In stark contrast to the fiery chaos of Highfront, a different kind of darkness unfolded in a distant forest. Here, silence reigned supreme. Not the peaceful hush of a sleeping world, but a dead, oppressive silence that clogged your ears and choked the breath from your throat. The trees, skeletal and twisted, reached towards the gray sky like skeletal fingers clawing for escape. Their branches, devoid of leaves and stripped bare by some unseen force, clawed at the air like skeletal hands.
The ground beneath your feet wasn't the soft, welcoming earth of a healthy forest floor. It was a carpet of bone-dry leaves, brittle to the touch and crackling faintly with each hesitant step. The air, thick and stagnant, hung heavy with the smell of decay and a faint metallic tang that sent shivers down your spine. Even the insects, usually abundant in such environments, were absent. No buzzing of flies, no chirping of crickets, just an unsettling quiet that seemed to press in from all sides.
