Page 147 of Savage Crown

"Rylan," he rasps.

His breath stinks of rot and old lies.

"Wait—"

I don’t wait.

I drive my blade into his throat, cutting the words from his tongue before he can spew more filth.

His body shudders, twitches.

Then stills.

His lifeless eyes stare at the ceiling—empty.

Finally.

It’s over. So quick. So simple. Empty.

The silence that follows is thick and unnatural.

The cave groans, as if it has witnessed something it was always meant to see.

The blood on the stone seeps into the cracks, sinking deep, as if the cavern itself is drinking it.

A shift.

A pull.

Something opens.

The altar shudders and splits apart.

Dust erupts into the air as a hidden chamber is revealed behind it—a narrow archway leading into a place that should not exist.

A place built by my father.

My breath catches.

Something calls to me.

Not in words.

In need.

I step forward, my boots echoing against the stone.

Beyond the archway, a room waits.

Not like the cave.

This place is preserved.

Untouched by ruin, by decay.

The walls are carved with symbols I don’t recognize—etched in silver, pulsating faintly.

And at the very center, atop a raised pedestal of obsidian and bone?—

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