The explosion of light as my restraining bracelets shattered sent waves of energy coursing through my veins. Power flooded back into me like a dam breaking, rushing to fill every cell in my body. I inhaled deeply, savoring the sensation of my abilities returning after being suppressed for so long.


    "Finally," I whispered, flexing my fingers. The air around my hands shimmered with golden energy—my energy—responding to my will once again.


    Across the chamber, Dudley Lowell''s eyes widened with fear. He took a stumbling step backward, his hand instinctively reaching for a weapon that wasn''t there. The confidence he''d disyed while I was bound had evaporated in an instant.


    "Not so brave now, are you?" I asked, advancing toward him.


    Dudley''s face twisted into a snarl. "Don''t get cocky, Knight. You may have your power back, but you''re still no match for me."


    Iughed. Actuallyughed. After everything I''d endured, his empty threats sounded pathetic.


    "Let''s test that theory," I said, gathering energy in my palm.


    Dudley''s eyes darted around, looking for escape routes. Finding none, he straightened his back and raised his hands. Dark energy began to swirl around his fingers—the same energy he''d used to torture me earlier.


    "You asked for this," he spat, then thrust his hands forward.


    A wave of dark mist shot toward me. Previously, this attack had left me writhing in agony. Now, with my divine sense restored, I could see the pattern of his energy clearly. I sidestepped the attack with ease, watching as it crashed harmlessly against the wall behind me.


    "Is that all?" I asked.


    Fury contorted Dudley''s features. Heunched another attack, then another, each more desperate than thest. I dodged them all, moving with a fluidity that surprised even me. My time in the mountains training with Jackson had transformed me more than I realized.


    "Stand still, damn you!" Dudley shouted, frustration evident in his voice.


    I stopped, spreading my arms wide. "Go ahead. Hit me with your best shot."


    He hesitated, suspicion in his eyes. Then, seeing my open stance, he grinned maliciously. The dark energy around his hands intensified, forming a dense ball of swirling shadows. He hurled it at me with all his strength.


    I raised my hand and caught it. The dark energy hissed and sparked against my palm, trying to burrow into my skin, to find purchase in my mind. But my strengthened divine sense formed a perfect barrier.


    "Impossible," Dudley whispered.


    I closed my fist, crushing his attack into nothingness. "My turn."


    I lunged forward, covering the distance between us in the blink of an eye. My fist, charged with the Absolute Beginning Sacred Fist technique, connected with his chest. The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the stone wall with a sickening thud. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the point of impact.


    Dudley slumped to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth. He looked up at me with hatred burning in his eyes.


    "You''re dead, Knight," he wheezed. "You have no idea what forces you''re dealing with."


    "I know exactly what I''m dealing with," I replied coldly. "A coward who preys on the weak. Who tortured me when I couldn''t fight back."


    He spat blood onto the floor. "Still so righteous. Maybe this will change your mind."


    The air between us shimmered, and suddenly Isabelle stood there, her eyes wide with fear, her body trembling.


    "Liam," she whispered, reaching for me. "Help me."


    My heart clenched despite knowing it was an illusion. She looked so real, so vulnerable.


    "You think this trick will work on me again?" I asked, forcing steel into my voice.


    Dudley''s eyes widened slightly. He hadn''t expected me to see through his illusion so easily.


    I reached out with my divine sense, disrupting the flow of energy that created the false image of Isabelle. It flickered and vanished like smoke in the wind.


    "You''ll have to do better than that," I said.


    Dudley''s face contorted with rage. He struggled to his feet, dark energy crackling around him with renewed intensity. "You want better? I''ll show you better!"


    He raised his hands above his head, drawing power from the air itself. The darkness coalesced into a massive sphere, pulsing with malevolent energy. It was the same attack that had incapacitated me in our first encounter—the one that had led to my capture.


    "Let''s see how you handle this!" he roared, hurling the condensed ball of destruction toward me.


    I had seconds to react. This wasn''t an attack I could simply catch or deflect. The energy signature was too vtile, too dense. I reached into my spatial pouch, fingers closing around the Venerable Fifth Mountain artifact. I barely had time to activate it before Dudley''s attack hit.


    The explosion was deafening. The chamber shook violently, dust and debris raining down from the ceiling. The artifact formed a protective barrier around me, but even through its defenses, I felt the scorching heat of the st. Painnced through my body as the barrier flickered under the assault.


    When the dust settled, I was still standing. My clothes were singed, and blood trickled from a cut on my forehead, but I was alive. The Venerable Fifth Mountain had saved me, though I could feel that it had depleted much of its power in the process.


    Dudley stared at me in disbelief. "That''s not possible," he muttered. "No one survives that attack."


    I wiped blood from my face. "First time for everything."


    Fear reced the shock in his eyes. He turned to run, but I was faster. I appeared in front of him, blocking his escape.


    "Going somewhere?" I asked.


    He threw a desperate punch. I caught his fist easily, squeezing until I felt bones creak beneath my grip. He cried out in pain.


    "Please," he begged, his earlier bravadopletely gone. "I was just following orders. It wasn''t personal."


    "It felt pretty personal when you were torturing me," I replied, twisting his arm behind his back. He fell to his knees, gasping.


    "I can help you," he pleaded. "I know things—about the Martial Guild, about why they want you, about Isabelle."


    I froze at the mention of her name. "What about Isabelle?"


    A calcting gleam entered his eyes. "Let me go, and I''ll tell you everything."


    I tightened my grip, making him howl in pain. "Tell me now, or I''ll break every bone in your body, one by one."


    "They''re using her blood," he gasped. "It''s special—has properties they need. They''re draining her like a resource."


    My vision clouded with rage. "Where is she?" I demanded, shaking him violently.


    "Hidden chamber—beneath the Martial Guild headquarters," he choked out. "But you''ll never get to her. The security is imprable."


    I yanked him to his feet. "We''ll see about that."


    With my free hand, I summoned the energy for my finishing move. Golden light gathered around my fist, illuminating Dudley''s terrified face. This man had tortured me, had been part of the system that took Isabelle from me. He deserved no mercy.


    "Wait!" he cried. "I told you what you wanted to know!"


    "You did," I acknowledged. "Unfortunately for you, it doesn''t change what happens next."


    I drew back my fist, channeling all my power into what would be a killing blow.


    "Stop."


    The single word, spoken with quiet authority, cut through the chamber like a de. I froze, my fist inches from Dudley''s face.


    Jordan Radford stood in the doorway, his imposing figure silhouetted against the light from the corridor. In his hand was a ck gold ball, pulsing with energy I could feel even from across the room.


    "Let him go, Knight," Jordanmanded, stepping into the chamber. <mark ss="in-imprint-b">Love this story? Show support at *.</mark>


    I tightened my grip on Dudley''s cor. "Give me one good reason."


    "Because I asked nicely," Jordan replied, his tone making it clear he wouldn''t ask twice. "And because he still has unfinished business with me."


    "He tortured me," I said through gritted teeth. "He''s part of the system that took Isabelle."


    Jordan''s expression remained impassive. "And he''ll answer for those crimes. But not like this."


    I hesitated, my fist still raised. Every fiber of my being wanted to finish Dudley, to feel the satisfying crunch as my power obliterated him. But something in Jordan''s voice gave me pause.


    "Liam," Jordan said, using my first name in what seemed like a deliberate attempt to connect. "This isn''t the way."


    My resolve wavered. Was I bing the very thing I despised? A man who killed without hesitation, who meted out his own justice?


    In that moment of doubt, I loosened my grip slightly. It was all Dudley needed. He twisted away from me, diving toward Jordan with desperate speed.


    "Radford! Help me!" he begged.


    I lunged after him, unwilling to let my prey escape. My fist, still charged with deadly energy, shot forward.


    With speed that defied belief, Jordan moved. The ck gold ball in his hand expanded, intercepting my strike before it could reach Dudley. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, cracking the floor beneath our feet.


    Jordan hadn''t even flinched. He stood between me and Dudley, the ck gold ball hovering at his fingertips.


    "I told you to stop," he said coldly. "Are you deaf?"


    I pulled back, my energy still crackling around my fist. "Why protect him? Do you know what he''s done?"


    "I know exactly what he''s done," Jordan replied. "And he will face consequences. But not at your hands, and not today."


    Dudley cowered behind Jordan, relief and triumph mingling on his face. "Thank you, Master Radford. This madman was going to kill me!"


    Jordan didn''t look at him. "Be quiet, Dudley. Your punishment wille soon enough."


    The smirk vanished from Dudley''s face.


    I took a step back, assessing the situation. Jordan Radford was a legendary figure, his power far beyond mine despite my recent growth. Fighting him now would be suicide.


    "He knows where Isabelle is," I said, forcing myself to focus on what mattered most. "He told me they''re draining her blood in a hidden chamber beneath the Martial Guild."


    Something flickered in Jordan''s eyes—surprise, perhaps, or confirmation of a suspicion. "Did he now?"


    Dudley nched. "I was lying! I don''t know anything about that!"


    "Strange," Jordan mused. "That matches intelligence I''ve received from other sources."


    He turned slightly, fixing Dudley with a prating stare. "Interesting that you would know such ssified information, Dudley. Only the highest levels of the Guild have ess to that knowledge."


    Dudley''s face drained of color. "I—I heard rumors, that''s all."


    "We''ll discuss those ''rumors'' in detail," Jordan said, his voice promising consequences that made Dudley shrink further into himself.


    I watched this exchange with growing confusion. Jordan Radford was acting like an ally, yet he had prevented me from delivering justice to a man who deserved it.


    "What''s your game, Radford?" I demanded. "One minute you''re helping ra and me, the next you''re protecting Guild dogs like him."


    Jordan turned his attention back to me. "Not everything is as ck and white as you think, Knight. There areyers to this conflict that you can''t see yet."


    "Then help me see them," I challenged. "Tell me why the Guild took Isabelle. Tell me how to get her back."


    For a long moment, Jordan was silent, studying me with those prating eyes. Finally, he spoke.


    "The restraints that bound you—how were they destroyed?"


    I blinked at the sudden change of subject. "ra did it. She has... new abilities."


    Jordan nodded, as if confirming something he already suspected. "The mask. It''s changing her."


    A chill ran down my spine. "What do you know about the mask?"


    "More than you," he replied. "And that knowledge makes me very concerned about your friend ra."


    "She saved my life," I said defensively.


    "Today, yes," Jordan agreed. "But the power she''s tapping into is ancient and corrupting. The ra you know is being consumed by something far older and more dangerous."


    I thought back to the cold, almost alien look in ra''s eyes as she''d dispatched Julian and Dominic with casual ease. Was Jordan right? Was she changing into something else entirely?


    "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice.


    "Because we''re about to face a threat greater than the Martial Guild," Jordan said gravely. "And we need you—the real you, not consumed by vengeance—to help stop it."


    "I''m not interested in some greater threat," I shot back. "I want Isabelle safe. That''s all that matters to me right now."


    Jordan''s expression softened slightly. "I understand. And I''m telling you that the path to saving her doesn''t start with killing Dudley Lowell."


    He extended his hand, the ck gold ball floating above his palm. "Come with me, Liam Knight. Let me show you what''s really happening in Veridia City. Then you can decide how best to save the woman you love."


    I hesitated, torn between my thirst for immediate vengeance and the possibility of gaining knowledge that could help me rescue Isabelle.


    Behind Jordan, Dudley''s eyes darted between us, calcting his odds of escaping while we were distracted.


    "Don''t even think about it," Jordan said without turning around. Dudley froze, fear etching deeper lines into his face.


    I took a deep breath, centering myself. The rage that had driven me since my restraints shattered still burned hot in my veins, but I forced myself to think clearly. Jordan Radford was offering information—possibly a better way to save Isabelle than charging blindly into the Martial Guild headquarters.


    "What about ra?" I asked. "Where is she now?"


    "Gone," Jordan replied simply. "She left after freeing you. The mask calls to her, pulls her toward something we don''t yet understand."


    I clenched my fists, feeling torn between my loyalty to ra and my desperate need to save Isabelle.


    "If I go with you," I said slowly, "you''ll help me find a way to rescue Isabelle?"


    Jordan nodded once. "I will show you the truth. What you do with that knowledge is up to you."


    I looked at Dudley, who still cowered behind Jordan''s imposing form. The urge to finish what I''d started burned within me. But if killing him meant losing my chance to learn more about saving Isabelle...


    "Fine," I said atst. "I''ll go with you. But Dudleyes too. I''m not letting him out of my sight."


    Jordan''s lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. "I believe that can be arranged."


    He turned to Dudley, who nched under his gaze. "You''ll being with us, Lowell. Consider it protective custody."


    Dudley''s eyes darted between us, trapped between two forces he couldn''t hope to resist. "I... I have no choice, do I?"


    "No," Jordan and I said in unison.


    As Jordan secured Dudley with restraints far more elegant but no less effective than the ones that had bound me, I stared at my hands, still glowing faintly with power. My shackles were gone, but I felt no closer to freeing Isabelle than I had been before.


    Freedom without her meant nothing. And I would tear down heaven and earth to get her back—starting with whatever truth Jordan Radford was about to show me.