"Noooo! Leave me!—THUD!"
Ryuk tossed Yao Lian onto the ground, and she landed hard, feeling the unforgiving earth against her backside.
Rubbing her sore butt, she glanced around, realizing she had been brought to the far end of the forest she had attempted to cross alone. This man had forcibly lifted her and deposited her here.
"Owww, why—" Before she could finish her sentence, a portal leading to the third trial suddenly opened, revealing the entrance to the Inner Pavilion.
"Haah....was someone else already here?" A whisper—barely more than a breath—slipped through the air, reaching the ears of those attuned enough to catch such a sound from a distance.
Although the distance was great, Ryuk, Iliantara, and Lucas all heard the muffled voice of a woman hiding within the gnarled bark of a tree, glancing in their direction.
