Clamazon Heat

The Temple didn't stand on the hill.

It posed.

Towering above the glistening Valley of Gush like a seductive librarian with a dark secret, the Temple of Tension shimmered in twilight. Its pillars were long and smooth, its rooftops arched like the back of someone hearing just the right whisper. Every inch of it screamed "please touch—but don't finish."

Henry gulped.

He wasn't even inside yet and he already felt… denied.

"This is the place," Vebrissima whispered, stepping beside him in a robe made entirely of whisper-thin sighs. "They say time slows within these walls. That for every breath you take, you must earn the next one with restraint."

"Restraint?" Henry muttered. "I barely made it past the Gush Caves without evaporating."

Prudencia handed him a flask. "Here. Sip of this. It's called Premature No More."

Henry took a cautious sip. It tasted like mint, patience, and heartbreak.