The air in the sub-basement didn’t just turn cold; it ceased to exist. A vacuum formed around the spot where the Null-Chamber had collapsed, pulling the very breath from our lungs. The black pearl in my hand didn’t just vibrate—it screamed, a high-frequency pitch that shattered the glass-slick walls of the hall.
"Get back!" Kael roared, shoving me behind the massive breadth of his shoulders.
From the floor, a shadow began to rise. It wasn't the misty, ethereal shadow of the Lycan King. This was a physical darkness, thick as tar and jagged as obsidian. It coiled upward, taking the shape of a man, then a wolf, then something caught in the agonizing middle. It had no eyes, only two pits of flickering silver fire.
"Malphas," Arthur’s voice drifted down from the stairs, thin and reedy with t
