There were chains running through the sigil.
Not metaphorical.
Not symbolic.
Literal chains.
They were so impossibly small that they could be dismissed as flaws in perception—fine fractures in the structure, hairline irregularities in the flow of essence.
But they weren't imperfections.
They were deliberate.
Tiny interlocking links, threading through the entire construct. Connecting every rune. Binding every layer. Acting as the hidden framework that made the whole thing function.
The chains were the missing link.
The thing he hadn't been able to perceive.
Normally, this would have been a breakthrough.
Instead—
It terrified him.
Because when he looked deeper—
He saw them inside himself.
Not imagined.
Not conceptualized.
There were chains running through his body.
They were faint. Subtle. Nearly invisible without Envy sharpening his perception.
But once seen—
They could not be unseen.
They wrapped around his hand first. the one where he had placed the modified sigil. That hand was overrun with them, tiny links coiling around bone, muscle, and vein like parasitic ivy.
He swallowed and forced himself to look deeper.
That was a mistake.
The chains were everywhere.
Through his legs.
Across his chest.
Down his spine.
Threaded through every fiber of muscle.
It wasn't just that they wrapped around him.
It was like every single cell in his body was threaded through with them.
As if they were holding him together.
Or trying to tear him apart.
His breathing became shallow.
He quickly turned his gaze to the others.
Nothing.
No chains.
Not on Sunny.
Not on Effie.
Not on Kai.
Not on Cassie.
Not even on Nephis.
Only—
Caster.
Around Caster's heart was a chain.
A single one.
Light red.
Thick.
Steady.
Wrapped tightly around his heart like a vow made manifest.
Alucard looked back at himself.
Most of his chains were dark crimson.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Except—
The ones around his left eye.
Those were emerald green.
And the ones around his hand—the hand bearing the sigil—were the same light red as Caster's.
He forced himself to take a few deep breaths.
It didn't help much.
Had they appeared after placing the sigil on his hand?
Or had they always been there?
They were so small.
So minute.
So complex.
Compared to the Blood Arrow's chains—or even the simple contract chain between him and Caster—these were impossibly intricate. Tangled. Interwoven. Not cleanly wrapped, but layered in chaotic spirals.
Especially around his heart.
That area was madness.
Every other chain seemed to originate from there.
And within that chaotic knot, he saw two chains that were slightly different.
One was clearly his.
Light red.
The other was green.
But not the vibrant emerald of his eye.
This was a deeper, fuller green.
His head began to ache.
He remembered something.
Feltan's voice.
"Under no circumstances do you sacrifice your own blood. You hear me?"
Alucard closed his eyes.
If this was because he hadn't listened—
If this was the consequence of using his own blood as fuel—
He would never hear the end of it.
The hunger hit him suddenly.
Sharp.
Intense.
Too much thinking always did that.
He staggered back toward the others and silently began eating.
He deactivated Envy.
Looking at the chains for too long was maddening.
But even without Envy active—
He could still faintly sense them now.
That was the worst part.
Caster approached him, frowning.
"Are you okay? You seem off today. What happened?"
Alucard lay back, staring at the sky.
"Man… I wish I could tell you but I don't even know what the hell is going on."
Caster raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Alucard rubbed his temples.
"I'll explain later. Just stop asking so many questions."
For the rest of the day—and the following night—Alucard barely spoke.
He studied.
He experimented.
He ate.
He repeated.
After long hours of obsessive analysis, he understood a few things.
Not enough to act.
But definitely enough to worry.
The different colors represented different creators.
Emerald green—Feltan.
Light red—himself.
Dark crimson—
Unknown.
That question had no answer.
Not yet.
The sigils Feltan taught him had no chains.
He examined the barrier sigil.
Nothing.
Even the contract with Caster was simple—just one thick chain around both their hearts.
Clean.
Elementary.
But the dark crimson ones…
They were older.
He could feel it.
And he had no idea what that meant.
By the end of the two days, he had made zero progress.
If anything, he was more confused than before.
Finally, he reached inward.
"Hey, Gluttony. Do you have any clue what any of this means?"
Silence.
"Hey. Why aren't you speaking?"
Silence again.
"Okay. Fine. Ignore me."
Gluttony finally responded.
"I don't know anything. And I am just as confused as you are. Actually… I might be more confused."
Alucard narrowed his eyes.
"Why is that?"
A very long pause.
"I'm not sure."
And that was the end of that.
—
Alucard was genuinely happy when Nephis announced they were leaving.
He was even smiling.
Until he heard the rest of the plan.
"You have to be kidding me."
He stood at the broken bridge spanning the massive canyon, hands raised in disbelief.
Nephis didn't even look at him.
"You knew about this months in advance."
Alucard sighed internally.
He made a solemn promise to never ignore meetings again.(The day he stops ignoring meetings will be the day we can all say he had insane character development)
Because it was biting him in the ass.
The only other sane person seemed to be Sunny.
Both of them briefly considered retreating to the statue.
But then Sunny, traitor that he was, decided to trust Nephis.
Which meant Alucard was alone in his skepticism.
He looked at the horizon as the sky turned deep orange.
The sound began.
The distant roar.
The Dark Tide.
He exhaled slowly, already forming contingency plans.
Then the water came.
It surged into the canyon violently, dark and endless.
Despite his complaints, he didn't move.
He wasn't a coward.
He would stand.
The sun fully set.
Nephis raised her sword and ignited it.
Brilliant white flames erupted, piercing the darkness.
Alucard, standing close to her, cautiously extended his hand.
Just to test.
The moment her radiance brushed the sigil—
A disgusting, dark red—almost black—sludge began pouring from the sigil in his hand.
It burned.
Pain lanced through his arm.
He yanked it back instinctively, gritting his teeth.
The sludge dropped into the rising water causing it to evaporate.
The Dark Tide reached their ankles.
Then their shins.
Nothing happened.
It rose to their knees.
The surface rippled.
Something was moving beneath them.
Nephis increased the intensity of her flames.
The light grew blinding.
The heat intensified.
It scorched Alucard's skin. His flesh sizzled.
He bit down on his tongue and endured it.
Then—
Something broke the surface.
Massive.
Towering.
Stone limbs rising from the dark water.
A colossal figure emerged fully, water cascading off its body.
A giant.
Carved from ancient stone.
Each step it took towards them sent waves crashing outward.
Alucard stared.
"…A stone giant?"
And somehow—
He had the sinking feeling this was only the beginning.