The dissipating shadows left a chilling silence, broken only by Isla's ragged breaths. The amulet, its light dimming, fell gently into her palm, now warm and smooth. Thane was gone, his corrupting influence banished, but the chamber remained scarred, a testament to the brutal struggle. Kai, his face pale but resolute, slowly approached Isla, offering a supportive hand.
"It's over," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "We did it."
Isla, still trembling with the aftershocks of Elara's power, nodded, her gaze fixed on the fading golden light. "But at what cost?" she whispered, her heart heavy with the memory of the battle.
The chamber, once a prison of darkness, now held a strange tranquility. Elara's presence lingered, a gentle warmth that soothed the lingering fear. A soft, ethereal glow emanated from the shattered obsidian shards, now inert and harmless. As Isla touched one, a faint whisper echoed in her mind, a fragment of Elara's consciousness.
"You are the light, Isla. Carry it forward."
A wave of understanding washed over Isla. Elara's power wasn't just a weapon; it was a legacy, a responsibility.
The darkness might be gone, but the world was still fractured, still vulnerable. She looked at Kai, her eyes filled with a newfound determination. "We have to rebuild," she said, her voice firm. "We have to make sure this darkness never returns."