The descent took two days.
Gabriel moved down the mountain faster than he should have. His hands found holds without searching. His feet placed themselves on ice-slick stone with perfect certainty.
Tess struggled to keep pace.
"Slow down," she called after the third hour.
Gabriel paused on a ledge, looking back. She was twenty meters above, breathing hard, face red.
He'd forgotten she was there.
"Sorry," he said.
Tess reached the ledge and bent over, hands on her knees. "You're moving like this is easy."
Gabriel looked at his hands. They didn't shake. Weren't tired. His breathing was steady.
"Everything feels different," he said. "Lighter."
"Your eyes are different too."
Gabriel turned. "How?"
"The red is deeper." Tess straightened. "And your pupils. They're not round anymore."
Gabriel couldn't see what she was seeing. But he could feel it. The way his vision had sharpened. The way he could see details at impossible distances.
They continued down.
