By the time the Ashroad released them, they were different people.
The path after the Flytrap ambush became quieter, not because the dangers had vanished but because they had finally learned to read them.
The shimmering loops, the resin glues, the heat mirages that bent you back into the same lane, they spotted it all now.
Holt pointed out the subtle tilts in the glass, the places where dust ran wrong, and even the way mirage-pillars leaned like crooked compasses.
As for Ethan, his improvisation became even better to fit every situation here. The Wheel dropped the right improvisations at the right times, from short nails to pin straight paths, to tiny beacons that bled the illusions apart.
And for the first time, they walked through the Ashroad like veterans instead of prey.
The system confirmed it soon enough when it chimed again, cold but honest. Holt's notification was different than the others.
DING!
~----~
[Milestone Achieved: Heavy Hitter!]
