One of the underground halls of the Culthold was cloaked in darkness, the silence hanging thick in the air like a suffocating veil.
The dark light from a few flickering lamps cast long shadows along the cold stone walls. Before them stood a black coffin, its surface gleaming faintly, a solemn monument to the girl they had all lost.
Emiko's body lay encased within, her final resting place far too close to the very shadows that had claimed her life.
Asher stood quietly, his eyes fixed on the coffin, his features softening with a mixture of grief and regret.
