Vera stood frozen, her mind reeling from the weight of the woman’s words. The archway loomed behind her, pulsing with a dark, ominous energy that seemed to thrum in time with her heartbeat. The woman’s warning echoed in her ears, but there was something deeper pulling her—an ancient force buried deep within the forest that beckoned her forward.
“I can’t just leave,” Vera whispered, more to herself than the woman standing before her. “I have to understand… what happened to my parents. Why this power is calling to me.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed, her expression unreadable. “Understanding comes at a price, Vera. One you may not be willing to pay.”
The weight of the forest pressed down on her. The thick trees, gnarled and twisted, seemed to close in, as if they too were trying to warn her of
