<????, ????, ????> [Theo] Theo was in a forest. He had been in the forest on the Overlook after Yordo had done whatever he had done. But this was a forest unlike anything he had ever seen. Each of the trees would make the Titan Trees that he and Julia had seen look small in comparison. Theo was on a path. The path was normal-sized, and so he followed it, as he also felt a pull guiding him down the path.

After walking for what felt like days, Theo came to a regular human-sized door set into the trunk of one of the gargantuan trees. He opened it, and the world shifted. Suddenly, he was in a clearing that was roughly fifty feet across, and the trees were densely packed, not letting him see far. There were trails. Everywhere he looked, there was a trail that wound off into the trees.

The only exception to this was straight ahead. Where the trees were so thick and grew so close together that Theo might as well be looking at a wooden wall. Theo looked around, and one of the paths seemed to call to him. It shimmered, and he got the sense that this path was easier than the others.

"You could go that way." A feminine voice said. "You can go any way that you want."

Theo looked around; standing against the tree that had apparently been the door he entered through was a woman who confused Theo. He looked at her. She was a wood nymph, or at least what Theo thought a wood nymph would look like, but she was also a demon, an angel, and an eldritch horror all at once. One moment, she was all green and brown earthy curves; the next, she had horns and wings with a pointed tail. The next, she was clad in a respectful but form-fitting white robe with a halo, and the last, she was composed mostly of tentacles.

Theo could tell that this creature would not hurt him directly, but it would not help him without cause. "What are you?"

"I am your test." The creature said. "I represent your desires. I represent your sins. I represent all of your possibilities."

"Okay, I mean, that kind of makes sense." Theo shrugged and returned to examining the trails. "You said I could take this path."

"You could, I don't know that you should." The woman said, and Theo felt a form drape itself around him, arms wrapping around his shoulders from behind. "You could do a lot of things. You could choose to die here and now if you choose. You could choose to use that Divergence Token clutched in your hand."

Theo looked down and found the Divergence Token in his hand, where it definitely had not been before. Theo shrugged and stepped out from under the flesh of the woman as she shifted into the tentacle form. He turned to face her. "So, I have a couple of questions if you will answer them."

The woman nodded. Theo continued. "Very well, first of all, how should I address you?"

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"Call me..." She shifted forms, becoming her demon form, "Lust."

She shifted to the tentacle form, "Call me wrath."

She shifted to the Wood Nymph form. "Call me whatever you want. I am as you make me."

"Hmm. Okay." Theo said, wondering what to make of the creature. "I will call you Tessa then. Alright, Tessa, what happens if I use this Token."

"Things become simpler," She shifted to the angelic form, "and yet, more complex. Paths that were once open, close."

From her angelic form, she shifted into a new one, a dragon woman with stunning golden scales. "Paths that were once closed would open. I would not be as a test but as a restricted guide."

She shifted to the tentacle form as Theo thought. He watched her transform into a new form, that of a Dwarvish woman who looked as if she were actively starving to death. Theo spoke once more. "And If I don't use the Token. How will you test me?"

"I am already testing you," Tessa said, shifting to her Wood Nymph form. "You are a complex man, Theo; most men are easily tempted..."

She shifted to a form, making a face that would have made a porn star blush. "But your lust is focused."

Suddenly, Tessa took the form of Julia, standing before him. Theo locked eyes with her. "Tessa. Please pick one form. Any form but that one and stick to it."

Tessa shifted to her Wood Nymph form and shivered almost in ecstasy. "The righteous fury of a man in love. It is so delicious. But to answer your question, I am already testing you. You are doing well, but you must make a choice."

Theo turned to the paths that she had gestured broadly to. "Each of these paths represents possibilities in your class. This one..."

She gestured to the one that he had felt would be easier, "...is one that you have knowledge of. It leads to a path few have trod. The Path of the Soil Born."

"And what of these other paths?" Theo said, looking around. "What do they lead to?"

"It is not my place to say." Tessa said, "I am your test. If you are able to appease me, then a path may be revealed. But through testing, you may realize that none of these is the path that you desire."

Theo thought about that. Glancing from path to path and back to Tessa. A thought occurred to him. "Which of these leads to Julia?"

Tessa smiled. "Most of them lead to Julia. A few lead away from her. Or to your death. The question is for how long. Five minutes? A thousand years? How long do you wish to spend with her? How long will you tolerate your Bonded Pair?"

Theo thought about that and knew, deep in his heart, that there was only one answer he could honestly believe. He had been feeling it more and more as of late. He locked eyes with Tessa once more. "If I give you this Token in trade, will you tell me which path I must take to be with her forever?"

A Cheshire smile formed on her lips. She raised her hand. "I swear on The System that if you trade me that Token, I will tell you exactly how to achieve what you have asked."

The thrum of power confirmed the truth of the statement. And Theo nodded, tossing the Token to Tessa. "Now tell me which path."

"There is no path for that," Tessa said. Theo took a breath to say something, but she raised a hand. "There is no path for that; you must forge your own. Think of her and press ever-onwards."

Tessa tossed him a machete and gestured to the impenetrable wall of trees in front of him. "Carve your own path."

Theo turned and moved to the tree line. He felt a kiss on his cheek and heard a whispered voice as he wound up to make the first swing. "Good luck, Theo Sorrenson, and may the System watch over you in all that you do."

Theo swung and began to carve out a new path.

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