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Chapter 8: Breaking Point
The torchlight flickered across the bars.
Ethan sat with his back against the wall, one arm curled protectively around Ren, who breathed softly against his chest. The quiet had an edge tonight. Tense. Expectant.
Then the shadow appeared.
Broad shoulders. Bare chest. Scarred arms.
Elias Vahn.
He didn't speak at first. Just leaned against the bars like a sentry who'd wandered too close to something dangerous.
"You're awake," he said at last.
Ethan said nothing.
"You're always so quiet. Always so… still." Elias sniffed once. "That calm pisses me off."
Ethan met his eyes. "You stayed up to say that?"
A short chuckle. "I thought maybe you were soft. Like the boy you keep holding every night. But I saw the way you lifted that rock today. Saw the guards hesitate. You're not soft."
Still no response.
"Or maybe you are. And you just hide it well. Hiding makes people interesting."
Ethan's grip subtly tightened on Ren's shoulder.
"I'm not interested in your attention, Elias."
Elias tilted his head. "Then stop earning it."
They stared at each other.
No yelling. No threats.
Just pressure. Measured and slow—like two predators circling, neither ready to break eye contact.
"I'll figure you out," Elias muttered. "Everyone breaks eventually."
"Then break yourself first," Ethan replied.
Elias lingered one moment longer. Then left, silent as he came.
> [Elias Vahn — Compatibility: 41%]
[Instability rising. Emotional conflict growing. Fascination triggered.]
The tension lingered.
Ethan looked down at Ren, still asleep. The system pinged.
> [Conversion Level: 37% — Ren Arlow]
[Feminization Threshold Reached. Hormonal changes accelerating.]
[Risk: Visibly feminine appearance may attract unwanted attention in hostile environment.]
"System," Ethan said quietly, "pause all feminization. Lock it at current level."
> [Override accepted.]
[Feminization paused. Conversion now focused on emotional bonding and loyalty.]
He exhaled, then paused.
Why did I just make that decision so easily?
Not out of care. Not love.
It was cold logic.
Ren looking softer made him vulnerable.
And vulnerable meant exposed, which meant useless.
That realization sat heavy in Ethan's gut.
He was already seeing people not as people—but as investments. Resources.
Even Ren.
He didn't like the thought.
But he didn't take it back.
---
Morning came like a war horn.
The pits roared again—dust, blood, sun. Ethan worked faster now. Stronger. Even the guards noticed.
Elias kept watching. Always watching.
But it wasn't Ethan who drew Grul's wrath today—it was a boy named Lenn. Too small for the work. He dropped a full basket of stone. Fell to his knees.
The whip lashed out fast.
Ethan stepped in without hesitation.
He caught the whip mid-air.
Gasps broke the silence.
Ethan didn't flinch. "He's not your toy."
Grul snarled. "You want his punishment, freak?"
Ethan stared him down. "No. I'm taking my place."
The next blow hit his side.
And then another.
He didn't scream.
He didn't kneel.
He just stood there, absorbing it.
Across the pit, Elias stood frozen—face unreadable.
> [Pain Threshold Passed.]
[Dominance Increased.]
[Ren Arlow — Emotional spike: +7%. Attachment deepened.]
[Elias Vahn — Compatibility: 41% → 48%. Emotional confusion detected. Internal resistance weakening.]
By the time Ethan collapsed, the guards had stopped laughing.
When he was dragged back to the scaffold wall, bloody but still breathing, Elias didn't look away.
And Ethan, bleeding through his teeth, smirked.
Because he could feel it now.
Not power through titles. Not magic.
Power through control. Through presence. Through will.
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