Chapter Nine

The once-lively village was now a smoldering graveyard, its thatched rooftops engulfed in roaring flames that licked hungrily at the night sky. The acrid scent of burning wood and charred flesh hung thick in the air, mingling with the metallic stench of blood. Bodies lay strewn across the cobbled paths, twisted in unnatural angles, their lifeless eyes reflecting the flickering inferno. Thick, crimson splatters marred the walls of the village homes, grotesque murals of the massacre that had unfolded.

Beyond the scorched remains, the dark forest loomed, its gnarled trees standing as silent witnesses to the carnage. Among the tangled roots and fallen leaves, corpses lay half-buried, their cooling skin kissed by the cold breath of the night. Somewhere in the distance, a faint rustling hinted at the few surviving villagers who had managed to flee, their trembling bodies pressed against the damp stone walls of hidden caves.

Overhead, the crescent moon hung low in the sky, its pale, sickly glow casting eerie shadows over the ruins. It seemed to frown upon the horrors below, its curved shape resembling a solemn grimace—a silent mourner for the souls lost in the relentless tide of violence.