Chapter 4

  As I trudged along the path back to Scarlet's house, it felt like the weight of the entire world pressed down on my chest, each step heavier than the last. The brittle warmth of the fading sun offered no comfort, only casting long, ominous shadows across the ground. The air, thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, warned of the encroaching fall, but the breeze that rustled the branches above felt unnatural—like something darker stirring in the distance. The world seemed to…