Chapter 4 — The Ruins of Truth

Andrea

The wind carried the sharp scent of salt and decay as we stepped out of the car, its bite lingering in the back of my throat. Ahead of us, the Coastal Ruins stretched across the horizon like an open wound, the jagged cliffs crumbling into the restless ocean below. The water churned, its gray-blue surface streaked with oily black veins that time had failed to erase. I tightened my scarf against the cold, my steps slowing as the desolation of the landscape came into focus.