The light began to fade, leaving the ley lines shimmering with a soft, natural glow once more. Elara felt the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her, her entire body trembling from the strain of channeling the ley lines' power. The victory felt tenuous, fragile, as if the darkness could return at any moment.
Morgana helped her to her feet, her hands shaking from the magical effort they had just expended. "That... that was close. Too close," she said, her voice still tinged with fear.
Elara nodded, her breathing labored. "It's not over," she murmured. The figure's final words continued to reverberate in her mind, its ominous warning echoing through the ley lines like a shadow that wouldn't dissipate. "The Void is preparing for something bigger. This wasn't its full strength."
"We've bought ourselves some time," Morgana said, brushing a strand of sweat-damp hair from her face. "But I felt it too—this was just the beginning of something far worse."
