Chapter 148
The earth trembled beneath them as Aurora and the Lycan King resumed their duel, their powers lighting up the battlefield in dazzling flashes of light and shadow. Each attack from the Lycan King was precise, calculated, and overwhelming. Aurora countered with raw determination, drawing deeper into the Pact’s energy than ever before.
“You fight well for someone bound to fail,” the Lycan King sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.
“I fight for more than myself,” Aurora retorted, hurling a lance of celestial light that forced him back.
Despite her resolve, the Lycan King’s power began to wear her down. He moved with predatory grace, exploiting every weakness in her defenses. As their battle intensified, he began to speak—not with threats, but with truths.
“I was once like you,” he said, his voice cold and distant. “A guardian of the Pact. I believed in its balance, its promise. But the Pact is flawed. Its power corrupts as much as it protects. I sought to perfect it… and was cast aside for my ambition.”
Aurora faltered for a moment, her mind racing with his words. “You twisted it for your own gain. That’s why it rejected you.”
The Lycan King’s laughter was bitter. “I wanted to free it from its limitations. To make it unyielding, unstoppable. But they feared me, as you should.”
Aurora’s grip on the Pact tightened, her resolve hardening. She realized that his words, though twisted, revealed his arrogance—a vulnerability she could exploit.
Cassian’s voice echoed from below, rallying the wolves to hold the line. “Aurora, we’ve got your back! Don’t stop now!”
Drawing strength from his words, Aurora surged forward, her celestial energy burning brighter. She used the Lycan King’s monologue against him, probing his defenses and finding cracks in his armor.
But the effort came at a cost. The Lycan King anticipated her strategy, countering with a devastating blast of shadow magic that struck her squarely. She fell to the ground with a cry, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs.
The Lycan King descended upon her, pinning her with his immense weight. His dark eyes gleamed with triumph as he leaned closer. “You were strong,” he said softly, almost mockingly. “But not strong enough.”
Aurora struggled against his hold, her mind racing for a way to escape. The battlefield seemed to fade around her, the sounds of the wolves’ fight distant and hollow. Above her, the Lycan King raised a clawed hand, his shadow magic gathering in a deadly vortex.
The Pact’s energy flickered weakly within her, and for the first time, doubt crept into her heart. Was this the end?
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