After Lisa left to handle her own matters, I returned to the academy.
Everyday life unfolded as if nothing had happened.
Lectures, chatter, the usual noise—it should have felt familiar, yet somehow it all seemed distant, almost unreal.
But from experience, I knew this feeling wouldn't last.
Eventually, everything settles. It always does.
"Did you see that yesterday?"
"I woke up because of it too. What was that explosion?"
"I heard some magician messed up an experiment."
"Magicians again? Seriously, this is why magic users are always trouble."
The classroom buzzed with speculation about the explosion from a few days ago.
With no official explanation, rumors had taken on a life of their own.
And I—knowing the actual cause better than anyone—just yawned lazily and looked out the window.
I wondered if Lisa was doing okay.
After being locked away underground for years, treated like a test subject…
