Kain didn't move.
He clutched the coin in his palm, fingers curled tight around the small, sun-marked disc like it might vanish if he blinked. The Aruvan woman still sat beneath the willow, smiling serenely as if she already knew the outcome.
But Kain walked away without a word, deciding to follow the path that was peeking through the violet-tipped green grass.
She didn't follow. Didn't shout. Didn't give another strange riddle to try and entice him further. Only watched as he walked deeper into the forest of crystalline trees, light bending in strange, prismatic flares as it met the reflective trunks and leaves.
He lost track of time.
The trial didn't seem to operate on any kind of logic—As Kain followed the seemingly straight path, it seemed to loop and give the illusion of walking in circles. Landmarks reappeared where they shouldn't. And marks he'd intentionally left behind were met again, but he kept moving forward anyway.
