Bruce's hand settled on the back of her head.
"I will."
She held on a second longer. Then she let go, stepped back, and gave him a small, certain nod, the kind of nod that said go on, I've got my end of this.
Bruce looked at her for one more breath.
Then, quietly: Vaelith. Axiom.
The residence dissolved around him.
Axiom received him in its cool, cathedral-quiet hush, the Labyrinth's ambient light breathing around its walls, its formations acknowledging his presence and settling at once.
Bruce let out a long, slow exhale.
His gaze lifted back to the prompt that had been quietly waiting at the edge of his vision the entire time he'd been on the calls, the entire time he'd held Lily, the entire time he'd crossed between kingdoms and conversations.
[Do you wish to begin your Trial?]
[ Y / N]
Bruce reached out.
His finger hovered for half a second, not from hesitation, but from the small, deliberate weight a person gives to a moment they want to remember the shape of.
