Chapter 18: The Forgotten Sanctum
The forest changed as they followed the beast.
The air thickened, heavy with a scent Kairo couldn’t quite place—sharp like metal, sweet like crushed herbs. The hunter moved ahead at an easy lope, its great paws silent on the bed of pine needles. It didn’t glance back, but somehow Kairo knew it was aware of every step they took.
No one spoke. Words felt out of place here, as if the forest itself was listening.
A Path No Man Had Walked
At first, the trail wound between towering pines and gnarled oaks, the ground littered with roots. Then, without warning, the trees began to thin, replaced by black-barked trunks twisted into shapes like frozen screams. Moss hung in ragged curtains, and every so often, Kairo thought he saw faint shapes moving just beyond
