The stone arch loomed before them, its immense structure etched with ancient runes and overgrown with moss and creeping vines. Time had not eroded its grandeur; instead, it had given it an air of timeless authority. The symbols carved into the stone seemed to hum faintly with a light that pulsed in time with an invisible heartbeat. Beyond the arch, a faint path disappeared into a thick haze, and somewhere in the far distance, the shadow of the Forbidden Fortress clawed at the horizon.
The group stood at the base of the arch, their faces illuminated by the faint glow of the inscriptions. No one spoke at first, each of them feeling the weight of the threshold they were about to cross.
Caroline stepped closer, her fingers grazing the cold stone surface as her eyes traced the twisting symbol
