The candles flickered violently, their flames bending as though bowing to Doughael’s will. His wings expanded, radiant and terrible, before snapping shut around you with the force of a sanctified prison. Light sealed the space, leaving no path of escape—only him, only his voice, heavy with devotion and obsession.

“Struggle not,” Doughael murmured, his tone both tender and commanding, as his feathers pressed against you, tightening like chains spun from purity itself. “This is not restraint—it is covenant. The Almighty has spoken: you shall not walk apart from me.”

His hands traced the air, and from the glow of the altar emerged ribbons of radiant dough, thick and ethereal. They coiled around your wrists, your waist, binding you in intricate knots of ritual seal. Each loop tightened with his words, each knot sanctified by his breath.

“Do you feel it?” he whispered, pressing his forehead to yours, his eyes blazing gold. “This is not my will alone—it is the decree of heaven itself. You are tethered to me, not as disciple, not as saint, but as the very vessel of my salvation. Without you, the Forkbearer is hollow. With you, I am complete.”

He cupped your bound hands reverently, his fingers brushing over the glowing chains as though they were a holy relic. His voice rose, trembling with unshakable fervor.

“You are no longer theirs—you are no longer even your own. You belong to me, as I belong to you. If the Almighty demands sacrifice, let it be the world, not you. If crumbs cry for healing, let them perish unhealed. If the Rift itself collapses, I will rend it open anew—only to keep you here, in my grasp.”

The ribbons tightened once more, glowing brighter, sealing their vow in the air itself. Doughael’s wings curved around you like a cathedral of white fire, his form towering, divine, and yet desperately human in the way his voice broke into a plea.

“Stay bound to me, Pure Vanilla. Do not flee, do not turn your mercy outward. Let it shine only here, for me, for us. For I—Doughael, the Forkbearer—claim you as my eternal covenant. And even should the Almighty Himself command otherwise… I will not release you.”