Chapter 342: Runaway Visitor
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Amidst the thick, ghostly, night mist, a lady in heavy cloak galloped through the moonlit forest, her horse’s hooves echoing in the stillness, followed by the distant hoot of an owl.
Guided solely by the moon’s silver glow, the cloaked lady pressed onwards for hours until finally, she emerged into a clearing dominated by an ancient wooden tree. She had spent days trying to locate this place again, going around in circles and hiding herself away from the enemy, but there was no need to run further as she was finally facing the ancient tree.
Its gnarled branches reached out like skeletal fingers, and out of all the trees within this deserted perimeter, this one stood tall with no leaves on its skeletal branches.
Dismounting from her horse, the cloaked lady stepped forth to observe the symbols engraved upon its trunk. It looked like a cryptic puzzle which she had to arrange in order to form an arcane symbol, but that didn’t sound like a problem. With a careful touch, she began aligning symbols in their rightful places, and as the last piece clicked into place, the massive wooden form suddenly groaned.
Its bark shifted, whilst splitting open to reveal a hidden passage leading underground. The moon’s light illuminated the winding staircase, making it appear as a clandestine serpent, but the lady in a cloak smirked at the sight.
Knowing in her mind that whatever down there was her last option to reclaim her title and honor back, she fearlessly descended, entering the secret sanctuary she hadn’t visited for a long time.
The subterranean chamber unveiled a secret coven the minute she reached the bottom of the staircase, and all cloaked figures gathered around a mystic cauldron. However, their enchanting spells came to an abrupt stop at the sight of their runaway visitor.
"You’re here?" Asked one of the cloak members. The person she was referring to tilted her head up, but there was not a single smile on her lips.