The fortress lingered in the distance like a mirage, ever-present but unreachable, a monolith half-swallowed by the mist. As Vale and Jade descended from the cliff's edge, the air grew colder, sharper. Each step toward the valley felt heavier than the last—not just from the terrain, but from something unseen pressing on them, thick and oppressive like storm-wrought air.
Their path wound through rocky switchbacks and crumbling ledges. Valleys gaped open below them like hungry mouths. At times, they had to brace themselves against jagged walls as loose gravel gave way underfoot.
It wasn't long before the mist turned to rain.
Thin at first, a soft drizzle that clung to hair and lashes, but it built steadily into something more merciless. Sheets of cold water lashed at them as the wind picked up, howling down from the cliffs like a beast on the hunt.
Vale gritted his teeth and kept moving.
"Still think this is the right way?" he asked, his voice half-drowned by the rain.
