Kael did not sleep again.
Not properly.
Every time his eyes closed, he saw it...the moment.
The hesitation.
The decision.
The way the man's body gave in as Kael's power tore through him from the inside.
It wasn't the death that stayed with him.
It was how natural it had felt at the end.
Kael opened his eyes.
Darkness filled the chamber, broken only by the faint glow of ward-lines pulsing along the ceiling. His body ached less now...still damaged, still fragile...but no longer on the edge of collapse.
The System's reward had done its work.
Not healing him.
But… reinforcing him.
Making him ready to break again.
Kael exhaled slowly and pushed himself upright.
This time, the pain came...but it didn't consume him.
"Improvement detected," the System noted.
"Motor function stabilizing."
Kael swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
"…I need to move," he murmured.
"Risk acknowledged."
"That's not what I asked."
The System went silent.
Kael stood.
For a moment, the world tilted. His vision blurred, and something deep inside his chest twisted sharply...but then it settled.
Held.
Contained.
Barely.
He took a step forward.
Then another.
By the time he reached the door, his breathing had steadied.
He didn't knock.
He opened it.
The corridor outside was empty.
Too empty.
Kael walked slowly, senses stretched thin. Every instinct he had now...new, sharpened, unnatural...told him the estate had changed.
Not physically.
Socially.
Word had spread.
He could feel it in the absence of guards. In the way distant mana signatures shifted...watching, measuring, avoiding.
They saw.
They remembered.
Good.
Kael turned down the eastern hall, heading toward the training wing.
If the System was right...and it usually was...then the second component wasn't something he could stumble into.
A Heartbound Relic meant power.
And power meant something would be guarding it.
Or be it.
He needed to know what he was dealing with.
The training chamber doors slid open with a low hum.
Inside, the space was vast...reinforced stone, layered barriers, suppression runes glowing faintly across the walls and floor.
And in the center...
Jenkins.
Waiting.
Of course.
"I assumed you would come here," Jenkins said calmly.
Kael stepped inside. "You assume a lot."
"And I am often correct."
The doors sealed behind him.
Silence settled.
Kael didn't waste time.
"I need information," he said.
Jenkins tilted his head slightly. "About?"
Kael met his gaze.
"Things that carry power inside them," he said. "Not artifacts. Not weapons."
"Living ones."
Jenkins' expression didn't change.
But something in the air did.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
"You are asking about bound entities," Jenkins said.
"I'm asking," Kael replied, "about things that don't give their power willingly."
A pause.
Then Jenkins nodded once.
"There are such beings," he said. "Rare. Dangerous. Valuable."
"How dangerous?"
Jenkins' gaze sharpened slightly.
"Enough that most people do not survive the attempt," he said.
Kael almost smiled.
"Good," he murmured.
Jenkins studied him for a moment longer, then turned and walked toward the far end of the chamber.
"Come," he said.
Kael followed.
At the back wall, Jenkins placed a hand against a sealed panel. Runes flared to life, cascading outward in a controlled pattern.
The wall shifted.
Opened.
Behind it...
Darkness.
Not absence of light.
Presence of something deeper.
Older.
Kael felt it immediately.
His chest tightened...not from pain this time, but from recognition.
The parasite inside him stirred.
"High-density core signature detected," the System whispered.
"Warning: proximity risk elevated."
Kael's pulse quickened.
"What is this?" he asked.
Jenkins didn't look back.
"A controlled environment," he said. "For observation."
Kael stepped forward.
The darkness parted as he entered.
And then he saw it.
The creature was chained.
Not physically.
Conceptually.
Massive, even in its restrained state, its form flickered between shapes...wolf, serpent, something winged, something broken.
Its body was made of shadow and substance intertwined, veins of dim, pulsing light running through it like a heartbeat made visible.
Its eyes snapped open.
And locked onto Kael.
The pressure hit instantly.
Heavy.
Crushing.
Alive.
Kael staggered...but didn't fall.
"Confirmed," the System said.
"Target classification: Bound Beast."
The creature growled.
Low.
Hungry.
Ancient.
Kael felt something inside his chest respond.
Not fear.
Not entirely.
Recognition.
"Heartbound Relic candidate detected," the System continued.
"Compatibility: Unknown."
Kael's breath slowed.
"…That thing," he said quietly. "It has one."
"Yes," Jenkins replied.
Kael didn't look away from the creature.
"And it won't just give it to me."
"No," Jenkins said.
The chains around the beast pulsed faintly as it shifted, testing its limits.
Watching Kael.
Measuring him.
"Can I kill it?" Kael asked.
Jenkins was silent for a moment.
Then…
"If you attempt it in your current state," he said, "you will die."
Kael nodded.
"That sounds about right."
The beast took a step forward.
The chains tightened.
Its body distorted, snapping partially into a more solid form...a massive wolf-like frame, ribs outlined in glowing fractures, jaws lined with too many teeth.
It lunged.
Stopped only by the restraints.
The impact alone sent a shockwave through the chamber.
Kael didn't flinch.
Not this time.
Instead...
He stepped forward.
"Warning," the System said sharply.
"Host stability insufficient for engagement."
"I'm not fighting it," Kael murmured.
The beast growled louder.
Closer now.
Its breath hit him...cold, heavy with something rotten and ancient.
Kael raised his hand.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The same motion.
The same instinct.
The same choice.
Darkness gathered faintly around his fingers.
Unstable.
Hungry.
The beast reacted instantly.
Its body tensed.
Eyes narrowing.
Not attacking...
Recognizing.
"Response detected," the System said.
"Parasite resonance increasing."
Kael's chest tightened sharply.
Pain flared...
But he held it.
Just for a second longer.
Just enough.
The air between them distorted.
Something unseen pressed outward...
Then snapped.
Kael staggered back, dropping his hand as the power collapsed violently inward.
Pain surged through him, stronger than before.
He hit one knee, breath shattering.
"Limit exceeded," the System stated.
"Recoil engaged."
The beast went still.
Watching.
Not aggressive now.
Aware.
Kael coughed, forcing himself upright.
"…It felt it," he said hoarsely
"Yes," Jenkins replied.
Kael wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"And I felt it," he added.
Something in that creature...
Something alive.
Beating.
Calling.
The second component.
Not an object.
Not a tool.
A heart that refused to belong to him.
Kael let out a slow breath.
"I'm not ready," he said.
Jenkins inclined his head slightly. "No."
Kael turned, walking back toward the exit.
Each step hurt.
But not enough to stop him.
"Then I'll get ready," he said.
Behind him, the beast shifted again...chains rattling softly, eyes still locked onto his back.
Waiting.
As the chamber sealed behind him, the System spoke once more.
"Objective updated," it said.
"Acquire Heartbound Relic."
Kael didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked down at his trembling hand.
Then slowly clenched it into a fist.
"…Next time," he murmured.
His eyes hardened.
"I won't let go."