A week later, the one billion runes appeared in Alfraed's account with the quiet efficiency of numbers shifting in a ledger. He stared at the figure on the parchment before him—all those zeros stretching like an endless road. His single eye traced each digit as a strange heaviness settled in his chest. For a fleeting moment, he imagined simply vanishing with the fortune, leaving behind the weight of expectations and promises. The thought whispered through him like a cold draft. Alfraed squared his shoulders and pushed the fantasy away. The path forward was clear, even if it wasn't easy.
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