Thea's worried gaze unfocuses, her eyes rising to look into the distance. Her hands shift from the prince's shoulders to his neck. The command was spoken in Eldorian, and no Ether, not even a ripple, left the man.

The serrated chain comes back at Ethan with three approaching arcs.

The captain lunges to grab Thea's forearm. But his armored hand moves too slowly.

Ethan deflects the chain's blows, each grinding against Phantom Reaver as the teeth try to bite into the blade. He glances back at Thea, her left hand grabbing the prince's head as her right hand holds his neck. Close enough to reach Thea, the prince, and the captain, Ethan snaps his fingers to cast Silence.

Thea's gaze stays unfocused; she jerks the prince's head to the side. A crack splits the air as his neck snaps.

The regent moves to the platform's edge, as far away from Ethan and the man as possible. He glances at his daughter, inexpressive.

"You are free," the man says, a smile growing on his face. He lashes his right arm to the side, and his chain whips at Ethan.

Ethan cancels Silence and coats his sword with flames. He bursts forward, deflecting the chain out of his way. He grabs Phantom Reaver with both hands and, aiming to neutralize him for interrogation, swings at his legs.

The man's body is pulled back, escaping Ethan's reach. His chain and blade pull back into his sleeve, and he melts into the ground's darkness.

Thea's eyes fall on her brother's lifeless body as it escapes from her grasp. Her breath catches in her throat, her hands trembling as they hover over him. Her knees give out, and she collapses beside him, her face twisting with anguish.

The man rises from the shadows beside Thea and replaces his coat. He glances at his torn left sleeve, revealing another chained blade hidden there. He looks up at Ethan. "A nasty pet you have in your shadow."

Russ leaps out from the darkness to place himself beside Ethan. He growls at the man, his head twitching between him and the regent.

The captain raises his halberd to strike at the man's head.

"Stop," the man commands, glancing back at the captain.

The captain freezes in place, his halberd held above his head for a bisecting blow.

The man looks back at Ethan, certain the captain will not attack him. "If you hadn't mingled with our affairs, I could have left everyone alive, but you are too much to handle."

'If he could control me like them, he would have done so already.' Ethan thinks. He notices a twitch in the man's expression as he hides a smile. "The prince wasn't a danger to you. You killed him because you like it."

The man's lips curl into a wicked smile. He places his hands down on Thea's shivering shoulders. "I didn't kill him; she did. Imagine the guilt she must feel, breaking her dear brother's neck like that. I wonder if it was a clean snap or if it was gradual, like tearing off a chicken's leg."

The many memories of the experience surface in Ethan's mind. Despite his focus, the feeling of breaking enemies' necks echoes from his hands and into his ears. A coldness creeps from the base of his spine, and he sees the man's smile widening.

"I knew it," the man sneers. He glances back at the captain and orders, "Kill yourself."

'Shadow,' Ethan orders. He bursts forward to capitalize on the man looking away. He swings to take his right arm, but the chains spring out of his sleeves to block Ethan. The combined strength of both chains pushes Ethan back. His feet grind against the platform's ground.

The man controls the chains for them to circle both him and Thea. Before she can glance up at the ensnaring, serrated chains, he places a hand on her head. Her eyes go wide as she falls unconscious.

"What are you doing?!" the regent barks.

"A little probing now that I know she knows about my master," the man answers. Thea's eyes twitch from side to side as he contracts his fingers.

The captain grabs his halberd at the base of its head and presses the spear tip against his mail-protected neck.

Ethan watches the pattern of his chains, trying to find an opening wide and lasting enough to attack. They move erratically, changing speed and form with sudden jerks.

"Kael!" the regent bellows, earning him nothing but a murderous glare.

"Your daughter has been busy," the man begins. "I wonder how it must have felt – spying and planning against you for an entire decade. Do you think it tore her apart? Pretending all this time to not know, to still love you as a father? Or maybe she still does; after all, family is a hard bond to break."

Ethan lunges, pushing Strengthening to its soft limit for a sudden burst of speed. His blade cuts through the air, its burning edge aimed at Kael's neck. The man's ability to read memories is enough to convince Ethan that keeping him alive for interrogation is too dangerous. The regent's knowledge will have to do.

The chains lash out at Ethan, blocking his attack but opening the cage they formed around Thea and the man.

'Martial skill echo,' Ethan thinks. His ghost manifests at the man's back with Aranthor's lightning sword in hand. It swings at Kael's unguarded side, aiming for his liver.

Two chains ended by blades spring out of Kael's back, tearing off his coat. They stab into Ethan's ghost's shoulders, stopping his attack.

Ethan dispels his ghost before the chains ravage it like chainsaws. He follows up his first swing by summoning Aranthor's blade in his left hand for a thrust.

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Stormshard (long sword)

Once wielded by King Aranthor Elarion, this long sword is forged from pure spark steel. When infused with Ether, the blade summons lightning along its edge.

This weapon has been enchanted with [Sharpness (B)], and [Durability (B)].

This weapon has been runically enchanted to enhance its ability to transmute electricity from Ether.

The soul of a Volkrid has been bound to this weapon, enhancing its ability to transmute electricity from Ether.

The hollow fuller of the silvery blade fills with crackling lightning arcs as Ethan feeds his Ether to the sword. He can sense the threads moving along Aetherian runes carved into the blade before vanishing and turning to electricity.

Two chains meet Ethan's attack, guiding the blade upward with rushing teeth.

Ethan follows the deflection's upward impulse by rotating his torso and swinging Phantom Reaver up from the side. The blade strikes Kael's chest, snapping four of the bones making his breastplate. Ethan can feel Phantom Reaver digging through flesh, but the absence of blood disappoints him.

The flying, shattered bones of Kael's breastplate shed with a grinding sound to form levitating spikes. Like bullets, they burst forward with a thunderclap.

Able to see them, Ethan twists his body out of the spikes' paths.

The projectiles bounce off the circular room's edge, flying off in different directions. They arch back, their speed diminished.

Kael's four chains fall on Ethan, tearing off the remains of Kael's coat in the process.

Ethan dashes to the side, avoiding the quadruple blow as the chains slam into the ground.

The bone spikes fly back at Ethan, coming from all directions in curving paths.

Ethan bursts forward at Kael. He swings at the front coming projectile, deflecting the spike to the side.

Kael's chains rise from the ground, line up vertically, and swing towards Ethan. Their movements are more obvious than before but executed with far superior strength.

Ethan jumps above the chains and spins around to meet the remaining spikes. He slashes at the closest with Phantom Reaver and then at the two others in a cross attack with both blades. It deflects them away, and Ethan lands behind Kael.

Kael isn't handling the chains with his arms; they connect in pairs to two vertebrae between his shoulder blades. His armor opens in a 'V' shape from his lower back. They act like added limbs, but with invisible muscles around each link.

'Tackle,' Ethan thinks. He lunges at Kael's back before he can turn, thrusting Phantom Reaver at the unprotected base of his neck.

The two bottom chains fall dead to the ground as the bone projectiles plummet down. The two other chains spring towards Ethan with renewed speed in a rotating pattern, catching Ethan's blade.

Ethan unsummons Phantom Reaver to free himself and twists his body to swing with Stormshard.

The two dead chains rise from the ground as the ones who ensnared Phantom Reaver die. They fold around Kael's back to drag their teeth like chainsaws and swing at Ethan's legs.

Having committed fully to his attack, Ethan is unable to redirect his already-too-high swing. He twists with violence, spinning all the way around and catching the chains.

The chains wrap around Stormshard in a sudden spin.

Ethan twists his body upward, avoiding the chains that would have caught his legs along with the blade. He unsummons Stormshard and brings back Phantom Reaver.

Russ' enlarged maw rises from around Kael's right foot and snaps around his leg. It keeps Kael in place as his body tries to drift to the side.

Ethan spins in the air, swinging his blade at Kael's neck.

Kael tears off his own leg at the knee as his body is pulled to the side. He ducks, or rather his head is dragged towards the ground, avoiding the blow.

'Shadow,' Ethan orders as he passes over his target. He extends his left hand and throws a lightning bolt at Kael. It strikes him in the chest, but the arcs coil around his body and into a ring on his right hand.

"Everyone knows any self-respecting warrior must shield himself against those fast, lightning spells." Kael giggles as he straightens, ignoring his missing limb. Only a few drops of blood leave the wound, dripping on the black ground. Glancing at it, he snaps, "Wonderful! Do you know how long it took me to grow this body?!"

"I take it it isn't yours," Ethan says. He circles Kael, his eyes trained on the chains that move around him. The man isn't hindered by a missing limb or a cut, meaning only total destruction will suffice.

The room's circular platform narrows by a meter as its external perimeter, with the exception of the path to the door, grinds downward.

The regent climbs back to the remaining platform before it descends too much. His gaze clings to Thea as she lies unconscious on the ground.

Thea is still breathing, but blood drips from her nose and mouth, showing potentially dangerous injuries.

"It belonged to a rat," Kael begins, his tone returning to his monotone chalk-on-board torment. "A kid whose only saving grace was his genetics – tall, muscular, good characteristics, and Ether-blessed; like yours."

"Do you want it? I have to object; I have plans to use it for quite a while," Ethan retorts. Dragging the conversation is dangerous with Kael's mind control, but Ethan is still seeking an opening.

"Your consent isn't required," Kael threatens. "You don't ask someone's permission before you kill them, do you?"

Flashbacks of countless assassinations flicker in Ethan's mind. The cold creeping up his spine rises to the base of his brain.

"You must have murdered so many people to give me such a grip," Kael sneers.

Ethan summons Dark Fate, hiding it behind his forearm, and stabs the tip into himself. Dark Ether pools in his hand, and he absorbs it, readying himself to cast a hex.

"Your mind is like a fortress; I didn't take you for a man of faith. But I can still see a few faces through. There is daddy; I must admit you look very much alike." A black mist rises from his body to cover him; he reemerges with the appearance of One. "And a what I think is a son; must be adopted though."

Ethan breaks through Strengthening's limit; he must end the man now. He bursts forward, swinging at the chains as they block his path. The chains stopping him, Ethan releases his hex. It digs into Kael's disguised body, but the chains do not waver.

"Not even a figment of hesitation," Kael says. He approaches, his body mimicking walking as if both his legs were still there. "I show you the face of a person you care deeply for, and you would harm him without a second thought?"

'Weapon aura,' Ethan thinks as he simultaneously casts Flame. His blade coats with a layer of Ether – threads buzzing along its length. The flames camouflage the blade's aura, engulfing the underlying layer of Ether.

The bone projectiles, who lay immobile, spin towards Ethan and burst forward, aimed at his sides.

Ethan disengages backward and swings in the air. A blazing blade of Ether prolongates his slash, passing through the chains' links. It crashes against Kael's body, cutting a gash into his chest. It isn't deep, but by its length it would be a serious injury to any normal man.

Kael cowers back, the chains forming a wall before him. He touches the sizzling wound, and a figment of cauterizing blood sticks to his fingers.

Ethan swings at the air, casting several blades that pass Kael's defense.

They are too slow for him, and he dodges them with side glides. He brings the bone spikes around himself, trained on Ethan. "Everyone knows you shouldn't do that with Strengthening; rookie mistake. It's all good as long as you maintain it, but it hinders your other abilities. You could have cut clean through me if you gave all that to Weapon Aura."

'No choice now; I can't have him keep talking,' Ethan thinks. Flooding his mind with images of Caelum, he summons his lifeforce. The flames coiling around Phantom Reaver shift to blue, their heat filling the room.

"You are capable of that too?" Kael asks. He giggles once more, keeping his eyes on Ethan. The chains darken as a dark-green mist appears from the bones that make them. His armor breaks into a dozen shards that shed to form more spikes covered in the same mist. "I cannot wait to have you in my collection."