Time flowed as gently as the river beneath them, the soft splash of water against the sides of the raft the only sound that accompanied their drifting journey.
The sunlight streamed through the thick canopy above in golden rays, glinting off the slow-moving current like tiny diamonds dancing on the surface.
For once, there was no danger. No sudden ambushes. No angry treemen or shrieking beasts exploding out from the woods.
Just quiet. Stillness. Peace. Something that felt almost… illegal in a trial designed to test people to their limits.
Creed sat cross-legged at the center of the raft, his spear resting beside him, eyes shut as he breathed in a steady rhythm.
He hadn't expected this. Honestly, he thought there would've been a swarm of angry river serpents by now or some kind of flying carnivorous mosquito monster with a taste for human eyeballs.
But here they were; still floating, still alive, and moving in the direction the map indicated.
