If someone had told Mash that he would be kidnapped today, he would not have believed them. Or maybe he would’ve considered who was strong enough to pull something like that off. Here he was, stuck in a caravan that was slowly trotting along. It bounced often but irregularly which probably meant that he wasn’t on a road or anything. His back was against a wooden wall, and he felt an itch on his nose. He imagined reaching for it with one of his hands, only to find that he had no hands to use. Actually, his whole arm was missing. Both of his arms were.

It had caused him to panic at the start, but he calmed down quickly with some help from Priscilla. They had removed both of his arms earlier. It happened while he was unconscious. They did the bare minimum amount of healing too, and he still felt some pain in both of his shoulders. The pain wasn’t a big deal, but the injury itself was distracting.

[You can heal it easily enough with your skills. I have almost broken the seal.]

This was the third time she had sent that message. She had repeated that several times to calm him down. He wondered why his brother hadn’t caught up, but Priscilla told him that they had been teleported. That was a problem. It meant that Jill was the only one who could help him, and she had said that she would be gone for the entire day. He sighed and turned to work on the seal with Priscilla. Even without his domain he had surprisingly good control over his body. The seal was a physical thing in his body, and he saw it wrap around his core. The phantom chains still faintly showed on his body, but they were clearer within his body.

He decided to take his observation a step further and used the earrings. They couldn’t remove his items, but it was clear that they had searched. They had stripped him of everything, his clothes and items included. Although they couldn’t do anything about the tattoos around his neck and head. Although they had dealt with the ones around his arms. Even without his limbs he still felt the connection to the magic items. He could still use them, but that wouldn’t be very useful now. The ugly man was still watching him, although Mash thought that he might be asleep. His vision warped and he found himself within his being.

His soul as he chose to call it was a unique place. At first, someone might think it looked like his world, but there were a few very significant differences. The fruit that represented his golden body was quite a bit large now. It covered nearly half of the tree and it urged him to eat it. He got the idea that he would get more by waiting but felt the urge even more strongly now. He ignored it and looked at the rest of his soul. His core had its own representation here. Not the tree, but empty skies that filled was his core. In the past it had been blemished by the marks of those greater beings and the class system, it was clear now.

Despite the color of his scales and the general darkness of his wood, his mana was much brighter. It was a light shade of blue mixed with green, and it was unblemished. The sky had its color but something else speckled the usually empty sky. It wasn’t like the marks or the class system, instead, he saw a small star in the sky. It wasn’t big enough to be called a sun, and it radiated a black light that was distinctly unnatural. The seal or some kind of visualization of it had appeared. This place was strange, and he had a certain degree of control of the space.

He was able to move and examine things in ways he couldn’t do outside. It was how he learned about his marks and managed to diminish them. He was able to make them smaller and planned to do the same with the seal. He stared up at the dark star. It pulsed with black energy that crept on the otherwise beautiful sky. Mash had to admit that it looked pretty cool.

That wasn’t the point. He brought himself closer to the star. It was strange moving in this place. He didn’t fly, but he didn’t teleport. It was like he squeezed his world and slid across to where he wanted to be. The closer he got to the star, the more he grew more entranced by its visage. The star was being contained by a series of moving chains. More chains flowed in and out of the dark light. It kind of reminded him of a puzzle. There were string puzzles like it, but he imagined that it wouldn’t be that easy. It was too large for him to pull any one chain though.

The star rose to his feet, and he saw markings on the chains. He wondered what it could mean. There was something familiar about the engravings, and he tried to think of where he had seen them before. It wasn’t Aifell’s enchantments. Mash reached down, glad to realize that he had both arms within his storage space. Did he have his skills in here? Would it change anything if he did?

He might as well try. He tried to change one of his arms. The chains probably wouldn’t be able to handle his dragon form. The strength he gained from the form was just too significant. Sadly, his body didn’t change. It didn’t seem like he had access to any of his skills. While annoying he still wanted to try breaking the chains. His fingertip touched the chain, and pain crawled up his arm. It felt like a needle had been driven into the finger. He recoiled and flinched backward. His hand flailed in the air as he pulled it away. The pain wasn’t horrible, but he just hadn’t been expecting it. He stared at the chains for a second more and decided that brute force wasn’t the right choice.

[Priscilla any suggestions?]

[I believe you should try and shrink or alter it as a whole. Remember what you did with the marks.]

Mash nodded and was about to try it when he was suddenly forced to return to his body. Mash jolted forward pain surging through his thigh. Mash’s head had been down, and he saw red staining the ground. It took a second to realize that he had been stabbed. A knife dug into his thigh and blood leaked out from the side. The red was noticeable as it contrasted with his paler skin. It slowly pooled around his naked leg, and he frowned. They had taken his clothes from him. He could feel his clothes were nearby. His bond to them let him know their location.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

Mash debated between keeping silent or responding. He decided that responding would be the more fun choice. These people hadn’t killed him yet, and he doubted that would change from a little word.

“Yes, and after all the effort I went through to hide from your ugly face.”

The other man punched him. It wasn’t a particularly hard punch. Even at his best, the ugly man couldn’t really hurt Mash. That didn’t stop him from commenting afterward.

“Says the monster.”

“Wait, you’re telling me your human. C’mon you can’t be- “

Another punch interrupted his quick response. It was too late; Mash got the punchline out. The added jab was a little childish, but he grinned either way. The man realized that his punches weren’t doing much and instead grabbed the knife. He turned it which elicited a grunt of pain from Mash. The knife was carved into his flesh, and the man wasn’t strong enough to do it quickly. It slowly tore apart his flesh. Mash glared at the man but kept quiet. He couldn’t be like Jill. The satisfaction would only be temporary, and he needed to focus on the seal.

“Hey boss, I think he has some weird skill with his eyes. We should remove them, just in case.”

The ugly man had an ugly smirk on his face. Mash briefly debated rising to the bait and decided he couldn’t leave it alone.

“Please, literally anything is better than your face.”

Mash didn’t have to say it, but he felt like Jill would demand nothing less. There was always a time for the snark. The ugly man’s face reddened slightly, and he tried to rise to his feet. His arm banged into one of the walls as he tried to reach for his sword. That was when another voice joined the conversation.

“Stop! If you care about his comments, then leave this duty to… another.”

The voice came from behind one of the walls, and the speaker hesitated a little before saying another. They were probably going to say a specific name, and he wished they hadn’t realized. He still didn’t know any of their names. The ugly man froze and returned to his position against the opposite wall. Some sweat slowly rolled down the man’s forehead. The reproach he received had terrified the man. Mash probably could’ve made another stupid comment but decided to refocus on the chains.

His vision blurred and changed. He stood in front of the dark star again. The chains hadn’t changed in the slightest. Priscilla informed him that his brother was a day away. These people were heading to the south of the kingdom and had teleported most of the distance. He had just informed Priscilla that he was going to find Jill and come with her. Mash didn’t bother responding. He left Priscilla to keep his brother updated on the situation. The news did make him refocus on the chains. He wanted to get out himself. He needed to do it.

Mash thought about the seal like one of the marks from before. When he did that, he could tell how much weaker it was. It had stopped his skills but that was it. It couldn’t do anything else, and that realization made it feel small. He tried shrinking the thing like before and found that he could. The effects didn’t seem to diminish, but it looked a lot smaller now. He continued to shrink it. It wasn’t even difficult. After a few seconds, he managed to carry the whole thing in a single hand. Mission accomplished?

The thought passed quickly. No, the seal wasn’t gone, and he still didn’t have access to his skills. Mash frowned and looked for Priscilla.

[Nothing happened. It just got smaller.]

[Yes, but now you can break it.]

There was certainty behind Priscilla’s message, and he smiled. He reached for the chain and paused. It would hurt the sensation from earlier still lingered on his finger. He also bet that the people outside would know if he broke the seal. The hesitation gave him the needed time to think. He would need to attack as soon as the seal broke. Utilize his skills and kill the man in the carriage. His priorities would be turning to dragon form and discharging some lightning. The ugly man would die to a kick from his dragon form or from the lightning. Then he would use reconstruction to restore his arms. It might not be enough for both, but he could probably recover one at least. The plan was gruesome, but he decided to stick to it.