Ren stepped into the forest, and instantly, the world was swallowed by ink.
If the forest was a mystical paradise by day, by night, it was a gothic nightmare. The towering trees, which had looked majestic under the sun, now loomed over her like skeletal giants, their twisted branches clawing at the sky.
Snap. Crinkle.
Every step she took sounded like a gunshot in the silence.
Ren's heart was beating so hard she could feel it vibrating in her throat. She hugged her bare arms across her chest, her teeth chattering a frantic rhythm against the biting cold.
Hoot.
Scritch-scratch.
Rustle.
The sounds were amplified a thousand times. Was that a squirrel? Or a Shadow Beast? Was that the wind? Or the breath of a monster?
Ren squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then forced them open.
'I can't see anything,' she panicked, squinting into the abyss. 'It's just shadows on top of shadows.'
