Riley blinked.
Then chuckled under his breath, a sharp glint in his eye.
"What a way to tell me I've overstayed my welcome," he muttered.
Without hesitation, he said softly, "Yes."
The world around him began to shimmer.
The dark field beneath his feet blurred.
And then—
He vanished in a flash of blue light.
*
Riley reappeared in front of the same abandoned altar.
The stone structure stood just as silent and ominous as before, the blue line circling around it glowing softly, before dimming.
He now stood just outside of it.
Exactly where he'd been when he first accepted the trial.
He exhaled deeply, a light breath escaping his lips as he took a step forward.
"I'm back…" he muttered under his breath, his voice quiet, steady.
There was no audience to hear it.
Only the wind brushing gently through altar, and the soft rustling of grasses in the distance.
