The world did not just go quiet; it was silenced. The wind, a constant, mournful companion in the pass, died. The distant, rhythmic chanting of the Ashen Paw, a psychological pressure that had been a constant for days, vanished. Even the sound of Kaelen's own breathing, the frantic hammer of his own heart, seemed to be muffled, absorbed by a sudden, oppressive stillness.The blade of Vorlag’s arm, a grotesque fusion of flesh and steel, froze inches from Kaelen’s face. The monster’s body, a living weapon of the Weaver’s will, became utterly still. The air grew thick, heavy, and cold, but not the cold of the mountain. This was a profound, internal chill, the feeling of a presence that did not radiate cold, but consumed warmth.Kaelen did not move. He could not. He was frozen not by fear, but by a primal, instinctual terror that was older than the mountains themselves. Through the bond, he felt Flora's consciousness, a brilliant star in the encroaching darkness, flare with a desperate, d
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