When Clara opened her eyes, the cavern was dark and still. The Node was gone, its presence erased completely. She sat up slowly, her body aching from the shockwave.

“Kael?” she called out, her voice hoarse.

“Here,” came his reply from the shadows. He emerged, bruised but alive, and offered her a hand. “You did it.”

Clara took his hand and stood, looking around the now-lifeless cavern. It felt hollow, as if the Node’s absence had left a void that nothing could fill. “It’s over,” she said, though the words felt empty.

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Kael nodded, but his expression was grim. “For now. The Node’s destruction will have consequences. We’ve severed its connection, but that energy had to go somewhere.”

Clara’s stomach sank. “What do you mean?”

Kael gestured to the cavern walls, which were beginning to crack and crumble. “We’ve disrupted the balance. The forces the Node was containing are free now. We need to leave before this place comes down on us.”

They hurried back through the tunnels, the ground shaking beneath their feet. As they emerged into the open air, the full extent of the disruption became clear. The sky was fractured, streaks of light and shadow intertwining like a shattered mirror. The air buzzed with a strange energy, unnatural and foreboding.

“What have we done?” Clara whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

Kael placed a hand on her shoulder. “We made a choice. Now we deal with the fallout.”