The moment Ethan's gaze swept across the desolate maze landscape ahead, his heart grew heavy.
Bones littered the ground in chaotic heaps—some large, some small, some human, and others belonging to long-extinct beasts. Their withered forms radiated an ancient chill, the air thick with the suffocating aura of death and decay.
In the center, a complete humanoid skeleton caught Ethan's attention.
The body's clothing had long since rotted away, disintegrating into ash the instant Ethan brushed it with his fingers. Around him, the lingering energy of lost souls and time spoke of those who had fallen here tens of centuries ago.
"With this many bones… this level of danger must have claimed countless geniuses," Ethan murmured under his breath.
He stood silently for a moment, then released his mental energy, spreading it outward like invisible threads through the stone forest. Detecting no obvious traps nearby, he continued deeper into the labyrinthine expanse.
