High above the mist-choked cliffs, two shadowed figures lingered, watching the group below like predators circling unseen prey.
“Make it more fun,” the taller one murmured, his voice soft but sharp as broken glass.
The other let out a low chuckle, coils shifting with a sound like scales against stone. “Shall I?”
“Release the phantoms,” he ordered, his black gaze glinting faintly from the gloom. “And remember… they must not reach the Gem of the Eclipse.”
A whisper of laughter slithered through the night air, followed by a ripple of unnatural energy. Far below, the mist thickened, shapes twisting within its depths.
~~~~~~
The fog curled and twisted around the trees like pale, ghostly serpents. The others could still be glimpsed in fragments—shadows moving in different directions, figur
