Omega Ascension System[BL]-Chapter 269: _Make A Choice, Alpha Prince

Elian’s POV

*****

"L–Lucian..." He gasped, struggling to break free from the High Matron’s telekinetic hold. But it was no use. "Let him go!" He snarled.

The High Matron didn’t move. She didn’t speak.

Instead, the light surrounding her slowly dimmed. When it did, Elian no longer needed to squint to gaze at her. She lifted her hands to her hood.

[Yeah... We’re cooked. Like stir-fried. Left in the oven for hours—] 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Thanks for starting with the obvious, as always!’ Elian mentally sneered at the system. ’Now do you mind doing something helpful? Calculating our chances or something.’

As he spoke mentally, he desperately felt the urge to turn his head to Lucian. But he couldn’t.

The fact that he could hear the Alpha Prince’s grunts and cracks of his bones under the High Matron’s telekinetic hold didn’t help matters. It was one of the rare moments where Elian felt truly helpless.

[Alright. She’s got an invisible pressuring field around you. On top of that, she’s also controlling you at the atomic level. Like... One swipe of her fingers and you could combust into atoms if she wanted.]

Warmth drained from Elian’s face instantly.

’Any good news? Any hopes at all?’ he asked, limbs trembling.

[Girl... at this point pray?]

Meanwhile, the High Matron finally lowered her hood, snapping her neck and revealing her face. One that made Elian’s eyes widen.

No way...

How was... How was this even...?

"Surprised?" The High Matron—AKA, the raven witch and Kyren’s mother—stretched out her arms dramatically. "Well, don’t be. You two were actually so close to the truth. Good job on that."

"I fucking knew it!" Lucian barked behind Elian, his words sounding choked. "You’re a fraud! So... You—"

"Hush, pup." That word alone was all she needed to make Lucian silent.

Elian couldn’t see him from this angle but he heard his bones snap more. So hard that he could almost imagine the unnatural angles they must’ve bent into.

"AHH!" Lucian screamed, voice booming through the courtyard.

Next thing Elian heard was a heavy plop to the ground.

"No!" Elian yelled.

His glare pierced the dimming light around her. "Why have you been spying on me?!" His voice cracked but carried authority. "Why appear to me as that... black bird? Stop hiding behind riddles and centuries-old games!"

The High Matron didn’t flinch. Her red eyes glimmered, faintly amused, as if every word of his fury had been predicted.

"I’ve waited centuries for this moment," she said calmly, her tone not even attempting to answer him.

Elian’s jaw tightened. "Centuries? Do you even hear yourself? Do you care about anything beyond your petty obsession with—" His hands clenched beside him.

Every heartbeat thrummed through the mate bond, a lifeline to Kyren he desperately tried to reach. "Kyren, damn it, I can feel you—respond!"

The High Matron’s lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. "Ah, such... impatience. The boy tries to contact his mate while all around him burns. Fools rush where gods hesitate."

Elian’s hands trembled, the ruby necklace warm against his chest, pulsing with Kyren’s magic. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. "You’re not answering! Stop playing games with me, with him!"

Her gaze softened for a mere second, then hardened again, implacable. "Patience, Omega. Your struggles amuse me more than you know. Soon, all will be revealed... whether you like it or not."

Elian ground his teeth, fury igniting every inch of him. He wouldn’t yield. He had to reach Kyren. Somehow.

"You..." Lucian’s trembling voice echoed behind Elian just then.

He’d heard his bones snap like ice blocks in a bag. He’d heard him fall like a plank. Yet he still had the strength and balls to speak to this terrifying witch in front of them?

[You forget how heavy—]

’I swear, if you make a joke about his balls...’

"Oh?" Amara tilted her head at Lucian, lips still set in a cruel smile. "Someone still hasn’t learnt his place. You know... I’m not a monster. So I’ll let you off with this single offer."

Suddenly, her eyes glowed.

Elian’s limbs stretched unnaturally, his body spinning around until he faced Lucian. And the latter’s sorry state.

The Alpha Prince was indeed sprawled face down on the marble floor like a discarded doll. His left arm was bent over his head. Shoulder blades bulged out weirdly.

"Lucian!" Elian tried to take a step but he didn’t budge. The invisible force was still choking around him like a giant python.

"See how distraught your mate is?" The High Matron mumbled in an almost singsong tone behind Elian. "See how wasted you are? All of that can be multiplied by a hundredfold—unless you leave."

Air became hard to take in.

Slowly, Lucian raised his head, silver eyes locking on Elian. They stared at each other for a moment, neither saying anything. Because they didn’t have to.

Through the bond, Elian could feel Lucian’s pain. His anger. His helplessness.

"... Head back to Lunaria." The High Matron continued plainly. "Pretend none of this happened. I’ll even heal you up—can’t have you going back to your Empire like trash."

Lucian’s lips twitched. A crooked smile curled them, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "How... how benevolent of you..."

Gods, his sarcasm even in a situation like this.

Just then, an explosion sounded outside the obsidian tower. The lights flickered around the courtyard, runes flashing on the walls and even the floor.

Kyren was still actively battling Garrick and possibly the city’s forces.

He could sense it.

So why couldn’t he reach Kyren through the bond?

"Sarcasm won’t save you, Alpha Prince." The High Matron’s voice became icy again. "Your life hangs in the balance. Worst comes to worst, I’ll kill you. Make it seem like an unfortunate accident. And the moon blessed?"

Her gaze on Elian’s back sent shivers down his spine.

"He’ll still serve the purpose he was meant to serve," Amara muttered. "So, do you accept my offer?"

Elian’s jaw tightened.

Lucian showed hesitation. A crack in the stone-cold, arrogant mask he wore. Seeing this, Elian didn’t know when he spoke:

"L–Lucian... take the offer..."

The Alpha Prince’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "Elian, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me—"

"You can’t die." Elian wanted to shake his head but even that was impossible. "I... I won’t be able to bear it."

Lucian gnashed his teeth. "I won’t be able to bear whatever this bitch has in store for you either—" blood spilt out of his mouth like a fountain before he could finish.

[His vitals are on overdrive. An average wolf would’ve died instantly from the injuries inflicted on him.]

Yet even he couldn’t stand a chance against the High Matron’s power.

[She’s at least a transcendent core mage. Can’t exactly take a peek but—]

"Time is ticking, Alpha Prince." the High Matron drawled. "Make your choice. Before I make one for you."

Before Elian’s eyes, red energy sparked to life around Lucian’s neck. It coiled like a leech, burning so hot that he could almost feel the heat from here.

But it didn’t tie completely. Just enough to make Elian’s pulse spike.

"P–Please, Lucian..." Elian stuttered, tears stinging his eyes. They fell in streams, dropping on the ruby necklace and his chest.

He could feel Lucian’s heart beat through the heart jewel bracelet around his wrist. The betrothal gift. Just thinking about losing Lucian made him want to clutch that jewel with everything he had.

"... Survive..." Elian pleaded, breath shaking. "... For... for me—"

He didn’t finish.

A flare of crimson light flashed out of the ruby necklace. Elian gasped, feeling a sudden jolt of energy flowing through his veins.

’What... what’s happening?’ he asked the system, his fingers wiggling.

When he got control of his right arm, he didn’t know when he let out a relieved gasp.

[Ouuu, fruitcake! Kyren’s necklace! The damn thing is finally showing its true function.]

"By the old religions—" the High Matron’s voice lost its previous confidence, brimming with pure shock. "This... Kyren..."

Elian turned around slowly. His eyes glowed with a cold crimson light, arms stretched forward when he could finally feel his body again.

This was way more than what the Bond Resonance skill did for him. It wasn’t ten per cent of Kyren’s magic. Right now he felt like he was Kyren himself!

[That’s not the best part. The mana pulsing through your veins right now is staggering. It’s healing you, strengthening your cells at a rapid level and your beginner-level core—It’s evolving!]

"All this power..." Elian barely heard the system through the euphoria he felt, a grin stretching his lips. He would’ve said something to the High Matron but he could only think of one goal:

Survive!

With a swipe of his right arm, a burst of crimson energy shot out of his fingers. He watched a shimmering white force bubble surround her.

BOOM!

Not waiting to see if she survived the explosion or not, he moved. In a blink, he was beside Lucian. It was as if his mind and body knew what to do with the temporary burst of magic he was given.

"Elian?" Lucian frowned as he grabbed him, wrapping an arm around his waist. "What in Solara—"

"Shh." Elian brushed his fingers through his hair. "I’m getting us out of here."

He murmured an old tongue spell Kyren once taught him.

In a blink, crimson light surrounded him and Lucian, teleporting them out of the obsidian tower. However, when they left, Elian could’ve sworn he heard the High Matron’s enraged scream following them.

This was clearly far from over—