Chapter 41

• I couldn't tell how long I knelt beside the boy's lifeless form in the haunting stillness of the Spirit Forest. A torrent of questions swirled within me, particularly why the forest had claimed this child but spared me. The idea that the spirits targeted only those with dark souls haunted me. If that were true, it implied that this boy had been corrupted long before his tragic end. But no, he wasn't wicked-just lost. He had placed his trust in the wrong people, falling victim to their manipulations in the most grotesque manner. Those who had twisted his mind were the true monsters deserving of condemnation.
• "Why?" I whispered into the silence, addressing the spirits, though I harbored little hope of a response.
• Suddenly, a chilling breeze swept past my neck. "Dark... soul," came a rasping, ethereal voice.