The sun rose gently over Lake Nihilum, its golden light shimmering gently across the still water.
The valley around the lake was quiet. Too quiet.
Birdsong didn't pierce the air, and no wind stirred the tall grass that bordered the slopes of the surrounding hills. It felt like the world was holding its breath.
But if the world truly was holding its breath, it had been holding it for too long, because for the whole week they'd been here, it hadn't changed.
Ren chuckled softly to himself as he crouched at the peak of a boulder atop one of the hills ringing the lake, his hands resting on his knees, and his eyes narrowed as he studied its surface below.
It was deceptively calm. Like a mirror that showed everything around it, not allowing anyone to peek into its depths.
It was hiding secrets. Secrets that Ren had come here to rip out.
