The Next Day – Student Residence Wing, Early Morning
Nava woke up to sunlight streaming through the window. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't bothered by the light; he found it… comforting. He sat on the bed, contemplating the simple room he'd been given at the academy. Something inside him still refused to call it "home," but he also didn't feel completely alienated.
He muttered under his breath, running his hand through his hair.
"Strange... I'm not used to waking up without having to worry about a dimensional collapse or cosmic conflict. Just... a normal morning?"
He stood up and put on his uniform, noticing how his movements had slowed slightly, as if his body was really starting to affect him. This wasn't as disturbing as he'd thought. Rather, it carried a sense of realism he'd never known.
He walked out into the hallways, where the academy had begun to come alive. Laughter, noise, conversation… all filled the air. He didn't know why, but something inside him began to calm down amidst the noise.
---
In the Lecture Hall, Minutes Later
The professor was speaking about "The Laws of Spiritual Energy Transmutation," while the students were busy taking notes or dozing off. Nava was looking out the window, observing the playground where some students were playing.
Then he sighed and jotted down one last thing in his notebook.
Nava (in a low voice):
This whole world is based on the balance between helplessness and ambition... Perhaps that's why they don't collapse, despite their weakness.
Kain, sitting next to him, looked at him and whispered, laughing:
Kain:
You're trying to think things through? That means you're starting to blend in with the atmosphere here.
Nava smiled lightly, not sarcastic this time:
Nava:
I'm just trying... to understand humans in a way that doesn't require crushing them.
Kain laughed, then looked back ahead. Nava closed his notebook and rested his chin on his hand. "I don't hate this," he thought. "I just want to know how long I can stay like this without breaking... or breaking this world."
---
Evening - Training Yard
The students were training in groups, while Nava sat near a tall tree, watching them. Suddenly, he felt something jump onto his shoulder. It was a small, gray cat, staring confidently at him as if she had known him for a long time.
Nava smiled and placed a hand on its head.
Nava: "You are braver than many of the creatures I have met."
The cat meowed and sat quietly on his shoulder. He felt something strange flowing inside him: not strength, but a simple warmth.
A voice came from behind him:
??: "I think she chose you."
He turned to find the girl he had seen on the roof of the academy, smiling at him from afar.
She approached and sat beside him.
Girl: "I haven't seen you talk much to anyone. Is it because you don't like people?"
He hesitated for a moment, then said:
Nava:
It's not because I don't like them... it's just because I don't know how to talk to them.
The girl looked at him for a long time, then said:
Girl:
This is what we're all trying to understand. No one is born knowing their place. Even us humans.
---
In his room, that night
Nava sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. There were no sounds of battle or the screams of shattered souls. Only silence.
He said aloud to himself:
Nava:
It's okay if I'm weaker now... if it's the price I can feel.
He closed his eyes slowly, the smile still faint on his face.