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Chapter 18 -  The Sea of Chains

The morning bells of the academy tolled like iron striking iron, their deep resonance rolling across the stone courtyards and steel towers. Students spilled from dorms and training halls in clusters, each wrapped in their own missions, rivalries, and whispered ambitions. But for Kaison, the sound rang hollow. He had not slept much. Again.

Every time he closed his eyes, the same nightmare came—the grotesque thing he and Alice had nearly created, a twisted fusion of sword and chains, screeching like a creature that should never exist. It was only light and imagination, yet Kaison woke each time drenched in sweat, as if the monster had clawed its way out of the seal plane and into his very chest.

Alice was waiting when he entered the training hall, her stance sharp and unwavering, arms folded. She had been awake longer, of course. She always was. Discipline ran through her veins like steel.

"You look worse," she said flatly.

"Thanks," Kaison muttered, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "You always know how to lift a guy's spirit."

Before she could reply, Benson entered. His steps struck the floor in rhythm, steady as a war drum. He carried no tomes this time, no extra weights, no chains. Only himself and the stern authority of his presence.

"You're ready," Benson said without preamble. "Today, you will walk inside."

Alice's brow furrowed. "Inside what?"

"Your seals," Benson replied, voice cutting the air like a blade. "You've played at the surface long enough. Fusion requires trust, yes, but trust means nothing if you cannot even face what lies within. Each seal is a sea—vast, uncharted, and merciless. If you cannot survive its depths, you cannot control what rises from it."

Kaison's stomach knotted. He remembered his talk with Benson days ago—about Gachigakade, about the mysteries he wasn't ready to hear. Benson had warned him that seals held more than power. They held memory. Will. Ego. The shadows of what they once were.

"Sit," Benson commanded.

They obeyed. The cold steel floor pressed against their legs as they crossed them, seals glowing faintly on their arms. Benson stood between them, his eyes sharp and unyielding.

"Close your eyes. Breathe. Do not fight what you see. Do not run. What appears is yours alone to confront."

Kaison swallowed, then obeyed.

---

### The Descent

At first, there was nothing but darkness. Then a hum, faint and metallic, like countless blades being unsheathed at once. The hum grew into rattles, clinks, the sound of thousands—no, millions—of chains grinding together.

Kaison opened his eyes—or thought he did. He stood not in the training hall, but in an endless void. Stretching before him was a vast black ocean, but it was no water. It was chains. Chains shifting, writhing, crashing against each other like waves in a storm. Their weight was suffocating, their clamor deafening.

*Sea of Chains…*

He stumbled forward, boots sinking slightly into the shifting surface. Every step made the links groan beneath him, as if resentful of his presence. Some chains reached upward like serpents, coiling around his legs before sinking back. Others whipped across the horizon, lashing invisible enemies.

At the heart of it, he felt a pulse. A living rhythm, like a heartbeat, buried deep within the sea. The source of his seal.

Kaison clenched his fists. This was his power. And yet, it felt alien, hostile, like it tolerated him only because it had no choice.

"You struggle against me."

The voice was a whisper, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. Kaison spun around, but the sea was empty.

"You fear me."

The chains rattled louder, tightening around his ankles. He tore free, stumbling backward.

"No," he growled. "I don't fear you. I control you."

The sea laughed. Or maybe it was only the sound of ten thousand links grinding together, mocking him.

Chains surged upward, spiraling into a towering figure. Its body was woven of black steel links, its eyes glowing with white fire. It loomed over him, its voice resonating through the air.

"You bind. You protect. But what happens when the cage closes on you, Kaison?"

The figure raised an arm, and chains shot forward, wrapping around his torso, crushing his ribs. He gasped, struggling against them. His seal flared, but the chains were part of it, part of him. Resisting was like fighting his own blood.

"I'm not a prisoner," Kaison spat, forcing his breath out. "Not anymore."

He summoned his will, and the chains around him loosened. Slowly, painfully, he pushed them outward, forcing them to spiral back into the sea. The figure dissolved, melting into the tide of chains once more.

The sea went still.

And then, silence.

---

### Alice's Trial

On the other side of the hall, Alice sat rigid, her eyes shut tight. To her, the world had shifted into blinding white. She stood in a wide expanse of marble ground, gleaming pillars rising into infinity. Her sea was not chaos. It was order. It was silence.

But silence had weight.

At the far end, a colossal blade rested, embedded in the ground. Its surface was flawless, reflecting light like a mirror. Alice stepped toward it, her breaths echoing.

"This is mine," she whispered.

The sword's reflection rippled. And then, a second figure stepped out of it—her reflection. But not perfect. The double's eyes were cold, empty, its stance rigid beyond human.

"You are discipline," the reflection said. "But discipline is chains. Control without heart is emptiness. You are nothing but a hollow blade."

Alice's chest tightened. She raised her practice sword, but it wavered in her grip.

"I'm not empty," she hissed.

The reflection smirked. "Then why do you fight alone? Why do you close every door? Even when he reaches, you refuse his hand."

Kaison's face flickered in her mind, his stubborn grin, his infuriating freedom. For a moment, her sword steadied.

"No," she whispered. "I'm not hollow. I fight for something."

She swung. Her blade clashed with the reflection's, the marble shattering beneath them. The sound of steel rang through her sea, and the reflection split into shards of light, scattering into the void.

Alice fell to one knee, panting. The colossal blade still stood, waiting. But the silence no longer felt suffocating. It felt alive.

---

### Return

Kaison's eyes snapped open, lungs heaving as if he had been drowning. Sweat drenched his back, his arms trembling from unseen weight. Across from him, Alice exhaled sharply, her eyes opening as well. Her usual perfect composure was cracked, her hair clinging to her face, her shoulders shaking.

Benson watched them silently, arms crossed.

"Well?" he asked.

Kaison looked down at his arm. His seal glowed brighter, chains spiraling faintly beneath his skin. But they no longer felt alien. They felt… closer.

Alice straightened, her seal still shimmering faintly. She looked at him—really looked—and for once, her gaze wasn't cold steel. It was fire.

"We're not done," she said.

Kaison smirked weakly. "Didn't think we were."

Benson nodded. "Good. You have taken the first step. But remember—your seas are vast. What you saw was only the shore. To fuse, you must learn not only to face yourselves, but to let your seas flow into each other. Sword and chain. Order and chaos. If you cannot, the abyss will claim you both."

His words echoed in the hall, heavy as stone.

For a moment, silence stretched. Then Kaison stood, wiping his brow. "Guess we better learn to swim."

Alice allowed the faintest curve of a smile. "Just don't drag me under."

The chains within him rattled softly, no longer mocking, but almost… amused.

---

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