 Call to Action:
💭 What did you think of the bond origin reveal?
🔥 Drop a comment and use your power stones to show love for your favorite wife so far!
✨ Chapter 22 will take us deep into the Abyss Realm, where the final mythical wife stirs…