He placed his hand on the construct's chest.
"Soul lock."
The pull tightened.
The construct tried to disengage, but it was too late.
Asher forced the connection open.
Information flooded in—locations, signals, and a distant presence watching through the construct.
Not close.
But aware.
The construct's body cracked as the anchor failed. The glowing lines dimmed and went dark.
It collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Asher stepped back and exhaled slowly.
"So," he said quietly, looking in the direction of the connection.
"You're using proxies."
He turned and looked back toward the fog, where the lich emperor waited beyond the boundary.
"I've got your thief," Asher said. "But this isn't over."
He sheathed his sword and started moving.
Asher walked back through the fog.
The pressure lifted as he crossed out of the thin zone. Death authority settled back into place, heavy and absolute.
The lich emperor was already waiting.
"You found the source," the lich emperor said.
