Chapter 49: The Descent into Shadow （潜入暗影）

　　The plan was madness. A desperate gamble born from the guardians' inability to strike directly. As twilight deepened, painting the blighted valley in shades of purple and black, the three powerful beings began their work. The Keeper of the Grove raised his hands, and a thick, unnatural mist began to coalesce from the dead air, rolling down into the valley like a silent, living tide. It was not a magical attack, but a concealment—a veil to hide two small, determined figures.

　　这个计划近乎疯狂。是守护者们无法直接攻击而催生的绝望赌博。随着暮色加深，将腐化山谷染成紫黑相间，三位强大的存在开始了他们的工作。丛林守护者举起双手，一股浓密、不自然的雾气从死寂的空气中凝聚，像无声的活潮般涌入山谷。这不是魔法攻击，而是一种掩护——一道隐藏两个渺小而坚定身影的帷幕。

　　Ahanu, in his bear form, let out a low, continuous growl that seemed to vibrate through the very rock, a primal sound meant to mask any smaller noises. Brann the shaman stood with his feet planted wide, his hands channeling the faint electrical energy of the high-altitude air, creating a subtle, crackling interference that would hopefully confuse any arcane senses the wards might possess.

　　阿哈努以熊形态持续发出低沉咆哮，仿佛能穿透岩石振动，这是一种旨在掩盖任何细微声响的原始声音。萨满布兰恩双脚分立，双手引导着高空的微弱电能，制造出细微的噼啪干扰，希望能扰乱结界可能具备的任何奥术感知。

　　"This is your path," the Keeper's voice echoed in their minds, his amber eyes glowing through the gathering gloom. "The mist will guide you. Trust the silence. Move as one."

　　“这是你们的道路，”丛林守护者的声音在他们脑海中回响，他琥珀色的眼睛在渐浓的暮色中发光。“雾气会引导你们。信任寂静。同心移动。”

　　Leon gripped the flint knife. Its edge was sharp, its weight solid and reassuring in his hand. It felt like a tool from the dawn of time, simple and deadly. He looked at Iris. Her face was pale but set in lines of fierce concentration. She nodded once, a sharp, decisive motion. They had no words left. Everything had been said.

　　里昂紧握燧石刀。刀刃锋利，重量沉实，在他手中令人安心。它像来自远古时代的工具，简单而致命。他看向艾莉丝。她脸色苍白，但带着专注的坚毅线条。她点了一下头，一个干脆、果断的动作。他们已无话可说。一切尽在不言中。

　　Together, they stepped over the edge of the ridge and began the descent into the mist-shrouded valley. The world vanished around them, swallowed by the thick, grey vapor. The only sounds were the muffled thrum of the corruption ahead and the thunderous, distant growl of Ahanu. The air was cold and heavy with the smell of damp rot and ozone.

　　他们一起踏过山脊边缘，开始下降进入雾霭笼罩的山谷。周围的世界消失了，被浓密的灰色水汽吞没。唯一的声音是前方被闷住的腐化嗡鸣和阿哈努遥远如雷鸣的咆哮。空气寒冷，带着潮湿腐烂和臭氧的浓重气味。

　　Iris took the lead, her elven senses navigating the treacherous slope with an uncanny precision. Leon followed close behind, his every sense screaming in the eerie silence. The mist seemed to cling to them, cold and clammy. It was a terrifying, disorienting journey. They could see no more than a few feet in any direction. The ground underfoot was brittle and cracked, crunching softly with each step—a sound that seemed deafening in the stillness.

　　艾莉丝带头，她精灵的感官以不可思议的精度在险峻的斜坡上导航。里昂紧跟在后面，在诡异的寂静中，他的每个感官都在尖叫。雾气似乎粘附在他们身上，冰冷而湿漉。这是一段可怕、令人迷失方向的旅程。他们在任何方向都只能看到几英尺远。脚下地面脆弱龟裂，每一步都发出轻微的碎裂声——在寂静中显得震耳欲聋。

　　Time lost all meaning. It felt like they had been walking for hours, yet the oppressive thrumming of the seed seemed no closer. Panic began to gnaw at the edges of Leon's mind. What if they were lost? What if the mist was a trap? What if the wards had already sensed them?

　　时间失去了所有意义。感觉他们走了几个小时，但种子的压迫性嗡鸣似乎并未更近。恐慌开始啃噬里昂的心头。如果他们迷路了怎么办？如果雾气是陷阱怎么办？如果结界已经发现了他们怎么办？

　　Then, a change. The mist ahead began to thin, revealing a faint, pulsing, sickly green light. The thrumming was louder now, a physical pressure against their eardrums. They had reached the heart of the blight.

　　然后，变化发生了。前方的雾气开始变薄，露出一丝微弱的、搏动的、病态的绿光。嗡鸣声现在更响了，一种对耳膜的物理压力。他们抵达了瘟疫的心脏。

　　They emerged from the mist into a clearing of sorts. The ground here was not just dead; it was fused into a smooth, glassy surface, radiating from the base of the monstrous seed. The seed itself was a horrifying sight up close—a twisted spire of rock that seemed to bleed darkness, its surface crawling with the same black veins they had seen elsewhere. At its base, visible through a pulsating membrane of energy, was a core—a chunk of crystalline rock that glowed with a malevolent, inner light. The Worldthorn's heart.

　　他们从雾气中出来，进入一片类似林间空地的区域。这里的地面不只是死亡；它熔合成光滑、玻璃般的表面，从怪物种子的基部辐射开来。种子本身在近距离看是可怕的景象——一个似乎渗出黑暗的扭曲岩石尖顶，表面爬满他们在别处见过的黑色脉络。在基部，透过一层搏动的能量膜，可见一个核心——一块发出恶意内在光芒的水晶岩石。世界之刺的心脏。

　　The air crackled with defensive magic. They could feel it—a warning tingle on their skin, a pressure in their skulls urging them to turn back. The wards were active. But as Brann had hoped, they seemed tuned to detect large, overt magical signatures. Two small figures, armed with nothing but a piece of sharpened flint and their own will, slipped through the cracks in the defensive grid.

　　空气中噼啪作响着防御魔法。他们能感觉到——皮肤上的警告刺痛感，头颅中催促他们转身的压力。结界是活跃的。但正如布兰恩所希望的，它们似乎被设定为检测大型、明显的魔法特征。两个渺小的身影，只带着一块磨尖的燧石和自己的意志，滑过了防御网的裂缝。

　　Iris pointed a trembling finger towards the core. "There," she mouthed, her voice a ghost of a sound.

　　They began to creep forward, their movements agonizingly slow. Every crunch of gravel underfoot sounded like a landslide. The thrumming was a physical force now, making their teeth rattle. The green light from the core pulsed in time with the sound, a hypnotic, deadly rhythm.

　　艾莉丝用颤抖的手指指向核心。“那里，”她做出口型，声音如同幽灵。

　　他们开始匍匐前进，动作缓慢得痛苦。脚下每一声碎石的声响都像山崩。嗡鸣现在是一种物理力量，让他们的牙齿打颤。核心发出的绿光与声音同步搏动，一种催眠的、致命的节奏。

　　They were ten paces away. Then five. The energy membrane surrounding the core shimmered, and for a terrifying second, Leon felt a cold, intelligent attention brush against his mind. The ward had noticed them. A low hum rose in pitch, becoming a warning shriek.

　　他们距离十步远。然后五步。包围核心的能量膜闪烁起来，在可怕的一瞬间，里昂感到一股冰冷、智能的注意力扫过他的意识。结界注意到了他们。低沉的嗡鸣声调升高，变成警告的尖啸。

　　"Now, Leon!" Iris screamed, her voice cutting through the noise.

　　Leon didn't think. He lunged forward, the flint knife held high. He drove the sharpened stone point with all his strength into the pulsating core.

　　“就是现在，里昂！”艾莉丝尖叫，她的声音穿透了噪音。

　　里昂没有思考。他向前猛冲，高举燧石刀。他用尽全力将磨尖的石刃刺入搏动的核心。

　　There was a sound like shattering glass, impossibly loud. A wave of pure, anti-life energy erupted from the seed. Leon was thrown backward, the world dissolving into a scream of green light and agonizing pain. The last thing he saw was Iris's form, silhouetted against the explosion, being consumed by the same blinding fury.

　　一声如同玻璃破碎的巨响响起，声音大得不可思议。一股纯粹的反生命能量从种子中爆发出来。里昂被向后抛飞，世界陷入绿光的尖叫和剧痛中。他最后看到的是艾莉丝的身影，在爆炸的映衬下显出轮廓，被同样的炫目狂怒吞噬。