Chapter 50: The Echo of Light and Stone （光与石的回响）

　　The world ended in a scream of emerald fire. Agony was all that existed—a white-hot pain that seared through every nerve, every fiber of his being. Leon felt himself dissolving, unmade by the torrent of corrupting energy. This was death. This was the price.

　　世界在一阵翡翠色的火焰尖啸中终结。痛苦是唯一的存在——一种白热的剧痛灼烧着每根神经，他存在的每一寸纤维。里昂感觉自己正在溶解，被腐化能量的洪流所瓦解。这就是死亡。这就是代价。

　　But within the agony, a point of warmth persisted. A tiny, stubborn ember against the all-consuming cold. It was the smooth, solid weight of the antler in his pocket, a touchstone to a memory of sunlight through leaves, of a girl's laughter by a stream. And beside it, the faint, humming warmth of the wind-touched stone Ahanu had given him. They were anchors, tethering his fraying consciousness to something real.

　　但在痛苦之中，一个温暖的点持续存在着。一点微小而顽固的余烬，对抗着吞噬一切的寒冷。那是口袋里鹿角光滑、坚实的触感，是对阳光穿过树叶、女孩在小溪边笑声的记忆的试金石。而在它旁边，是阿哈努给予的、带着风之气息的石头发出的微弱、嗡鸣的温暖。它们是锚，将他逐渐消散的意识系于某种真实之物。

　　Then, a different power surged around him. Not the chaotic, destructive energy of the blight, but something ordered, ancient, and immense. It felt like the deep roots of a mountain, like the patient turning of the seasons. He heard Ahanu's roar, not of anger, but of focused will. He felt the grounding strength of the earth rise up to meet the corruption, not to fight it with equal violence, but to absorb it, to transmute it, to return it to the cycle of life and death. It was the power of a druid, the ultimate expression of balance.

　　接着，一股不同的力量在他周围涌动。不是瘟疫那混乱、毁灭性的能量，而是某种有序、古老而巨大的东西。它感觉像山脉深处的根须，像季节耐心的轮转。他听到了阿哈努的咆哮，不是愤怒，而是专注的意志。他感到大地的坚实力量升起，迎向腐化，不是以同等的暴力对抗它，而是吸收它，嬗变它，将其回归生死循环。这是德鲁伊的力量，是平衡的终极体现。

　　Simultaneously, a brilliant, silver light pierced the green gloom. It was the light of the moon, pure and cold, but not unkind. It was the light of Elune, channeled by the Keeper of the Grove. Where it touched the raging energy, it soothed and pacified, calming the chaos like moonlight on a turbulent sea. And through it all, the crackle of Brann's elemental power grounded the mystical forces, weaving them together with the raw, practical strength of stone and lightning.

　　同时，一道灿烂的银光刺穿了绿色的阴霾。那是月光，纯净而冰冷，但并非不仁慈。这是艾露恩之光，由丛林守护者引导。它触及狂怒的能量之处，便加以抚慰和平息，如同月光照耀汹涌的大海般平息混乱。而贯穿这一切的，是布兰恩元素力量的噼啪声，将神秘力量锚定，用石头和闪电的原始、实际的力量将它们编织在一起。

　　Leon was at the center of this convergence. He was not destroyed. He was the focal point. The unassuming, unmagical act of shattering the core with a simple stone had created a rupture, a weakness that the three guardians could exploit. Their combined power flowed into the breach he had created, not to destroy him, but to shield him, to use his presence as a conduit to cleanse the wound.

　　里昂正处于这股汇聚能量的中心。他并未被摧毁。他是焦点。用一块简单的石头击碎核心这一不起眼、非魔法的行为，造成了一个裂口，一个三位守护者可以利用的弱点。他们联合的力量涌入他创造的缺口，不是为了摧毁他，而是为了保护他，利用他的存在作为净化伤口的导管。

　　The emerald fire did not vanish. It was… transformed. The violent, malevolent green faded, replaced by a softer, healing light that spread outwards from the shattered core like a wave. The black veins on the ground lost their sickly glow and turned to inert, dark ash. The oppressive thrumming ceased, replaced by an profound, ringing silence.

　　翡翠色的火焰并未消失。它被……转化了。暴戾、恶意的绿色褪去，取而代之的是一种更柔和、治愈的光芒，从破碎的核心向外扩散，如同波浪。地面上的黑色脉络失去了病态的光泽，变为惰性的黑灰。压迫性的嗡鸣停止了，被一种深沉的、回响的寂静所取代。

　　Leon felt himself lowered gently to the ground. The pain was gone, replaced by a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. He lay on his back, staring up at the sky. The mist had cleared. The stars were out, sharp and clear in the thin, clean mountain air. The blighted valley was gone. In its place was a scar—a vast, ashen circle, but a scar that was already beginning to heal. At its center, where the monstrous seed had been, now stood a single, slender sapling, its leaves glowing with a faint, silver-green light.

　　他感觉自己被轻轻放倒在地上。疼痛消失了，取而代之的是一种深彻骨髓的疲惫。他仰面躺着，凝视天空。雾气已经散去。星星出来了，在稀薄干净的山间空气中清晰锐利。被瘟疫污染的山谷消失了。取而代之的是一道伤疤——一个巨大的、灰烬般的圆圈，但一道已经开始愈合的伤疤。在它的中心，曾经是怪物种子的地方，现在矗立着一棵纤细的树苗，它的叶子散发着微弱的银绿色光芒。

　　A shadow fell over him. Iris knelt by his side, her face streaked with tears and soot, but her eyes shining with a relief so profound it was painful to behold. Her hands, cool and gentle, touched his face. "You're alive," she whispered, her voice cracking.

　　一个影子落在他身上。艾莉丝跪在他身边，脸上布满泪痕和烟灰，但眼中闪烁着如此深刻的宽慰，令人心酸。她冰凉温柔的手触碰他的脸。“你还活着，”她低语道，声音哽咽。

　　Behind her stood the three guardians, returned to their natural forms. They looked weary, but their postures were relaxed. The battle was won.

　　在她身后站着三位守护者，恢复了他们的自然形态。他们看起来很疲惫，但姿态放松。战斗胜利了。

　　Ahanu approached. He placed a massive, gentle hand on Leon's chest. A wave of soothing, earthen energy flowed into him, easing the last of the shock from his system. "The stone-child did not break," the tauren rumbled, his voice filled with a deep respect. "He became the hinge upon which the door turned. The land will remember this."

　　阿哈努走近。他将一只巨大而温柔的手放在里昂的胸口。一股舒缓的、泥土般的能量涌入他体内，缓解了他身上最后的冲击。“石头之子没有破碎，”牛头人低沉地说，声音充满深深的敬意。“他成为了门转动的枢纽。这片土地会记住这一点。”

　　The Keeper of the Grove bowed his head slightly. "A small act can topple great evils. You have proven this truth."

　　丛林守护者微微低头。“微小的举动可以倾覆巨大的邪恶。你证明了这一真理。”

　　Brann simply grunted, but he gave Leon a sharp nod of approval. "Yer got grit, lad. I'll give ye that."

　　布兰恩只是咕哝了一声，但他向里昂投去一个尖锐的赞许点头。“你小子有胆量，我承认。”

　　Leon tried to speak, but only a dry croak came out. Iris held a waterskin to his lips. The water was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

　　里昂想说话，但只发出一声干涩的嘎吱声。艾莉丝拿水袋凑到他唇边。水是他尝过最甜的东西。

　　As he drank, he looked around. The valley was a wasteland, but it was a peaceful wasteland. The poison was gone. The silence was no longer oppressive, but hopeful. He had set out from Goldshire to find adventure. He had found purpose. He had found a family not of blood, but of choice. He had kept his promise.

　　他喝水时环顾四周。山谷是一片荒地，但是一片平和的荒地。毒药消失了。寂静不再压抑，而是充满希望。他离开闪金镇是为了寻找冒险。他找到了目标。他找到了一个非血缘、而是由选择组成的家庭。他遵守了他的诺言。

　　He looked at Iris, at the sapling of new life growing from the heart of the blight, at the stars above the Redridge Mountains. The journey was over. And it was just beginning.

　　他看着艾莉丝，看着从瘟疫中心长出的新生命树苗，看着赤脊山脉上空的星星。旅程结束了。而它才刚刚开始。