Ki, Zephyr, and Septh gathered in Zephyr's room like they always did after training.
Septh stood in front of the mirror, gently drying her hair with a towel. Ki leaned against the window, eyes fixed on the torch-lit city below. Zephyr, meanwhile, collapsed dramatically onto the bed.
"Can you believe him?" Zephyr groaned, rolling onto his back. "The moment I saw that guy, he punched me in the face. No warning. No greeting. Just pain. And he didn't even let me rest after that."
Septh smiled faintly at his reflection in the mirror. "Hannah taught me about tactics and strategies today. She said she's going to help me 'improve my sight.' I'm still not sure what she meant." She turned slightly. "What about you, Ki? What did Kenji teach you?"
Ki didn't look away from the window. "Hide and seek."
Septh blinked. Zephyr lifted his head. "Hide and seek?"
"He disappears. Then he attacks when he feels like it," Ki said flatly.
They stared at him for a moment. Zephyr let out a low whistle. "That sounds miserable."
Silence settled in for a bit, broken only by the faint noise of the city outside.
Then Zephyr spoke again, quieter this time. "Do you guys think… we can ever go back to our world?"
Septh hesitated. "I've been reading about summoning. None of the books say that anyone ever returned after being summoned."
Ki finally turned from the window. "Do they at least mention the creature that brought us here?"
"They do," Septh said. "Every summon arrives the same way. Swallowed by that thing."
Zephyr stared at the ceiling. "I don't know," he murmured. "I kinda… like it here."
For a second, his mother's face flashed through his mind. Blonde hair. A warm smile.
Ki yawned. "I'm heading to bed."
He left first. Septh followed soon after, wishing Zephyr good night before closing the door behind her.
Zephyr was alone.
Sleep crept in slowly.
Through the darkness, he heard it. A soft, familiar humming. The same lullaby his mother used to sing. A white light opened before him, stretching into a wide, empty field.
She stood there.
Zephyr ran without thinking and wrapped his arms around her. The world shifted again. A sunny field. A picnic blanket. A younger version of himself laughing beside her.
"Do you like it?" his mother asked gently.
"Yeah, Mom. It suits me," he answered.
In the real world, Zephyr's fingers curled tightly around the golden necklace hidden beneath his clothes. The small cross pressed into his palm as silent tears slid down his face.