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The silver-furred divine beast snarled, circling them with slow, deliberate steps. Its massive claws left deep scars in the earth, and its golden eyes never left Seraphina. It recognized her — not just as prey or threat, but something else... something akin to itself.
The nobles who had arrived late froze in terror at the sight. Even the bravest hunters had not expected a creature this fierce.
They whispered:
"The Empress will die..."
"The divine beast will destroy her!"
"Should we intervene?"
But none dared step forward.
Kael emerged from the shadows, sword drawn, but Seraphina raised a hand.
"No," she said, her voice cutting across the clearing like a blade. "Stay back."
She dismounted with regal grace, her cloak swirling around her like bloodstained mist.
The divine beast lowered its massive head slightly, confused.
Seraphina reached into her inner coat, pulling out a small, black-glass pendant — an artifact she had salvaged from the imperial vaults earlier that month. A relic said to resonate with creatures born of both light and darkness.
She held it aloft.
The beast froze.
A silence fell — heavy, waiting.
"Submit," Seraphina whispered, her voice weaving into the night like a dark melody.
The pendant pulsed once, and shadows rippled from her fingertips, sinking into the ground and spiraling around the beast's paws.
The wolf fought, snarling and thrashing, shaking the trees. Power cracked in the air. A lesser magician would have been obliterated — but Seraphina stood firm, her mask unshaken.
"Submit," she repeated, her magic pressing down harder. Not with cruelty — but with strength.
I am not your enemy.
I am your kin.
The divine beast howled once, long and mournful... then knelt, bowing its massive head before her.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Even Kael's eyes widened in shock.
Lady Elowen, who had been preparing her own summoning spell behind Seraphina's back, dropped her crystal vial. It shattered against a rock, unnoticed.
Seraphina approached the beast slowly and placed a hand against its forehead.
Warmth flooded her arm — wild, ancient, aching freedom. It was exhilarating and overwhelming all at once. A bond formed, fragile yet undeniable.
A black mark shaped like a crescent moon branded itself on the back of her palm — the mark of a divine pact.
The Empress had tamed the untamable.
The divine beast, once a force of chaos, now stood quietly behind her, its fur shimmering like polished silver under the starlight.
The nobles had no choice but to kneel.
"Hail the Empress!" someone cried out.
"Hail the Shadow Queen!"
It was the first time they had called her by that title — a title Seraphina herself had never dared claim.
She turned slightly, letting her cold gaze fall on Lady Elowen, who still pretended to tremble.
"Careful," Seraphina thought, her lips curling into a hidden smirk behind the mask. "Your mask is slipping, Lady Elowen. And I am watching."
Tonight, victory was hers.
But she knew the heroine wouldn't give up so easily. The game had only just begun.
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