Nothing Liam, Elena, and Finn had dreamed matched the planet outside the labyrinth.
The heavens swept above in infinite circles of dusk — colors of violet, gold, and silver merging like ink on parchment.
Stars blinked in unusual patterns, their configurations changing with every sight.
Under their feet, the ground seemed less like hard earth and more like woven strands of memory and opportunity, and the air buzzed with an alien energy.
Elena whispered, her words practically a whisper, "This place… It just alive and real path."
Liam bent and ran his fingers along the ground; the ground glittered at his contact, rippling like turbulent water.
Pictures swam inside it: transient moments from unknown lives.
A child laughing in a far-off town.
An infantry drawing her last breath on a field.
A scholar seated at his desk, frantically penning as candlelight flickered low.