The door was where it had been.
Sparse zone, the clearing the proving ground maintained around itself unchanged, the Law-matter door standing in the open ground with the same self-contained quality it had carried on both previous visits. He had approached it at developed depth the first time, uncertain of what the measurement would show. He had approached it at established depth the second time, knowing the gap had narrowed and wanting to know by how much.
He approached it at Sovereign depth knowing the gap had narrowed further and wanting to know what remained.
He stepped through.
The arena resolved around him and Kǎn was there, seated at the far side in the cross-legged position of someone who had been here between visits, and he rose when Lin Yi entered with the same fluid economy as before, the contest Law processing the arrival the same way the door had processed it.
He looked at Lin Yi.
