Chapter 5:The Frost Citadel's Duel.

The howling winds of the Frostfang Peaks carved through Leoniss cloak like knives, their edges laced with the bite of eternal winter. Above them, the blood moon hung low, its crimson glow staining the ice-blue fortress ahead- the Syndicate's stronghold known as the Frost Citadel.

Its spires jutted into the sky like frozen talons, and the air thrummed with the dissonant hum of corrupted magic.

Fenrir prowled beside him, his golden eyes narrowed against the gale. Though freed from the Bloodchained curse, the remnants of the runes still scarred his torso, pulsing faintly whenever the wind carried the scent of Syndicate alchemy.

"'The walls are lined with shadowglass,"* he growled, nostrils flaring.

"'One misstep, and the entire fortress will know were here."*

Celia lingered a step behind, her silver hair whipping like a banner in the storm. Her fingers traced the jagged mark beneath her maskthe Syndicate's brandas if it burned.

Since Fenrir's revelation in the forest, shed spoken little, her blade restless at her side. Leonis didnt need Wolf's Instinct to sense the war raging inside her,Celia lingered a step behind, her silver hair whipping like a banner in the storm. Her fingers traced the jagged mark beneath her maskthe Syndicate's brandes if it burned.

Since Fenrir's revelation in the forest, shed spoken little, her blade restless at her side. Leonis didnt need Wolfs Instinct to sense the war raging inside her.

*"Theres another way in,"* Celia said abruptly. Her voice was steel wrapped in frost. *"The undercroft. It's where they keep the failed experiments."*

Fenrir's lip curled. *"Charming."*

Leonis flexed his arms, the dual bloodlines simmering beneath his skin. The Duskblade Convergence had left them raw, but the power it granted was undeniable.

*"Lead the way,"" he said.

The undercroft reeked of decay and chemical sterility. Leoniss boots sank into a slurry of half-melted ice and darker fluids as they navigated the labyrinth of cells. Behind rusted bars, shapes stirredsome human, some not, all twisted by the Syndicate's experiments.

A child with too many eyes pressed against the bars, their fingers ending in needle-like claws.

*"Dont look at them,"* Celia muttered, her grip tightening on her blade.*"Theyre already gone."*

Leonis clenched his jaw. *Not if I can help it.*

A guttural scream echoed from deeper within, followed by the rhythmic*clank* of machinery. The trio exchanged glances before creeping forward, Fenrir's nose guiding them toward the source. The corridor opened into a cavernous chamber, its center dominated by a massive, pulsating crystala- shard of the Shadowweave Sovereign's power, humming with malice.

And chained to it, writhing in agony, was a figure Leonis recognized.

*"Thoren?"* The name tore from his throat before he could stop it.

The scientist's head snapped up, his gaunt face streaked with blood and sweat.

His eyes, once sharp with intellect, were now wild with pain.*"Leonis? No"run! *It's a trap!'

The ground trembled. From the shadows behind Thoren, a figure emergede elia's mirror image, clad in Syndicate black, her face unmarred by scars.

*"Hello, little shadow,"* the false Celia purred. *"Did you really think you

could steal my pet and get away with it?"*

Leonis's blood turned to ice. *The Sovereigns puppet.*

The real Celia stepped forward, her blade igniting with moonlight. *"You're not me,"* she hissed.

The impostor laughed, a sound like shattering glass. *"Arent I?"* She flicked her wrist, and the walls *moved*dozens of Syndicate enforcers, their armor seething with shadowglass, materialized from the darkness.

Fenrir bared his teeth.

*"Well. This just got interesting."*

The battle erupted in a storm of steel and magic. Leonis dove into the fray, his left arm unleashing tendrils of shadow that coiled around enforcers' throats, his right arm a whirlwind of searing flame. Fenrir fought like a beast unleashed, his claws rending armor as if it were parchment.

But the enforcers kept coming, their shattered bodies reforming with each strike.

*"Theyre tethered to the crystal!"* Thoren choked out from his chains.*"Destroy it!"*

Celia lunged for the shard, but her doppelgäger intercepted her, their blades meeting in a shower of sparks.

*"You're a flaw in the design,"* the impostor sneered. *"A *failure*."*

The words struck deeper than steel. Celia falteredjust for a heartbeatbut it was enough. The false Celia's blade found her ribs, drawing a gasp of pain.

Leonis saw red.

He *wrenched* the Duskblade Convergence to life, ignoring the agony as shadow and flame fused in his veins. The world narrowed to a single pointt- he crystal, throbbing with stolen power. With a roar, he slammed his fists into it.

The explosion sent him flying.

When the light cleared, the crystal was shattered, the enforcers collapsing into lifeless husks. The impostor staggered, her form flickering-And Celia drove her blade through her heart.

*"I'm *done* being your puppet,"* she whispered.

The false Celia dissolved into shadow, her final scream echoing through the chamber. Silence fell, broken only by Thorens ragged breathing.

Leonis stumbled to his feet, his arms smoking with residual energy. Celia stood over the remnants of her doppelgāger, her shoulders trembling.

Then she turned to him, her mask askew, revealing the scar in fulland the tears cutting through the grime on her face.

*"They made *hundreds* of me,"* she said, her voice breaking. *"And I dont even know which one is real."*

Fenrir growled, nudging Thorens limp form. *"He might."*

Leonis exhaled, the weight of the truth settling over him like a shroud. The Syndicate's game was far worse than he'd imagined.

And Celia was the key to ending it.