[Akira's POV]
The walk from the Emperor's central keep back to the East Palace felt like wading through deep, freezing mud.
My Warlord aura, usually a controlled hum of blue fire, was completely erratic, thrashing under my skin like a caged beast.
If you haven't sealed it, she is nothing but a temporary shield!
The Emperor's words echoed in my mind, mocking me. He had found the one crack in our armor.
The soul-tether was ancient magic. When I marked Kitsune in the frozen North, it tied my demonic core to her soul, anchoring my sanity. But ancient magic required a physical seal to become permanent. Without consummation, the tether was just a thick rope. Strong, but severable.
If we sealed it, our souls would permanently fuse. If the Emperor tried to kill her then, the backlash wouldn't just break my mind—it would completely shatter my magical core, leaving him with no battery to drain. It was the ultimate, unbreakable shield.
