'No!' Max roared within his own thoughts, the words echoing against the fog of fatigue. 'I cannot faint here. Not now.' He forced his eyes open wider, his teeth grinding as he summoned every shred of willpower left in him. Through the haze, his gaze locked on something ahead.
Far in the distance, barely visible through the shifting air, was the faint outline of a ruin. Its jagged structures stretched upward like broken teeth, a city long dead but still standing. The sight was vague and blurred, but it was there. A goal. A promise of something beyond the endless wasteland.
And because he could see it, he refused to let go. He could not lose consciousness now, not when the trial site he had been searching for was finally in sight.
"Don't give up!" Evan's voice cut through the crushing weight, loud and fierce. His eyes locked on Max, desperation mixing with determination. "There is a ruin ahead. It has to be the trial site!"
