Cruzer and Elara pressed forward, navigating the treacherous swamp with newfound caution.
The air still carried a faint trace of the oppressive energy, but the immediate threat seemed to have dissipated for now.
Every step felt like a gamble, the thick muck beneath them threatening to pull them deeper into the cursed marsh.
"We're going to need more than brute strength to get through this," Elara said quietly, her sharp eyes scanning the terrain. "This place feels alive—like it's watching us."
Cruzer nodded, his jaw tight. "I can feel it too. It's like the swamp itself is pushing back."
They trudged onward in silence, the distant, eerie glow of the swamp's creatures flickering around them.
The trees grew more gnarled and twisted the deeper they went, their roots clawing up from the ground like skeletal fingers.
Elara's breath quickened as her instincts flared with warning. "Cruzer, something's off."
