The battle had ended, but the aftermath left a suffocating silence in its wake. The valley, once a place of oppressive tension, now lay still beneath the darkened sky. The obelisk stood silent, its surface cracked and dormant, but the air was thick with the lingering remnants of dark magic. Elara could feel it, creeping like a cold fog around the edges of her senses, as though the shadow had not fully given in.
Her body trembled with exhaustion, her every breath shallow from the effort. The power of the relic had drained her more than she expected, and she could feel the deep weariness gnawing at her bones. Morgana and Thorne were no better off, each of them holding onto their resolve with only the barest threads of strength remaining.