"Accurate."
They stood in silence for a moment.
Sand shifted. Wind picked up. Nothing else moved.
Finally, Hermes sighed.
"You did better than most," he said. "Didn't panic. Didn't fumble. You even punched someone in the soul. Very on brand."
"You gave me no rules."
"I gave you one rule: deliver."
Merlin crossed his arms. Winced. Let them fall again.
"I delivered. What now?"
Hermes tilted his head.
"Now?" he echoed. "Now, we test for weight."
Merlin blinked. "That wasn't the test?"
"That was the delivery," Hermes said. "A message must reach the right place. But a messenger must survive what comes after."
"…And what comes after?"
Hermes smiled again. But this time, it didn't reach his eyes.
"You'll find out."
System ping.
[New Quest Acquired: Echoes on the Threshold]
[Objective: Await instructions.]
[Reward: Favor. Or memory loss.]
[Note: The Messenger is rarely direct.]
Merlin didn't speak.
There wasn't much left to say.
