Elara's pulse still raced, but she could feel the battle slowly slipping from her grasp. Every step she took seemed heavier, as though the weight of their actions had pressed against her very soul. The obelisk was silent now, but the shadow's presence lingered in the air, a faint hum she could almost taste on her tongue. She wanted to believe that the containment would hold, that they had managed to push back the tide, but deep down, she knew it was far from over.
"We need to move," Thorne's voice cut through the thick silence, snapping her from her thoughts. He stood just a few feet away, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. "We've stalled it for now, but it's only a matter of time before the shadow starts finding its way around the seal."
