For once, Roy Shyam had nothing to do. No tournament preparations, no homework, no thinking about the future, and no life-or-death chaos lurking around the corner. Just… a day. A painfully ordinary day.
School had ended with the same dull rhythm it always did: teachers droning on, students either dozing off or pretending to care. Roy didn't even bother keeping track anymore. The final bell rang, backpacks were slung over shoulders, and everyone else scattered off with their friends or plans.
Roy? He wandered.
He didn't want to go home. Not yet. His house wasn't terrible—it was just… boring. Four walls, silence, and the weight of his own thoughts pressing down on him. Going home early meant surrendering to the monotony, and Roy wasn't ready to lose that battle today.
Instead, he cut across the busy street toward the market district. The air smelt of fried spices and sweet syrups, the hum of merchants hawking their wares mixing with the chatter of customers. Magic crystals illuminated the stalls in a colourful glow, enchantments keeping the food fresh and the drinks cold. It should have been exciting. To everyone else, maybe it was.
To Roy? It was just another reminder. He lived in a magical world, surrounded by wonders, yet his life felt duller than the bottom of a used cauldron.
He bought a faluda from a vendor, the layered dessert glowing faintly under the crystal lamps as if the syrup itself were enchanted. Cold, sweet, heavy with cream and nuts. A treat that should've made him feel better.
It didn't.
He wandered until he found a set of stone stairs on the edge of the square, sat down, and dug into the faluda with slow, half-hearted scoops. People bustled past him—merchants carrying crates, kids laughing as they chased each other, and mages in polished robes walking with purpose. Everyone looked like they belonged somewhere, like they had something important to do.
Everyone except him.
Roy leaned back, resting the dessert cup on his knee. He could smile, laugh, and banter with Kieran and the others, but the truth was simple and gnawed at him like a dull blade: his life was boring.
And worse, he knew it.
'I'm surrounded by magic,' he thought bitterly. And I still don't know what to do with myself.
Other people had goals. Kieran wants to join the Celestial Watch. Brock wanted to achieve his dream; I have no clue as to what it is, as neither Tanaka nor Kieran knows. Tanaka wanted… Well, Roy wasn't always sure what Tanaka wanted, but at least the guy wanted something. Annie was bold enough to wedge her way into their group because she couldn't stand being left behind.
But Roy?
For once, Roy Shyam was clueless. Completely, utterly clueless about what he wanted in his personal life. He wasn't chasing glory, fame, or power. He wasn't trying to save the world. He wasn't even trying to stand out.
He was just… existing.
And as he sat there on those stairs, faluda cup in hand, watching the world pass him by, a strange realisation crept into him.
This couldn't last.
Even boredom was temporary.
Somewhere out there, the world was turning, the currents of fate shifting. And sooner or later, whether he wanted it or not, it was going to pull him back into the storm.
But for now?
For now, Roy Shyam sat in the middle of a magical world, eating faluda, trying to figure out the most impossible question of all—
What the hell was he supposed to do with his own life?