The First Prince invoked the Underworld mark while Vella still held the child's wrist. Black ownership grammar ignited beneath the soul membrane, and every extraction needle pulled outward.
The needles tried to deliver the demonic core through the boundary route opened during Didi's earlier test. The child's body arched against the inner floor before her twelfth count could begin.
"The claim is active now," Cessy said through the protected mirror. "Name her now, or the Collector route receives the core."
Didi placed her bare palm against the prison seal while every assigned support remained intact. Her blood entered the royal channel instead of the child's circulation.
Three Shards rotated behind her as Didi directed Crowned Frost through the exact sentence Cessy had taught her. She spoke the rehearsed words toward the black ownership mark.
"This person here is protected from collection, assignment, and transfer."
