The Origin Bond Protocol

Chapter 3

I didn’t know how to answer him.

The question hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating.

Who are you?

No one had ever asked me that before.

Not really.

They had called me many things defect, useless, burden, mistake but never who. As if I were a person worth knowing. As if I had an identity beyond failure.

My throat felt tight.

“I…” My voice cracked before the word could fully form. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe. “I don’t know.”

It was the truth.

A murmur rippled through the crowd behind him, low and uneasy. The traders shifted uncomfortably, exchanging glances filled with suspicion. I could feel their eyes crawling over my skin, searching for something dangerous, something unnatural.

Because chains like those did not break.

Not on their own.

Not ever.

The stranger studied me in silence.

Up close, he looked even more terrifying. Not because of scars or weapons he had neither but because of the stillness in his face.

A calm so absolute it felt unnatural, like a storm frozen in place. His dark hair fell neatly against his shoulders, untouched by the chaos around us. His eyes… they weren’t just watching me.

They were measuring me.

Weighing me.

Deciding something.

The torches along the cavern walls flickered again, flames bending sharply toward us as if pulled by an invisible force. The ground beneath my feet vibrated faintly, a low hum that crawled up through my bones.

I tried not to panic.

But fear rose anyway.

Because the world had never reacted to me before.

Not like this.

A tall man in heavy armor stepped forward from the side, his expression tight with unease. He leaned slightly toward the stranger, lowering his voice.

“My lord,” he murmured, barely audible. “This one is defective stock. She has no shift, no rank, no blood value. The pack records confirm it.”

Defective.

The word landed exactly where it always did deep in my chest, sharp and familiar.

The stranger didn’t look at him.

His gaze never left my face.

“Defective,” he repeated slowly, as if tasting the word and finding it bitter.

Then something strange happened.

He reached out.

Instinctively, I flinched, expecting pain another strike, another shove but his hand stopped just short of touching my skin.

Close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him, the steady power humming beneath the surface.

The air between us tightened.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

The torches exploded.

Flames burst outward in a violent rush, scattering sparks across the cavern. Gasps erupted from the crowd as shadows leapt wildly along the stone walls. The sudden surge of heat forced several traders to stumble backward.

I jerked in shock.

So did everyone else.

Everyone except him.

His expression remained perfectly calm.

But his eyes had changed.

There was something new in them now something darker than curiosity.

Something like realization.

He slowly lowered his hand.

The flames settled immediately, shrinking back into steady, controlled light as if nothing had happened. The cavern fell into stunned silence, broken only by the ragged breathing of the crowd.

Fear filled the air.

Not fear of violence.

Fear of the impossible.

“My lord,” the armored man said again, more urgently this time. “We should leave. This place is unstable.”

The stranger ignored him.

Instead, he spoke directly to the trader standing nearby.

“How much?”

The word was simple.

Cold.

Final.

The trader blinked in confusion, sweat beading along his forehead. “M-my lord?”

“How much for her?” the stranger repeated.

Silence followed.

Then nervous laughter.

The trader rubbed his hands together anxiously, glancing at me as if seeing me for the first time.

“She’s worthless,” he said quickly. “Doesn’t shift. Doesn’t fight. Barely eats. Honestly, we were planning to dispose of her soon.”

Dispose.

My stomach twisted.

The stranger’s jaw tightened slightly.

“Your price,” he said.

Not a request.

A command.

The trader swallowed hard, clearly struggling to think. His eyes darted around the cavern, calculating, greedy.

“Fifty silver,” he blurted finally.

Gasps echoed through the market.

Even I knew that was too high.

Worthless things didn’t cost that much.

The armored man beside the stranger frowned. “My lord, that is unreasonable”

“Done,” the stranger said.

The word cut through the air like a blade.

The trader froze.

“You… you agree?” he stammered.

The stranger reached into his coat and produced a small leather pouch. Without hesitation, he tossed it forward. The heavy clink of metal echoed loudly as it landed at the trader’s feet.

Gold.

Far more than fifty silver.

The trader’s hands trembled as he picked it up, eyes widening in disbelief.

“Sh-she’s yours,” he said quickly.

Just like that.

Sold.

Again.

But this time felt different.

More dangerous.

More final.

Two guards stepped forward immediately, grabbing my arms. Panic surged through me as they began pulling me toward the stranger.

“No….wait…” I stumbled, struggling to keep my balance.

Fear clawed its way up my throat.

I didn’t know who he was.

I didn’t know where he was taking me.

But something deep inside me screamed that my life had just changed forever.

“Please,” I whispered, the word slipping out before I could stop it.

Not begging.

Not exactly.

Just… fear.

For the first time since he appeared, the stranger’s expression shifted slightly. His gaze softened—not with kindness, but with something more complicated. Something conflicted.

Then he turned away.

“Prepare the carriage,” he ordered calmly.

The armored man hesitated. “My lord… are you certain?”

A long pause followed.

The stranger looked back at me once more, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“No,” he said quietly.

Then his voice hardened.

“But certainty has never stopped destiny.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Destiny.

The word felt wrong.

Too big.

Too heavy.

The guards released my arms abruptly and stepped back, lowering their heads in respect. Confusion flickered through me as the stranger moved closer again, closing the distance between us with slow, deliberate steps.

Up close, his presence felt overwhelming like standing too close to lightning.

Dangerous.

Unavoidable.

He reached out once more.

This time, his hand didn’t stop.

His fingers brushed lightly against my wrist.

The moment our skin touched—

The world broke.

A violent surge of energy exploded outward from the point of contact, invisible but devastating. The ground beneath us cracked with a sharp, echoing snap. Torches along the walls flickered wildly, their flames bending sideways as if caught in a sudden storm.

A deep, thunderous roar echoed from somewhere far below the earth.

The entire cavern trembled.

People screamed.

Cages rattled violently.

Stone dust rained from the ceiling in thick clouds.

I gasped as a blinding flash of white light burst behind my eyes, forcing them shut. Pain shot through my skull, sharp and unbearable, like something was trying to tear its way out from inside my mind.

I saw it.

Not with my eyes.

With something deeper.

A battlefield.

Fire.

Blood.

Wolves howling beneath a sky split open with golden light.

And standing at the center of it all….

Him.

The same man.

But younger.

Fiercer.

Covered in blood that wasn’t his.

And beside him…

A white wolf.

Massive.

Radiant.

Unbreakable.

The wolf turned slowly.

Looked directly at me.

Its eyes burned with ancient recognition.

And then it spoke.

Not aloud.

Inside my head.

One single sentence.

“You were never meant to be forgotten.”

My eyes snapped open.

The vision vanished instantly.

The cavern fell silent.

Too silent.

Everyone stood frozen, staring at us in horror.

Because the tremors had stopped.

The torches had gone out.

Every single flame.

Darkness swallowed the market completely.

A heavy, suffocating stillness settled over the cavern.

No wind.

No sound.

No movement.

Somewhere in the distance

A deep, ancient horn began to howl.