The Saintess and the Villainess

Chapter 98

Corvina wasn't sure what to expect from the Path of Ruin, but she knew that fretting about it too much wouldn't help anyone, so she tried to push her worries from her mind and just focus on the present.

Before they left, Anne sent the horses off on their own. She was convinced that Iramus would know how to guide the others towards the elven city, where they'd be safe. She was probably right, too. Corvina was usually very comfortable around horses, but even she had to admit that Iramus came across as so intelligent that it was mildly unsettling. Horses weren't supposed to look at you like that.

So it was a bit of a relief when the horses disappeared from sight. One less thing for Corvina to think about. All that mattered right now was Anne, and the path that lay ahead of them.

It was a small, unpaved path, like the sort of dirt groove deer would eventually wear into the underbrush if they liked taking a particular route enough. If Anne wasn't so certain about this whole thing, Corvina would have seriously questioned whether this was a route intended for people to traverse at all. It was barely wide enough for Anne and Corvina to walk side by side, holding hands.

I suppose it makes sense that it would be a bit neglected, thought Corvina. It's not like there would be droves of elves heading towards their deaths every single day.

As they continued onwards, the underbrush slowly began to grow thicker, and they saw more stone ruins on the side of the narrowing path. Eventually, the path grew so narrow that they had to let go of each other's hands in order to walk one after the other, taking each step carefully so as to not trip over an unexpected vine or tree-root.

Corvina took a deep breath, trying not to think too much about the forest closing in on them. After all, even as the path grew more difficult to traverse, it was still a lovely morning. The rain had cleared and the morning sunlight was tinged green after passing through many layers of forest canopy. There was a thick smell of ancient soil in the air.

It was... peaceful.

"Do you feel that?" Anne asked. Her voice sounded dreamy somehow, like she had just woken up from a long nap, or maybe she was just dozing off. She was walking ahead of Corvina, so Corvina couldn't see her face.

"You mean the breeze?" asked Corvina. "Yeah, it feels nice. I think it would be a bit too warm without it."

Anne shook her head. "That's not it," she said. "It's a feeling like... like the whole world is getting farther and farther away..."

Corvina felt a shiver run down her spine, and she looked around the forest again. She could almost see what Anne meant. This deep in the woods Corvina felt farther away from the city and her normal life than she'd ever been. But at the same time, there was something claustrophobic about this area of the forest, like the trees and the ruins were pressing in on her, threatening to crush her.

Corvina took another deep breath and tried to focus on the feeling of her feet pressing into the solid ground. She took a closer look at the ruins to give her something to occupy her mind.

Corvina couldn't even tell what they had been ruins of. Parts of them looked like walls or watchtowers, and she even spotted bits of a roof here and there. But the way they were configured didn't make any sense. They blended into and around each other in haphazard ways, like they had never been part of any real buildings at all. It was like they refused to follow any known architectural form.

"Can you see them?" asked Anne, her voice sounding far away.

"See what?" asked Corvina, glancing around nervously.

"The elves..." said Anne. "They're everywhere."

Anne began to describe what she saw, her tone and expression detached as if she had no feelings about any of it.