Chapter 83 - The Fracture of Silence (II)

The forest loomed, old and untamed, with lofty trees whose thick, tangled branches wove together like the arms of long-forgotten ancients. Their leaves, dark green and heavy, formed a canopy so thick that even the midday sun struggled to get through, casting everything below in an eerie twilight. The thickets were thick with gnarled roots, moss-covered stones, and the scent of damp earth. Vines coiled like snakes around the trunks, some so old they seemed to have fused with the bark, creating monstrous shapes in the dim light. The air was heavy and humid, with the sweet, rotting smell of decay lingering from fallen leaves and ancient flora.