Chapter 15: The Price of Defiance
Arin woke to the sound of dripping water.
A slow, uneven rhythm.One drop, then silence.Another drop, then a faint echo through stone.
He blinked and forced himself upright.
They were no longer in the fractured arena.
The shattered space was gone.The floating slabs were gone.The Sovereign's oppressive presence was gone.
Instead, they stood inside a cavern carved from smooth black stone. A natural underground hollow, faintly glowing with blue veins of crystal running like roots through the walls.
Arin breathed out slowly.His chest still hurt.His hands were wrapped in faint bandages—Lira's doing.
Raviel leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, eyes closed.Lira sat beside Reth, who remained unconscious but stable, wrapped in a soft blue light from a healing rune she'd etched onto the floor.
"About time you woke up," Raviel muttered without opening his eyes.
Arin rubbed his temples. "Where… are we?"
Lira replied quietly, "Inside the rest chamber. The arena sent us here after the Sovereign was forced out. A safety pocket."
Arin frowned. "Safety pocket?"
"An emergency zone created by the trial itself," she explained. "It's designed to keep participants alive after catastrophic events."
Raviel snorted. "Translation: it's the place trials send you when they think you're too injured to stand."
Arin ignored the jab. He walked toward Reth, kneeling beside him. The older man's breaths were shallow but steady, his face pale but peaceful.
Lira watched him. "He'll wake up soon. The chains didn't just bind him. They drained him. His soul is still recovering."
Arin clenched his fists. "I shouldn't have let it get that far."
Raviel opened one eye. "You think you could've stopped a Sovereign? Don't be stupid."
Arin didn't respond.
The memory of the massive hand descending toward him, crushing reality with its presence, still clung to him like a cold shadow.
Even now, the cavern felt a little too small. A little too quiet.
Lira hesitated, then added, "You saved him. That matters."
Arin didn't look convinced.
A faint hum filled the air. The cavern's crystals brightened slightly.
The system's voice returned:
[TRIAL RECOVERY ZONE — ACTIVE][PARTICIPANTS RESTORED: 37%][WARNING: ONE PARTICIPANT MARKED BY EXTERNAL AUTHORITY]
Raviel lifted an eyebrow. "Guess who that is?"
Arin's jaw tightened. "I know."
Lira shifted uncomfortably. "Sovereign marks don't fade. They're… permanent."
Arin didn't flinch. "So? It tried to take Reth. I stopped it."
"That's not the point," Raviel said, stepping forward. His voice lost its usual sarcasm. "You got a Sovereign's attention. That's not a threat. That's a curse."
Lira nodded. "Even other worlds fear them."
Arin looked at his hands.
The scars faintly glowed—thin white lines running across his palms where the chains burned him. He flexed his fingers, feeling the ache beneath the skin.
It wasn't fear he felt.
It was anger.
A soft groan came from the floor.
Reth stirred.
Lira quickly checked the rune. "He's waking."
Arin moved closer.
Reth's eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then sharpening into familiarity.
He blinked up at Arin, then managed a weak smile.
"…You're still alive. You really are stubborn."
Arin let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "You're welcome."
Reth laughed softly, then winced. "You tore apart chains made by an Authority. Do you understand how insane that is?"
"Raviel told me," Arin said.
Reth's expression darkened. "You didn't break their power. You broke their rules. They'll look for a way to punish you."
Arin shrugged. "Let them try."
Reth stared. Then he grabbed Arin's wrist with surprising strength.
"I'm serious."
Arin didn't look away. "So am I."
A silence passed.
Then Reth chuckled again. "You remind me of someone."
Raviel groaned. "If you two start getting sentimental, I'm leaving."
Lira shot him a look. "We're in a recovery chamber. There's nowhere to go."
Raviel clicked his tongue. "Then I'll pretend to leave."
He turned his back dramatically.
Reth slowly sat up, leaning on Lira for support. "We don't have much time before the trial restarts."
Arin asked, "You know what comes next?"
"Not exactly," Reth admitted. "But I know what should come next."
He looked at the cavern walls, then at Arin.
"Rewards."
The system chimed:
[TRIAL REWARD CALCULATION…][UNUSUAL INTERFERENCE DETECTED][REWARD TIER: VARIABLE]
The air trembled.
A sphere of light appeared above them—flickering, unstable, as if fighting an unseen force.
Lira's eyes widened. "The Sovereign is trying to tamper with your reward."
Arin stepped forward. "Let it try."
The light pulsed once, twice—
Then exploded into a rain of glowing fragments.
The system voice boomed:
[TRIAL REWARD: PERSONALIZED][PARTICIPANT: ARIN][GRANTED: CLASS UPGRADE TOKEN — RARE][GRANTED: DROP MAKER — FUNCTION EXPANSION][GRANTED: TITLE — "CHAINBREAKER"]
Arin blinked. "Chainbreaker?"
Reth stared. Raviel's jaw dropped.
Lira whispered, "That's… not a normal title."
The system elaborated:
[TITLE EFFECT: RESISTANCE TO CONTROL +20%][TITLE EFFECT: SKILL INTERFERENCE REDUCED][TITLE EFFECT: UNKNOWN ATTRIBUTE — LOCKED]
"Unknown?" Arin muttered.
Reth laughed softly. "That's what happens when you piss off a Sovereign. They leave traces."
Arin turned to him. "What about your reward?"
Reth smiled gently. "Seeing you break those chains was reward enough."
Raviel rolled his eyes. "He's delirious. Give him time."
The system chimed again:
[TRIAL REST ZONE CLOSING IN 60 SECONDS]
Lira looked around nervously. "We're being pushed out already?"
Reth nodded. "The trial wants us moving. If we stay, we'll be force-ejected."
Arin helped Reth to his feet.
The cavern walls began glowing brighter.The air thickened.The floor started to hum beneath their boots.
Raviel stepped forward, blades ready. "Next floor?"
"Next floor," Arin said.
Lira tightened her grip on her staff. "Whatever comes… we face it together."
Reth placed a hand on Arin's shoulder. "And Arin—" His voice softened. "Thank you."
Arin didn't respond.He didn't need to.
The cave shattered into light.
And the next trial began.