章 208: The ruins

The first rays of dawn filtered through the trees as we set out again, the weight of yesterday's decision still heavy on our minds. The path ahead led us toward the dark silhouette we had spotted in the distance—a structure half-hidden by the forest, ancient and ominous. As we approached, the air grew thick with a sense of foreboding. The birds that usually greeted the morning with song were silent, and even the wind seemed reluctant to stir the leaves around us.

The ruins emerged from the shadows, a relic of a long-forgotten era. Vines and moss had claimed much of the stone, but the shape of what had once been a grand structure was still visible. Broken pillars jutted out from the ground like the bones of some ancient beast, and crumbling statues stood sentinel, their features worn away by time. An oppressive silence hung over the place, broken only by the occasional gust of wind that carried with it distant, haunting echoes.