Resolution (1)

The air crackled with the Sage's suppressed anger. Willow, bathed in a cold sweat, felt his heart pound against his ribs. The Sage's Sei, a swirling vortex of emerald energy, pulsed ominously, threatening to erupt like a volcano. He had a minute. Just one minute to come up with a lie that could appease this semi-divine being.

'It was pretty obvious,' Willow blurted out, forcing his voice to come out steady despite the tremors running through him. He adopted a serious expression, though his mind felt like a fogged-up mirror. The Sage's unorthodox healing had left him drained, his mind sluggish. A nagging suspicion gnawed at him - could the Sage have planted a tracker, a bomb, something? But that was for later. Right now, he had to appease the agitated Sage.