"I'm afraid you're correct," Joshua replied, eyeing the towering crystal with a cross of distaste and respect. "We call her and her sisters Mothercrystals, and it is indeed a factor in why my home realm is suffering the way it is. One of many.”

Back home, a few deft tugs on an array of threads revealed an intricate web of tapestries, each weaving more and more into one another. Joshua can’t be sure he, his brother, and their companions have gotten anywhere close to chipping the veneer of the forces working against them—and by extension, all of humanity. Regardless, those forces needed to be stopped.

Because if the Blight was literally worse than Hell, then their recovery was going to be even harder than anticipated.

He took in a deep breath and looked at the dead plants and soil around them.

“In your studies, have you ever seen life recover from such a state?”