**Winter's POV**
I stood right at the threshold, staring down at the stairs that led into the unknown. Shadows twisted and curled like smoke beneath the Elders’ domain, a secret world hidden in the veins of the earth itself. My heart thundered in my chest, torn between fear and resolve. I didn’t know what I would find down there after seeing what they had done to the elders, but I couldn’t allow the m******e of the Elders to instil doubt in me now.
“We need to be careful down there; legend says that this place will play tricks on you, and many people who came here were never seen again,” Enzo said from behind me.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly released it, and, with trembling determination, I took the first step into the abyss.
As I descended, my mind echoed with stories my grandparent
