Ashveil burned.
Not in flames. Not yet.
But with fear.
The villagers didn't speak as the rider entered. Didn't bow. Didn't breathe too loudly.
They just opened their doors and let the chain-bearer pass.
Seven feet tall. Cloak of white ash and scorched prayer-script. His face hidden by a helm shaped like a blinded sun.
At his side: a staff that wasn't a staff at all—a whip of living chains, coiled like a serpent.
He walked with the silence of judgment.
He stopped in front of the fallen statue, placed one gauntleted hand to the stone, and whispered:
"Where is the corrupted child?"
Cain watched from the treeline.
Nyx trembled in his veins.
"I know that one.""Who is he?""A Warden. One of the Five. He binds, but he does not fuse. He chains."
Cain clenched his fists. The shard still pulsed inside his chest, burning slow.
His Shadowstep was erratic. The beastcore inside him was still mutating.
"If he finds us—""He won't give a sermon. He'll rip me out of your spine and burn us both."
Flashback:
In the days before the Binding Wars, the Church had Five Wardens.
Not warriors.
Executioners.
They hunted rogue beastbinders. Not to kill—but to break, chain their beasts, and force them into servitude.
Some say the Wardens could make your fusion fight against you.
That night, Cain moved through the village like smoke.
He avoided the chapel. The inn. The center square.
But the Warden was already waiting when he entered the old wellhouse.
"Corruption smells like burned ink and old meat," the chain-bearer said. "I knew you were here."
Cain froze.
Nyx surged.
[Fusion Sync: 41% – Shadow Vein Active]
"Leave me alone," Cain said. "I'm not part of your war."
"No. You're part of his."
The Warden raised a hand.
Chains screamed from the staff, unraveling like serpents, seeking, biting reality.
Cain dodged left—barely. One chain hooked his shadow, yanked it taut.
Pain erupted along his spine. Nyx howled.
[System Alert – Binding Attempt Detected]Resist? Y/N
Cain: YES.
His skin split. Shadow burst outward. He screamed as his form half-shifted—beast claws forming over human fingers.
He ripped the chain out of the ground.
The fight was pure chaos.
Chains. Claws. Whispers of fire that burned only where shadow lay.
The Warden moved with divine precision—no anger, only duty.
"You've already fused beyond regulation. You are a danger to all. Even to her."
"Her…?"
Cain hesitated.
The Warden's grip wavered.
It was enough.
Cain struck. Not to kill—but to break line of sight. He dropped the roof above them, buried the chapel in stone, and ran.
He didn't stop until the forest swallowed him.
His body broken. Nyx barely holding form. Shadows licking at his heels.
"That was a Warden. And he knew her name.""Who?""The girl from your dream. The one who called to me… before you even knew you were mine."
Cain leaned against a tree, half-delirious.
And then he heard the whisper—not Nyx. Not his own mind.
But from the shard still lodged in his chest:
"Bring him to me… The Warden will lead you to the Sanctuary…"
[System Alert – Quest Branch Unlocked]🔗 The Blinded Sun and the Broken ChainFollow the Warden. Learn the location of the Sanctuary.Risk: Extremely HighReward: ???Alternate Path: Kill the Warden and take his memories by force.