The hum of the plane filled the cabin, steady but heavy — a sound that somehow reminded them of how far they'd run. Two and a half weeks since the fall of the Eastern Garrison, the memory still clung to them like smoke. They had escaped, but the world hadn't forgotten.
For the first time in days, the sky was calm. Clouds stretched endlessly beneath the aircraft, tinted gold by the morning sun. Lena sat by the window, her reflection hazy against the glass.
"So… where exactly are we heading this time?" she asked, her tone light but uncertain.
Across from her, Ryn fiddled with her silver arrowhead, glancing toward Rena, who sat near the cockpit with her tablet glowing faintly in her hands. "Yeah, you've been quiet about that. Some secret mission again?"
Rena didn't look up. "Not a mission. A refuge."
Shadow opened one eye from where he rested near the back, his arms crossed. "And where would that be?"
"The Forest of Lunareth," Rena replied, her voice calm — too calm.
The name alone seemed to drain the warmth from the air. Even the quiet engine noise felt distant.
Sera turned sharply. "Wait… the cursed forest? The one sealed off after the mana storm decades ago?"
Rena nodded. "Exactly. The Holy Land calls it forbidden ground. No settlements, no surveillance, no patrol routes. It's dangerous enough that no one goes near it — not even bounty guilds."
Ryn frowned. "You're saying our best hiding spot is a death zone."
Rena finally looked up, her eyes sharp. "Because it's dangerous, it's safe. The Holy Land and the Directorate have their hands everywhere else. Two days ago, I found something on the underground bulletin — they've labeled the Eastern Garrison incident a massacre. They're hunting us under multiple identities. Staying anywhere populated is suicide."
Silence fell.
Shadow exhaled slowly, his eyes glinting faintly. "Then Lunareth it is. No one hunts ghosts inside a cursed land."
Lena chuckled softly. "Great. We'll be the first idiots to test that theory."
But even she couldn't hide the flicker of unease in her smile.
Rena leaned back in her seat. "Besides… Lunareth wasn't always cursed. Old records call it the Emerald Sanctuary, home to spirits, elves, and dryads. Something happened — something that turned it into what it is now. Maybe we'll find answers… or maybe we'll just find a place to disappear."
Sera gave a small nod. "If it keeps us off the radar, it's worth it."
The conversation ended there, replaced by the steady rhythm of the engine and the low hum of mana conductors. Outside, the clouds thinned — and then they saw it.
A sprawling ocean of green stretched far beneath them, shrouded in silver mist that coiled like living threads. The air shimmered faintly with moonlight even though the sun was rising — a strange contradiction, like the forest obeyed its own rhythm.
Shadow stood, stepping closer to the cockpit. "Prepare for descent."
The plane tilted slightly as they broke through the mist. The temperature dropped instantly. From above, the Forest of Lunareth looked alive — ancient trees reaching toward the heavens, their leaves glowing faintly with bioluminescent veins. Between them, rivers of silver water carved paths through the earth, glimmering like veins of light.
A faint whisper brushed against their minds — a sound none of them could quite understand.
Ryn shivered. "Did… anyone else hear that?"
Lena gripped her seatbelt tighter. "Yeah. Sounded like… voices?"
Rena's eyes flickered with intrigue. "Mana echoes. The forest is reacting to our arrival."
The plane's landing gear deployed with a low mechanical growl as they descended through the mist. The world below grew darker — not from the absence of light, but from something deeper, thicker, like the air itself held memories.
As the wheels touched the soft ground, a faint tremor ran through the forest — as though it had awakened.
Shadow stepped down first, boots sinking into moss-covered earth. The scent of wet soil and old magic filled the air. Around them, faint lights drifted like fireflies, illuminating the outlines of colossal trees that stretched high enough to vanish into fog.
Rena stepped beside him, scanning their surroundings. "Welcome to Lunareth," she murmured. "The place where no one dares to enter."
Shadow's gaze moved toward the endless forest ahead — mysterious, haunting, and alive.
"Then let's make it our sanctuary," he said quietly.
Unbeknownst to them, far beneath the forest floor, something stirred — an ancient pulse, slow and steady, like a heart remembering how to beat.
The forest had been waiting.
And now, its new guests had arrived.