The Doom Cave.
For several long moments, neither Lilith nor Atheline spoke. They simply stood at the edge of the barren landscape, comparing it to everything they had witnessed throughout the sanctuary.
The contrast was almost impossible to comprehend.
Only a few hundred meters behind them, the hidden world flourished with abundant life. Ancient trees stretched proudly toward the heavens, flowers bloomed in endless colors, and rich Aether flowed peacefully through every corner of the forest.
The lush grass stopped abruptly, replaced by cracked gray earth that seemed to have forgotten what it meant to grow.
The magnificent trees of the sanctuary no longer crossed this invisible boundary. Instead, twisted trunks stood frozen in unnatural shapes, their branches reaching toward the cave as though they had desperately tried to escape before finally turning to stone.
Even the breeze that had accompanied them throughout their journey had vanished.
Atheline slowly looked around.
