The retreating fog revealed an unsettling expanse. Jagged blackened rocks jutted from the ground at unnatural angles, some seeming to pierce the air like grotesque monuments. Pools of stagnant, dark water reflected the ominous sky above, their surfaces rippling faintly despite the lack of wind. A faint, acrid smell lingered, mingling with an underlying scent of decay that clung to the land like a parasite.
Daniel's fins tingled with a sensation he'd come to associate with imminent danger. His instincts and the system's warnings had grown increasingly synchronized. The interface appeared before him, its alert flashing:
[Abyssal Energy Concentration Rising.]
"We're not alone," Daniel said, his voice low but resolute. His fingers gripped his weapon tighter, the weight of it both comforting and foreboding.
