Keeper of the Dusk

“Slowly and silently, the girl in the fox mask moved through the twilight forest, her green cape blending with the shadows of the towering trees. The dim light of her lantern flickered, casting long, wavering shadows that danced across the moss-covered ground. The mask, carved with sharp lines and cruel eyes, hid her face, but her presence was unmistakably eerie. The air around her grew colder as she passed, and the forest seemed to hold its breath. She was a whisper of the past, a ghost of the woods, searching for something lost—or perhaps someone. The lantern's glow was not for light but for leading those who strayed too far into the dark, where no one ever returned the same. The fox mask tilted slightly, as if she sensed something in the distance. Her footsteps quickened, but the forest swallowed the sound, leaving nothing but the rustling leaves and the distant hoot of an owl to mark her passage.”