I leaned back against the cold, stone wall of my room, cradling the communication device in my hands. It had been a long, exhausting day, and the weight of everything was pressing down on me in a way I wasn't quite used to.
Between the mission, Ignis, and the constant pressure of training to become the future demon commander, it felt like I hadn't had a moment to breathe in weeks.
But more than anything else, I missed Lydia.
It had already been a week since we last saw each other, and the ache of that distance felt sharper with each passing day.
We'd exchanged messages, of course, but it wasn't the same. I missed her voice. Her laugh. The way she always knew exactly how to calm me down, no matter how chaotic everything else felt.
With a deep breath, I tapped in her number and waited as the call connected. My heart pounded in my chest as the seconds ticked by, the familiar sense of anticipation building. Finally, the screen flickered, and there she was.
Lydia.
