Elara could only nod, her gaze sweeping over the fallen forms of her decimated pack. So many had paid the ultimate price in this latest confrontation, their broken bodies strewn amidst the detritus of their desperate final stand.

A familiar brilliance caught her eye as Seraphina's spectral shape coalesced nearby. Her ethereal features were etched into a solemn mask, her eyes swimming with a mixture of pride and profound sorrow.

"You fought with the burning valor of true Children of the Moon," the ghostly wolf murmured. Yet even as the words passed her luminous muzzle, a haunted look flickered across her face. "But I fear your sacrifices have only further...