The mountain forest around Ashenrock Gorge was different at night—eerily still, yet heavy with unseen movement. The tall, jagged trees bent slightly with the night wind, their gnarled branches scraping against each other like old bones. Mist clung low to the ground, curling along the roots and stones, and every now and then, the cry of a distant night beast echoed through the gorge, muffled by the stone walls.
Moonlight filtered faintly through gaps in the canopy, but most of the path ahead was swallowed by shadows.
Luca walked beside Aurelia, his gaze shifting constantly, watching the dark thickets as though eyes were hiding within. Breaking the silence, he asked quietly,
"How are we going to find them?"
Aurelia didn't look at him, her crimson hair catching a faint sliver of moonlight as she kept her eyes forward.
"If they're looking for something in the gorge, they must have their base in this forest. We will find it out."
