Shadow folded back in on itself without ceremony.
No jolt. No lurch. Just the quiet return of weight beneath their feet as the island settled into place around them.
Noel was the first to register it. His boots touched stone that was solid, cracked in places but stable, the kind of ground that had already stopped trying to collapse. The pull in his chest from Shadow Step lingered for a second longer than usual before easing, a dull reminder of how many times he'd pushed it lately.
"…Clear," he said after a brief pause.
There was no immediate response from the island. No pressure pushing back against his senses. No hostile mana crawling up his spine. Just open air, muted wind, and the faint scent of scorched stone.
That alone told him enough.
