Erend, Arty, Adrien, and Billy emerged in Erend's room just like always. The familiar space welcomed them with quiet stillness, unchanged and grounded, the place that had become their anchor for coming and going between worlds.
Aside from the military base, this room remained the safest point of passage because it was discreet and unnoticed, a place where no one would question the sudden appearance of people who had just crossed from another reality.
Billy released a long breath and let his shoulders drop.
"I'm finally home!" he said, rubbing his face. "It feels like I've been gone for years."
Adrien nodded in agreement, glancing around the room as if to reassure himself it was real. "Yeah. I feel the same thing, Brook."
None of them argued. After everything they had endured—the battles, the losses that they narrowly avoided, and the weight of worlds resting on what they did—home felt distant despite only days having passed.
The exhaustion felt deeper and bigger than time.
