Darius clutched his arm with his grin gone, his eyes were haunted. Kelvin's hands trembled, his body aching, but pride swelled in his chest, a spark of defiance was reignited.
"We are still here," he said with his voice hoarse and the whispers fading. Lyra nodded with her eyes fierce despite the pain. "Together." Darius leaned on Rhoam, his voice quiet as he said. "Barely."
They searched the panthers' remains and searched for loot: a handful of beast cores, their surfaces pulsing with faint soulstream energy, and a chunk of enchanted ore, its metallic sheen laced with dark runes.
"Split it evenly," Kelvin said, dividing the cores among them for their gear and giving Darius the ore to reinforce Rhoam's armor. The act was a small gesture of unity, a reminder that they had survived another trial together.
The monitoring device flickered back to life, its message was weak but clear: "Rogue activity is neutralized. Return to Sanctum. Report unknown energy."
