I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 468: Severed Connection

Tharaxis was quiet for a moment, his countless arms shifting. "I can smell Drakon on you."

The statement caught Jack off guard, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What?"

"Drakon," Tharaxis repeated. "Ancient dragon. One of the oldest living creatures in this world." Lightning crackled along the dragon’s scales. "His scent clings to you like morning fog. Faint, but unmistakable to someone who knows what to sense."

Jack’s mind raced. He’d only seen Drakon once. A glimpse during his fight with Slyph, when his father’s contracted beast had manifested for seconds. How could Tharaxis smell that brief encounter?

"Drakon is my father’s contractee," Jack said carefully. "I’ve barely interacted with him directly."

"Doesn’t matter," Tharaxis replied. "Contract bonds leave marks. Your father shares Drakon’s power, which means you’ve been exposed to that power through blood connection. Weak exposure, yes, but present."

The dragon’s tone carried certainty. "Which means you already know what I’m about to tell you."

"About lifespan costs," Jack stated.

"Yes," Tharaxis confirmed. "Your father contracted with Drakon decades ago. A dragon of similar power to myself. That contract cost him thirty years of natural life."

Jack’s jaw tightened. Alaric had never mentioned this. He never explained the price he’d paid for the power that made him Elysium’s greatest warrior.

"Contracting with me would cost similarly," Tharaxis continued. "Thirty to forty years, depending on how extensively you draw upon the bond. Use my power sparingly; you might only lose twenty-five. Push it constantly, burn through everything I offer, and you could lose fifty."

The dragon’s countless arms spread wide. "That’s the price, little Soul Warden. Lightning powerful enough to rival gods, electrical manipulation beyond mortal limits, and the ability to call storms that could devastate armies. All of it yours. All of it paid for with decades you’ll never see."

Jack processed this information, his strategic mind weighing costs against benefits. Losing thirty years meant dying at fifty instead of eighty. Forty years meant dying at forty. Either scenario assumed nothing else killed him first, which, given his goals, was optimistic at best.

"I don’t care," Jack said flatly.

Tharaxis’s laugh rumbled across the plateau. "Just like that? No hesitation? No consideration of what you’d be giving up?"

"I’ll become strong enough that the years I lose become irrelevant," Jack replied, his tone carrying absolute certainty. "If I die at forty but accomplish everything I set out to do, that’s better than dying at eighty having achieved nothing."

Lightning crackled from Tharaxis’s eyes with what might have been satisfaction. "There it is. That audacity I mentioned. Malakai said almost the exact same words when I explained contract costs to him."

The dragon’s massive head tilted. "He contracted with five entities over his reign. Lost nearly sixty years of natural life to those bonds. Would have died at twenty if the power drain had caught up with him before he disappeared."

"But it didn’t," Jack observed.

"No," Tharaxis agreed. "Because he kept growing stronger. Pushed his body beyond normal limits through the phoenix, bound souls feeding him power, through sheer stubborn refusal to let mortality constrain him."

The dragon’s voice carried that nostalgic quality again. "By the time he vanished, his contracted beasts had stopped draining him entirely. He’d become powerful enough that the exchange balanced naturally."

Jack filed that information away. If Malakai had managed to offset contract costs through accumulated power, the lifespan drain wouldn’t necessarily have been permanent. Just another obstacle to overcome through strength.

"Before we proceed with the contract," Tharaxis said, his tone shifting to something more serious, "you need to complete a task. Prove you’re worthy of what I’m offering."

The dragon’s massive claw gestured toward the distant rock formations where Stormfang still hid. "Bind my child. Not through death and resurrection like you did with the Hydra. I want Stormfang bound alive. Soul anchored while the creature still draws breath."

Jack’s eyes narrowed. "That’s significantly more difficult. The binding process is easier when the target is already dead."

"I know," Tharaxis replied. "Which is why it’s a proper test. Binding a living creature requires more control." Lightning pulsed from his eyes. "Show me you can do that, and we’ll discuss contract terms."

"And if I fail?" Jack asked.

"Then Stormfang kills you, I consume your corpse, and I wait for the next interesting Soul Warden to stumble into my domain." Tharaxis’s tone was matter-of-fact.

"Though given your performance so far, I suspect failure is unlikely."

Jack mentally calculated his remaining Death Tokens. Binding Stormfang alive would cost significantly more than binding a corpse. The system charged premium prices for difficult tasks.

As if reading his thoughts, Tharaxis shifted one of his massive arms. The limb extended downward, claws opening to reveal hundreds of crystallized tokens that glowed with dark energy.

Death Tokens.

More than Jack had ever seen in one place.

The tokens poured from Tharaxis’s claw like water, forming a pile on the plateau that had to contain millions of individual pieces.

"One hundred fifty million Death Tokens," Tharaxis stated. "The exact cost to bind a living blessed wyvern of Stormfang’s rank and power."

Jack stared at the pile, his mind processing the implications faster than his expression could show surprise. "How do you know the exact cost?"

"I know many things about Soul Wardens and the system that governs their power," Tharaxis replied, his tone carrying weight.

"The throne isn’t just a title, little Soul Warden. It’s a position that existed long before the current gods claimed authority. Long before this tower was built, or mortality understood what death truly meant."

"Malakai spent years teaching me about Soul Magic. How it worked. Why it worked. What rules governed the binding process? He was... generous with knowledge, in exchange for my assistance with certain tasks."

"What kind of tasks?" Jack asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Later," Tharaxis replied. "First, prove yourself. Bind Stormfang alive. Then we’ll discuss everything you want to know about Soul Wardens, the system, and why I’m offering you something I haven’t offered anyone since Malakai died."

Jack looked at the pile of Death Tokens, then back at Tharaxis’s golden eyes. "You mentioned Stormfang won’t lose memories if bound alive. How do you know that?"

"Because memory loss during binding is caused by death trauma," Tharaxis explained. "The soul separating from the body, then being forcibly anchored back into dead flesh. That process damages consciousness, erases recent experiences, leaves only fragments of who the creature was."

Lightning crackled along his scales. "Binding a living creature avoids that trauma. The soul never leaves the body. Consciousness remains intact. Stormfang will remember everything. Including why he fled to my domain seeking protection."

"And you’re fine with that?" Jack pressed. "Your child remembering you handed him over to someone who hunted him?"

"Stormfang will understand," Tharaxis replied with certainty. "Dragons are pragmatic creatures. We don’t cling to sentiment when stronger alternatives present themselves." The dragon’s tone shifted slightly. "Besides, this serves purposes beyond simple survival. Purposes I’ll explain once you complete the binding."

Jack studied Tharaxis for a long moment, searching for deception or a hidden agenda in those golden eyes. He found neither in those eyes.

"I have questions," Jack said. "About the Soul Link. Why can’t I reach my bound army?"

"Because I don’t want you to," Tharaxis replied simply. "My power is great enough that I can suppress certain connections by wishing for them to cease. The Soul Link still exists. I haven’t severed it. But while you’re in my domain, while we’re having this conversation, I’ve muted the signal."