Alaric crouched beside him. His crimson eyes visible now.
"Listen carefully." His voice came low. Cold. "You're going to deliver a message for me."
His hand raised. Fingers splayed toward Veltris's terrified face.
[Obedience Chains!]
Ethereal chains erupted from his palm. Shimmering with dark energy. They wrapped around Veltris's head, coiling, tightening, sinking into his skull without breaking skin.
The man's eyes went wider. His mouth opened in a silent scream.
The chains burrowed deeper. Into his consciousness. His will. His very sense of self.
[DING!]
[Target successfully subjugated]
[Subjugated Targets: 3/3]
The notification flashed across Alaric's vision.
The chains faded. Disappeared like they'd never existed.
But the connection remained.
Veltris's expression changed. The terror still there but... different. Overlaid with something else. Compulsion. Obedience woven into his thoughts so deeply he wouldn't recognize it as foreign.
