"We abort."
Thalia's voice cut through the oppressive silence like a blade. She stood over Ailin's unconscious form, staring down grimly, but determination set on her face.
"We're leaving this world. Immediately."
Nobody argued.
Even Himothy, the Glory bearer who lived for challenges, who thrived on impossible odds, remained silent. The big man simply nodded mutely, still trembling from the Great One's presence.
Keeva, Yara, and Osric had arrived while Finn was still processing the devastation. They stood in a tight cluster, taking in the dead settlement, Ailin's grotesque condition, Solarius's exploded remains visible through the warehouse entrance.
"How?" Tavian asked quietly in response to Thalia's statement. "We can't leave unless we find the breach that brought us here—"
"Casmir's artifact," Thalia interrupted, pulling the crystalline object from her robes. It pulsed irregularly with spatial distortions flickering across its surface.
