The world was a roar of violet light and crumbling stone. As Scooby and Fogo tumbled into the crevice, the air between them became a vacuum of pure, destructive energy. The Accidental Bond screamed. Scooby could feel Ada's heart a frantic bird fluttering against his own ribs. He could feel her voice in the back of his mind, calling his name, begging him not to let go.
"You... you fool!" Fogo shrieked, his face melting into a mask of pure shadow. "You're killing us both!"
"No," Scooby gasped, his long fingers locking around Fogo's wrists with a strength that wasn't his own. It was the strength of everyone Fogo had manipulated. It was the strength of Poro's lost innocence and Scorpion's final jingle. "I'm just... ending the joke."
With a final, desperate heave, Scooby kicked off the ledge. They didn't fall into darkness; they fell into the light of the Stone.
A massive explosion of celestial energy erupted from the crevice. It wasn't a blast of heat, but a wave of absolute silence. The violet corruption of Fogo's ritual was washed away by a flood of pure, warm gold. The stone shattered, its fragments returning to the earth as harmless pebbles.
Back on the canyon floor, Ada fell to her knees, gasping. The weight that had been crushing her soul was gone. The bond was still there she could feel it but it was no longer a heavy chain. It was a silver thread, vibrating with a fading frequency.
"Scooby?" she whispered.
She crawled to the edge of the crevice. Below, the dust settled. Fogo was gone, consumed by the very power he tried to enslave. But there, lying on a shelf of rock a few feet down, was a tangled heap of limbs.
Luke and Olamide rushed forward, helping Ada pull the body up. Scooby was pale, his breathing shallow. His "goofy" grin was missing, replaced by a look of profound, exhausted peace.
"Is... is the Stone safe?" Scooby rasped, his eyes fluttering open.
"The Stone is gone, Scooby," Ada said, her tears falling onto his cheeks. "You saved us. You saved Oruko."
"I guess... I'm not very bright," he chuckled, a weak, rattling sound. "I broke the most expensive thing in the village."
"You're the brightest thing I've ever seen," Ada whispered. She leaned down, and in front of the merceneries, the trackers, and the remnants of the cult, she kissed him.
It was a kiss that tasted of jasmine and redemption. It was the intoxicating conclusion to a story that should have ended in a tavern brawl but instead ended in a legend.