[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-journey-to-become-the-zenith":3,"chapter-journey-to-become-the-zenith-journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-46":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Journey to Become the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1828583,2432,"Chapter 46: Chains Beneath the Skin","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-46",46,"\u003Cp>Chains Beneath the Skin\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers eased downward. The air settled as he let go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t look down on you,\" he said evenly. \"I’m simply trying to understand you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps dragged through splintered planks, then silence swallowed the space between him and the collapsed figure. Grit spun in golden light, air thick, walls still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ve been shackled. Not physically. Internally.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confusion sparked in Eon’s dark stare. Up and down went his breath, thick with struggle - pride clashing against hurt. Power held the south part of Fantom City, nothing else needed. Spells never helped. Tricks played no role. Fists did it. Bones sealed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hush fell as Victor bent lower, gaze locked. Not laughter lit his gold-flecked eyes - just a quiet wonder, sharp and still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell me,\" he murmured. \"Who cursed you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silence followed. The room waited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he didn’t reply right away. Victor shifted his gaze upward, then spoke more quietly\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey you. You’re the Ox King, Eon... correct?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw clenched shut. Anger hadn’t faded, shame stung worse than the marks rising beneath his flesh. Yet the heavy weight of Victor’s power - dark, endless - pulled him back to what was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outmatched from the start, he stood little chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teeth clenched tight, he waited a breath before speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single nod from Victor, slow, like an answer aimed at a thought no one else heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you are willing to become my loyal subordinate,\" he said smoothly, \"I will help you remove that curse of yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Curse?\" Eon repeated, brows furrowing. Confusion overtook anger. \"What are you talking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor observed the reaction carefully. There was no deception in the man’s face. No flicker of recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t know, Victor realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he rephrased it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will help you gain a higher mana capacity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eon’s breath caught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since he had woken up in the western district three years ago—memories erased, past erased—he had been mocked. Laughed at. Called defective. Even the lowest-ranked mage could conjure a spark. He couldn’t summon a breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fists had become his only pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you really do that?\" he asked, the aggression from earlier dissolving. The giant man who had roared like a beast now sounded almost... small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s lips curved faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph. Why would I lie?\" His tone sharpened just enough. \"I don’t really need you. I can find many others who could replace you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words were cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eon’s pride warred with desperation for a heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he dropped to one knee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact echoed across the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you’re really able to do what you say...\" His voice was steady, but his fists trembled slightly against the floor. \"I, Eon—the Ox King—will become your most loyal subordinate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lane’s dark eyes narrowed slightly as she watched. Videl folded her arms, silent, her sapphire gaze flicking between Victor and Eon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor regarded the kneeling man for a long moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very good,\" he said at last. \"As long as you don’t betray me, I will do as I said.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a fleeting second, something passed through his golden eyes—a memory from another world. A battlefield. A kneeling warrior. A promise made... and broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers curled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood and shifted his attention to the remaining two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So,\" he said lightly, gaze moving between Brinda and Gian, \"how about you two?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lantern flames flickered as if reacting to the weight of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unlike Eon, I have nothing tangible to give you,\" Victor continued. \"Only the promise that glory and power will be yours if you follow me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone turned almost conversational.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, you can choose not to follow me. I won’t kill you. But you will need to leave Fantom City.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brinda had already decided the moment she saw Eon stopped with a finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her long purple hair cascaded over her shoulders as she stepped forward gracefully. Even now, despite the cold sweat at her back, she moved like a queen in her own territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will forever be your slave, my master,\" she said with a coquettish smile, violet eyes shimmering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it was—the charm that had ensnared nobles, merchants, knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She let her voice soften, let it curl around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor looked at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blankly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No hunger. No fluster. No irritation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in years, her beauty had struck against stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brinda’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t react...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lane watched the exchange and felt something warm and sharp coil in her chest. Not jealousy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what you get for trying, she thought, her expression remaining perfectly composed. Victor doesn’t care for beauty without substance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then another thought surfaced uninvited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...If only Clara were the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor turned his gaze to Gian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assassin stood relaxed—but his black eyes were calculating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about you?\" Victor asked. \"Will you join me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gian didn’t answer immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he said quietly, \"Just tell me one thing before I decide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s brows lifted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gian’s voice was steady, but there was weight behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you plan to do by ruling over Fantom City’s underworld?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fair question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dangerous one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s lips slowly curved upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not kindly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not cruelly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hungrily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, that?\" he said, almost amused. \"My plan is pretty straightforward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a step forward, boots crunching against shattered wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fantom City’s underworld is but the first step.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air seemed to tighten around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My true plan... is to rule over the entire underworld of the Skyfall Kingdom.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The declaration was not loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t need to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It landed like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eon’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brinda’s pulse quickened—not from fear alone, but from the sheer scale of ambition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gian stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a boy drunk on power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was someone who had already measured the horizon—and found it too small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re serious,\" Gian muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor’s golden eyes gleamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never joke about conquest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint smile tugged at his lips again, softer this time—but far more dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And when I’m done with Skyfall...\" he added quietly, almost to himself, \"we’ll see how wide this world truly is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lantern flames flickered violently, shadows bending around him like kneeling subjects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that crumbling hall of the western district—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new ruler was born.\u003C\u002Fp>",1060,"2026-06-09T06:06:36.650Z",1,"novelbin.me","f5734231936b1f05e6a6858cd843f100715fa1af3dde3aba8c8222ab9c87f3b9","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-47","journey-to-become-the-zenith-chapter-45",253,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fjourney-to-become-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]