Chapter 175: more acutely

The forest loomed all around them, an endless maze of twisted trees and impenetrable fog. Their footsteps fell heavy on the damp ground, the sound swallowed by the eerie silence that hung over the woods. Every step felt like it took them further from safety, deeper into the unknown. Emily led the group, though she wasn't entirely sure where they were heading. The relic pulsed in her chest, its dark energy radiating outward, a constant reminder of the power she now wielded.

She felt it more acutely with each passing moment, a presence just beneath the surface of her thoughts. It whispered to her in fragmented images, flashes of past events or maybe future possibilities. But there was something else too, a weight pressing on her mind. The visions, which had once come sporadically, were now growing more frequent and intense. They flickered through her consciousness, disorienting and confusing her. Still, she pushed forward.