A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6004

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Quentin stammered, teeth clicking.

"Sidney…Cadence…they broke the Divine Oracle, descended without leave—" His voice cracked, clinging to practiced lines.

The air popped, sharp as splitting ice.

Jared tapped Quentin's shoulder with that glowing fingertip.

Nothing burst, nothing splintered.

Instead, flesh, bone, and robe browned, cracked, and sifted away until a fist-sized hollow gaped at the joint.

It was as if that piece had never belonged to him.

"Aaaah!" The scream ripped from somewhere deeper than lungs.

The sound carried the pitch of a soul being carved.

The chaotic force gnawed at his life's core; Jared felt its sour hum against his palm.

Gray threads burrowed deeper, seeking the very spark that kept Quentin tethered to the chair.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" he howled.

In the span of one breath, every wall inside him shattered.

Tears, mucus, pleas—everything poured out. "Spare me, senior, spare me! I'll say it all. Just stop, please, stop!"

Jared pulled his hand back. The gray creep halted at once.

A neat cavity remained, edges dull and bloodless, mirror-smooth and gray.

"Speak."

Jared sat again, calm as before.

Quentin sucked in wheezing gulps, terror shining wet in his eyes. Words spilled in a rasping rush.

"It was…the Manor Lord, Julian! A month and a half ago those two—Sidney and Cadence—slipped near the inner treasury. They tried to steal, or maybe scout, something vital."

"The wards caught a trace of their aura. They bolted, but a shred of it stayed behind."

"Julian himself followed that thread with a celestial gift and seized them alive."

"And what were they after?" Jared pressed.

"I—I don't know the object itself!"

"When Julian summoned me later, his face was thunder. He said they'd glimpsed some grand secret about the celestials' plan for the Azure Firmament—something that must never leak."

"They had to die at once—Soulfall Slope, full Soul-Refining Grand Array—no rebirth, no escape. He ordered me to oversee it and keep the crystals sealed for the celestials."

Jared's eyes narrowed. "What layout? What secret?"

"I truly don't know any more!" Quentin sobbed.

Quentin's lower lip quivered. Under the lamplight his cheeks sagged, making him look decades older.

He croaked, "The Manor Lord never spelled it out. He said it's top-level secrecy. Even he treads carefully and only obeys the Divine Oracle."

Quentin swallowed hard, shoulders trembling.

"He put me in charge of the execution. I had to keep everything neat, and the Soul-Refining Crystals had to be stored safely, reinforced on schedule, until the celestial envoy came to take them…"

The tidbit hooked Jared's attention, yanking him forward in his chair.

"Take them? What do the celestials want with all these crystals?"

Behind him, Lyza's breath hitched; Jared felt the small surge of cold air at his back.

"Why would the celestials collect Soul-Refining Crystals on a schedule?"

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