Noah and Professor Cecilia dismounted from the fiery phoenix, their boots crunching softly on the blackened grass beneath their feet.
Noah used that opportunity to look around.
The air here was thick. It felt old, heavy with mana and faint traces of ash. Like they were the only people that had stepped in it for centuries.
The monolith at its center seemed to shimmer faintly under the light of the sun, its dark obsidian surface carved with sigils that glowed like veins beneath stone skin.
It was tall enough to dwarf the surrounding trees, standing like a spear of darkness piercing the light of morning.
Cecilia stood beside him, hands on her hips as she studied the structure.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured.
Noah's gaze flicked toward her. "You make it sound like an old friend."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "In a way, it is."
Noah's brow furrowed, but she didn't elaborate right away.
