Chapter10-The Bond that defines fate
The realm roared.
Light cracked through the darkness like lightning, splitting the platform beneath Ling and Arin. The force of it nearly tore Ling's hands from Arin's, but she held on with everything she had.
"Arin--don't let go!"
Arin's glow flickered violently, her form destabilizing as the realm pulled at her like a storm made of gravity and grief.
"Ling... you have to stop."
"No." Ling tightened her grip, nails digging into Arin's wrist. "I'm not losing you again."
The realm's voice thundered through the void.
"The guardian violated the law."
Arin winced as another surge of force yanked her backward.
"The bond must be severed."
Ling shook her head, tears burning hot.
"You can't take her! She didn't do anything wrong!"
Arin's voice cracked.
"Ling... I choose to stay. That's the crime."
The platform split further, glowing fissures racing toward Ling's feet. The air vibrated with unbearable pressure, pulling Arin toward the void and pushing Ling away.
Ling leaned forward, fighting the force with every muscle in her body.
"Arin, look at me!"
Arin forced her eyes open.
Her glow was fading. Her outline flickering. Her voice barely a whisper.
"Ling... please. Let go before it hurts you."
Ling's heart twisted painfully.
"I don't care if it hurts me! I'm not letting you disappear!"
The realm pulsed again, louder, angrier.
"The human defies the verdict."
Ling screamed over the roar.
"YES! I DO!"
The light around her erupted—not from the realm, but from inside her. A burst of white-gold energy exploded outward, wrapping around her arms, her chest, her hands locked around Arin's.
Arin gasped.
"Ling... what are you doing?"
Ling didn't know. She only knew one thing:
She wasn't letting go.
The realm reacted instantly.
The void surged upward like a tidal wave.
The void surged upward like a living storm.
Ling dug her heels into cracking platform, every muscle in her body screaming as she held on to Arin with both hands. The force pulling Arin away was no longer just energy – it felt like the realm itself had hands, claws, gravity.
Arin cried out as her glow flickered violently.
"Ling--stop! You're hurting yourself!"
Ling's grip only tightened.
"I don't care! I'm not letting you go!"
The realm's voice thundered through the darkness.
"The guardian must return to the void."
Arin's form jerked backward, her feet lifting off the ground as if invisible chains were dragging her.
Ling lunged forward, wrapping both arms around Arin's waist.
"No! No, no, no—please!"
The platform beneath Ling shattered further, glowing shards falling into the abyss. The force pulling Arin intensified, tearing at Ling's fingers, her wrists, her shoulders.
Arin's voice broke.
"Ling... you're going to fall!"
Ling's eyes burned with tears.
"Then I fall with you."
Arin froze.
For a moment – just a moment – the realm hesitated.
The void stilled. The light dimmed. The pull weakened.
Arin stared at Ling, her expression collapsing into something raw and unguarded.
"Why would you do that?"
Ling's voice cracked.
"Because you're not just a guardian spirit to me."
Arin's breath caught.
The realm roared in fury.
"The bond deepens. The violation grows."
Arin glow flared painfully bright as the realm yanked her again, harder this time. Ling screamed as her feet slid toward the edge of the platform.
Arin reached up with trembling hands and cupped Ling's face.
"Ling... listen to me."
Ling shook her head violently.
"No. Don't say goodbye. Don't you dare."
Arin's voice softened, breaking.
"I'm not saying goodbye."
Ling's breath hitched.
Arin leaned forward, her forehead touching Ling's.
"I'm saying... trust me."
Before Ling could respond, Arin pulled away—and placed her glowing hand over Ling's heart.
"Arin-- what are you--"
Arin whispered:
"If the realm wants to take me... it will have to take the part of me that lives inside you."
The realm screamed.
Light exploded.
The platform shattered completely.
Ling and Arin were thrown apart.
Light swallowed everything.
Ling didn't feel the platform break. She didn't feel the void open. She didn't even feel herself falling.
She only left Arin's warmth fading from her fingers.
"Arin!" Her voice tore through the blinding light.
Somewhere in the chaos, Arin's voice echoed back – faint, trembling, but still reaching for her.
"Ling... hold on the part of me you carry."
Ling tried to reach out, but the force pulling them apart was too strong. The light twisted into spirals, dragging Ling downward while Arin was pulled upward, toward a darkness that felt ancient and merciless.
"Arin, don't go! Please!"
The realm voice boomed through the void.
"The guardian returns to the void."
Ling screamed.
"No! She gave me part of her! You can't take her!"
The light around Ling flared violently – white-gold, the same colour as Arin's glow. It burst outward like a shockwave, ripping through the realm's pull.
For a moment—just a heartbeat—Ling saw Arin clearly.
Her voice form was dissolving into thread of light. Her eyes were full of fear and something deeper. Her hand reached toward Ling, trembling.
"Ling... I'm sorry."
Ling's chest shattered.
"Don't apologize! Fight! Please fight!
Arin's glow flickered.
"I can't fight the realm... but you can."
The void roared.
The light around Aria snapped like a rope pulled too tight.
Ling lunged forward, reaching everything she had.
"ARIN!"
Their fingers brushed--
A spark exploded between them.
A pulse of light shot through Ling's chest, burning, searing, awakening something she didn't understand.
Aria's eyes widened.
"Ling... what did you--"
Before she could finish, the realm yanked her upward with brutal force.
Her form shattered into thousand glowing fragments.
Ling screamed as the last piece of Arin's light vanished into the void.
The realm fell silent.
The light around Ling collapsed.
And she plummeted into darkness.
Ling fell.
Not through air. Not through light. Through nothingness.
A cold, endless void swallowed her, pressing against her skin like invisible hands. Her breath tore from her lungs as she spun through the darkness, unable to see, unable to scream, unable to think.
Then--
A spark.
A tiny, warm pulse in her chest.
Ling gasped as the warmth spread outward, threading through her ribs, her spine, her fingertips. The void recoiled from it, shrinking back like a living thing afraid of fire.
The warmth pulsed again.
Stronger.
Brighter.
Alive.
Ling clutched her chest, eyes widening.
"Arin...?"
The warmth answered with a soft, trembling glow beneath her skin.
Not words. Not voice. But presence.
A piece of Arin. Still with her. Still fighting.
Ling's breath shook.
"I'm here. I'm not letting you fade."
The void around her trembled violently, reacting to the awakening inside her. Darkness twisted into spirals, forming jagged shapes that lunged toward her like claws.
The realm's voice thundered from everywhere and nowhere.
"The guardian's essence must not remain in the human."
Ling's eyes narrowed.
"Too late."
The warmth inside her flared – white-gold light bursting from her chest in a shockwave that tore through the void. The darkness shrieked, recoiling. Fracturing into shards.
Ling wasn't falling anymore.
She was floating, suspended in a sphere of her own light.
He hair drifted around her like she was underwater. Her skin glowed faintly. Her heartbeat echoed like a drum.
The realm roared again.
"Return the guardian's fragment."
Ling lifted her chin.
"No."
The void convulsed.
Dark tendrils shot toward her, trying to crush the light around her. Ling raised her hand instinctively—and the light responded, forming a barrier that shattered the tendrils on impact.
Ling stared at glowing hand, stunned.
"What... is this?"
The warmth inside her pulsed again – gentle, steady, familiar.
Arin's presence.
Ling whispered, voice trembling.
"You gave me your power."
The voice screamed.
"The human must not wield guardian light."
Ling's eyes hardened.
"Then stop me."
The light around her surged, forming wings of pure energy that unfurled behind her – not physical, not solid, but radiant, fierce, alive.
The void recoiled in terror.
Ling floated upward, her voice steady and unshakeable.
"I'm coming for her."
The realm trembled.
The abyss cracked open.
And Ling shot upward like a comet of white-gold fire.
The abyss around her twisted violently, trying to drag her back down, but the light inside her – Arin's fragment – burned like a blade.
Her heartbeat echoed through the void.
Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.
Each pulse sent another shockwave of light outward, tearing apart the shadows that lunged at her.
The realm roared, its voice shaking the entire expanse.
"Human, you carry what is forbidden."
Ling didn't slow.
"Then stop me."
The void convulsed, forming massive walls of darkness that slammed together like jaws trying to crush her. Ling raised her hand instinctively – and the light responded, forming of shimmering shield that shattered the walls on impact.
The explosion of light illuminated the abyss of miles.
Ling's eyes widened.
Far above her – a faint glow. A familiar glow.
Arin.
Or what was left of her.
A cluster of white-blue fragments drifted upward, pulled toward a swirling vortex of darkness – the Void Gate, the place where guardian spirits were erased.
Ling's breath caught.
"No... no, no, no—ARIN!"
The fragments flickered weakly, as if hearing her.
A soft echo brushed Ling's mind.
Ling...?
Ling's chest tightened.
"I'm coming! Just hold on!"
The realm thundered again, furious.
"The guardian must be unmade."
Ling's eyes blazed.
"Over my dead body."
The light inside her surged, brighter than before – not just Arin's fragment, but Ling's own soul responding, intertwining, amplifying.
Wings of pure energy unfurled behind her again, larger, sharper, more defined. The void recoiled as she accelerated upward, cutting through the darkness like a comet.
But the realm wasn't done.
The shadows condensed into a massive shape – colossal guardian-beast made of pure void, its eyes burning with ancient judgement.
It opened its jaws and roared, the sound shaking the entire abyss.
Ling didn't flinch.
She raised her hand.
The light gathered in her palm swirling, intensifying, forming a sphere of white-gold energy that hummed with Arin's warmth.
Ling whispered:
"For her."
She hurled the light forward.
The blast tore through the guardian-beast, splitting it in half. The creature dissolved into smoke, its roar fading into nothing.
Ling shot past the remnants, breath shaking, eyes locked on the drifting fragments of Arin.
They were fading.
Fast.
"Arin! Stay with me!"
Another faint echo reached her.
Ling... I'm sorry...
Ling's heart cracked.
"Don't apologize! Just stay!"
The Void Gate pulsed, pulling the fragments closer.
Ling pushed harder, her wings burning brighter, her body trembling from the strain.
She reached out--
Her fingers brushed the first fragment.
A spark of warmth shot through her.
Arin's voice whispered, fragile but real.
Ling... you found me.
Ling's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm not letting you disappear."
She reached for the next fragment--
But the Void roared, unleashing a shockwave that slammed into her, sending her spiralling backward.
Ling screamed as the light around her flickered.
The fragments of Arin drifted closer to the Gate.
Too close.
Ling steadied herself, wings trembling, breath ragged.
She whispered:
"I'm not losing you."
And she launched herself forward again.
Straight into the Gate's pull.
Straight into the realm's wrath.
Straight toward Arin.
The pull of the Void Gate was monstrous.
Ling felt it the moment she crossed the threshold – a force so heavy it crushed the air from the lungs, bent her spine and dragged at her bones like gravity made of grief.
But she didn't stop.
Her wings of white-gold light flared, slicing through the darkness as she pushed forward with everything she had.
The fragments of Arin floated just ahead of her, trembling, flickering, fading.
"Arin" Stay with me!"
A faint echoed brushed her mind.
Ling... it hurts...
Ling's heart twisted.
"I know. I'm coming."
The Gate roared, sound like a thousand storms collapsing at once. Darkness spiralled inward, forming a vortex that tried to swallow Ling whole.
The realm's voice thundered:
"The guardian must be unmade. The human must not interfere."
Ling bared her teeth.
"Watch me."
She thrust her hand forward—and light inside her surged, brighter than ever, forming a spear of pure energy that tore through the vortex.
The Gate recoiled.
For the first time... it hesitated.
Ling pushed harder, her wings burning, her body shaking from the strain. She reached out, fingertips brushing the nearest fragment of Arin.
A spark. A pulse. A heartbeat.
Arin's voice whispered, fragile but real.
Ling... you shouldn't be here...
Ling's breath broke.
"I'm not leaving without you."
The Gate screamed, unleashing a shockwave that slammed into Ling's chest. She was thrown backward, tumbling through the void, light flickering around her.
But she didn't fall.
She caught herself mid-air, wings snapping open, eyes blazing.
The light inside her pulsed again – but this time, something changed.
It wasn't just Arin's warmth.
It was something deeper.
Something older.
Something that didn't belong to either of them.
Ling gasped as a symbol burned across her skin – a glowing mark over her heart, shaped like intertwined threads.
The realm froze.
"Impossible."
Ling looked down at the mark, beneath trembling.
"What... is this?"
The Gate shuddered violently.
"The human carries a forbidden seal."
Arin's fragments flickered in panic.
Ling... that mark... it's not mine...
"Then whose is it?"
The realm answered with a voice that shook the entire abyss.
"The mark of a Bound Soul."
Ling's eyes widened.
"A what?"
"A soul that cannot be separated. A soul that cannot be erased. A soul that chooses its counterpart."
Ling's breath caught.
"You mean--"
"The human and the guardian are now bound."
Arin's fragments glowed brighter, trembling.
Ling... you bound us...
Ling's heart stopped.
"I didn't know—I didn't mean--"
"The bond is irreversible."
The Gate roared, collapsing inward.
"The guardian cannot be unmade. The human cannot be expelled. The realm cannot break the bond."
Ling stared at the mark glowing on her chest.
Arin's presence pulsed inside her.
The Gate trembled.
The realm shook.
And the entire world of spirits shifted around them.
The Void Gate convulsed.
Not with anger—with fear.
The swirling darkness that had been pulling Arin's fragments suddenly recoiled, as if the Gate itself had touch something forbidden.
Ling hovered in the air, wings of white-gold light blazing behind her, the Bound Soul mark burning across her chest.
The realm's voice trembled for the first time.
"This bond... should not exist."
Ling's eyes narrowed.
"Too late."
The Gate shuddered violently, its vortex collapsing inward, then exploding outward in a shockwave that tore through the abyss. Ling shielded her face as the blast hit her, but the light inside her held firm.
Arin's fragments scattered like sparks in a storm.
Ling reached out instinctively--
And the mark on her chest flared.
A beam of white-gold light shot from her heart, wrapping around the fragments like threads pulling them back together.
Ling gasped.
"Arin...?"
The fragments pulsed.
A faint voice echoed through her mind, clearer than before.
Ling... I can feel you.
Ling's breath broke.
"I'm right here. Come back to me."
The realm roared.
"The guardian must not reform!"
Dark tendrils erupted from the Gate, lashing toward the fragments, trying to tear them apart again.
Ling moved before she could think.
She threw herself between the tendrils and the fragments, wings snapping open, light exploding outward in a protective barrier.
The tendrils struck—and disintegrated on impact.
Ling's eyes widened.
Her power wasn't just reacting. It was overriding the realm.
The realm's voice cracked with disbelief.
"The human commands guardian light... and something more."
Ling didn't care what it meant.
She reached toward the fragments again, voice trembling.
"Arin, stay with me. Please."
The fragments drifted toward her, drawn by the mark on her chest. They circled her like fireflies, glowing, brighter, faster, warmer.
Arin's voice whispered:
Ling... I'm scared.
Ling's throat tightened.
"I know. But you're not alone."
The fragments pulsed.
I don't know if I can come back.
Ling shook her head fiercely.
"You don't have to it alone. I'll pull you back?"
The realm screamed.
"The bond must be severed."
The Gate unleashed a final, massive blast of voice energy, aiming to obliterate both Ling and the fragments.
Ling didn't flinch.
She stepped forward.
The Bound Soul mark erupted in a burst of white-gold fire, forming a shield so bright it turned the entire abyss into daylight.
The blast hit—and shattered.
The Gate cracked.
The realm trembled.
Arin's fragments glowed brighter, swirling faster, forming a shape--
A silhouette. A body. A presence.
Ling's breath caught.
"Arin...?"
The light condensed.
Arin's form began to rebuild, piece by glowing piece.
Her voice, soft and trembling, echoed through the light.
Ling... you pulled me back.
Ling's eyes filled with tears.
"I told you. I'm not losing you."
The realm fell silent.
The Gate collapsed.
And Arin's hand reached toward Ling—real, glowing, trembling.
The light around Arin's forming body pulsed like a heartbeat.
Slow. Unsteady. But alive.
Ling hovered in front of her, wings trembling, chest burning with the Bound Soul seal's glow. She reached out, breath shaking.
"Arin... come back."
The fragments tightened, swirling faster, pulling into shape – shoulders, arms, the outline of face. The glow dimmed just enough for Ling to see her eyes.
Soft. Familiar. Terrified.
Arin whispered, voice barely formed:
"Ling... you shouldn't have done this."
Ling throat tightened.
"I wasn't going to let you disappear."
The realm's voice cracked like thunder.
"The guardian reforms against the verdict. The bond corrupts the balance."
Arin flinched at the sound, her half-formed body flickering.
Ling stepped closer, shielding her with her wings.
"Don't listen. I've got you."
Arin's gaze softened, but fear still trembled in her voice.
"Ling... the Bound Soul seal... it changes everything."
Ling swallowed hard.
"I Don't care what it changes. I just want you here."
Arin's glow steadied—just a little.
But the realm wasn't done.
The darkness behind them twisted violently, forming a massive rift. The Void Gate, now unstable, cracked open again – but this time it wasn't pulling.
It was releasing something.
A deep, ancient presence stirred inside the rift.
The realm's voice dropped to a whisper of dread.
"The seal has awakened the one who sleeps."
Ling's breath caught.
Arin's eyes widened in horror.
"Ling... we need to move. Now."
Before Ling could react, the rift split open completely – and a wave of cold, crushing energy surged outward, slamming into them.
Ling grabbed Arin's half-formed hand.
Arin squeezed back, desperate, trembling.
The rift roared.
The abyss shook.
And something stepped out.
The rift split open with a sound like tearing metal.
Ling tightened her grip on Arin's half-formed hand, wings flaring instinctively as the cold wave of energy rolled over them. Even the Bound Soul seal flickered under the pressure.
Arin's voice trembled.
"Ling... don't look at it directly."
But Ling couldn't look away.
Something moved inside the rift.
Not a shape. Not a shadow. A presence.
Ancient. Heavy. Wrong.
The darkness bent around it, as if reality itself didn't want to touch whatever was stepping out.
The realm's voice cracked with fear.
"The Sleeper... has awakened."
Ling's breath hitched.
"The... what?"
Arin's glow flickered violently, her form destabilizing again.
"Ling, that's not a guardian. It's older than the realm."
The presence stepped forward.
A tall, humanoid silhouette formed out of swirling void, but its eyes—two burning rings of pale silver—locked into Ling with a focus that made her chest tighten.
Not hatred. Not anger. Recognition.
As if it already knew her.
The creature spoke; its voice layered like a thousand whispers.
"So the Bound Soul has chosen."
Ling's heart pounded.
"You... know about the seal?"
The creature tilted its head, the void around it rippling like water.
"I know the one who created it."
Arin's fingers tightened around Ling's.
"Ling... we need to leave. Now."
But the creature raised a hand.
Not threatening. Not attacking. Inviting.
"Come closer, child of light. Let me see what you carry."
Ling's wings flared instinctively, shielding Arin.
"No."
The creature paused.
Then it smiled.
A slow, unsettling curve of lightless lips.
"Good. You will need that defiance."
The realm roared in panic.
"Do not speak to it! Do not answer it!"
The creature ignored the realm entirely.
Its silver eyes focused only on Ling.
"The seal has awakened because of you. And now... the realm will hunt you both."
Ling's breath caught.
Arin's glow dimmed.
The creature stepped fully out of the rift, the void bending around its form like gravity.
"But do not fear. When the time comes... you will seek me."
The rift snapped shut behind it.
Silence fell.
Ling hovered in the air, heart racing, wings trembling, Arin's half-formed hand still in hers.
Arin whispered, voice shaking.
"Ling... what have we awakened?"
Ling didn't answer.
Because first time since the Bound Soul seal appeared... She was afraid.
The creature's departure left the abyss trembling.
Ling hovered in the silence, wings dimming, breath uneven. Arin's half-formed hand was still in hers – warm, flickering, fragile.
Ling whispered:
"Stay with me... please."
The Bound Soul seal pulsed once, twice, then flared.
Arin's fragments surged with light.
Her outline sharpened – shoulders, arms, her face forming fully now. The glow around her steadied, no longer scattering like broken glass.
Arin gasped as her body solidified, her feet touching the invisible ground beneath them.
She was back.
Weak. Shaking. But whole.
Ling's eyes filled with relief.
"Arin..."
Arin looked up, her expression soft and overwhelmed.
"You really pulled me out of the Gate."
Ling let out a shaky laugh.
"I told you I'm not losing you."
Arin opened her mouth to respond--
But the realm screamed.
A raw, furious, wounded sound that shook the entire void.
"The guardian has reformed. The bond has corrupted the verdict. The human must be erased."
Ling stepped in front of Arin instantly, wings snapped open.
"You're not touching her."
Arin grabbed Ling's arm, voice trembling.
"Ling, you can't fight the realm again—your body won't hold--"
But Ling didn't move.
The realm's darkness surged, forming a massive spear of void energy. It aimed straight at Ling's heart.
Arin's eyes widened.
"Ling--!"
The spear shot forward.
Ling didn't dodge.
She raised her hand.
The Bound Soul seal erupted in a burst of white-gold fire, forming a shield that caught the spear mid-air. The impact shook her entire body, forcing her to her knees.
Arin dropped beside her, holding her shoulders.
"Ling! Stop—your body can't take this--"
Ling gritted her teeth.
"I'm not letting it touch you."
The spear cracked against the shield, splintering into shards of darkness that dissolved into nothing.
The realm roared in disbelief.
"The human defies the realm's judgment."
Ling stood, trembling but unbroken.
"Get used to it."
Arin stared at her, eyes wide with something deeper than fear.
Something like awe.
But the realm wasn't finished.
The darkness condensed again – this time forming a blade, sharper, faster, aimed not at Ling...
... but at Arin.
Ling's heart stopped.
"NO!"
She threw herself forward, wings flaring, shield forming--
But she was too slow.
The blade shot toward Arin's chest--
Arin froze--
Ling screamed--
The Bound Soul exploded.
A shockwave of white-gold light blasted outward, tearing through the void, ripping the blade apart, shattering the realm's attack completely.
The entire abyss fell silent.
Ling collapsed to her knees, gasping, the seal burning painfully bright.
Arin caught her, pulling her close, voice breaking.
"Ling... what is happening to you."
Ling looked up, breath trembling.
"I don't know."
The realm whispered, terrified.
"The bond is evolving."
Arin held Ling tighter.
The abyss cracked beneath them.