The next few days passed quietly on the island.
Aren and Daniel kept mostly to themselves, surviving off the rations they had managed to bring from the crash. Daniel spent most of his time in the glowing clearing, occasionally taking a breath to hang out with the surrounding animals and magical beasts.
Meanwhile, Aren returned to the lake again and again. Each day, he tried…and each day he failed.
The Reverse Waterfall rejected him every single time. Sometimes he tried approaching it slowly, easing his body toward the rising current. Other times, he rushed in, hoping momentum might help him endure the force.
Once he even tried entering the stream from a different angle entirely… nothing worked.
The moment his body touched the current, the same thing always happened—water would violently throw him back out like a loitering intruder.
Now, on the third day, Aren sat on a flat stone near the lake's edge, staring at the towering column of water flying into the sky.
