The forest beyond the village was dense, ancient, and alive with whispers. Trees twisted unnaturally, their branches like skeletal fingers. Elias stumbled upon a clearing bathed in pale moonlight.
There, he saw the knight again—kneeling before a blackened stone altar etched with runes. Shadows swirled around him, coalescing into forms that whispered in a language Elias could not understand. The knight raised his sword, and a soft hum vibrated through the clearing.
Elias stepped forward, and the knight's head snapped up. The glowing eyes beneath his helmet pierced through the darkness. "You should not have come here," the voice echoed, deep and hollow. "Some truths are not meant for the living."