Chapter 11: The Vale’s Heart
The mist swallowed them again, thicker now, clinging to their skin like damp cloth. Every step deeper felt wrong, as if the ground shifted just enough to make them lose their sense of direction.
Kairo’s pulse still pounded from the battle with the Guardian, but the Seal around his neck pulsed harder — a heartbeat that wasn’t his own. It was drawing him forward, toward something buried in the Vale’s core.
Kaelen kept close at his side, scanning the fog. “It’s too quiet. Even for this place.”
Lysandra’s voice was low. “That’s because we’re in its true domain now. The Outer Vale tests your strength. The Inner Vale tests your mind.”
The fog stirred. Shapes began to emerge — people.
At first, Kairo thought they were illusions again, but these were sharper, mor
