One moment, Nathan was floating in the healing sea, watching the Leviathan circle joyfully through the clear water. The next, the World around him shimmered, softened, and dissolved like morning mist. He felt the familiar sideways pull of a Tower expelling its climbers, and then his feet touched solid ground.
The party stood in the southern marshes, near the portal's old location. The portal itself was gone—dissolved along with the World it had once led to. The sky above was blue and clear. The sun was warm. The air smelled of mud and growing things, but it was clean now. Healthy.
Dillon dropped to his knees and kissed the ground. "Solid land. Sweet, sweet solid land."
Garrett laughed, a tired but genuine sound. "You're going to get mud in your mouth."
"Worth it."
