"Riven!" Yue Lin shouted, lunging forward.
Her hand reached out, latching onto his wrist, fingers digging in with enough force to bruise.
His momentum yanked her forward, and for a split second, both of them teetered on the edge — caught between gravity and luck.
Then she managed to pull them backward.
They crashed.
Hard.
They hit the stone platform in a heap, limbs tangled, breath knocked from their lungs.
Riven wheezed, eyes wide. Yue Lin let out a quiet grunt beside him.
Behind them, the skeletal knight cackled, a bit disappointedly.
"Kekekeke… Aw. So close."
Riven sat up slowly, heart pounding like war drums in his chest.
He stared at the edge of the platform.
His hands were shaking.
"…What the hell," he breathed.
Yue Lin was still half-lying back, her fingers clenched tight around his forearm. She hadn't let go. Her grip eased only gradually.
Riven turned to her.
"Thanks."
They both sat there in silence for a few seconds. Breathing. Calming down. The adrenaline drain left his limbs heavy.
Then the skeleton behind them let out a slow, disappointed tsk.
"Aww," it rasped. "That would've been so funny."
Neither of them turned around.
Yue Lin exhaled through her nose. Then finally, finally, she let go of his wrist.
Then she looked toward the bridge — eyes narrowed in thought now, but still wary, cautious. Her voice was quieter when she spoke next.
"…It looked like it was trying to hold," she said. "Right before you fell. For a second, it almost… shifted."
Riven frowned, following her gaze.
Now that he had a moment to think — to really remember — he had felt something.
The bridge hadn't simply disappeared beneath his foot. It hadn't felt completely like stepping into empty air.
It had resisted.
Barely.
Like something trying to solidify… but failing.
Like it had needed one more condition.
Riven's eyes narrowed.
First the door that required two people.
Then the skeleton trial that was impossible alone.
Everything so far had forced cooperation.
Except the lake.
His thoughts flickered back to the water passing through his body — testing something. That part had been individual. Personal.
But everything after?
Two.
"…You think we have to step on it at the same time?" he said.
"Yes," Yue Lin answered at the exact same moment.
They both paused, then glanced at each other.
Same conclusion.
Riven let out a slow breath.
If that was true… then the skeleton's earlier offer to abandon Yue Lin had been a scam too.
He would've fallen anyway.
The thing is more scheming than it looks.
He looked back at the bound skeleton.
It tilted its skull slightly, as if amused.
"Kekeke…" it rasped.
He looked at Yue Lin again.
"We can't just gamble on a theory," he said.
She nodded immediately. "Agreed."
They both turned back toward the bridge.
"If we're wrong," she added quietly, "we don't get a second attempt."
Riven's gaze drifted toward the abyss below.
No, they wouldn't.
He exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he said. "We test it carefully."
They moved back toward the start of the glowing path — but stopped just before it.
Riven crouched and pulled out his knife.
With a grunt, he angled it against the sleeve of his right arm — it was useless anyway without an arm under there — and sliced it off cleanly.
He looked at it.
Too short.
Nowhere near enough to secure anything properly.
His gaze drifted to his left sleeve.
He turned slightly, lifting the knife in his left hand — awkward, clumsy.
"…Can you cut the other one?" he asked quietly.
It was kind of difficult to do himself.
Yue Lin blinked, then nodded.
She stepped in without hesitation, taking the knife and quickly steading it. The blade flicked once. The cloth came free with practiced ease.
They tied the two sleeves together, knotting them tight, creating a long-enough cord.
One end they wrapped around the knife hilt.
The other they tied around their waists — firm, secure.
The moment the knot tightened, they both paused.
They were too close now. The cloth pulled their bodies together, breath mingling, heat shared.
Neither said anything.
But the faint tinge of color touched both their faces.
It wasn't the time for fluster.
This was survival.
Riven turned, expression sharp again, and drove the knife into the ground — just beside the path's start.
He used his full weight. Yue Lin followed, helping press it down with her own strength.
It sank deep. Not perfect, but maybe… enough.
He met her eyes.
"On three."
She nodded, voice steady. "On three."
They stepped up to the edge.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
Together, they moved forward.
And this time — the bridge held.
It didn't shimmer, didn't flicker.
It simply existed — solid beneath both their feet.
Riven let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Yue Lin's shoulders relaxed just slightly beside him.
"It worked."
Yue Lin moved her hands to untie the cloth around their waists.
It wasn't that long and would only obstruct them if they wanted to farther.
Besides.
They were a bit too close like this.
As she untied the cloth, it fell.
Straight through the bridge they were standing on.
Both of them flinched.
"How?"
Rivens eyes followed it.
It fell like stone toward the abyss — but caught.
The sleeve cord dangled from the knife still embedded in the island, the blade holding fast.
A moment of silence passed.
"I guess I won't get my sleeves back," Riven muttered. "Or the knife."
Yue Lin blinked at the sight. "I thought the bridge was solid now."
"Apparently not." he said.
Neither of them suggested going back for the blade or cloth.
They walked on — no longer tied together, but still side by side.
Always at the same pace.
Always in sync.
Each step felt steadier. More real.
The light underfoot pulsed faintly with their rhythm.
And then — slowly — the next island came into view.
But unlike the first, this one was massive.
As they got closer, the edges faded from sight.
No clear borders.
No simple stone circle like before.
Just an ever-expanding platform that stretched out into mist and darkness — covered in pale gray growths that jutted from the ground like twisted trees.
Riven's steps slowed slightly as they stepped off the bridge.
"…These again," he muttered.
They were the same eerie, bone-like growths they'd seen in the forest around the lake.
Now they were everywhere — sprouting in strange shapes, like a fossilized forest frozen in time.
At the exit of the light bridge, unsurprisingly, stood another stone marker.
Riven approached, then stopped. A thick layer of dust coated the surface.
He moved his arm forward, wanting to wipe it off with his sleeve — and remembered.
He didn't have any sleeves left.
Right. Knife's gone too.
He glanced at Yue Lin, then gave a half-shrug.
"Out of tools."
She rolled her eyes slightly.
Then she stepped forward and pulled out her knife. Her grip was still cautious — knuckles pale, tension just beneath the surface.
As she cleared the dust, she muttered, "Strange. Why is there dust on this at all?"
"No idea." Riven said.
The stone was cleared.
They both held their breath.
Nothing happened.
No chains. No traps. No shifts in the ground.
They stepped closer and read the carved words.
"Survive for 2 months.
When the time passes, the path forward will open.
Do not stray too far from one another :)"
"…What?" Riven said flatly.
Is this really an expert?
A heartbeat later, as if to tell Riven not to doubt him, the stone glowed faintly.
Yue Lin groaned. "Not again."
But this time, no chains shot from the ground.
No sudden bindings or bursts of movement.
Instead — a soft hum filled the air.
And around their waists, a pale shimmer sparked into being.
It didn't matter if they moved or tried to dodge.
A chain formed. Not iron or steel — not even solid in the traditional sense.
It looked like light given shape.
Shimmering softly, made of the same dull gray glow as the bridge they'd walked before.
It connected the two of them — waist to waist — rolled up on the ground.
If Riven had to guess, fully extended, they'd have about twenty meters of space in between.
Both of them stood still.
Silence hung awkwardly between them as the realization set in.
Riven looked down at the spectral chain, then back at Yue Lin.
"If that skeleton from the last island could see us now," he said dryly, "I'm pretty sure it'd be cackling again."
Yue Lin exhaled slowly. "Kekekeke."
He shot her a look.