Yet peace never lingers long in a world scarred by darkness.
As the sun climbed higher, Noona's gaze drifted to the horizon once more. A faint shimmer—a distortion in the air—flickered near the edge of the forest. Her heart clenched.
"Did you see that?" she asked, standing abruptly.
Dr. Naphat followed her eyes, frowning. "The veil," he murmured, his tone grave. "It's weakening faster than we thought."
The warmth of triumph quickly turned cold. Their rest, it seemed, would be shorter than any of them hoped.
The ground trembled, ever so slightly, as if something beneath the soil stirred awake. Elira clutched her staff tighter, the crystal at its tip pulsing with warning light.
Kieran's hand instinctively found his sword hilt. "So much for peace," he muttered.
Noona inhaled slowly, summoning the strength she thought she had finally earned the right to set down. But destiny, relentless as ever, called her forward again.
"Then we move," she said, her voice steady. "If the veil is breaking, we must uncover who—or what—is trying to tear it apart."
The whispers in the forest grew louder, almost words now. And though fear coiled in her chest, so too did determination. The battles ahead would not only test their strength but unravel the truth of the centuries-old curse that bound them all.
Then we move," she said, her voice steady. "If the veil is breaking, we must uncover who—or what—is trying to tear it apart."
Her words cut through the suffocating silence like a lone flame within a thick fog. Her eyes glimmered with the reflection of the torchlight, as her companions huddled close in a tight circle. The whispers within the forest were no longer mere winds; they carried the weight of a language that should never have been spoken in the mortal world.
The roots beneath their feet shifted faintly, as if echoing the heartbeat of some ancient being. The air carried a mingled scent of damp earth and faint traces of blood. They all knew this was no simple path forward—it was a step into a tribunal where an age-old curse was beginning to awaken.
In her chest, fear coiled like a black shadow, yet determination spread even further. Every step from this point was not only a struggle for survival but also a journey to unearth the truth buried for centuries.