Deadlight Canyon

The sky was darker than it should've been.

Clouds hung low as the group stepped out of the forest clearing, leaving the sanctuary of the overgrown church behind. Wind tugged at their clothes, and the air had turned dry — like the world itself was holding its breath.

Ahead of them stretched a cracked valley.

Jagged cliffs. Faded ruins. And a gaping canyon carved straight into the land like a scar.

Deadlight Canyon.

No one spoke for the first hour.

Shoto led the way, focused and silent, his elemental energy humming faintly beneath the surface. His eyes scanned every shadow, every rustle in the rocks ahead.

Behind him, Elizabeth followed, fingers lightly brushing the journal at her side.

Riven walked further back — close enough to step in, far enough to remind them he was still a wildcard.

As they descended into the canyon, things began to… change.

The walls around them were covered in symbols — jagged markings that shimmered faintly in the dark. The deeper they went, the more distorted the air became.

Pate placed his palm on the canyon wall and instantly yanked it back.

"It's warm," he muttered. "Like… breathing."

Brandon and KJ stayed on edge, scanning above and behind.

"There's something here," Brandon whispered. "It's not watching us. It's waiting."

Shoto stopped at the mouth of a massive stone arch. The passage into the ruins.

The second Hollowed Ring was just beyond it.

He turned to the group.

"Everyone ready?"

Braydon smirked. "Always."

Gage rolled his shoulders. "Let's see what's dumb enough to get in our way."

They stepped inside.

The moment they crossed the arch, the light behind them vanished.

Gone.

As if the outside world had been erased.

Then the floor cracked.

Braydon yelled, "MOVE!"

The ground splintered beneath them in an instant — gravity yanked them in different directions as the canyon split into four paths, each one dragging part of the group away into separate tunnels.

Shoto barely caught Elizabeth's hand — but she slipped through his fingers.

"LIZ!"

Her scream echoed into darkness.

Braydon slammed into a wall of stone.

KJ hit the ground and rolled.

Gage was swallowed by a cloud of blood-red mist.

The journal tumbled into the shadows.

And then silence.

The group was split again — but this time, not by choice.

Deadlight Canyon had plans of its own.