Inside the blinding silver fire, a sudden, heavy silence fell over the altar room. The chaotic roaring of the magical energy died down, leaving behind a sound like a rushing, powerful wind. From the center of Duncan’s fading chest, a massive silhouette began to rise.It was the great silver beast, the ancient, royal wolf spirit that had defined the Alonso bloodline for generations.The spirit wolf hovered in the air above the stone altar, its massive form translucent and glowing with a brilliant, metallic silver light. It did not look at Malphas or the cowering shamans. It turned its huge, glowing head downward, its silver eyes fixing onto Duncan’s pale, shrinking human face one last time.The silver beast raised its head toward the shattered ceiling of the obsidian tower. It let out a final, mournful howl that vibrated through the very stones of the castle, a sound of absolute goodbye, of a king laying down his crown.Then, with a sudden, graceful dive, the great silver wolf plunged
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