It sounds fantastical: a complete disassembling of reality, forests and damp springing up where once there'd been only sand and scrubgrass, an unknown hand wiping the field of play in favor of a new scenario. All the same, Darlington takes it in, that curious, alert sensation in his chest only growing stronger.

"How certain are we that this isn't an immense illusion?" he asks. "Even with the consistencies, to cyclically destroy and rebuild a place...what can do that?" He nods, conceding an internal point. "I suppose that's the question, though."