Eccar remained standing in front of Arty and Sylmira. The silence between the three of them grew heavy the more they thought about the gravity of the situation.
For a moment, none of them spoke. The wind blew across the dead forest, rustling the charred branches and scattering burnt leaves like flakes of black snow.
Arty stared at Eccar's face, seemingly searching for hope or reassurance, anything. But she found only exhaustion and dread. It frightened her.
Sylmira steadied her breathing, then finally asked, "If that being defeated all of you… and what we faced was just an avatar… what happens now? Is this… Zerathul is still somewhere out there?"
Eccar looked toward the ruined treeline and exhaled. "Yes. Zerathul is still out there. And I'm certain that he will coming at us again. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But he knows we exist now. He knows we'll try to stop him."
Arty swallowed hard. The faint tremor in her hands returned.
