Shadow Mountain beyond the point of no return

She returned his smile with one of her own, just as forced and wooden as the one she'd received. They were both faking happiness, it seemed; content in each other's presence, but the joy was gone. How could one feel good upon leaving home behind?

Maegi continued up the mountain, and then came to a stop at a clearing, a sheer face of rock rising up on one side. The exposed stone was cool beneath her paws, and the air was thinner—could it be. . .?

She had no way of knowing. There could be dozens such places like this here. But it resembled her prison, enough that her fear grew, gripping her bones like winter cold.

This is where I was taken as a child, Maegi said hollowly, looking at the sharp incline. She turned her ruined cheek to Mou, the exposed teeth glistening. Savage, ugly. This is where Skullchaser tore my face. This is the place I see in all of my nightmares.

No tears, no sadness. No anger or hatred. Just terror, a primal urge to flee. A sickening sensation of tumbling backward into the past.