Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 555: Trapped

Lucas tried to move again.

His fingers pressed weakly against the shattered stone beneath him as fire flickered unevenly around his body, but before he could force himself upright, another blast of wind crashed into him and dragged him violently across the ruined street.

He slammed into the remains of a collapsed wall hard enough to spit blood. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

The celestials did not give him even a second to recover.

The earth celestial stepped forward and drove his fist downward, the ground beneath Lucas erupting upward and smashing into his ribs with brutal force that made a sickening crack echo through the ruined district.

Lucas coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth as pain exploded through his chest.

Then the water celestial restrained him again.

Liquid wrapped around his arms and legs like chains, dense and pressurized, pinning him long enough for the ice celestial to advance and drive a freezing strike directly into his abdomen.

Cold surged through his body instantly.

Not ordinary cold.

Celestial ice.

The freezing force spread through his meridians and slowed his circulation, disrupting his already unstable energy flow and weakening his fire even further.

Lucas roared and erupted with flames again, forcing part of the restraints apart, but the moment he created an opening, the wind celestial struck him across the face with enough force to send him crashing back down.

The attacks kept coming.

No pauses.

No arrogance.

No unnecessary speeches.

Just ruthless suppression from four experienced celestials who clearly understood that giving someone like Lucas even the smallest opening could become fatal.

A stone spike burst from beneath and impaled through his shoulder, pinning him briefly against the ground before another attack shattered the surrounding street completely.

Lucas tried to retaliate with fire once more, but this time the water celestial completely drowned the attack before it could fully manifest.

The ice celestial stepped on his back and slammed him face first into the broken stone.

"You caused enough trouble," he said coldly.

Lucas struggled beneath him, his body battered and bleeding heavily, but another wave of wind pressure crushed down over him immediately, forcing him still.

The earth celestial crouched beside him and grabbed him by the hair, lifting his bloodied face slightly.

"Where is the emperor."

Lucas glared at him through blood and exhaustion.

Then he laughed weakly.

That answer alone earned him another brutal strike to the stomach that folded his body violently.

More soldiers had begun arriving now, surrounding the ruined district cautiously while staring at the destruction around them with visible disbelief, because what they were seeing barely looked like the aftermath of a battle.

It looked like a disaster zone.

Buildings burned.

The streets were shattered.

Smoke and frost still mixed unnaturally throughout the air.

And at the center of it all lay the man responsible.

The wind celestial stepped forward again and drove his boot into Lucas’s side hard enough to roll him across the rubble.

"You think this is amusing?"

Lucas coughed blood again but still said nothing.

That silence only angered them further.

They beat him down repeatedly after that, not recklessly but methodically, stripping away every remaining bit of resistance he had left until eventually even his attempts to rise stopped completely.

His body finally gave out.

The flames around him faded.

The fire that had burned so violently moments ago disappeared into weak embers.

The ice restraints tightened around his arms while earth bindings locked around his legs and torso, reinforced immediately by water seals to suppress movement and energy flow.

This time, Lucas could not break free.

He had reached his limit.

The earth celestial looked down at him coldly. "Subdue him completely."

Additional restraints were brought immediately, thick alchemical chains covered in suppressing runes that wrapped tightly around Lucas’s body and restricted his cultivation further with every lock that snapped shut.

By the time they finished, he could barely move at all.

The ice celestial crouched slightly beside him and studied him for a moment.

"You’re unfortunate," he said coldly. "Lord Ken will want answers before your execution."

Lucas’s vision blurred slightly as exhaustion and pain crashed through him in waves, but somewhere beneath all of it, one thought still remained steady.

Patrick escaped.

The emperor escaped.

That alone made this worth it.

The soldiers finally lifted him roughly from the ruined ground and began dragging him through the shattered district while the celestials followed close behind.

Above the burning streets of Rus, the alarms still echoed.

But the man who caused them had finally fallen.

Lucas drifted in and out of consciousness during the journey back to the castle.

Every movement sent pain tearing through his battered body, his injuries far worse than he initially realized now that the adrenaline and desperation of battle had faded, and the suppressing restraints wrapped around him only made it harder to recover. The alchemical chains covering his arms and torso continuously drained and disrupted his energy flow, preventing his body from naturally stabilizing itself the way it normally would.

The streets they dragged him through were lined with soldiers and fearful civilians watching from a distance.

Whispers spread everywhere.

Some spoke about the destruction at the castle.

Others about the compound.

Some simply stared in disbelief at the sight of the young man who had caused so much chaos in a single night before being brought down by four celestials together.

Lucas barely paid attention.

His vision remained unfocused most of the time, blood drying against his skin while his body struggled just to stay conscious under the constant suppression weighing down on him.

Eventually they reached the castle again.

Or what remained of calm within it.

The place was still in uproar from the emperor’s escape, soldiers flooding every corridor while officers barked orders continuously as the usurpers tried desperately to regain control of the situation spreading throughout Rus.

Lucas was dragged deep into the castle, far beneath the upper levels, through heavy stone corridors reinforced with formations and guarded checkpoints until they finally reached one of the secured holding sections reserved for dangerous captives.

The room they threw him into was not large.

Cold stone walls.

No windows.

Only a single reinforced metal door covered faintly with suppressing runes.

Lucas hit the ground heavily when they released him, the chains around his body rattling against the floor as he coughed painfully again.

The celestials entered after him.

One of them crouched slightly while holding a dark metallic ring in his hand, its surface engraved with dense alchemical inscriptions that pulsed faintly with suppressive energy.

Lucas recognized it immediately.

The same type.

The same thing they had placed on the empress and emperor.

A cultivation restraining ring.

The earth celestial grabbed Lucas by the jaw and forced his head upward while another soldier stepped behind him.

"Hold him still."

Lucas struggled instinctively the moment the ring touched his neck.

Then it locked shut.

The effect was immediate.

A violent pulse surged through his body as the runes activated all at once, suppressing his cultivation pathways aggressively and sealing down the circulation of his energy with crushing force that made even breathing feel heavier.

Lucas gritted his teeth as pain spread through his meridians.

The flames within him weakened instantly.

The ring pulsed once more around his neck before settling into a steady dim glow.

The water celestial observed him carefully. "That should keep him quiet."

Lucas lowered his head slightly, breathing unevenly while adjusting to the suffocating suppression pressing down on him.

The wind celestial crossed his arms. "This one is dangerous. Do not underestimate him just because he’s young."

The others nodded.

They had learned that lesson already.

One soldier looked toward the damage still visible across Lucas’s battered body. "Should we heal him enough for questioning?"

The ice celestial answered coldly, "Enough to keep him alive. Nothing more."

Lucas gave a faint, exhausted laugh at that.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth as he looked up slightly.

"You needed four celestials," he muttered weakly.

The statement visibly irritated some of them.

The earth celestial stepped forward and struck him across the face hard enough to send him back against the wall.

"You should worry about your own condition."

Lucas spat blood onto the floor but said nothing else.

The celestials eventually turned and left the room one after another, the heavy door shutting behind them with a deep metallic sound before multiple locking mechanisms activated externally.

Then silence returned. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Lucas remained slumped against the cold wall, breathing slowly while the suppressing ring around his neck continued pulsing steadily, constantly weighing down on his cultivation and preventing him from drawing properly on his strength.

For the first time since entering Rus, he was completely trapped.

Alone.

In enemy hands.

And somewhere above the castle, the usurpers were undoubtedly preparing to decide what to do with the man who had humiliated them in their own capital.

He would be tortured until he gives up information about the emperor’s whereabouts. Lucas himself knew what was coming.