Found Them First

Phoenix did one last quick flight over their general location; her eyes peeled for anything abnormal. But she couldn't find anything.

Landing next to Astaroth, she could see he was on edge, and instead of cancelling her Avatar of Flames form, she left it active and walked to his side.

"Did you see something?" she asked him hushedly.

"No. But I can sense we are being observed. I think the Zone Boss is finally aware that we're stomping in his territory. But I can't sense it anywhere."

Phoenix nodded, craning her neck and putting Astaroth at her back.

This part of the forest was so quiet; it was eerie. And right now, it had fallen even more silent.

Usually, one would hear the wind whistling through branches and leaves in a forest like this one. But there was no such thing here.

The air was stale, and the ground was covered in moss that absorbed most of the vibrations from their footsteps.