The air in the resistance base buzzed with an energy that was equal parts anticipation and dread. Though Ruby and her team had delivered a crippling blow to the Shadow, the cracks in the landscape, the faint echoes of corruption still lingering in the Wastes, spoke to a danger far from eradicated. The Shadow's remnants were more than just scars; they were seeds, threatening to sprout into new horrors if left unchecked.
Ruby stood in the command center, leaning over a table strewn with maps and tactical reports. The dim light overhead cast sharp shadows across her face. Evelyn's voice was sharp as ever as she discussed deployments with the council.
"We've dispatched scouts to all regions marked by Finn's residual energy readings," Evelyn said, her fingers tracing the map. "But reports from the south are troubling. A village near the Wastes border… it's gone dark. No communication. No survivors seen leaving."
