"Chains of Suppression!"

  Iridescent purple light shimmered from magic circles that appeared at the roots and branches of the World Tree. Numerous astral chains erupted—luminous and heavy, like molten iron infused with stars. They lashed toward the dark serpentine creature, binding the air with a metallic scream.

  The creature roared, its voice a chorus of echoes, like hundreds speaking as one. The sound warped the air, twisting branches and cracking bark. Elves clutched their ears as their senses bent and their eyes bled light.

  The chains struck, wrapping around the creature’s form. But the darkness it exuded didn’t resist like matter, it absorbed them. The first few links dimmed, fading into its body as if swallowed whole.

  Iode’s eyes narrowed.

  He clenched his palm and began chanting:

  “In the darkest space and in the brightest day, burning through eons with unfathomable energy, I beseech you, stars of heaven, grant me your power!”

  The afternoon sun flared brighter for a heartbeat, pulsing rhythmically.

  The chains shimmered with a new hue, purple turning white, then clear, until they became translucent threads of truth, woven from the fabric of law itself.

  “Try devouring this.”

  The threads bit into the creature’s body, and for the first time, it recoiled. Its skin, if one could call that swirling void skin, rippled like disturbed water, and a sound like whispering glass filled the air.

  From the depths of its voice came a thousand distorted murmurs:

  “You… carry the mark… of the traitor…”

  Iode’s eyes sharpened. “The traitor?”

  “He who broke the first tether… he who tried to unmake the binding… he who—”

  The voices fractured into static screams as Iode’s aura surged, shattering sound itself.

  “Speak not of what you don’t understand.”

  The World Tree trembled, roots tightening as Elysia’s energy surged through her bark. Her voice echoed across the realm.

  “Iode! It’s reacting to the seal! I can hold it only a moment longer!”

  “Then we end this now.”

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  He spread both arms, and a new magic circle ignited, not one of mana, but of concepts. Symbols older than time twisted through the air, rearranging like constellations finding new meaning. His voice dropped into the language of gods, each syllable fracturing reality.

  The creature understood what Iode was doing. Though trapped, it wasn’t going down without a fight.

  With its free tail, it slashed through space like fabric and dipped it into the rupture.

  Another tear opened beside Iode, its tail shot toward his eyes.

  But Iode stood calm. He snapped his fingers, and a portal bloomed before him. The serpent’s tail emerged from another rift, striking its own eye instead.

  Its scream tore through the air as multiple ruptures splintered reality. From them, countless dark serpentine creatures spilled out, slithering into the deeper reaches of the World Tree.

  The roots and branches responded instantly, tailing the horrors and ensnaring them within seconds. Molgaron, using molten claws and fangs, ripped through those caught.

  Spectral arrows suddenly rained from the heavens, piercing the captured beasts. The Queen of the Elves and her elders had arrived, unleashing their power to aid the defense.

  “What are those?!” one elder cried.

  “I don’t know,” Queen Elysia III answered grimly, “but the World Tree is wary of them. We must support her!”

  Though their arrival bolstered morale, Iode knew they lacked the power to destroy such creatures.

  More serpents poured through ruptures, spreading faster. The Queen leaped from her perch, drawing her bow carved from the World Tree’s bark. She released a single spectral arrow—then countless others followed, a storm of light.

  But the creatures absorbed them effortlessly.

  One, larger than the rest, loomed before her, maws open wide. There was no time to evade.

  “Tch.” Iode curled his lip.

  “Elysia, I’m taking the battle elsewhere.”

  “Alright. I’ll go with you,” the World Tree’s voice resonated in his mind.

  He snapped his fingers. Instantly, every dark creature, including those bound by the World Tree and the ruptures themselves, vanished, reappearing in an open, winding field.

  The roots followed, bursting from the ground to trap the monsters again, stitching the ruptures shut like a seam closing.

  The main serpent opened its maw, sharp tendrils shooting toward Iode. He evaded them with fluid precision while weaving the spell the creature had interrupted earlier.

  At its conclusion, he spoke:

  “Invocation: The Mirror of Undoing.”

  A translucent mirror formed before him, a sheet of liquid light. The creature lunged, but as its darkness met the mirror’s surface, the reflection came alive. Another serpent, this one of pure white flame, erupted from the mirror, entwining the original. Both screamed, writhing as one consumed the other.

  The world exploded in blinding brilliance. Then silence.

  The mirror cracked, and the serpent’s body turned to ash and light, sealed once more beneath the World Tree’s roots.

  Elysia’s voice, faint but steady, spoke within Iode’s mind.

  “It’s done… the seal has deepened. But something has changed.”

  Iode landed lightly on a lower branch, dusting his cloak. “Changed?”

  “Yes…” Her tone darkened. “When it was drawn back, I heard it whisper a name, Zenobios.”

  His eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible. Zenobios was erased from all planes by the coalition of gods.”

  “Then how does something that isn’t supposed to exist remember him?”

  Iode said nothing. The air hung heavy with the scent of burnt ether. He looked down at the glowing roots beneath his feet, where a faint sigil flickered once, then vanished.

  Finally, he murmured,

  “If They know Zenobios… then maybe he wasn’t the first to betray the Celestials.”

  The wind stirred. The World Tree sighed.

  And far below, unseen by either of them, a single drop of black liquid bled from the bark—pulsing once before sinking into the soil.