Chapter 50. The Heart of the Plains

The Grave Plains lay silent behind them, yet Selene could still feel the dead’s touch clinging to her skin like cold mist. Every step forward carried resistance, as though the land itself strained to hold them back, reluctant to release what it had claimed for so long.

The path sloped downward into a wide, hollowed basin where the mist thinned but the cold deepened. A barren plain stretched before them, and at its center yawned a vast black pit, its presence oppressive and unmistakable. Selene knew at once that this was the heart of the corruption they had been circling since they entered these cursed lands.

She led the way with her senses stretched taut, attuned to every shifting breeze and distant whisper. Around her, the pack limped and staggered onward, battered but unbroken. Even the most seasoned wolves carried haunted expressions, their gazes flicking towa