The deeper parts of Deadroot Forest were thick with ethereal silence, the kind that pressed against one's ears and heart like a phantom. Shadows danced unnaturally across the bark of the gnarled trees, and wisps of forgotten souls occasionally drifted through the wind—shadows of a time long passed.
Naena, flanked by two elite Nullcarvers—a tall, stoic man with twin sabers strapped to his back and a lean woman whose arms shimmered with spiritual inscriptions—led the way beneath a winding root arch. Behind them, Lila walked with her hood drawn, her expression unreadable, yet her eyes roved about, drinking in the ancient terrain around her.
They arrived at a slate-gray rock wall, indistinguishable from the rest of the forest cliffs… until Naena raised a single finger and channeled her Qi.
