The golden mist parted like a curtain, and Argolaith stepped through—
back into the world.
The sudden return to natural air struck him harder than expected. The crisp scent of old forest, wet bark, and damp earth filled his lungs. Light filtered gently through high trees, and birdsong whispered through the branches. Compared to the mirrored stillness of the trial realm, this was chaos—beautiful, living chaos.
Waiting just beyond the tree line were Kaelred, Malakar, and Thae'Zirak.
They had sensed the moment he passed the trial. The forest had shifted—the pressure lifted, the ground relaxed, and the trees bent subtly in reverence.
Kaelred was the first to speak.
"Well," he said, grinning with tired relief, "you're not dead. Which is a nice change from the usual outcome when you vanish into strange magical spaces."
Argolaith exhaled slowly. "It's done. The third tree… I've got the lifeblood."
