Chapter 529 - Soothing Gift

The newly opened path descended in a slow spiral, the air growing heavier and cooler as the sound of the upper city fell away. The further they went, the more the living wood closed in, curving overhead like a tunnel of ribs. Pale green light shimmered faintly through the bark, enough to trace the edges of the corridor but not enough to reveal its depth. Ludwig's boots sank slightly into the moss-grown floor, each step leaving a dark print that filled again with faint moisture, as if the tree were slowly breathing them in. A scent of old sap and rain-soaked bark thickened around them. It wasn't unpleasant, just ancient, the smell of something that had existed too long to care about the passage of time.