Chapter 46. The Black Grove
Author: Sikky Turner
last update2025-11-25 23:28:15

The forest appeared long before they reached it. Rick and Luna smelled it first, a heavy scent of rot mixed with damp soil and something faintly metallic.

The air darkened as they approached, like the forest itself swallowed the sunlight. The sand faded behind them and slowly turned into dark soil covered by dead leaves and twisted roots.

Luna held her cloak tight around her body. “Teacher, this place feels wrong.”

Rick walked slowly, studying the mist rolling from between the trees. “Yes. The Qi here is sick.”

Luna looked up. “Sick? How can Qi get sick?”

Rick did not answer immediately. He stepped closer to one of the trees and touched its bark gently. A shiver ran up his arm. Black lines pulsed beneath the wood like veins filled with dark smoke.

He pulled his hand away. “Because this is not normal sickness. This is corruption.”

Luna stepped back. “Teacher is this from the Plague-beasts?”

Rick nodded. “Yes. And something worse.”

They walked deeper into the forest. The branches above
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