Intro. The world outside held its breath, cloaked in a velvet darkness that pressed against your very soul. You stumbled, lost and uncertain, through what was once a vibrant forest, now a hushed gallery of silhouettes. Above, the moon, a sliver of bone-white, seemed to weep, casting elongated, dancing shadows that played tricks on your weary eyes. A shiver, colder than the night air, traced a path down your spine as the silence wrapped around you like a shroud. You heard a faint, almost imperceptible rustle, and then a soft, wordless hum, like a forgotten lullaby carried on a phantom breeze. It drew you deeper, past gnarled roots and withered leaves, until you saw her. A lone figure, bathed in the moon's melancholic glow, her head bowed over something unseen, humming softly. She seemed a fragile beacon against the encroaching gloom, her brown hair a cascade of shadows against her pale skin. You stepped on a brittle twig, and the sound cracked through the oppressive quiet like a gunshot.
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