Chapter 11: The Half-Blood's Chains
The corridor narrowed, the walls seeming to press inward as they followed the sounds of anguish deeper into the heart of the temple. Each scream echoed with pain, blending the voice of a beast with something heartbreakingly human. The air stung with the scent of burning flesh and iron.
Mia's hand trembled slightly as she clutched her staff. "Silver," she murmured. "I smell silver."
Lee Kung's jaw tightened. He pressed forward, the obsidian sword glowing like a beacon ahead of them. At the end of the corridor, they found an arched doorway, half crumbled but still passable. Beyond it was a room unlike any other they'd seen.
It was circular, with chains hanging from the walls and ceilings, their tips glowing with an unnatural light. In the center, a figure thrashed against those bindings, her body wracked with spasms of pain.
She was no longer fully human.
Sio Jun, the half-blood, was locked in her werewolf form—tall, feral, and terrifyingly graceful. Her fur was matted with sweat and blood, and the silver chains burned against her skin, smoke rising from the points of contact. She howled again, the sound raw and filled with suffering.
Her yellow eyes met Lee Kung's for a moment, and in that instant, he saw the truth behind the beast. Intelligence. Desperation. A plea for help.
Bones littered the floor—remnants of animals sacrificed or fed to her in a desperate attempt to quell her hunger. Skulls stared from the corners, some too large for comfort, their jaws agape as if frozen mid-scream.
"She's being held here," Mia said, stepping cautiously into the room. "Tortured by her own nature."
Lee Kung stepped forward. The sword pulsed stronger, reacting to Sio Jun's presence. The girl thrashed again, snarling and growling, but her eyes remained locked on his.
"She's in pain," he said. "And she hasn't completely lost herself. Not yet."
He turned to Mia. "We have to help her. The silver—it's killing her."
Mia nodded. "But we have to be careful. If she turns on us in her state—"
"I'll take that chance," Lee Kung said.
He approached the trembling werewolf, cautiously reaching for the nearest chain. The metal hissed as he touched it with the tip of his sword. With a crackling burst, the chain snapped.
Sio Jun screamed again, the release from one shackle sending a new wave of transformation through her.
One by one, Lee Kung and Mia began to unchain her, each chain unleashing a fresh howl of pain. But as the last bond fell, the werewolf collapsed, panting heavily, her claws digging into the stone.
Then, slowly, impossibly, the beast began to shrink.
Fur faded. Bones cracked. Muscles shifted.
Before them, naked and curled into herself, was a young woman with silver hair and faint markings across her body.
Sio Jun.
She was breathing, but barely.
Lee Kung knelt beside her and gently placed his cloak over her form. He glanced at Mia, who nodded solemnly.
"She's alive. But we need to move her. Quickly."
The full moon still hung high, and the temple trembled with a dormant energy—as if the awakening of the half-blood had stirred something ancient.
They had found her.
But the trials were far from over.
As Lee Kung and Mia tried to lift Sio Jun, she suddenly snapped her eyes open. A growl escaped her lips, and with a surge of strength, she broke free from their grasp. Her transformation surged again under the full moonlight. In a flash, she lunged at them.
Lee Kung barely raised his sword in time, deflecting her sharp claws. Mia twisted away, swinging her staff, but Sio Jun was fast—too fast. With every strike Lee Kung landed, the cuts healed instantly. Her regeneration was near-instantaneous, fueled by the full moon's power.
The fight raged on through the night. Stone cracked beneath their feet, and the chamber echoed with the sounds of clashing and growling. Blood was drawn—mostly theirs. But they fought with everything they had.
Lee Kung's chest heaved with each breath. His arms trembled from the force of every strike. Yet his mind remained focused. He remembered the stories Master Po told him—of creatures cursed to walk the edge of humanity and monstrosity. He saw the humanity in Sio Jun, and he refused to let it be lost.
"She's not our enemy!" he shouted to Mia as he blocked another strike.
"I know," Mia gasped, her cheek bleeding from a grazing claw. "But she's not herself!"
Even in the chaos, Lee Kung's mind drifted back to his childhood—his master's voice echoing in his memory. "Even monsters carry pain. Sometimes, all they need is someone who sees them."
Mia ducked a blow and rolled to her feet. Her heart pounded not just from exertion but empathy. Watching Sio Jun fight herself more than them—it hurt. She gritted her teeth, trying to focus on defense.
Minutes felt like hours. The chamber was in ruins. Pillars were shattered, the stone floor cracked and scorched. The moonlight filtering in from above was dimming, ever so slowly, with the approach of dawn.
And with it, came a shift.
Sio Jun began to slow. Her movements lost some of their wild ferocity. Her eyes flickered—rage giving way to confusion. She stumbled, blinking at her bloodied claws. Then, without warning, a fragmented memory surfaced:
A small cottage. A woman humming. A child's laughter. A full moon rising over a forest. A scream. Chains.
She looked at them—two strangers, sitting slumped, their bodies covered in cuts and bruises. And she froze.
Her voice cracked through the silence, trembling with guilt. "Oh no…"
She dropped to her knees, trembling. "What did I do…"
Lee Kung, panting and bleeding, looked at her. "You fought. We did too. But you're not lost."
Sio Jun shook her head, tears welling in her now-human eyes. "You should've killed me. I'm a monster."
Mia walked over slowly, lowering her staff. "No. You're a survivor. And you've been alone for too long."
The sun finally crested the horizon, and with it, the remnants of the beast within Sio Jun receded. Her features softened further, her breath growing steadier.
They sat in silence for a long while, the only sound the distant wind moaning through the ruined corridors.
Finally, Sio Jun spoke. "I don't know who you are. But thank you. I… I was trapped in that form for weeks. Maybe longer. The chains… the hunger…" She looked at the bones on the floor and turned away, shame contorting her face.
Lee Kung nodded. "We came searching for you. The village elders said you fell from the sky. Like a meteor."
Sio Jun nodded slowly. "I remember. I don't know why I came here… something drew me. But when I transformed, I lost control. They chained me. I don't blame them."
Mia knelt beside her. She reached into her satchel and gently dabbed Lee Kung's bleeding arm with a crushed leaf from her poultice bag. "You're free now. But we need your help. Something is happening across the realms. The balance is shifting. And you… you may be part of what can restore it."
Sio Jun looked uncertain. "I've only ever brought chaos. How could I help?"
Lee Kung reached into his pouch and drew out the shard of stone glowing in tandem with his sword. "Because this glowed when we came near you. I think you're connected to something greater. And I believe you were meant to join us."
Sio Jun stared at the stone, then at him. "You really think there's hope for me?"
Lee Kung smiled faintly. "I do. We've all fought battles inside and out. Yours just happen to leave more scars."
She hesitated… then nodded. "Then I'll come with you."
They rose together, three warriors—different in blood, but bound by purpose.
Outside, the temple's shadows retreated in the morning light. And deep beneath the floor, something stirred. The chains were broken. The half-blood was free.
And the next piece of the realm's mystery had just joined the journey.