The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the enormous trees that loomed around me, their branches stretching out like dark, skeletal fingers in the fading light. Perched high on one of those branches, I couldn't help but grin, swinging my legs back and forth. My body began to flicker, slowly dissolving as the end of the examination drew near. After three grueling days, the testing period was finally over.
Three days had passed since the incident with Lyra and Maria. A lot had happened in that short time. After Lyra collapsed from my... well, sneak-attack, her allies had retreated, most likely because they considered me a threat after I managed to defeat her.
That had given me the perfect opportunity to slip away, though not before I had made sure to incapacitate Laren, who'd been showing signs of waking up. I knew the amount of points I'd gathered made me a prime target, so I opted to lay low, moving quickly and finding a safe place to avoid any further confrontations.
