Elara reached out, her hand hovering over the shard for a moment before she gently lifted it from the pedestal. The moment she touched it, a faint tremor passed through the ground, but it quickly subsided.
"That's eight," she said softly, tucking the shard into her pouch. "Two more to go."
Cruzer nodded, his expression serious. "And if this one was any indication, the next two are going to be even worse."
As they left the temple, the jungle began to come alive once more, but this time, the air was lighter, the malevolent presence that had once haunted it now gone.
Their journey was far from over, but with eight shards in hand, they were closer than ever to completing their mission.
And with each step they took, their bond grew stronger, the weight of their shared experiences drawing them closer as they prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
