Chapter 141: # - : Devouring the Pact
"You’ve been living off my kingdom for almost five hundred years."
Amon’s eyes darkened.
"I think it’s time you paid rent."
The eleven vessels went completely still.
For several seconds, Vaelor did not respond.
Then every mouth smiled.
Slowly.
"You intend to take what belongs to me."
Amon looked toward the system notification.
[Foreign pact may be devoured.]
[Potential rewards:]
[Fate Authority increase.]
[Contract authority acquisition.]
[Partial access to accumulated fate reserve.]
The final line interested him most.
Partial access.
Even a fraction of what he had sensed below could solve the barrier problem.
Perhaps much more.
Amon looked at the floating bodies.
"It stopped belonging to you the moment I found it."
Vaelor laughed.
"You speak as though discovery creates ownership."
"No."
Amon raised Azrael.
"Strength does."
The chamber trembled.
Black symbols spread across the floor.
Vaelor’s pressure increased.
The unconscious vessels rose higher.
Amon activated Binding.
Invisible chains wrapped around them.
The symbols stopped spreading.
Vaelor’s voice lowered.
"You cannot consume the pact."
"System."
[Master.]
"Begin."
The chamber went silent.
Then the Fate Devouring Seed expanded inside Amon’s awareness.
[Attempting contact with higher-order contract.]
Amon immediately felt resistance.
Something ancient.
Dense.
Not a physical force.
Authority.
The contract recognized him as an outsider.
Then Gatekeeper Authority reacted.
The resistance weakened.
[Gatekeeper status recognized.]
[Contract access partially authorized.]
Vaelor’s voice changed.
"What are you doing?"
Amon smiled faintly.
"Collecting rent."
The Fate Devouring Seed pulsed.
[Devouring initiated.]
A black-gold line appeared in the air.
Theron had already left, but even without a formation master present Amon could see what it represented.
A connection.
One end descended into the depths beneath the kingdom.
The second stretched upward.
Toward the royal bloodline.
The third extended somewhere else entirely.
Amon’s eyes narrowed.
Three parties.
Vaelor.
The Crown.
The Black Architect.
But the architect had died centuries ago.
So why did his connection still exist?
The system reacted.
[Warning.]
[Contract party remains active.]
Amon’s expression changed.
"Interesting."
Vaelor became silent.
Amon looked at the third thread.
"The Black Architect is alive."
For the first time, the vessels lost their smiles.
That was confirmation enough.
Amon’s eyes sharpened.
"Where is he?"
Vaelor laughed.
Too quickly.
"You think I would know?"
"Yes."
No answer.
The Devouring Seed pulled harder.
The contract resisted.
Pain entered Amon’s skull.
Black cracks spread along his forearm.
[Devouring progress: 3%.]
Slow.
Very slow.
Vaelor noticed.
"You will destroy yourself before you finish."
Amon watched the progress climb.
4%.
5%.
"Maybe."
He tightened his fist.
"But you’re still worried."
The chamber shook harder.
Vaelor attacked.
Not through the vessels.
From beneath.
The floor split.
A massive black chain erupted upward.
Amon moved aside.
The chain curved in midair.
It struck toward him again.
Azrael collided with it.
Boom!
Amon slid backward.
The blade screamed.
The chain did not break.
Instead, symbols spread across Azrael’s edge.
[Foreign contract enforcement detected.]
Amon’s eyes narrowed.
So the pact could defend itself.
Good.
That meant he was attacking something real.
He activated Suppression.
The symbols froze.
Azrael cut downward.
The chain split.
Black liquid sprayed across the floor.
The Fate Devouring Seed absorbed it instantly.
[Devouring progress: 9%.]
Vaelor’s pressure surged.
A second chain appeared.
Then four.
Then twelve.
Amon disappeared.
The chamber exploded into movement.
Azrael moved in continuous black arcs.
Chain after chain broke.
Each fragment dissolved before touching the floor.
The Devouring Seed consumed everything.
11%.
14%.
17%.
Vaelor stopped speaking.
That worried Amon more than the attacks.
Then Danger Sense screamed.
He looked upward.
Too late.
One of the floating vessels opened its eyes.
Gold.
Not black.
Amon froze.
The body spoke in a different voice.
Human.
Male.
Calm.
"You should stop."
Amon cut the chain attacking him.
"Who are you?"
The man’s eyes remained gold.
"The third party."
Amon’s gaze sharpened.
The Black Architect.
Vaelor’s voice erupted through the other ten vessels.
"Do not listen to him."
Amon almost laughed.
"Now both of you are worried."
The golden-eyed vessel ignored Vaelor.
"If you devour the pact completely, you will break more than the tribute."
Amon kept cutting through chains.
"Explain."
"The contract is woven into the kingdom’s territorial fate."
Amon’s expression changed slightly.
The man continued.
"The barrier."
"The royal bloodline."
"The palace."
"Several major mana veins."
"All of them were built around it."
Vaelor laughed through the other vessels.
"You see?"
Amon ignored him.
"What happens if I remove it?"
The golden-eyed man answered.
"Best case?"
Amon waited.
"The kingdom survives severe structural collapse."
"And worst?"
"The capital ceases to exist."
Silence.
The Devouring Seed continued.
[Progress: 22%.]
Amon’s eyes narrowed.
"System. Verify."
[Analyzing.]
The Black Architect smiled faintly.
"You trust the mechanism more than me."
"Obviously."
The smile weakened.
[Verification complete.]
[Contract possesses extensive secondary integrations.]
[Complete immediate consumption carries severe destabilization risk.]
Amon stopped attacking for half a second.
Vaelor immediately laughed.
"There."
"You cannot take it."
Amon looked toward the black-gold contract line.
"No."
He smiled.
"I just can’t take it all at once."
Vaelor became silent.
The Architect’s expression changed.
Amon focused on the system.
"Can I isolate the tribute clause?"
[Possible.]
"Difficulty?"
[High.]
"Risk?"
[Substantially lower than complete contract consumption.]
"Do it."
[Requires targeted contract recognition.]
Amon activated Seal Recognition.
The pact unfolded inside his perception.
Not as words.
As layers.
Thousands of interconnected obligations.
Protection.
Tribute.
Bloodline continuity.
Territorial stability.
Energy exchange.
Royal authority.
Buried beneath them all was the core arrangement.
Fate for protection.
Amon focused.
"There."
The system reacted.
[Tribute clause identified.]
Vaelor screamed.
The sound shook the entire underground structure.
"STOP."
Amon smiled.
"Found it."
The Devouring Seed shifted targets.
[Targeted consumption initiated.]
[Tribute clause integrity: 100%.]
The black-gold thread connecting the kingdom to Vaelor became visible.
Amon grabbed it mentally.
The resistance was enormous.
Vaelor’s entire presence descended upon him.
His knees almost bent.
Blood ran from his nose.
Then his ears.
The pressure was far beyond anything he had faced tonight.
The system flashed.
[Warning.]
[Higher entity resisting devouring.]
Amon forced himself upright.
"Increase output."
[Current physical condition is unstable.]
"Increase it."
[Master may suffer permanent fate damage.]
Amon’s eyes hardened.
"Increase it."
The Primordial Fate Devouring Seed erupted.
Pain tore through his body.
The black cracks along his skin spread.
Then the tribute thread snapped.
Not completely.
One strand.
[Tribute clause integrity: 91%.]
Vaelor screamed.
The entire capital shook.
Far above, bells began ringing.
Amon pulled again.
83%.
76%.
The pressure increased.
One of the vessels exploded.
Then another.
Vaelor’s voice became distorted.
"You do not understand what you are stealing!"
Amon pulled harder.
67%.
59%.
The accumulated fate reserve beneath the kingdom reacted.
For the first time, part of it moved toward Amon.
Not much.
A thin stream.
But even that nearly overwhelmed him.
Power entered the Devouring Seed.
[External fate reserve absorbed.]
[Fate Authority increased.]
[Current Fate Authority: 4.]
Amon’s eyes widened slightly.
Another surge followed.
[Current Fate Authority: 5.]
The entire world seemed to change.
His perception expanded.
The contract became clearer.
The seals beneath the kingdom became clearer.
Even Vaelor’s presence became less incomprehensible.
Not understandable.
Just less impossible.
Amon smiled.
Vaelor felt it.
"No."
Amon pulled.
[Tribute clause integrity: 41%.]
The golden-eyed Architect suddenly shouted.
"Stop!"
Amon ignored him.
"You’ve already weakened it enough!"
32%.
"AMON!"
25%.
The chamber doors opened.
The King entered with Theron behind him.
Both stopped immediately.
The King looked at the suspended vessels.
The golden-eyed one.
The black contract lines surrounding Amon.
Then the entire palace shook again.
"What is happening?"
Theron looked at the ancient formation channels.
His face went pale.
"He’s cutting the pact."
The King stared.
"What pact?"
Amon looked at him.
"The one your bloodline inherited."
The King’s expression changed.
Vaelor spoke through the remaining vessels.
"King of Veyne."
The King froze.
"Kneel."
The command carried authority.
The King dropped to one knee instantly.
His face twisted in shock.
Amon’s eyes went cold.
There it was.
Proof.
The royal bloodline was still bound.
Vaelor continued.
"Order him to stop."
The King’s mouth opened against his will.
Amon saw the struggle.
Veins stood out across his forehead.
Then the command came.
"Lord Moonstone."
Amon looked at him.
"Stop."
Silence.
The King clenched his teeth.
His hands shook.
"I..."
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"...command you."
Amon stared at him for one second.
Then looked back at the contract.
"No."
Vaelor’s pressure exploded.
The King collapsed.
Amon pulled with everything he had.
[Tribute clause integrity: 14%.]
9%.
5%.
Vaelor screamed.
"YOU WILL REGRET THIS."
Amon smiled faintly.
"Probably."
1%.
The final strand snapped.
[Tribute clause consumed.]
The chamber went silent.
Then notifications flooded Amon’s vision.
[Ancient Tribute Pact severed.]
[Royal bloodline compulsion removed.]
[Foreign fate harvesting terminated.]
[Fate Authority increased.]
[Current Fate Authority: 6.]
[New authority acquired.]
[Contract Devourer.]
And far beneath the palace, something enormous roared.
Not in triumph.
In hunger.
The fate reservoir had just lost its owner.