A stark contrast fell between Eligma and Aurora Country, like two worlds caught on opposite ends of time. While it was still bright the elves' home, Aurora was already swallowed by night. Its moon seemed unusually bright, bathing the forests and farmlands in pale silver. But for every stretch of Aurora's wilderness teeming with nocturnal life, one place stood oddly quiet—Moon Lake Forest.
An unnatural hush lay over the valley, as though some invisible hand had pressed a finger to nature's mouth. The Spirit Beasts, which should have been rousing for their dusk hunts, instead cowered in their dens. Sharp instincts warned them of lethal presences circling overhead like predatory shadows. And indeed, those silhouettes were Xiao Family experts from the Central Region, patrolling the canopy and the forest floor, scanning every nook and hollow with their powerful Spirit Awareness. No beast dared risk incurring their wrath.
