The crimson system panel hung in the air, a digital omen of the battle to come, but Icard was already expecting it.
He had known the name of this place since he first stepped foot in the grove.
'The Warden of the Verdant Catacombs of Thryx. Yeah, that's the name of this gate,' Icard thought, his eyes scanning the clearing.
Despite the warning, the space before them was eerily serene.
It looked less like a battlefield and more like an ancient, untouched sanctuary.
Bioluminescent flora carpeted the ground, glowing with a soft, pulsing light.
Pale blue ferns that curled away from their footsteps and clusters of crystalline flowers that hummed with a low, melodic vibration.
The air was sweet with the scent of blooming jasmine and damp earth, a stark contrast to the rot of the outer grove.
In the center of this beauty stood the tree.
