Chapter 76: Echoes of Fate

Author's POV: The night is a canvas of darkness, its once serene sky marred by tumultuous clouds, swirling with a malevolent energy. The stars and moon are veiled, cloaked behind an expanse of glistening black obsidian that seems alive, twisting and writhing with fury. Yet, strangely, the air is unnaturally still. Small creatures retreat into their hidden burrows, beneath the earth, under rocks, and within the shelter of fallen trees. They can sense the shift in the land’s mood. Wisps of mist curl out from the forest, clinging to the ancient trees, making them appear to rise from a sea of fog, their trunks wrapped in ghostly shrouds. These tendrils of fog weave and ripple, creating wide bands of shimmering white, as though they are sentient, breathing with an otherworldly rhythm. Above the treetops, a large owl glides effortlessly, its wide wings cutting through the thick night air. It circles the grand stone house, which is built seamlessly into the towering cliffs. A second owl ap