In the secret room.
The hypnosis had been going on for over an hour, rendering the room peaceful.
Jerry River sat in the middle, watching the two people with their hands intertwined. Their eyes were tightly shut, already in the zone.
He fetched an hourglass and watched the purple sand slowly fall, a smirk playing on his lips.
"By tomorrow morning, you both will have made a decision in your hearts."
The voice was muffled and faint as it entered Alexander Foster's ears.
...
This was the rear mountain of Harville Temple, quiet and beautiful, a place conducive to meditation.
A woman was lying on an ancient hundred-year-old tree, squinting her eyes for a midday nap. A while later, she was awakened by bird calls.
With a late-spring herb playfully held in her mouth, she jumped from the tree branch, dusting off the dirt from her body.
In the height of summer, cicadas chirped everywhere. The piercing sunshine made the day seem lethargic and long.