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◆ Citadel Dilonia – Three Hours After the Flame Crown Event
The training fields were quiet.
Ash still hung in the air from Kai’s return. The Flame Crown had left its mark—an elemental seal now branded across his back, shaped like a blazing wolf’s head circled in lightning. His energy had shifted, and everyone who approached him felt it.
Even silence carried weight around him now.
Ellis stood at a distance, gripping his practice blade tighter than necessary.
“He’s… something else now,” he whispered.
Chris, arms folded, watched Kai meditate at the far end of the courtyard, fire flickering around him, wind howling as if begging for his command.
“No,” Chris said calmly. “He’s something old.”
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◆ Scene Transition – The Wolves Stir
Far north, buried in a realm not charted on any map
