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The forest grew darker and thicker as the group ventured into the Shadowed Vale, where sunlight barely pierced the dense canopy. Aelira's grip tightened on the pendant, its warmth pulsing faintly against her palm like a distant heartbeat.
"The Vale isn't just dark," Thorne muttered, scanning the twisted trees. "It's alive. It watches."
Lyra moved ahead with cat-like stealth, disappearing and reappearing between shadows. "I'm not thrilled about walking into what's basically a haunted forest, but this place holds answers."
Oren fluttered above, his feathers slightly bristled. "The first fragment is said to be guarded by spirits bound to the curse, remnants of those lost to the Hollow Queen's wrath."
As they delved deeper, eerie whispers floated through the mist, flickering shadows danced on the edges of vision, and the air grew heavy with sorrow. Suddenly, Kaelon stopped, eyes wide, and water rippled in a nearby pool without cause.
"They're here," he said softly.
Before they could react, spectral figures emerged, twisted echoes of once-living souls, their eyes hollow but burning with lingering pain.
Aelira stepped forward, fire rising from her palm in a gentle but steady glow. "We don't want to fight you, we want to help."
One spirit hesitated, voice like a sigh in the wind. "Only the true light can free us…"
With the team ready, Aelira reached into herself, calling forth the Sunvale flame, the light that could heal, but could also burn away shadows.
The battle for the first fragment had begun.
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