Lunch wasn't urgent. No bells, no assignments. Just that slow drift of students toward the south wing where the food halls waited.
The friend group moved in their usual tangle of too-close steps and half-formed conversations. Adrian walked ahead, gesturing with a training sword like it helped him explain a story better.
Nathan was trying to steal Liliana's book while she swatted him with increasing violence. Seraphina walked like she wasn't part of it but somehow still kept their pace perfectly. Elara stayed beside Merlin.
Merlin didn't speak much.
'That pull is still there. That hum. Weak. Faint. But real.'
It sat under his ribs like a second heartbeat. No temperature. No pressure. Just a presence. And as he walked, it stayed with him.
The system had been silent.
Not broken anymore. Just seemed offline? However Now—
A flicker.
[SYSTEM… REBOOTING]
He paused mid-step.
Not visibly. Not enough to draw eyes.
But his breath caught.
[CALIBRATING CORE THREADS]
