Bound to the Ash-Reaper
By @john1208
Bahar’s ordinary morning routine of sharpening blades and dodging barracks inspection goes horribly wrong when a vivid, blood-drenched nightmare strikes: Kadir, the Bastion’s most lethal and silent warrior, is destined to butcher her and her entire squad during the upcoming Ascension Rite. Desperate, fiercely loyal to her friends, and intensely hot-tempered, Bahar decides to legally disqualify herself from his combat roster by faking a sudden engagement to a wealthy civilian merchant. But her clumsy evasion backfires spectacularly. The Bastion’s ancient Rune-Core detects the immense magical friction between them and interprets it as a 'Perfect Resonance.' Instead of being discharged, Bahar is soul-tethered to Kadir, meaning they now share pain, power, and an inescapable magnetic proximity. Forced to fight side-by-side in the infested ash-wastes, Bahar waits for Kadir to reveal his murderous nature. But when a cave-in traps them in the dark, she witnesses a shockingly gentle side to the supposed monster. As the system rewards their violent synergy with the coveted Vanguard’s Crown, they realize the prize is actually a lethal snare. Can they break the tether before the fortress feeds them to the abyss?
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