Chapter 196: The One Who Watched The Vow Break
Ian stopped walking.
It wasn't the wind. Not a sound. Not even the unnatural silence of Blackblood's cursed heart.
No — it was pressure.
Like the forest itself had grown lungs and breathed in, filling the world too full. The trees bowed. Roots curled tight. The sky dimmed, though there was no sun above. And Ian—still, tense, fingers curled around the hilt of his dagger—felt it.
An aura.
Not simply power, but memory—so dense, so ancient, it dragged time with it. Like the world could crack beneath the weight of this thing's sorrow. Like the ground might forget it was earth and collapse into ash.
He didn't run.
Or speak.
Only waited.
And the beast arrived.
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It emerged from the veil of mist like a shadow dreamt by giants. Towering, slow, deliberate. Its body was not of flesh alone but bound in bone-plates and thick, ancient fur matted with the stains of centuries. Horns curved back like crescent moons cracked down the middle. And its eyes — gods, its eyes — glowed not with rage, but mourning.