[System Quest: The Ceremony of Binding]
You must complete the Soul Link Ritual within 72 hours.
Failure will result in shared collapse and death.
Warning: Side effects include emotional imprinting, memory bleed, and irreversible bond creation.
Location: The Moonshadow Altar
They stood beneath the cliffs — where the sea roared like thunder and starlight bled across the dark sky.
Selene wore a black ceremonial robe. Kaelion, his royal crest stripped, stood beside her.
The air pulsed with ancient power.
"Once the vow is spoken," the priest whispered, "your souls will echo one another's pain, power… and truth. There will be no secrets between you."
Kaelion didn't look at her.
But his voice was low. Tight.
"Are you ready?"
Selene swallowed.
Ready to bind myself to the man who once let me die?
Ready to risk everything, again… for power, for revenge, for him?
"Yes," she said. "Let's begin."
The Ritual
Two daggers. Two hands. Two drops of blood.
Their palms met.
Pain flared—then light.
Magic spiraled around them, blinding-white and deep crimson, wrapping their bodies in glowing threads that pierced skin and bone.
[System Alert: Emotional Echo Detected. Reading: Kaelion's True Memory—locked.]
Selene gasped. Visions rushed her:
Kaelion screaming her name as flames engulfed her
Him weeping alone at the pyre
Him on his knees, begging the emperor to bring her back
She staggered.
So did he.
"What—was that?" he choked.
She looked at him, eyes wide with tears.
"You… tried to save me?"
Silence Cracked Like Glass
Then—
Lucien's voice echoed from the shadows beyond the altar.
"How sweet," he said. "But unfortunately… only one of you is meant to survive the bond."
A pulse of black energy hit the ground.
Kaelion shielded Selene just as the spell struck. The magical threads around them trembled—unstable.
[System Warning: Ritual corrupted. Stability dropping. Binding may backlash.]
Selene screamed—
And everything went white.
Selene awoke alone.
Her hand still burned from the bloodmark.
But Kaelion… was gone.
Only his crown remained on the altar.
[System Alert: Soul Link Severed… but not destroyed.]
You have one chance to bring him back — or lose him forever.
Next Quest: "The Queen Without a King."