Last night, after Leo made the reckless but unshakable decision to save Ophis, the cloaked figure had quietly trailed the bat that had carried the message.
As Leo had once tracked it to find his way, the cloaked figure did the same… until finally, it saw where the bat descended.
A shadowed peak... A silhouette?
A place that could only be described as—
"A castle…?"
The words slipped from Leo's lips in a hushed mutter, his voice tinged with awe.
He stood at the mountain's summit, a backpack snug against his shoulders, his cap pulled low against the wind.
His eyes stared at... The colossal black fortress shrouded in black mist, its jagged spires stabbing into the fading daylight, hidden deep behind a wall of mountain ridges as if the land itself was trying to bury its existence.
