The heroes stood frozen, their eyes fixed on the woman. She was unlike anyone they had ever seen before, with an otherworldly beauty and an aura of power that seemed to fill the air.
"Who are you?" Lyra asked, her voice firm but curious.
The woman smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I am known as the Oracle of this world," she said. "And I have been waiting for you, heroes of the mortal realm."
Thane's hand instinctively went to his sword, his eyes narrowing. "What do you want with us?" he growled.
The Oracle's smile never walevered. "I want to offer you a choice," she said. "You can stay here, in this world, and help me restore balance to the universe. Or you can return to your own world, and face the challenges that await you there."
Elowen's eyes widened. "What kind of challenges?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The Oracle's gaze seemed to bore into their very souls. "The darkness that you defeated in your own world is not truly gone," she said. "It has merely been pushed back, and it will return, stronger and more powerful than ever before. If you return, you will have to face it again, and this time, you may not be so lucky."
The heroes exchanged a nervous glance. They had thought they had saved the world, but it seemed that their work was far from over.