The morning continued, no clear break between what had happened earlier, and what came next––only the quiet movement of students returning to their respective classrooms, as nothing had changed at all.
Which, to everyone else, was true.
The courtyard emptied as students drifted toward their respective buildings.
Jude stretched his arms above his head while they walked.
"Soo" he said, "that was already more thinking than I have planned."
...
He glanced sideways.
"...I'm assuming we're done for now?"
Leontius didn't stop walking.
"For now."
Jude nodded, satisfied enough.
"Good... I'd like to pass at least one class without questioning reality."
He chuckled.
Lunivara walked beside them,
"You should." The response came a bit late
Jude noticed.
"...Yeah," he said, brushing it off. "I probably should."
No formal goodbye was ever spoken; their path unraveled, leading them into a different worlds.
Jude veered toward his building first.
"Try not to figure out anything disturbing without me," he added, half-turning as he walked backward.
"I'd like to be present for the confusion too." Beaming his face with a smiling eyes.
Leontius didn't respond.
Lunivara gave a small nod.
"We won't."
Again––just a bit delayed.
Jude waved it off with a grin and disappeared into the flow of students.
Leontius looked at Lunivara then continued forward without slowing.
Lunivara followed her own path.
Daylight deepened, stretching lazily into the heat of the day.
The classroom was already filled of voices layered over each other in low, familiar tones––light conversations, unfinished thoughts, and small laughter.
Velarisse changed her sit and sat near the window, posture composed, hands resting neatly over her notes.
She looked up at the door and then Lunivara entered.
There was a brief pause, then she smiled
"Good morning, Lady Morcant"
"Good morning, Lady Thyselle"
A simple exchange
Velarisse held her gaze for a fraction of time––then lowered her eyes again.
"You're quite early today."
Lunivara took her seat.
"Yes."
A beat.
...
"...You are as well."
Velarisse let out a quiet breath that almost resembled a laugh.
"It's my habit."
["Why did she changed her sit?, is something wrong?"] Lunivara talking inside her thoughts, her face looks a bit worried.
As Velarisse adjusted the page in front of her, a subtle friction lingered beneath the surface.
A feeling that the moment had... already passed once before.
She didn't allow herself to pause; she continued by it.
The Professor entered.
The room shifted naturally into order.
Books opened.
Pens lifted.
Another ordinary morning.
A question was asked.
A student answered.
Another student responded across the room.
There was a pause––then a light disagreement.
"...That's not what was said."
"It was."
A small shift of tone.
"No, it wasn't."
The professor intervened briefly, correcting the detail. "Students!," Slamming a stick on the table, "behave yourselfs , you have anything to complain about go find a room for that, have the academy not educate you well."
"My apologies professor"
"My apologies..." Their head down.
The discussion moved on. No one thought twice about it.
Velarisse did, only a moment her pen hovered above the paper. She grew anxious everytime she noticed the 'repeating time'.
She frowned
The situation wasn't repeated or the discussion but the timing, the rhythm––felt like something she had already experienced.
She glanced down at her notes.
"...Strange."
The thought didn't go any further.
Lunivara was writing, her notes were precise.
Every concept understood as it was explained, and no confusion even hesitation, however as the discussion shifted topics
she noticed it again.
The gap.
Understanding came instantly.
Meaning followed—
just slightly after.
A fraction.
Barely noticeable.
But consistent.
[Still there.]
She didn't react.
Didn't pause.
Didn't let it show.
Another exchange passed across the room.
"…you mentioned this yesterday."
"I didn't."
"You did."
A short pause.
"…Maybe I did."
Lunivara's gaze remained on her notes.
But her attention shifted.
The structure of the exchange—
the pacing—
felt aligned with something she had already heard earlier.
Not identical.
Not repeated.
Just… familiar in a way that wasn't fully logical.
This time—
she noticed something different.
The pause came earlier.
Subtly misplaced.
Not incorrect.
Just slightly… off.
Her pen slowed.
Only for a moment.
[So it changes.]
That thought settled quietly.
Not as a conclusion.
Just as observation.
Velarisse adjusted her posture again.
Her attention returned to the front.
But the earlier feeling didn't fully leave.
It lingered faintly, like an echo she couldn't trace back to its source.
She glanced sideways.
Lunivara was writing, calm as always.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing that demanded attention.
And yet—
there was a strange sense that Lunivara's presence didn't fully "anchor" in the moment.
Like she was there—
but something about her didn't hold in the same way everything else did.
Velarisse looked away first.
Not out of discomfort.
Just uncertainty.
The bell rang.
Chairs shifted.
Voices returned.
The room dissolved back into its usual rhythm.
Students stood, gathered their things, resumed.
conversations as if nothing had interrupted them.
Because nothing had.
Lunivara remained seated for a second longer than necessary.
Not thinking.
Just… still.
Then she stood.
Everything was normal.
The lesson made sense.
The interactions were ordinary.
Nothing had gone wrong.
And yet—
[It's consistent.]
She stepped into the corridor.
Blending back into the flow of students.
[Not identical.]
A pause.
[But not random either.]
The thought didn't resolve.
It simply stayed.
Quiet.
Unanswered.
As the day continued exactly as it should.
END CHAPTER 45