To Kaede: "Let's go, then?"

"Yes."

Off they go, then—

"Alright, alright, I'll come!"

"– You sure?"

"Yes! Now let's go before I change my mind!"

"Sure."

Outside continues to be lightningy, he presumes.

Yes it does.

They reach the stone again, and Kaede bows to it, performing the sign of the fayth. He grunts as the stone's light shoots into the sky like flames and engulfs him, then there's a crack of lightning and the stone breaks in two.

Theo is at the ready in case there's a flood of angry cactuars.

The is not in fact a flood of anything. It's quite anticlimactic.

"...er."

Theo flies around to the other side, just to check there's no weird illusion or something.

Nope. No cactuars.

"– Do you think it's on a delay?"

"I have no idea."

"Can we go, now?"

"– I think we should actually wait a bit," says Theo, apologetically.

"Nngh!"

"You could go back with someone, if you want to go inside, but – this seems weird."

"What does?"

"The stone not reproducing the cactuars."

"Qactuars," she corrects his pronunciation.

"This may not have been enough to fully lift the curse."

"– I thought cactuars were Qactuars? And, yeah, but I don't think the book mentioned anything else, so – any of you magic-sensitive or whatever?"

"Magic-sensitive?"

"Able to squint at this and see what's up with it. Or something. I dunno, do you not have ways to analyze – who am I kidding okay you probably don't."