There's a slight groan, as if the altar were resisting the spell, for a moment, before it, and everything within a couple of feet of the altar vanish with a loud pop, burrowing several miles, straight down into the planet. He can feel the aura of the magic fading, but the wish has already been invoked, so, while it will not spread, actively, from this point any longer, every single elf 'infected' by it will likely continue to be infected by it, and continue to pass it along.