The Plane

the set is infinite, but I can't prove it yet.”

“But you still have hope to find a solution?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Let's stay close then. Although, I don't think walking around it does something anymore. We must have already completed a full circle.”

“Maybe a tighter circle?”

“What would that do? We can see the light, and every other point is less far away.

“Yes, but maybe there's something which is harder to see.”

Cold sighed. “You don't really believe that.”

“No.”

“Alright.” Cold bridged half the distance towards the light, then she began to navigate around it once more.

There was no talking herself out of the reality of the situation. Unless they somehow got out soon, they would die. Both of the last two challenges had been close, and it was foolish to expect that they would survive longer than one or two more – if even. Her biggest comfort was the thought that there would be no point in designing this place if whoever got there was inevitably going to die, but it was a feeble hope.

Was it possible that they were doing something wrong? Was focusing on survival alone not the right course of action? Was there maybe some place they had to reach?

But all directions looked the same. If there was a specific place, then there would be no way to reach it with anything but sheer luck. And if they just had to get far away, then why put the puzzle in there?

And most importantly, it was not backed up by feelings. Every challenge, the puzzle, the riddles, it all had announced itself by intuition, either from Cold herself or from her. There was no feeling pointing her towards a specific goal.

Cold stocked. She looked upwards. Blue. She looked downwards. Blue. Biting her lip, she kneed onto the floor, examining it more closely for the first time.

It was hard, smooth, and neither warm nor cold. There were no inconsistencies to the material, no cracks or knolls or anything. Cold hit her front limb onto the ground, but she had no reference for the sound it made. She tried to press, rub, scratch, but to no effect. With drooping ears, she stood up again and continued her walk.

The ground was an irresistible barrier, and they had no way of trying to even reach the ceiling. Every direction parallel to the ground looked the same. What was there left to try? Did they just have to solve this puzzle?

But that was impossible. Even without understanding it, they could have just guessed with a fifty percent chance. The odds of getting out had never seemed that high. Plus, she had said the puzzle was optional.

Maybe it was not about getting somewhere, but about doing something? Except all that seemed to be there to do in this place was walking, talking, and trying not to die to the challenges. Did she have to say a specific thing? Was it all