As Raven approached the glowing portal deep in the southern fringe of the Gilded Thorns, the world around him began to warp. The towering trees bent unnaturally, their trunks twisted as if recoiling from whatever ancient power lay beyond the threshold. The portal itself—a massive, swirling gate of green and gold light—flickered like a heartbeat, pulsing with the rhythm of something vast and alive waiting inside.
Crossing the threshold, the world snapped.
The forest faded into shadow, replaced by a sprawling, dark manor devoured by rampant vines. The air thickened immediately, saturated with the heavy scent of rot and blooming poison. The Thornspine Estate revealed itself: a once-majestic home swallowed by nature's merciless hand. Stone walls cracked and wept sap; corridors were choked by clawing roots.
His UI flickered online with a soft chime, displaying new quest logs and dungeon data.
Ahead, half-merged into a massive, dying tree, a figure awaited.