Chapter 223: Bindings And Breaking Points

Kane moved first—a blur of silver as his enhanced speed kicked in, trying to dart past Cyrus toward the balcony doors.

He made it three steps.

Crimson chains materialized from thin air, wrapping around Kane’s wrists and ankles with surgical precision.

The dragon magic yanked him backward, momentum reversing as if gravity itself obeyed Cyrus’s will.

Kane’s back hit the mattress hard, breath punching from his lungs.

The chains tightened, spreading his arms wide across the silk sheets, pinning his legs flat.

Silver foxfire sparked uselessly against the restraints—Cyrus’s magic absorbed the energy like water dousing flame.

"Let go—"

Cyrus loomed over him, one knee planted on the mattress, expression carved from stone.

"No."

Kane thrashed, nine tails whipping frantically. The crimson chains held firm, burning neither hot nor cold, just immovable.

Cyrus reached down with deliberate calm, fingers closing around Kane’s phone.

"Don’t you dare—" The device slid free from Kane’s grip with humiliating ease.

Cyrus straightened, turning the phone screen toward himself.

Kane watched helplessly as Cyrus’s eyes scanned Rina’s messages, crimson irises flickering with each line of text.

The silence stretched, unbearable.

Cyrus’s jaw tightened. The hand holding the phone trembled—barely perceptible, but there.

When Cyrus finally looked down at Kane, his expression had transformed into something terrible and familiar.

The same look he’d worn when Kane collapsed on the beach.

Pure, undiluted dread.

"You’re dying," Cyrus whispered. "Were you going to keep this from me?"

Kane met his gaze, chin lifting despite the chains pinning him to expensive sheets.

"It’s not absolute—"

"Answer the question."

"I didn’t want to risk scaring you." The words tumbled out faster than Kane intended. "Rina said might. She said possibly. Not definite."

Crimson energy flared around Cyrus’s free hand.

"Stay still."

The command carried enough draconic weight that Kane’s body obeyed before his brain caught up, muscles locking into place.

Cyrus set the phone aside with deliberate care, then pressed two fingers against Kane’s throat.

The touch burned—not painfully, but with that particular heat unique to dragon magic searching for answers.

Kane’s pulse hammered against Cyrus’s fingertips.

"Elevated," Cyrus muttered.

Crimson light spread from the contact point, flowing across Kane’s skin, mapping every energy pathway.

Kane bit back a whimper as the magic probed deeper, examining his spirit core’s rhythm.

"Aura balance compromised." Cyrus’s jaw clenched. "Resonance patterns destabilizing."

The chains tightened fractionally.

"So?" Kane’s voice came out steadier than he felt. "Is it actually serious, or is Rina just being dramatic?"

Cyrus said nothing.

The silence stretched taut as a bowstring.

Crimson energy continued mapping Kane’s compromised aura, each flicker revealing another destabilized pathway, another fracture in his spirit core.

Cyrus’s fingers trembled against Kane’s throat.

"Cyrus—"

"Don’t." The word came out jagged.

Kane watched the dragon’s jaw clench hard enough to crack stone. Crimson eyes burned with something worse than fear—self-directed fury.

The hand against Kane’s pulse tightened fractionally.

Not restraining, but anchoring.

Like Cyrus could physically hold Kane’s deteriorating aura together through sheer force of will.

"It’s bad, isn’t it?" Kane whispered.

Cyrus’s head dropped forward, dark hair falling across his face.

"I should have stopped him." Each word ground out through gritted teeth. "Should have torn Elias apart the second he touched you."

The crimson chains around Kane’s wrists pulsed brighter.

"Should have protected you better. Should have—" Cyrus’s voice cracked on the last word, despair bleeding through every syllable.

His knees buckled.

The crimson chains dissolved into smoke as Cyrus slumped to the floor beside the bed, shoulders curving inward like something vital had been carved out.

Kane’s wrists burned where the restraints vanished. He pushed himself upright immediately, dropping to the tile beside Cyrus.

"Hey." Kane’s fingers found Cyrus’s jaw, tilting his face up. "It’s okay."

"It’s not—"

"Listen to me." Kane’s thumb traced the sharp line of Cyrus’s cheekbone. "We can face this together. There has to be something we can do."

Cyrus’s eyes squeezed shut.

"Elias did this on purpose." The words emerged hollow, defeated. "The shard essence experiment was flawed from the beginning. He knew the compound would degrade and what it would do to subjects long-term."

Kane’s breath caught.

"You’re saying he poisoned me deliberately?"

"Not poison." Cyrus’s hand caught Kane’s wrist, grip desperate. "Worse. A timer. Building pressure until your spirit core ruptures from the inside out."

The casual delivery of Kane’s potential death sentence hung between them.

Kane’s other hand slid into Cyrus’s hair, fingers threading through dark strands.

"Then we find a way to stop it." His voice stayed steady despite the terror clawing at his chest. "We’ve survived worse."

Cyrus’s laugh came out broken.

"Have we?"

Kane’s fingers tightened in Cyrus’s hair.

"You’re right," he admitted quietly. "We haven’t survived anything like this before."

The truth settled between them—heavy, undeniable.

Kane had faced death plenty of times. Bullets, spirits, collapsing buildings. He always assumed that he would die young while doing something foolish in the field.

Never imagined the threat would come from inside his own deteriorating spirit core.

"Ironic, isn’t it?" Kane’s laugh came out bitter. "All those times I thought you’d sacrifice yourself for some noble cause. Turns out I’m the one dying."

Cyrus’s grip on Kane’s wrist turned bruising.

"Don’t."

"I’m just saying—" Kane’s thumb traced Cyrus’s jaw. "Our vow still stands, right? We survive together or not at all?"

Cyrus’s eyes snapped open, crimson burning with absolute conviction.

"I meant every word." His voice dropped to something dangerous, final. "If you’re gone, I won’t stay behind. I refuse to live alone in a world without you in it."

The declaration hit harder than any magic.

Kane’s breath caught as the full weight of Cyrus’s promise crashed over him.

Not a threat. A vow.

If Kane died, Cyrus would follow.

"That’s—" Kane swallowed hard. "That’s really dramatic."

"It’s the truth." Cyrus leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Kane’s. "So you’d better fight like hell to survive."

"I can do that." Kane’s voice steadied, amber eyes locking with crimson. "Always have."

His fingers threaded deeper into Cyrus’s hair, grounding them both.

"So what’s the plan?" Kane searched Cyrus’s face for answers. "You always have something up your sleeve."

Cyrus’s jaw set with terrible determination.

"We’ll assemble the Eternal God Crystal."

Kane’s breath stopped.

"What?"

"Exactly as Elias wanted." Cyrus’s expression remained carved from stone.

Kane’s grip tightened in shock.

"You can’t be serious—"

"I’ve never been more serious in my life.