The cold night air bit at their skin as the Guardians emerged from the ruins of the temple, its collapse a grim reminder of the cost they had paid. The landscape around them bore the scars of the Loom's destruction—fissures that glowed faintly with otherworldly light crisscrossed the ground, and the sky above shimmered unnaturally, as if reality itself had been stretched too thin.
Elara clutched the Codex tightly to her chest, its weight both physical and symbolic. She felt its faint warmth, a pulse of reassurance amid the chaos. The others were silent, their faces etched with exhaustion and determination. They had no time to dwell on the consequences of their actions; the fragments of the Loom wouldn't wait for them to regroup.
"We head east," Elara said, her voice steady but quiet. "The Codex shows the first fragment near the Bleeding Forest. It's unstable, but it's still within reach."