This climb back toward the surface proved to be really hard. Every step was heavier than the previous one, like the battle had put weighted chains on our legs, pulling us down. Core was in pieces, but the sound of it still hung in the air-a soft buzz of power, dying to nothing.
Silvermane pressed on, ears up and body taut. "The corruption isn't as strong, but there's something amiss," she murmured. "The forest isn't. content. It seems muffled.
Ember flicked her tail irritably, still nursing a shallow cut along her flank. "What did you expect, a parade? After what we've just faced, I'd take silence.
I said nothing, my senses alert as I looked down at the walls. The ancient carvings glowed faintly now, it seemed in response to the destruction of the Core. The symbols then appeared almost alive, shifting in forms unreadable to me. They told stories, but in a language I couldn't understand.
