The road grew narrower as they walked, the ground cracked from old battles. The air was too still, and even the Raven above seemed restless.
Mira glanced around. "It's too quiet," she said under her breath.
Draven kept walking, though his eyes swept the treeline. Ahead, a group of people knelt in the dirt. Their arms jerked, legs shaking, as if invisible hands were twisting them.
A man raised his head weakly. His eyes were bloodshot. "Please, someone help us! These chains are crushing me, I can't breathe!"
Another voice came from the group. "It feels like something's tearing inside me—make it stop!"
Before Draven could step closer, armed men pushed out from the shadows on both sides of the road. Dominion soldiers leveled their blades. At the center stood a handler, clutching a shard-rod that glowed with faint shackling runes.
"Stay on the ground!" one soldier barked. "Crawl if you have to, but don't even think about standing up!"
The handler raised his rod higher. "Drop your beasts and hand over the book! If you resist, these people die right here!"
The phantom shackles tightened around the refugees, forcing screams from their throats.
Stonehide roared in answer, its scales burning with faint light. Feyra's blossoms flared, vines snaking forward across the ground. The Raven cried from above, lightning sparking from its wings.
The soldiers rushed. Steel clashed against stone and claw. The battle broke around them in chaos.
Mira was forced back, cut off from Draven's side. She stumbled as a Dominion soldier loomed over her, sword raised high.
"Move aside, girl! I'll cut you down if you stand in the way."
Her hands trembled, but she raised her voice anyway. "No! I won't move!"
The soldier snarled and swung—
A sharp cry split the sky.
The Silvergale Falcon dived down like an arrow, striking the soldier's arm. Blood sprayed as his blade fell from his grip. He staggered back, clutching his wound.
"What—? That bird!" he gasped. "Why is it fighting for her when it's not marked?"
Mira stared, frozen, her voice barely a whisper. "It came back for me…"
The Falcon circled her, wings wide, driving back the soldiers who hesitated to advance.
Draven turned his gaze toward the handler and the refugees writhing in the dirt. The phantom shackles glowed faintly across their bodies, twisting tighter with every second. The Codex manifested at his side, floating upright in the air.
His voice was steady, unshaken by the chaos around him. "These are not chains anymore. Not while I stand here."
The Codex pulsed bright. Lines of light spread through the air, touching the invisible bonds. One by one, the shackles cracked like glass under pressure—then shattered into fragments of fading light.
The refugees collapsed, gasping for breath.
One man clutched his chest, sobbing. "The chains… they broke apart! He destroyed the shackles right in front of us!"
Another woman stumbled to her feet. "I felt them snap—I can move again!"
The soldiers froze. One of them backed away in panic. "That's not possible! Shackles don't just break like that!"
Draven gave no answer. He only lifted his hand. Feyra surged forward, her vines lashing through the soldiers' ranks, dragging men to the ground. Stonehide slammed its body against the handler, shattering the rod in his grip. The Raven dove with a crack of lightning, scattering the last line of troops.
Those who could still stand fled, dragging the wounded with them.
The road grew quiet again, save for the ragged breaths of the freed refugees.
Mira stood still as the Falcon returned. It landed on her arm, gripping with sharp claws but without malice. She steadied herself this time, lifting her arm high.
Her voice was soft, filled with wonder. "It keeps finding me… no matter how many times it flies away."
Draven stepped closer, the Codex hovering dimly at his side. "The Codex only shows the ones bound to me. The Falcon has chosen you."
Mira looked at the bird, hesitant. "It chose… me?"
The Falcon tilted its head, as if answering her in silence.
The Codex pulsed once more, and words flared across the page in light.
"Roots bind bearer. Bloom may rise in others. Choice spreads."
Draven's eyes lingered on the words, though he said nothing.
The refugees huddled together, whispering as they rose.
"I saw it myself—he raised his hand and the shackles just shattered."
"Not a single mark on those beasts, and still they obeyed him like they wanted to."
"He freed us. He really freed us. The Chainbreaker saved us."
Not far off, two wounded Dominion soldiers limped into the trees. One leaned on the other, clutching his bleeding arm.
"We have to report this," he muttered. "He broke the anchors. The Chainbreaker isn't just a story—he's real."
Draven and his companions left the broken road behind, walking deeper into the night. Ahead lay the borderland villages. Behind them, both fear and hope had already begun to spread faster than their steps.
💖 Enjoying the story?
👉 Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/sa2quasar