The train hummed faintly as it slipped through the city's veins, the glass of its windows gleaming with the reflection of clouds.
Merlin sat near the back, half-leaning against the seat, half-lost in thought. The buildings outside blurred by, tall, modern, threaded with mana lines that pulsed like living arteries.
It was strange how quickly everything could return to "normal."
The academy's noise. The same halls. The same small rivalries.
After the labyrinth, after the simulation, after gods, it felt almost too ordinary.
'…Maybe that's a good thing,' he thought, watching his reflection shift in the window's tint. 'Maybe normal is what I needed.'
His phone buzzed again.
[Victoria]: You're on your way, right? I made lunch. Don't tell me you stopped somewhere.
[Merlin]: I didn't. Train just left the academy station.
[Victoria]: Good. I swear, you'd survive a monster invasion but die because you forgot to eat.
[Merlin]: …That's oddly specific.
