Chapter 64 Worry At The Surface

• Atticus took a deep breath, trying to maintain control over the unease rising in his chest. This place… something about it felt wrong, as if an invisible force was lurking in the shadows, suffocating everything alive.
• Behind him, Lazarus stood in silence, his face tense, his eyes scanning the surrounding forest with suspicion. He stepped forward, the dry, crackling branches creaking under his boots. A twisted vine slithered across the ground like a hungry serpent, coiling around his leg. Lazarus quickly crouched, gripping the vine and pulling it with force. The sound of it snapping echoed, dry and sharp.
• "This land is dying," he murmured as he rose, tossing the piece of dead vegetation to the ground. His eyes met Atticus's. "And something is draining its life."