Round 21

Jeane's fingers traced the final rune, completing the arcane pattern that had consumed her thoughts since entering this cursed chamber. The symbols flared to life, pulsing with an otherworldly green light that seemed to seep into the very stone around them. A surge of power coursed through her veins—this was it, the moment she'd been waiting for, the breakthrough that would prove her worth to this ragtag group and silence Halie's accusing whispers once and for all.

The Time-Splitting Sword responded in kind, its eerie glow pulsing in perfect sync with the awakened runes. Jeane felt a strange connection forming between herself and the artifact—a rhythmic heartbeat that seemed to echo through her own chest. The air around the altar began to shimmer and distort, reality bending as if a portal to another plane was opening before their eyes.

This was what she'd been born for—to wield such power, to bend ancient magics to her will. The corruption Halie spoke of? Nonsense. This was control, pure and simple. She would show them all—they needed the sword intact, not shattered beyond recognition as that fool Merrin had suggested earlier.

But then Halie's voice cut through the haze of arcane energy surrounding her, sharp and accusatory. The cleric grabbed Seraphine's arm, pulling the elf scholar back from the altar with a look of pure horror etched across her features. "Do you see this?" she demanded, gesturing wildly at Jeane's work. "The sword's found a conduit in her ambition—and now it's using her like a tool!"

Jeane felt a flicker of doubt—was Halie right? Could the power coursing through her be something other than what she'd imagined? No, impossible. She was in control here. This was her moment.

The scratching sounds from below grew louder, more insistent, as if whatever lurked in the depths sensed the magical awakening taking place above. The Writhing Roots seemed to hesitate for a moment, their attention divided between the portal opening before them and the new threat emerging from beneath their feet.