Jared’s soul shook violently.

The violet radiance around him thrashed and wavered out of control, as a buried instinct surged up—something within him trying to scream, to howl, to break free from the confinement.

But the Soul-Refining Grand Array sealed off every sound the spirit could make.

It locked down every path by which his consciousness might leak outward, leaving him with nothing but clenched teeth and silence.

He endured the boundless agony by force.

Not a trace of weakness escaped him. Not a single sound of surrender.

With nothing but that unbending pride etched into his very bones, he held himself together—bitterly, brutally—against the burning fire.