The Crimson Bell of Oath

CLANG—!

The sound of a massive bell echoed through the unfinished heart of Axis. A blood-red chime, deep and heavy, rolled over the hills like a wave of sorrow.

Arin stood at the center of a ritual circle, surrounded by stone pillars etched with ancient feminine glyphs. His right palm bled over a symbol—an act forbidden for a man in this world.

Beside him, Elira, dressed in obsidian armor with flowing silver trim, stood stiff, eyes wide with worry.

"You really intend to bind your will to the Oathstone?" she asked, her voice trembling. "That's a rite only Empresses are allowed to perform. It could… kill you."

Arin's reply was quiet. "Let it try."

THRUMMMM...

Another pulse rang from the crimson bell above them, the Bell of Oath, once used to forge empire-wide pacts during times of revolution. Now, forgotten by the world, Arin reclaimed it.

Flashback – One Night Prior

Under a sky scattered with red stars, Rhys approached Arin while carrying a bundle of maps and hand-written reports.

"We lost five scouts today. The Empress of Noctis Accord is testing us with illusions again. She's baiting you emotionally."

Arin's eyes didn't move from the hearthfire. "Let her. Every test strengthens what I refuse to break."

Rhys paused. "The other women—your inner circle—they're asking for clarity. Not just loyalty… they want to know where they stand in your heart."

"I…" Arin began, but the words tangled in his throat.

Elira.Yvaine.Sarai.Kira.And now the memory-fragment of Aya, whispering to him in dreams.

He loved them—not equally, not identically—but deeply.

"I'll prove it," he whispered to himself. "Not just with words… with an oath sealed by blood and truth."

Now

The Oathstone pulsed faintly beneath Arin's palm, a living relic of emotional binding.

A low, cold wind swept the ceremony grounds.

[SYSTEM WARNING – Male unit attempting unregistered reality-binding][Rejection probability: 94%][Emotion-surge detected: Override possible]

Beep—Beep—Beeeeeeeeep.

His mind burned. Every sealed emotion surged up like a flood: pain from Earth, confusion when first isekai'd, fear, rejection, desire, purpose. The system howled inside his brain.

Then, from across the circle, Elira stepped forward.

"You're not doing this alone."

She removed her left glove, revealing the soulbrand she'd earned after protecting Arin in the Crucible. It glowed crimson now, reacting to the bell.

"I bind myself too. Not as your sword, not as your guardian—but as the first woman who truly fell for you in this world."

Her voice cracked at the edges, but her eyes blazed.

"I love you, Arin."

CLANG—!

The bell struck again. This time, the echo carried heat. The wind reversed.

From the far cliff edge, others began to appear.

Yvaine, in a crimson cloak, stepping barefoot through frost.Sarai, her mechanical wings folded behind her, eyes glowing with curiosity.Kira, with two spears and no words, only soft breath on her lips.

They had felt it. Every one of them.

The vow wasn't just emotional—it was cosmic.

Oath Unfolding

Arin raised both hands. The bleeding from his palm stopped—not from magic, but from control. His will now bent reality, not the other way around.

"I, Arin of Earth—now of Axis—swear this:"

"To never use love as a leash.""To build a nation where no bond is a chain.""To protect the hearts that choose me freely.""And to destroy every system that tries to seal emotions into weapons."

A tremor spread from the circle. The glyphs turned white-hot.

Then the Crimson Bell let out its final chime:

GONNNNNNG—!

Reality didn't just shake. It listened.

The Next Morning

Birds that hadn't sung in years chirped around Axis' hills. The frost receded early. Flowers bloomed where Arin's blood had soaked the stone.

And high above the Axis spire, a new constellation had formed: a cluster of six stars, each glowing in different hues.

They called it The Bonded Crown.

Rhys smirked as he looked up. "Congratulations, Oathmaker. You've officially done something no man in history ever has."

Arin, bruised but standing strong, glanced toward Elira as she slept, curled in his cloak beside the now-silent bell.

"Let them come," he said. "Empires. Warlords. Gods. I'll greet them with a kingdom built not on fear…"

He placed a hand over his heart.

"…but on feeling."