Sseraphis’ glare could light up all the candles and lanterns in the dynasty.

"I’ve kept my end of the deal and trapped a dozen beastfolk here who are either lovers or soulmates. Now, it’s your turn, Jura."

The creamy pooled, eyed beast continued popping candies in his mouth. Unbothered by Sseraphis’ tantrum.

"Why are you silent. I need an answer. A solution."

"And I need some peace and quiet to enjoy my candies," Jura expressed.

"Must you enjoy your candies at this very minute?"

"Why can’t I?"

Sseraphis ruffled his hair. He quivered with indignation. Jura’s attitude was getting on his nerves. "Is this the time for you to snack?"

"What is the right time for snacks?"

"Put the bag of candies down and talk to me before I lose my temper and have Aeltharion and his army of dragons set Oveli on fire!"

That threat seemed to do the trick as Jura put down his snacks. He cleaned his fingers on his robes and licked the lingering sweetness of candy from his lips.

"No need to become unreasonable over such a small thing, Sseraphis," he spoke softly, letting out a sweet awkward laugh to ease the tension. "If you set Oveli on fire, where will I and other sea serpents live?"

"That won’t be my concern."

"Alright, alright. Let’s get to it," he said. He didn’t wish to offend the fiery snake and risk his clan going extinct.

Jura sat quietly in the middle of the dark room while Sseraphis watched him with fearful eyes. The air felt cold and heavy as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Slowly, Jura lifted his hands. Thin silver threads slipped from the tips of his fingers like spider silk glowing under the light.

They floated through the air gently, searching through the illusion he had created. Around them appeared hundreds of glowing red strings of fate crossing endlessly in the darkness.

The strings of fate that tied lovers and soulmates together, all around the illusion. Aenyra and Sheana, Tivnir and Yiwa, Samahita and Theren, Nerezza and Rhysandor, and strangely, Fior and Ssirel.

Each thread pulsed softly like a living heartbeat. It connected to his silver threads and merged as one.

Jura’s silver strands moved carefully through them until they found the bond belonging to Sseraphis and his mates.

The moment Jura touched it, his expression changed. The red string connecting Nytherael, Aeltharion, and Sseraphis was damaged.

Cracks spread through it like shattered glass, and black shadows crawled along the torn places.

It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. The black shadow gave off a chilling aura as they clung tightly on the red string.

Jura’s fingers trembled as he followed the corruption deeper into the bond. Trying to find the source and give Sseraphis an answer.

The illusion around them shifted violently, showing flashes of pain, tears, and desperation.

Sseraphis stepped forward. "What is it?" he asked weakly.

Jura did not answer immediately. He kept tracing the broken thread until suddenly his silver strands jerked back sharply, as though something on the other side had bitten him.

Blood dripped from Jura’s fingertips. His breathing became uneven. Then, he finally understood the answer to the question that Sseraphis asked.

"When your mate tried to break the bond..." Jura whispered, his voice filled with horror, "The thread of your bond opened for a moment."

Silence filled the room. Sseraphis had a bad feeling about what he was about to hear. He circled around Jura, unable to stay still.

"And death slipped inside."

Sseraphis froze completely. He swallowed. Hard. His heartbeat coming to a slow beat. His eyes twitched with grief and anger.

Jura looked up slowly, grief heavy in his eyes. "That sickness eating away at Aeltharion... it is not illness. Death is already attached to your bond and is now eating away at him."

"No..." Sseraphis breathed.

"The bond rejected separation," Jura continued softly. "BUT IS CALLED DIVORCE BY DEATH TRIAL FOR A REASON. The trigger warning us literally right there in the name."

Sseraphis forgot how to breathe. He’d thought that he and Aeltharion had survived the worst of Nytherael’s decision. However, time probed otherwise.

"Now death follows all ends of the string."

The red thread, in his true sight, darkened further as if proving his words. Jura’s voice cracked slightly as he forced himself to continue. "If Aeltharion dies..." He swallowed hard. "You will die next."

The room went deathly silent, but Jura was not finished. His silver threads spread wider across the darkness, revealing other connected strands branching from the same cursed bond like roots beneath the earth.

His face lost all colour. "It’s worse than I thought," he whispered.

Sseraphis grabbed him desperately. "What do you mean worse?"

Jura looked at him with sorrow so deep it almost looked like mourning. "Everyone tied to this secret thread..." he said shakily, "Everyone connected to the bond..."

The red strings began snapping one after another inside his true sight. "...will be erased from the surface of the earth."

Sseraphis stilled. He didn’t know what to feel, how to react, or how to process the poison in his mate bond.

His heart was a mix of feelings. Part of him mourned for Aeltharion and himself, who didn’t deserve such a fate, and the other half was growing more hateful towards Nytherael for bringing to such a point with his reckless choice.

"How can one choice made in a moment of weakness cause so much damage?"

"It’s a cosmic effect. I am afraid that..."

"Shut up," Sseraphis put a wrap on his emotions for the moment and lowered his frame to Jura once more. "What can be done to stop death from eating away at the bond?"

Jura used his true sight and silver threads to search through the red strings again. His eyes searched for a sign at the end of the corrupted lines to give an answer to Sseraphis.

However, even after searching several times, he found none. Their bond being the rare trio-soul marriage bond, it was impossible to find the rare solution.

"Normally, I’d advise the bond, but yours isn’t easily broken. Not by the normal means beasts break bonds, at least," he let out.

"Then?"

"I don’t know Sseraphis. I can’t see anything here on how to resolve the corruption."

Sseraphis’s breath shook. His blood ran colder than usual. Fear snaked around his thundering heart as he bit back a scream.

In his shadow, his four snake heads could be seen struggling like they wanted to come out. Their mouths were wide open, yet no sound came as though they were screaming so loudly the rest of the world couldn’t hear.

They shook vigorously, pulling in every direction chaotically.

In another part of the illusion, Ssirel stood still. Red streaks streamed down his eyes as he felt intense pang tear through him.

In his shadow, five snake heads, the ones he’d borrowed from Sseraphis woke up. Reacting in the same broken and pained manner as the others.

However, unlike the four who were suppressed by Sseraphis. They were in the body of a five-headed snake who could barely control them.

When they came alive, moving with a will of their own, they grew from Ssirel’s shadow. Taking their beast form.

Fior, Tivnir, and Yiwa were frozen stiff by the sight. A five-headed snake, enormous enough to fill the entire city on its own, had appeared in front of them.

It’s screams and snarls tearing across the illusion. The power that shot out through its screams united the different altered parts of the illusion into one, save for the one that held Sseraphis and Jura.

One after another, the others found themselves in each others presence with the snake ahead of them. They froze.

’Holy hell!" Fior cursed.

They were stuck in a limited space with a violent venomous snake, and their beasts were being suppressed. Their situation was a perfect recipe for death.

"Run!" He warned.