The journey back from the Wastes was not one Kael had expected to be easy. The landscape around them, once teeming with the shadow of the void, now lay in eerie stillness. The dark, twisted trees had begun to wither and crumble, their roots pulling from the earth as if the very land itself was expelling the corruption that had once taken root there. The air felt fresher, yet there was still a weight in Kael's chest—a lingering tension that refused to ease. They had won a battle, yes, but Kael knew that the war was far from over.
As they made their way through the craggy hills and over broken ground, their path leading them back to Valtoria, the shard—the powerful relic that had sealed the heart of the void—now lay silent in Kael's hand. It had burned bright during the confrontation, its power overwhelming in its intensity, but now it was merely a faint glow, almost imperceptible. He didn't know what to make of it yet, or what it truly meant for the future.
