Chapter 53 - Veil of Shadows

The dense canopy above absorbed nearly every sound, plunging the early morning into an unnatural silence that felt almost alive, pulsating in rhythm with the unspoken tension among the team. The forest trail wound endlessly ahead, shadows weaving between the towering trunks and gnarled roots. Canila led the group, each step calculated and each sense heightened, his eyes probing the darkness. He felt the weight of his companions' presence close behind, each one silent and on guard, still carrying the fatigue of their recent ordeal in the Forgotten Nexus. They had barely escaped with their lives, and the memory of that desperate battle lingered like a shadow over them.