VALERIA

"There was a legend that an unparalleled power was hidden there. However, the fools who ventured into the lake never returned."

A terrifying, haunted place with certain death—that's exactly our destination, no doubt about it.

So we gathered our few belongings and headed toward the Lake of the Dead, praying not to be the next ones on the list.

"Guys, you're always by my side," I took Celine's hand, and Quinn nodded beside her.

We all made our way through the wild forest at night, pushing forward without stopping, through bushes filled with sharp branches under the thick canopy of trees that blocked the moonlight above our heads.

As we approached the lake, the humidity and cold in the air intensified, and another unsettling detail sent shivers down even the bravest among us—there was no sound.

Not the hiss of nocturnal animals, the flutter of owl wings, not even a single firefly floating in the air. Nothing. It truly felt as if life had been sucked out of this place.

We emerged