Chapter 45 – Breaking the Chains

  Akari sat cross-legged in her room, staring at the golden restriction seal on her wrist.

  It pulsed faintly, suppressing the chaotic energy within her. A reminder of the power she had gained—and the danger it carried.

  Renji’s warning echoed in her mind.

  > "The moment you give in, it will consume you."

  But what choice did she have?

  She had spent her entire life fighting to survive. Now, with the Seventh Gate’s power coursing through her veins, she refused to be shackled by fear.

  She would control it. Or she would die trying.

  Taking a deep breath, she extended her fingers and focused on the seal.

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  > I need power.

  Her qi stirred.

  The seal tightened, resisting her will.

  Akari gritted her teeth, pouring more energy into breaking the chains that bound her strength. Heat spread through her veins, her heart pounding in rhythm with the pulsing light on her wrist.

  Cracks formed along the seal.

  A voice slithered into her mind.

  > "You are finally ready."

  Her eyes snapped open.

  The room darkened. Shadows stretched unnaturally, swirling in the corners. The temperature dropped, and the air grew thick with something ancient, something watching.

  Akari’s breathing slowed.

  It was here.

  Something moved in the darkness.

  A pair of violet eyes blinked open just beyond the reach of the lantern’s glow.

  A whisper, cold as death.

  > "Break the seal."

  Akari’s body tensed.

  The thing in the shadows wasn’t attacking. It was waiting.

  For her to take the final step.

  She exhaled sharply, forcing the rush of fear from her mind. She had come this far—there was no turning back.

  With a final surge of qi, she shattered the seal.

  The golden light burst apart, scattering into the air like fragments of a dying star.

  And then—

  Power.

  It crashed into her like a tidal wave. Every fiber of her being burned with raw, unrestrained energy.

  She gasped, her vision flickering between reality and something else—an endless void, filled with whispers and shifting shadows.

  And in that void, something reached for her.

  A black tendril coiled around her wrist, its touch searing and ice-cold all at once.

  Her heart pounded.

  > "You belong to me now."

  Akari’s vision snapped back to reality.

  The room was still. The shadows were gone.

  But her wrist—

  A new mark had appeared, coiling around her skin like a serpent.

  She exhaled shakily, flexing her fingers.

  The restriction was gone.

  And the power was hers to command.

  But somewhere in the depths of her mind…

  A whisper of laughter echoed.