The oppressive silence of the lighthouse clung to them like a shroud as they made their way back to the waiting wagon. The encounter had been a complete and utter failure. They had found the enemy's lair, but the enemy himself had been a phantom, a psychic ghost who had assaulted their leader and then vanished, leaving them with more questions than answers. The salty air, which should have felt clean and bracing after the stale gloom of the ancient structure, now felt heavy, thick with the corrupting energy of the Ouroboros curse and the lingering, cosmic dread of Kenjiro's vision.
They climbed into the wagon, the familiar, comfortable space now feeling small and confining. The journey back to the Femboy Adventuring Guild began in a heavy, unnerving silence, each member of the party lost in their own troubled thoughts.
