Follow the path

Velvet Vixen presses forward.

Each step carries her deeper down the lantern-lit path, her cape fluttering behind her like a defiant banner in the breeze. The oppressive weight of the forest begins to lift. Gone are the twisted trees and root-snared earth—replaced with soft moss, blooming flowers, and vines heavy with blossoms.

Some of the petals glow gently, casting a soft rainbow shimmer across her body as she walks.

“Okay… not spooky anymore,” she whispers. “Still weird. But kind of… pretty.”

The scent of lilac and honeysuckle thickens in the air. Somewhere distant, water trickles. The path widens.

And then—

She steps into a clearing, ringed by flowering trees and oversized mushrooms, moonlight spilling across the mossy ground like silver paint.

And at the center of it all is a mansion.

Massive. Overgrown. Beautiful.

Its structure is elegant—arched windows, ivy-covered balconies, winding staircases curling around the outside like sculpted vines. Nature has claimed every inch of the place, but the lights inside glow warm and golden. A strange music—harp-like, haunting—drifts from one of the upper floors.

Velvet Vixen stops at the edge of the path, gazing up at it in awe.

“Well… that’s not creepy at all.”