Beyond the silent Ridge

seems to slow. Your instincts whisper warnings, your muscles tense, and your bre

ndly pines that bent as though trying to turn back. We packed up camp in silence that morni

felt anything like this," Derek muttered beside me.

taking photos.

give underfoot. Derek led the way, carving a cautious path. Samir checked the terrain obsessively, pausing now

gle sound-not even our own

halfway up

int. Rhythmic. Like a hear

eel that?

ked down at the grou

ace. "Could be geothermal... but i

, then spun and crashed into

e wreckage. "Not even interference.

ept

day suddenly turned gold with a strange amber hue, like t

s lay th

as r

shimmered at the center, glowing faintly as if lit from within. Shapes-str

t across, were the same markings from my grandfather's map. Spirals. Runes. A c

ed into another wor

cused on som

ring stood a stone slab

rface, barely visible

E.

9

ather had

sing legends.

peak. That night, I didn't sleep. I stood on the edge

started... we

t time, I wasn't