Chapter 222 - Shadows Unveiled

The forested ridge lay quiet under a starry night sky, Solara Peak looming in the distance, its mist-shrouded slopes faintly glowing with a warmth that seemed to hold the sun's last light. The air was cool, scented with night-blooming flowers and pine, the boulders forming a sheltered nook where Jin and Haruka rested. Their rations, dried meat and fruit, lay scattered on a flat stone, the moonlight casting silver patterns across the path, broken only by the occasional hoot of an owl or rustle of leaves. Jin sat against a boulder, his senses sharp, his mind turning over the followers he'd detected since midday. Subtle rustles, fleeting shadows in the trees, too deliberate to be wildlife, too cautious to be careless. His system-enhanced instincts urged him to confront them now, to leap into the forest and drag the threat into the open, but he held back, his thoughts calculated, weighing the risks and opportunities.