Grace POV

We press deeper into the left path, leaving the distant explosions behind as mist swallows everything beyond a few feet. The token's blue glow provides the only light, pulsing gently like a heartbeat guiding us forward.

The forest changes with each step. Trees grow more twisted, bark darkening to almost black, branches reaching at unnatural angles as if shaped by forces that don't follow normal patterns. Some trunks spiral in on themselves, others split ...