As they moved deeper into the forest, the mist thickened, obscuring their vision. The trees grew closer together, their gnarled branches intertwining above like the fingers of a giant, forming a canopy that blocked out the sky. The path beneath their feet became more uneven, the ground soft and damp, as if the forest was trying to slow their progress.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement caught Wei Lin's eye. She stopped, raising a hand to signal the others to halt. There, just beyond the edge of the mist, she saw a figure—a silhouette barely discernible through the haze. It moved with a fluid grace, its form shifting in and out of focus as if it were made of the mist itself.
"Who goes there?" Wei Lin called out, her voice steady and commanding.
