They emerged from the passage well past midnight, and nobody spoke much on the walk back to the staging area, the weight of the Guardian's condition and its warning settling over the group like a physical thing.
Ashworth called a full briefing the moment they reached the tents, gathering everyone, researchers and soldiers included, around the same folding table that had held the corruption map earlier that day. Corvin had already updated it, red patches spreading slightly further based on the new data from tonight's descent.
"Here's where we stand," Ashworth said. "The entity we're calling the Vaelmyr is alive, weakened, and healing at an accelerated rate consistent with the corruption spread we've documented above ground. The Guardian, our best defense against it, is severely damaged and unlikely to recover meaningful combat capability before the Vaelmyr does."
"So we're on our own," Samuel said grimly.
