The final battle was fought in the space between heartbeats.
Sylva's beam of pure life, focused into an intense spear of golden-green light, struck the last demonic rune on the Heart of the Scar. At the same time, Jonah gave one final push with his mind, pouring every last ounce of his willpower into tearing at the magical threads that held the evil artifact together.
For a split second, there was a powerful, stubborn resistance. The psychic scream in Jonah's mind grew louder and louder, a sound of pure hatred, until it was deafening.
Then, with a sound like shattering glass that only Jonah could hear… it broke.
CRACK!
The central core of the artifact, its dark heart of despair, broke into a thousand pieces. The web of demonic runes dissolved into nothing, like a smoke in the wind. The obsidian shard, which had pulsed with a violent energy just moments before, now looked like a dull, lifeless rock.
A spiderweb of cracks spread across its surface.
Crumble…
