Chapter 413: The Beast in Chains

The cave breathed.

That was the first thought that crossed Lysandra’s mind as she stepped deeper into the darkness. Each distant echo carried like the slow inhale and exhale of something vast and patient, something that had been waiting far longer than anyone should ever wait for anything.

Her boots scraped softly against stone slick with frost and mineral residue. The faint glow of runes carved into the cavern walls pulsed intermittently, casting molten-gold light across jagged stone and long shadows that crawled like living things along the floor.

Morven walked ahead of her, broad shoulders tense beneath his cloak, one hand resting near the hilt of his blade. Kairen lingered slightly behind, his nervous breathing too loud in the unnatural quiet.

And then Lysandra saw it.

The beast.

Her breath caught painfully in her throat.

For a moment her mind refused to assemble what her eyes were seeing — as though reality itself had glitched, pieces of different creatures stitched together by a cruel and careless hand.

It was massive.

Its body was partially fused with the stone floor, or perhaps simply pressed so deeply into it from centuries of restraint that it had become one with the cavern. The torso bore the unmistakable shape of a man — broad chest, powerful shoulders, thick arms corded with muscle — yet nothing about it felt human once the details surfaced. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Patches of rough, scaled skin crept across its body like natural armor, overlapping in dull obsidian and iron-gray plates. Between those patches, raw flesh stretched unnaturally taut, marked with old scars and ridges that looked like claw marks that had never fully healed. Along its spine and shoulders rose faint ridges, jagged and uneven, as if bone itself had tried to grow outward and failed.

Its face was human only in structure.

The features were too sharp. Too hollow. Cheekbones carved like blades, jaw angular and predatory, lips thin and cracked. Its nose was narrow, almost skeletal. And its eyes—

Its eyes burned gold.

This was the molten gold of a predator’s stare, feral and ancient and full of something that resembled grief as much as rage. The glow reflected faintly against the runes embedded in the cavern walls, making it impossible to look away once caught.

Dark, tangled hair spilled past its shoulders, matted and stiff with dust and age. In places, it blended with coarse fur that crept along the base of its neck and upper back — neither fully wolf nor fully man.

Around its limbs wrapped enormous chains.

Each link was thicker than a tree trunk, etched with ancient runes that pulsed faintly, as if they were breathing alongside the cave itself. The metal sank deep into the stone floor and walls, anchoring the beast in place with brutal permanence. Where the chains pressed into its skin, the flesh was hardened and scarred, molded around the metal like something that had long since given up resisting.

It looked like a god that had been broken.

Or a monster that had once been something else.

Lysandra swallowed hard.

Her throat felt dry, her tongue heavy.

She had killed men, friends, beasts twisted by magic. She had stared death in the eyes more times than she could count.

But this—

This made her stomach coil uneasily. And it was smiling at her. She wondered what could have happened.

"What could have done this to someone like us..." she murmured before she could stop herself.

Her voice sounded small in the cavern.

The beast tilted its head slightly, golden eyes sharpening with interest.

Morven shifted beside her. "Don’t get sentimental," he muttered, though his grip tightened around his sword. "Whatever it was, it’s not our problem."

Lysandra glanced at him. "But look at him, he has a man’s shape."

Morven shrugged stiffly. "Looks like a nightmare to me."

The beast’s gaze flicked between them slowly.

Then it raised its chained hands, the smile still plastered on its face.

The metal groaned softly as the enormous links shifted. The runes flared a little brighter, reacting to the movement.

The beast extended its bound wrists toward them as if telling them to help him.

Lysandra’s pulse jumped.

Her instincts screamed in opposite directions all at once.

Run.

And:

This is why we’re here.

She exchanged a look with Morven. He merely lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, his expression grim but resigned.

"We were ordered to bring it back," he said quietly. "Not to question what it is."

Kairen swallowed audibly behind them.

"You... you don’t think we’re supposed to actually release it, do you?" he whispered.

Lysandra turned toward him. His face had gone pale, eyes wide and glassy with fear. His hands trembled slightly near his blades.

"We don’t have a choice," she said flatly.

Kairen shook his head. "If that thing gets loose—"

"If we disobey Victoria," Lysandra cut in sharply, "we die."

His jaw tightened.

"How are you so sure we wouldn’t die by this beast’s hands instead?" he demanded, voice cracking.

She exhaled slowly, steadying herself. "Look at the chains. They’re restraints. Even if we weaken them, it won’t be instant freedom. And if it tries anything, we can fight it."

Kairen doubted they could fight it, though. And he wondered why none of them were talking about how creepy the beast’s smile was.

Morven nodded at Lysandra. "She’s right. If we go back empty-handed, Victoria will skin us alive."

The beast watched their exchange with unsettling attentiveness, that smile on its face.

Kairen made the mistake of looking directly at it and halted in shock.

It was not a comforting expression, although comfort wasn’t something that could be used when it came to the beast.

Its lips pulled back slowly, revealing teeth that were slightly too sharp, slightly too numerous, the smile stretching wider than it should.

It extended its bound hands again.

Inviting.

Lysandra felt a chill crawl down her spine.

Her eyes drifted to the chains themselves.

The runes etched into the metal were intricate — layered symbols woven together in patterns that felt wrong to look at for too long. They glowed faintly gold, pulsing in slow rhythms, like a heartbeat or a warning.

She didn’t recognize the runes, and honestly, she could not understand why they were even there in the first place.

Morven unsheathed his sword. The blade caught the rune-light, reflecting distorted gold across his hardened face.

"Let’s try breaking it," he said, pointing at the chains.

Lysandra drew her blade as well and positioned herself opposite him.

Together, they struck.

Steel met rune-forged chain with a ringing impact that echoed violently through the cavern.

Sparks flew.

The chain did not even dent.

They struck again. Harder. From different angles. Coordinated blows. But still nothing.

The runes flared brighter with each impact, pulsing like something alive and irritated.

Morven cursed under his breath. "What is this fucking made of?"

Lysandra stepped back slightly, breathing harder now. "This shouldn’t be possible."

The beast released a long, weary sound.

Almost like a sigh.

Then it spoke.

The words layered atop one another unnaturally, as if several languages were trying to exist in the same breath and failing.

Kairen froze.

His eyes widened.

He took a step back instinctively. "Did you hear that?"

Morven frowned. "Hear what? It sounded like nonsense."

Kairen’s face drained of color. "No. It sounded like... like it was trying to speak."

Lysandra felt a prickling sensation creep across her skin.

The beast tilted its head again. Its jaw flexed slightly, as if adjusting something unfamiliar.

It cleared its throat.

The sound echoed eerily against the cavern walls.

Then—

"I... oh," he said in shock. "That was easy to learn."

The words came out slow and measured but unmistakably clear.

All three of them froze.

"The world has developed now, unlike before," the beast continued calmly, its voice deep and resonant, vibrating faintly through the stone beneath their feet. "Things are... different, even the language."

Lysandra felt her heart slam violently against her ribs.

Morven stared openly now, disbelief etched across his face.

Kairen whispered, "It spoke..."

The beast’s eyes softened with something that resembled amusement.

"I know it’s shocking that I spoke, but why are you looking at me like a stranger when you came here for me?" he asked them.