Luna Aurora (Alpha Fenrir)

Chapter 329

The air grew heavier with every step Dain took. The ancient ruins wrapped him in an oppressive darkness, suffocating and thick, as if the shadows themselves were alive. Each step echoed down the vast, empty corridors, the sound swallowed almost instantly by the black void around him. It wasn't just the shadows that unsettled him-there was a weight, a pull, like invisible hands reaching out to drag him deeper into the abyss.

His thoughts were equally heavy. Elyra's growing bond with Althea gnawed at his pride. Althea had warned him to tread carefully, to resist the shard's influence, but Dain wasn't one for being lectured. Elyra's faith in the guardian, her willingness to bend to Althea's teachings-it felt like betrayal.

"I don't need her approval," Dain muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the whispers in the shadows. "I don't need anyone."

The shard in his possession pulsed faintly, its dark energy a constant reminder of the power he could claim if he dared. The thought gave him both comfort and unease. Was it guiding him now, or was he simply wandering further into ruin?

Ahead, a faint glow flickered. Dain stilled, his hand instinctively going to his side though he carried no weapon. The glow wasn't warm like firelight but cold and sharp, a sinister radiance that seemed to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat. With cautious steps, he moved closer, drawn like a moth to a flame.

He stepped into a vast, circular chamber. The walls were jagged black stone, etched with strange carvings that seemed to shift and writhe in the faint light. At the center of the room stood a figure cloaked entirely in shadow, their form indistinct and shifting as though they were part of the darkness itself. But their eyes-burning crimson and unyielding-locked onto him with an intensity that made his breath hitch.

"You've come," the figure said, their voice smooth and commanding, reverberating through the chamber. It wasn't a single voice but a layered echo, like countless beings speaking as one.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his

you, Dain Laurent, are exactly who I've been waiting for." "How do you

becoming almost coaxing.

Dain snapped, his voice

Warden only smiled, a faint curve of shadow that resembled lips. "You've felt it, haven't you?

"I don't need

tilted their head, the gesture almost amused. "No, you don't. You don't need her approval. You don't need

palm lay a fragment of

this, you will no longer struggle. You will no longer doubt. This power will make you

energy radiating from it was intoxicating, a magnetic force that seemed to draw him in. He could feel the promise in its glow-strength, freedom, control. Everything

at him. Elyra's voice echoed in his mind, a memory of her pleading with him to stay

twitched at his side, the war inside him raging. "What's the price?" he asked finally, his voice

Warden's smile widened, their eyes burning brighter. "The shadow asks for no price. It