Chapter 31: Killer Presence

The Spiritual Academy's gardens seemed to stretch endlessly, a verdant oasis sculpted meticulously over countless years. Vibrant green hedges, pruned with precision, transformed into mythical creatures – a dragon with scales made of leaves, a phoenix ready to burst into a floral flame, and a centaur galloping silently on a bed of dew-kissed grass. Ancient stone pathways, engraved with symbols that told tales of old, snaked their way around the garden, their surfaces worn smooth by the countless generations who had tread upon them in search of knowledge and enlightenment.