The next day arrived, marking the first of January in the 473rd Year of the Necraz Calendar.
The world outside continued with its usual early-morning rhythm, yet for Ruvian, the day felt as though it had been pulled reluctantly from the remnants of the night.
After yesterday's event, after the revelation of Zian's sudden and inexplicable absence from the academy, Ruvian had fallen into a state of disbelief.
He had struggled to make sense of it, circling the truth again and again, only to reject it each time.
Zian could not simply vanish from the center of a future Ruvian that had already mapped out so clearly.
It felt absurd that every careful plan he had constructed for that protagonist had now collapsed, shattered, and burned away.
But morning had a way of reassembling what the night broke apart. After a full sleep, and after a few meals that coaxed life back, Ruvian found himself returning to his calm version.
