The silver whistle in Mac’s hand glowed with a sickly, rhythmic pulse. Every time it throbbed, Marin’s body jerked as if pulled by invisible wires. She was caught in a psychic tug-of-war: the cold, mechanical commands of Verican’s hypnotist against the raw, emotional heat of Robert’s soul-anchor.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RnK6uxQU8
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrCLo87HQm
"It’s no use, Atten!" Mac laughed, his voice distorting as his true mana began to leak out. "The trigger is buried in her subconscious. She is a puppet, and I am the master!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XcBehD6yn
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ba7dRNZvj
He blew a sharp, discordant note. Suddenly, the earth beneath the stone circle groaned. A massive, vine-covered beast—the Verant Strider—burst from the undergrowth. It wasn't a wild animal; its eyes were the same flat emerald as Marin’s. It was a familiar, bound to Mac’s will.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26UZN5UQL4
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyMAcLQiZY
The Duel of Wills13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9wQYurbEm
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGfJq0AQ4U
"Jessica! The beast!" Robert shouted, never letting go of Marin’s hands even as the Strider’s massive wooden claws swung toward them.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYMdxrDxxx
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqa9q2NDBc
"I've got the monster! You get her back!" Jessica yelled. She slammed her staff into the ground, conjuring a Wall of Shatter-Ice to block the Strider's path. "Malric! Find the amplifier! It's hidden in the stone circle!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dlav8noPg
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBFwLa5Mw7
Robert turned back to Marin. Her hands were cold, her face a mask of agony. The "Bond" between them was screaming—a jagged, static-filled signal.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMaNi9k9Ia
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAynE4Lykxm
"Marin, listen to me!" Robert pressed his forehead against hers. "He’s using your loyalty against you. He’s making you think you’re alone. But look at my heart! Feel the mark we shared!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRo3QWCNMF7
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IjojtNnYE
Inside Marin’s mind, she was drowning in a grey sea. Mac’s voice was a booming tide, telling her to submit, to forget, to obey. But then, a spark of violet light pierced the grey. It was Robert—not the Noble, not the Knight, but the boy she had fallen for in the academy gardens.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7iZEugyEp
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2DNzrQvF8
The Resonance Overload13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6xnYO1969
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5AVqPO90z
"I... will... not..." Marin’s voice was a guttural rasp.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqiV1a6nC6
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDId1zvOTaZ
Mac snarled, blowing the whistle with everything he had. "OBEY!"13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDxosRzqyQ
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFL32bMlNfW
The magical pressure became too much. The air around Robert and Marin began to swirl in a vortex of silver and violet. This was the Resonance Overload—the defensive reaction of a bonded pair when their connection is threatened.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQPEmrwnPH
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1RFftRpig
"Malric, now!" Jessica screamed.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OXfR8kpd0
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnglWPa3DNI
Malric found it—a black obsidian spike buried under the central mossy stone. He didn't use a spell; he used a heavy iron hammer, smashing the crystal into a thousand dark shards.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtB088cFRLA
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIVkt85htY
The Strings Snap13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUeYzvHgJR
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gY93gh58i
The moment the crystal shattered, the hypnotic fog evaporated.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIRxgnU49C
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbaFULxzI4
The silver whistle in Mac’s hand turned to dust. The Verdant Strider let out a pained shriek and dissolved into piles of rotting leaves.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfZRvYxVzf
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfldwTHmyS8
Marin’s eyes cleared instantly. The dull emerald vanished, replaced by a fire so fierce it made Mac stumble back in terror. She didn't fall. She didn't cry. She reached back, grabbed the hilt of her claymore, and drew it in one fluid, terrifying motion.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuoHsmlMTJ
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUperIXBsr
"My mind," Marin whispered, her voice like a sharpening blade, "is not your playground."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGEnaYpmEM
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczCzdcylxH
She didn't need Robert to protect her anymore. She lunged, her speed enhanced by the lingering resonance of their bond. Mac tried to conjure a shield, but Marin’s claymore was infused with Robert’s shadow-mana. It sliced through his magic like it was parchment.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj9GtBdME9
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHazGCMdlZf
CLANG.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthfJQ56a7M
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJ18fgOOe8
The sword didn't kill him—Marin stopped the blade a hair’s breadth from his throat. The shockwave of her strike blew the remaining mist out of the clearing.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKcDkXKqFL
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEXae08KRI
The Reckoning13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7szEno5QgS
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcbhHpSnXF
Robert stepped up beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. He looked at the trembling Mac, who was now just a terrified man in a torn cloak.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwTgWBrVyK
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdVtapoYF3
"Tell my uncle," Robert said, his voice cold and final, "that he has failed for the last time. He tried to take my family, and he tried to take my bride. There are no more 'shadows' left for him to hide in."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjFFpnVSZ7
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEdGCdtb6n
Marin looked at Robert, her strength finally wavering as the adrenaline faded. He caught her, pulling her into a fierce embrace.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7HdVgfJ5W
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSlkjrpJKC
"I'm back," she breathed into his chest. "I'm me again."13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkbPREp0Xk
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVEKjhpIXF
"You never left," he replied.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnO90zitqE
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwhchpyAf4
1234 copyright protection9ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYThNzcPgy 尼13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNXmaOzwyg