Morning came softly.
No alarms. No screams. No ground shaking or magic ripping the air apart. Just sunlight slipping through tall windows and landing lazily on polished floors.
Kail woke up first and for a second she panicked.
Her bed was too soft.
She sat up fast, heart hammering, eyes scanning the room like she expected a beast to be crouched in the corner. But there was nothing. Just curtains moving slightly in the breeze and the distant sound of someone clinking plates downstairs.
She exhaled. Hard.
"Oh," she muttered, rubbing her face. "Right. Home."
The word felt strange in her mouth. Like it belonged to someone else.
She pulled on a loose shirt, didn't bother fixing her hair, and padded barefoot down the hallway. The mansion smelled like coffee and toasted bread and something sweet she couldn't place. Normal smells. Safe smells.
Downstairs, the dining room was already alive.
Lizz was sitting at the table with a plate piled way too high, eating slowly like she didn't trust the food to stay. She looked calmer than she had in days, shoulders loose, eyes half-lidded.
Vordi sat across from her, posture relaxed but alert, watching her eat with mild amusement. He was dressed like a normal guy now. Human clothes. Human face. Still didn't quite feel human.
And then there was Aiden.
He sat straight-backed at the long table, hands folded neatly, staring at his plate like it might attack him if he blinked wrong. He hadn't touched a thing.
Kail stopped in the doorway and smiled despite herself.
"Wow," she said. "Look at us. If someone took a picture right now, they'd think we're a completely normal group of people."
Lizz glanced up. "Don't jinx it."
Vordi huffed quietly. "Normal is overrated."
Aiden lifted his eyes to Kail. "Good morning."
She raised a brow. "Did you rehearse that?"
"…No."
"Liar."
She dropped into the chair beside him and immediately reached over, stealing a piece of toast from his plate.
He blinked. "You may have that."
"I know." She took a bite. "You weren't going to."
Lizz snorted. "He's been staring at the eggs like they're cursed."
"They are unfamiliar," Aiden said calmly.
"They're eggs," Kail replied. "Not demon orbs."
He tilted his head slightly. "How certain are you?"
She laughed, sharp and loud, the sound bouncing off the walls. It felt good. Too good. Like she might cry if she thought about it too long.
Vordi leaned back in his chair. "You all survived chaos beyond reason," he said, "and now cooked food confuses you."
Aiden ignored him. "There is no threat present?"
Kail glanced around theatrically. "Nope. No monsters. No portals. No screaming skies. Just breakfast."
Lizz swallowed and nodded. "I missed this. Sitting. Eating. Not bleeding."
Her voice wavered just a little.
Kail reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Same."
Silence settled, but it wasn't heavy. It was the kind that hummed softly, like a room that knew everyone inside was finally breathing again.
Aiden watched them. Watched the way Kail leaned back in her chair, relaxed. Watched Lizz smile without forcing it. Watched Vordi close his eyes for half a second like he was memorizing the moment.
"This peace," he said slowly, "feels… temporary."
Kail looked at him. "You don't trust it."
"I have never lived in it," he replied honestly.
She didn't argue. Just nodded. "That's fair."
She poured herself coffee, then without asking, poured some into his cup too.
He frowned at it. "What is this?"
"Liquid survival," Lizz said. "Drink it."
He sniffed it cautiously. "It smells burnt."
"Just sip it," Kail said. "If you hate it, I'll laugh and then make you something else."
He hesitated, then took a careful sip.
His face did something strange. Not disgust. Not approval either.
"…Interesting," he admitted.
Kail grinned. "That's human for 'I don't hate it.'"
Vordi chuckled. "You explain emotions like a scholar."
They ate slowly after that. Talked about nothing important. About how soft the chairs were. About how weird it felt to not rush. About how strange it was that the world outside hadn't ended just because they disappeared for six hours.
"I thought everything would be different," Lizz said quietly. "Like we'd come back and nothing would fit."
Kail shrugged. "Guess the world doesn't stop spinning just because we suffer."
Aiden looked down at his hands. "I do not know how to exist without fighting."
Kail leaned closer, nudging his shoulder lightly. "Then today, you don't fight. Today, you learn how to be confused instead."
He glanced at her. "Confused?"
She smiled. "Trust me. It's worse."
And for the first time, he almost smiled back.
Kail slammed the mansion door shut behind them and stretched her arms over her head.
"Okay," she said, squinting at the street like she was seeing it for the first time too. "Welcome to my town. Please do not stab anyone."
Aiden glanced both ways immediately. "Are they hostile?"
"No," she said flatly. "They're bored."
He frowned. "That is worse."
She laughed and started walking, not bothering to check if he followed. He did, of course. Always did. Just half a step behind her, like he wasn't sure if walking beside her was allowed yet.
The street was alive. Cars passing. People talking. Music leaking from somewhere. A dog barking at nothing.
Aiden's head moved constantly, eyes tracking everything.
"Why do the metal beasts scream?" he asked suddenly.
Kail blinked. "The cars?"
"They roar, yet do not attack."
"Yeah," she said. "They're dramatic."
He watched one pass, expression tight. "They move too fast. How do people survive this?"
"We don't think about it," she shrugged. "That's kind of our thing."
They crossed the street. Aiden hesitated when the light turned green.
"You go now," Kail said, tugging his sleeve.
"The color changed," he said slowly. "That signals danger."
"No, red is danger. Green means go."
"In my world," he replied, stepping forward carefully, "green things usually bite."
She laughed again, softer this time. "You're gonna hate traffic lights."
They walked past small shops. A bakery. A bookstore. A place selling clothes in colors Aiden had never seen stitched together.
He stopped in front of a window filled with mannequins.
"Are those… people?"
Kail followed his gaze. "Nope. Plastic."
"…Why?"
She tilted her head. "Fashion?"
He stared longer. "They look uncomfortable."
"They are," she said. "That's accurate."
Aiden exhaled through his nose. "This world creates unnecessary suffering."
"You say that now," she replied, "but wait till you meet high heels."
They walked in silence for a bit after that. Not awkward. Just quiet. The kind where neither of them rushed to fill it.
Aiden finally spoke again. "You seem different here."
Kail glanced sideways. "Different how?"
"Lighter," he said. "Less guarded."
She swallowed. "Yeah. Guess I don't have to be on edge every second."
He nodded. "I am glad."
The words were simple. But something in the way he said them made her chest feel tight.
They passed a street performer playing music badly but confidently. Kail stopped to listen.
Aiden leaned closer. "Is he injured?"
"No."
"Why does it sound like that then?"
"Because he's trying," she said.
He considered that. "Humans allow failure in public."
"Constantly."
"That is… brave."
She smiled at him then. Really smiled. "You're weird."
"And you are loud," he replied calmly.
"Rude."
"Accurate."
They stopped at a small park. Kids running. A couple arguing quietly. Someone reading on a bench like the world wasn't on fire somewhere else.
Aiden sat beside her on the bench, stiff at first, then slowly relaxing.
"No threats," he said quietly.
"Nope," Kail replied. "Just life."
He looked at her then. Not scanning. Not assessing. Just looking.
"I think," he said slowly, "I understand why you fight so hard to return here."
She looked away, cheeks warm. "Yeah. Guess I never realized it either."
The sun shifted overhead. Time passed unnoticed.
They stopped because Kail wanted something cold.
"That," she said, pointing across the street, "is mandatory."
Aiden followed her gaze.
The building was small. Bright. Loud in a way that felt harmless. Children were clustered outside it, laughing too much, holding strange, colorful objects that were melting in their hands.
Aiden slowed.
"What is that place?"
Kail grinned. "Happiness."
He narrowed his eyes. "That is not an answer."
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the door before he could overthink it. The bell chimed as they stepped inside, sharp and cheerful.
Cold hit him immediately.
Aiden froze.
The room was wrong.
Glass cases lined the walls, filled with glowing substances in impossible colors. Blues too bright. Pinks unnatural. Whites that shimmered like frost magic.
Children stood dangerously close to them.
Holding them.
Eating them.
Aiden took a slow step back.
"Kail," he said quietly.
She was already at the counter, scanning flavors like this was normal. "What do you want?"
His eyes never left the display. "Why are they frozen?"
She blinked. "Because… ice cream?"
"Why are they exposed?" he continued, voice low. "Why are humans consuming them willingly?"
She turned to look at him properly.
He was tense. Shoulders tight. Hand hovering near where his sword used to be.
"Kail," he said again, more urgently now, "this looks like preserved elemental matter."
She stared.
He pointed at a child happily licking a bright blue scoop. "That one is smiling. It should not be smiling."
"Kail," he said, dead serious, "are you certain this is safe?"
The shop went quiet in her ears.
She opened her mouth to answer.
And the chapter ended there.