Page 862 of End Game

I breathe again.

“And when you release the Guiding Bolt, it crosses the chamber like a line drawn through every place you survived.”

Griffin’s eyes lower.

“It hits the Hollow King through the open space where the armor used to protect his heart.”

The room in my head is clearer than the one around me.

“The light passes through him, and the crown falls first.”

Cami is openly crying now.

“Then the armor. Piece by piece, the Hollow King comes apart.”

Dex sniffles.

“The darkness leaves the room, and the catacombs go completely still.”

I look at all four of them.

“Above you, for the first time in centuries, sunlight reaches the floor of Miralen’s Keep.”

I close my notes.

“He’s gone.”

Nobody cheers.

I expected that.

Dex looks down at his character sheet, then back at me.

“That’s it?”

He knows.

He has known all night.

That is not really what he is asking.

I set both hands flat on the table.

“That’s the campaign.”

Cami makes a broken sound and covers her face.

Griffin pulls her sideways against him. She goes without hesitation, crying into his shoulder.

Dex stares very hard at his character sheet.

Micah wipes beneath one eye.

I look down at my notes because apparently none of us are going to maintain any dignity tonight.

For several minutes, very little is said.

Cami apologizes for crying, and four people immediately tell her to shut up.