The tense silence broken only by the crackle of residual static signaled the end of their monstrous forms. The towering antlers receded into sharp black tufts, the jagged maw smoothed back into a pristine, wide grin, and the dark digital corruption dissolved into thin air. Alastor was back to his crimson, sharply-dressed self, casually dusting off his bow tie. Across from him, Jade dropped out of his EXE state as well. The blinding double-star in his eyes faded back into a single, steady emerald gleam. He leaned heavily on his copper staff, his breathing labored as the cosmic energy vented from his frame. Alastor’s hand remained extended, the glowing crimson contract floating patiently between them. "Well, my emerald friend? Do we have a deal, or do we continue this rather exhaustive broadcast?" Jade looked from the contract to Alastor's unyielding, golden grin. With a definitive tightening of his grip, he lifted his staff and slammed the base onto the ground, shattering the floating red contract into harmless pixels. "No deal, Alastor," Jade said, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. "I don't bargain with chaos." Alastor’s grin didn't falter, but his eyes narrowed to sharp, dangerous slits. "A pity," he murmured, his voice dropping into a low, echoing frequency. "I always prefer a willing partner. But a captive audience works just as well." Before Jade could raise his staff to defend himself, Alastor snapped his fingers. The shattered remnants of the contract didn't disappear—they inverted, transforming into brilliant, glowing light-green chains that erupted directly from the shadows beneath Jade's feet. The ethereal links moved with blinding speed, wrapping tightly around Jade’s ankles, wrists, and torso before he could even register the trap. Jade struggled, channeling a burst of emerald energy to shatter the bindings, but the light-green chains simply absorbed the pulse, glowing brighter and tightening with agonizing force. The immense pressure forced him to his knees, his copper staff slipping from his fingers and clattering onto the fractured pavement. Alastor strolled forward, his microphone staff resting lightly over his shoulder as he looked down at the restrained warrior. The chains pulsed in perfect sync with the low hum of Alastor's magic, completely suppressing Jade's cosmic power and binding his will entirely to the crimson host. "The show must go on, Jade," Alastor chuckled, the sound layered with triumphant radio static. "And from now on, you'll be playing exactly the tune I want to hear."
Made in collab with @Aqua_Stick_Figure
