The Godslayer's Mark pulsed like a second heart beneath my ribs. Three days since I'd left Father's corpse for the crows, and still the wound wept black ichor that sizzled when it hit the chapel's stone floor.
*[Corruption Progress: 42%]*
*[Recommended Action: Consume Healer-Class Target]*
Lira knelt in a pool of stained-glass light, her golden hands pressed against a dying farmer's chest. The man's breath came in wet gasps, his fancy boots - too rich for a simple peasant - kicking weakly against the floor.
*[Target Analysis: Eli Tanner]*
*[Discrepancy Detected: Village Elder's Sigil Hidden in Boot Lining]*
I stepped on the man's wrist before he could reach his hidden dagger. "Your elders send their best?"
Lira didn't look up. Her System's text shimmered with ominous gold light:
*[Healing Progress: 82%]*
*[SAN Reward: +3]*
*[Current SAN: 33/100]*
*[Hidden Objective: Bait the Shadowmancer]*
The farmer's eyes darted between us. "She-she said she'd help—"
Lira's hands suddenly glowed brighter. "Forgiveness requires truth." The golden light turned viscous, seeping into the man's nostrils and mouth. "Who sent you?"
His scream was the most honest sound I'd heard in weeks.
Bones cracked as his body contorted, forced to answer by Lira's twisted mercy. "Elder Crain! He promised—agh!—promised land for your head!"
I moved to finish him.
Lira was faster.
Her palm slapped against my Mark and the world *shattered*.
---
**BLOOD BOND ACTIVATED**
Reality peeled back in layers of glitching code:
1. **Her System's True Name:** *White Lady Protocol v.9.4*
2. **Her Prime Directive:** *Preserve User Kael Veyne (Error: Target Already Corrupted)*
3. **Her Fatal Flaw:** *SAN Below 35 Enables Hostile Takeover*
Our connection became a feedback loop of agony and power:
- My shadow tendrils drank her golden light
- Her purification energy scorched my corrupted veins
- The chapel's very stones *screamed* as two Systems warred through our flesh
*[Blood Bond Efficiency: 67%]*
*[Lira's SAN Drain: -8/sec]*
The doors burst open. Three armed men charged in—Eli's reinforcements. My shadow moved without thought, guided by the Bond's new instincts:
1. **Farmer (Lv.2)**: Ribcage reconfigured into bone shrapnel
2. **Farmer (Lv.2)**: Skin unraveled into choking strands
3. **Blacksmith (Lv.4)**: Molten iron from his own tools filled his eye sockets
Lira collapsed as I released the Bond, her System flickering:
*[CRITICAL FAILURE]*
*[SAN: 15/100]*
*[WARNING: Last Purification Attempt Available]*
I crouched beside her, watching my reflection distort in her golden eyes. The notification hovering between us needed no System to interpret:
*This was her plan all along.*
Outside, the first winter snow began to fall—each flake etched with fragments of the truth we were both too broken to speak.