They moved fast.
Rhea and Nathan took the left channel, their flames and lightning tearing through the corrupted crystal veins. The cavern shuddered with every blow, black mana spraying like liquid shadow.
Elara and Cael handled the right, earth spikes sealing the ruptures, wind slicing the tendrils before they could re-form.
Merlin stayed at the center, both hands outstretched, weaving lightning and wind into a spiraling sphere. The core's pulse grew erratic, its surface cracking.
"Now!" he shouted.
Five affinities ignited at once, flame, lightning, earth, wind, and water, converging on the heart of corruption.
The explosion was blinding.
A roar of energy swallowed the cavern, shaking the ground so violently that the ceiling fractured. For a moment, everything was just light and noise, the clash of pure mana against rot.
Then the light dimmed. The corrupted core cracked, once, twice, and shattered into dust.
Silence followed.
