The forest wept.
The air hung heavy with sorrow, the leaves trembling as if the trees themselves knew what had been lost. Ashes drifted like falling snow across the clearing where the final spirit node had stood—its corruption burned clean by Solene's sacrifice.
Aria stood frozen in the stillness, her heart pounding like a war drum muffled beneath grief. The firelight from Solene's ritual still crackled faintly in the underbrush, casting elongated shadows that danced like mourners. Elena knelt beside the scorched roots, her hands clenched over her chest as if trying to hold herself together.
"She's gone," Elena whispered. "She's really gone."
Aria couldn't speak. Her throat was a knot of pain. Her mind still echoed with the sound of Solene's voice—her final incantation, her final promise.
"Protect the realm… even from what you cannot yet see…"
