[Bond Breaker]

[As per Section 7 of the Marriage Agreement between the Kingdom of Drendil and the Marquess Dorset:

Confirmation of Agreement is required before the Terms of Agreement come into effect. Should Princess Henrietta or the King or the Queen of Drendil reject the marriage, she will be found in breach of the Contract and suffer the following:

Special Title: Bond Breaker

Revert Highest Stat to Base 10

-100 Reputation with Servalt

Special Title: Bond Breaker will remain in effect until Henrietta Doryn fulfills the Terms of the Contract or until the Terms are no longer Binding.]

Gerda examined every inch of pink bubble, slowly and carefully, and I was impressed how comfortable she was doing so in a form fitting dress.

The troll was wearing a stunning mermaid-cut evening gown in a soft violet that complimented her green complexion. And heels.

This was why I wore boots. In case I needed to fight off slave traders and rescue the king of the Dark Enchanted Forest from a dank, cold dungeon.

I smiled at my friend. “Can you free my would-be husband from his eternal pocket dimension?”

“Chadwick outdid himself on this one . . .” Gerda whistled.

“If there’s anything I can do, Miss Gerda, just let me know. Though I hesitate to withdraw my own wards—they aren’t protecting me from the [Void Damage], but there may still be other traps,” Keith said. He looked exhausted, his hair all rumpled.

All of his buttons were still done up, though. Pity.

“Hmm, that shouldn’t be necessary.” Gerda circled what she could of the bubble. I remained quiet so as not to disturb her work. Finally, she sighed. “It looks like a trap space with added [Void Damage].”

Keith offered, “If it helps, I was portaled here and found myself already inside the bubble.”

“They portaled you into the trap.” Gerda kicked a stone from the destroyed wall. It hit the pink bubble and was consumed by the Void. “That means it’s an enchantment. It’s maintained by its own mana, and we could potentially just attack it until there isn’t any mana left to sustain it.”

“I don’t know if that will work,” Keith said. “I have a perk that lets me connect to my enchantments and resupply them with mana from a distance.”

“Beg pardon, Your Viciousness.” Gerda lifted one eyebrow at the Dark Lord. “But you are a level eighty Arcane Sage. This was cast by someone under level sixty.”

“Still.” Keith shrugged. “That doesn’t stop the dimension from collapsing on me and Voiding me out of existence.”

Gerda put her hands on her hips. “Which one of us is the expert in dimensional magic?”

“You can’t expect me to believe that you’re an expert in one of the most difficult forms of magic just because your class lets you make portals! You just cheat with bridges.”

The two of them began arguing back and forth.

I contemplated throwing rocks at the spell until it popped, then something Gerda had said piqued my interest. “Wait, Gerda, how do you know the caster is under level sixty?”

“Because my [Pocket Dimension] skill only lets me analyze things of equal to or lesser—”

The troll cut herself off, and it looked like she had an idea. “Anyone got a waterskin?”

Keith twiddled his fingers and said, “I can make as much water as you need in here, not that it’ll help.”

“I do.” I pulled out one from my storage and handed it over.

“Now, no one say anything, or the dungeon might explode. I hate [Mana Burn], and this is more complex than I’m used to.”

We both readily agreed and let the woman do her work in peace. Gerda walked up to the bubble and began using the broken pieces of the wall to build a small arch in front of it. We watched in confusion as she worked, only realizing what we were looking at when she was almost done.

“It’s a bridge!” I cried.

“CHEATING WITH BRIDGES!” Keith announced indignantly.

“Shut it!” Gerda uncorked the pouch and laid it down so a trickle of running water snaked beneath the “bridge.”

“In Between the light Unseen,

Void and Space all mixed in place,

By Water’s gift, [Dimension Rift].”

Gerda gathered her magic all around her, and I could see wisps of aquamarine power floating into a formation. The water beneath the bridge flowed towards the bubble but rose on strings of mana as it touched the outer surface of the dome. The droplets, reinforced with magic, bobbed into a spell pattern in the air as if they were dancing raindrops.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the water became a gently spinning circle that wound around the pink bubble, enveloping it within the trail of droplets.

“I’m going to try and take control of the dimension. I’m a bridge troll. This is my bridge. That is my space.” The waterskin was out of water, but more water manifested itself. Gerda instructed. “When I say so, take your sword and stab the bubble to destabilize it,”

More and more water rose from beneath the bridge to join the initial formation.

I pulled my sword from her sheath and prepared to execute a sword perk. Jacqueline was wary of the bubble, and of her own volition, released a sheen of [Void Intent] that rippled along her blade.

The water was now whirling in a streaming tornado of white, far more than could have possibly fit within the waterskin. Power crackled within it, and I could just barely make out the pink of the bubble.

“Now!”

I focused my all into my sword. “[Force Thrust].”

Jacqueline hit the wall of water and smashed through it to the bubble. Sparkles of black and pink and silver and green erupted from the area around the sword in a blast of mana. My sword sung. She laughed. She screamed. Jacqueline’s [Void Intent] consumed the dimension walls as it was in turn consumed by flecks of Void.

My hands burned, and I struggled to keep them steady against the swirling tide. It took everything I had to keep Jacqueline pressed against the sphere. With my Bond Breaker title, Strength ten just wasn’t going to cut it. Or pierce it.

I wasn’t going to make it.

I gritted my teeth. NO! My grip tightened, and I pushed forward, my scream rising to meet Jacqueline’s. I wasn’t anywhere near as strong as before, but I didn’t need to be strong. I just needed to be strong enough.

I’m so proud of you, sweet. Jacqueline Tiamat la Fleur let out a final burst of [Void Intent], helping breaking through the pink dome.

The entire thing shattered.