Chapter 81 The Echo Of Fate

• The wind howled through the trees, a foreboding whisper that seemed to carry the weight of impending change. The battle was over, but Meher could feel the air around her still crackling with the remnants of dark magic. It lingered, like a stain on the world, as though the balance had been temporarily restored but was still fragile, threatening to shatter with the slightest disturbance.
• Ayaan stood by her side, his eyes scanning the forest with a wariness that mirrored her own. They had won—no, they had survived—but the victory had come at a price. Meher could feel the weight of the Heartstone within her, pulsing like a distant storm, as though it were calling to something—or someone—far beyond the edges of the world she knew.
• “We’ve won the battle,” Ayaan said, his voice low, “but I don’t feel like we’ve won the war. There’s still something out there, something waiting.”