Mira saw a passage before Tessa saw a return.
The door had risen enough for a crouching person to cross. Beyond it, a dry strip of floor ran toward a turn, and the independent instrument still showed the expected release pattern. The supply remained above its protected floor. Every visible fact made entry feel close.
“We can send a scout now,” Mira said. “Before it spends more of the reserve.”
Tessa looked at the moving edge. “If it stops there, can the person come back with an injury?”
Mira studied the gap again.
“Not on a litter.”
“Then the proposed width hasn’t been reached.”
Juno kept the alternative circuit steady. The device had not failed because the opening took longer than hoped. It had exposed a cost the detached test could not reproduce. Sera recorded the actual height and the elapsed interval, preserving both while the party waited.
