The Altar of Echoes

The Altar of Echoes was a vast natural cavern inside the volcano’s mouth. Magma bubbled in pits far below, casting a hellish red glow over the stone platform.

Val was already fighting.

He was in his Titan form, a nine-foot nightmare of fur and claws. He was fighting the High Alpha’s personal guard—four elite War-Wolves. Kaelen sat on his throne of obsidian, watching with a bored expression.

Val was losing.

He was sluggish. He was bleeding from a dozen wounds. He wasn't fighting to win; he was fighting to die. He swung wild, leaving his guard open, inviting the fatal blow.

"Val!" Ren screamed, bursting into the cavern.

Kaelen looked up. "Ah. The Runt arrives. Late."

Val turned at the sound of Ren’s voice. The distraction cost him. An elite wolf slammed a mace into Val’s knee.

Val roared, falling. The four guards swarmed him, spears raised.

"No!" Ren sprinted across the bridge.

He couldn't reach them in time. The spears were coming down.

Ren did the only thing he could do. He grabbed the Tether.

He didn't just tug it. He grabbed it with both hands of his soul and *heaved*. He intended to pull Val’s pain away, to give him a surge of adrenaline, to lend him the strength to stand up.

But Ren was panicked. He was terrified. And he was a Soul-Eater who had never learned to control his hunger.

He pulled too hard.

Time stopped.

In the center of the melee, Val froze.

The Titan form didn't dissolve. It simply... vacated.

Ren felt a massive, rushing torrent hit him. It wasn't just energy. It was memories. It was the smell of rain. It was the taste of their mother’s cooking. It was Val’s love for him. It was Val’s soul.

It slammed into Ren, filling the hollow void inside him until he felt like he would burst.

Across the cavern, Val looked up. His eyes, usually bright amber, went dull and gray instantly.

He looked at Ren. He didn't look angry. He smiled, a small, sad twitch of his muzzle.

"Take it all," Val’s voice whispered in Ren’s head, faint as a dying breath.

Val collapsed.

He didn't hit the ground as a wolf. As the life left him, his body disintegrated. The Titan form, sustained only by sheer will, crumbled into gray ash.

The spears of the guards hit the stone floor, piercing nothing but a pile of dust.

Ren skidded to a halt.

He stared at the ash.

"Val?" he whispered.

Silence.

The Tether was gone. It hadn't snapped; Ren had reeled the whole thing in. He held the other end of the rope, and there was nothing attached to it.

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