Deep within a remote, dense forest in the eastern Golden Valley Kingdom.
The air was humid and heavy, a rich aroma mixing the thick scent of humus with the strange fragrance of unknown wildflowers.
Massive buttress roots, like the claws of a slumbering behemoth, twisted and coiled, tearing through the dark surface of the earth.
Yet, within this primitive and serene area, there was a profoundly unnatural rupture.
The ground had collapsed downward, forming a nearly perfect circular pit about ten feet in diameter, its edges jagged and uneven.
The vegetation around the pit's mouth was a sickly, scorched black and withered, creating a shocking contrast with the vibrant green of the surroundings.
Gloria stood silently at the edge of the pit, her lips pressed into a thin line as she gazed down into the bottomless opening.
The scene below was far from ordinary soil and rock.
