Chapter 38 – From Within the Chains (1)

Chapter 38 – From Within the Chains (1)

Rowan’s terror was quickly replaced by surprise and confusion as whatever lurked within his chains awakened. But those feelings quickly turned back to sheer terror as he realized something: he was no longer in control of his own body.

His eyelids snapped open, forcing himself to stare up at the fist descending upon him. Everything moved unnaturally slowly as he watched, forced to remain as an observer in his own body.

Throughout his life, he’d heard many people say that when one found themself on death’s door, it would almost seem as if time itself was slowing down for them.

Whether or not that was real, he didn’t know, because if Rowan had ever known something for sure, it was that what was happening to him at that moment was not what those people were describing. No, this was something entirely different.

With the rest of the world slowed to a crawl, he kept watching, and a split second later, he felt his body begin to move. His fist whipped upwards, ignoring whatever it was that slowed everything else down.

But then, as Rowan felt the muscles and tendons in his arm ripping and tearing, he realized that his body wasn’t ignoring the effect; it was just moving faster than whatever was slowing the world down. But it was too fast.

He tried to scream in pain, but no sound came out. After all, his mouth was no longer his to command.

His body was wracked with agony as more and more of his arm was torn apart, moving at speeds beyond even his stat-enhanced flesh.

The moment his hand reached the hammer-arm of the bloodspawn, Rowan felt mana bursting from his fist. Fighting through the pain in his arm, he focused on the pathways within his body, only to find them empty.

Somehow, whatever was controlling his body had managed to take control of every last ounce of compressed mana in his body in a split-second. All without him even noticing.

The energy burst from his fist in a single, unimaginably powerful wave, smashing into the bulbous tumor that was the beast’s hand. Rowan had a brief moment to watch in awe as the entire lump of flesh exploded, sending chunks of flesh flying in every direction.

Then, the pain hit.

Rowan felt the bones in his hand and forearm shattering from the sheer backlash of the mana being released from his body. It was worse than anything he’d felt before. So much worse.

And just like the rest of the world, his body was slowed down as well, forcing him to feel everything as the damage traveled through his arm, slowly ripping apart one muscle and tendon after another.

Every second was agony as he felt his bones slowly fracture and crack, experiencing each lance of pain in slow motion.

But, just as he felt as if he were about to break, time resumed its normal pace, and the worst of the pain faded.

His body was still screaming in protest, but in contrast with what he’d experienced just moments earlier, it was nothing. If anything, it was like a warm, comforting hug compared to before.

Before he could relish the feeling of being able to think straight, his body was in action once more. He rushed at the massive brute that was still reeling from losing its greatest weapon, but that wasn’t what Rowan was paying attention to.

No, he was watching what was going on within his body.

The swirling mass of mana in his chest was being rapidly depleted as it was pulled into his pathways. But the moment the energy entered them, it was compressed, far more quickly than anything he’d managed before.

Rowan watched the process with rapt attention, watching as whatever was controlling him did things so complicated that they would’ve taken him minutes in less than a second.

Soon, every last drop of mana had been pulled from him and compressed into something denser than anything he’d ever done, despite the task being performed in a split-second.

And, as he observed the energy, Rowan knew that it was different, beyond anything he could create. Even the way the mana was moved throughout his body was masterful and efficient, the technique allowing it to move at several times the speed he could normally manage.

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Then, the mana spewed out of him, not concentrated at any one point. And, to his great surprise, it flowed into his chains rather than being directed as a blast towards the brutish bloodspawn.

Immediately, his chains became stronger, faster, better in every way. Rowan simply watched everything unfold before him in awe, his fascination easily overwhelming the pain of his injuries.

The chains sprang forward, moving with practiced ease. By now, though, the massive humanoid had recovered enough to fight back, and it did so with vigor. As chains swarmed around it, the beast swung its arms around wildly, trying to force them back.

With each swing, the arm that had once held the tumorous growth sent sprays of blood splashing across the room. There was a primal fear to its actions, as if the chains terrified it more than anything else in the world.