Arthur blinked as reality reasserted itself around him, the white space of the trial dissolving to reveal the familiar forest clearing. He stood exactly where he'd been before with the Winter Beast and Flamingo standing beside him.
His two summons remained in their exact positions, as if no time had passed at all.
"How long was I gone for?" Arthur asked, still feeling the lingering sensation of the trial's intensity. Days had seemed to pass in that space of comprehension, maybe even longer.
The Winter Beast and Flamingo looked at each other before the creature responded through their telepathic link. "You disappeared... then appeared almost instantly, Master. As if you were always here. One moment you were standing beside us, the next you seemed to flicker, and now you're back."
