White Ape Canyon between the low hills was not long. Shade had been wondering what exactly had gone wrong here, but the moment he passed through the Church's camp sentry post and entered the canyon, he immediately sensed a familiar power.
For the first second, even he himself could not believe it. But after asking "her," he had no choice but to accept the truth.
"Stay here. I'll go in alone."
He tried hard to control his emotions as he spoke to Megan and Vanessa, who had followed behind him.
"You too."
He then poked the owl on his shoulder. The Great Witches obediently did not object, merely reminding Shade to be careful. Once they had returned to the sentry post camp, Shade solemnly asked Gerald Delong:
"When did the problem appear?"
"That's hard to say. But the problem was discovered at noon today. A team from Saint Byrens Comprehensive College was searching the woods for the Temple of the Old God Mist Lady according to ancient records. They did not find the Temple, but they found this place instead. Of the three Ring Arcanists who entered the center of this canyon, two have already died. The Twelfth Ring professor leading them has returned to the Elf Camp for treatment."
"You shouldn't follow me in either. I'll go forward alone."
The vegetation in the canyon had died even more horribly than that outside. The trees outside had merely lost their vitality, but the trees in the canyon looked as though they had been ravaged by wind and sand for a hundred years, leaving only bare, broken trunks standing amid the snow.
The sound of wind could be heard in the canyon, yet not even the slightest breeze could be felt passing by. And the Sun, which had clearly still been