Golden light hit his face.

Raizen groaned and rolled slightly, dragging his forearm across his eyes like it could block out all of the morning.

His body felt heavy in a different way now - less sharp pain, more deep exhaustion.

He pushed himself up slowly, ribs still complaining.

The smell of food reached him next, and his stomach answered instantly with a hollow ache.

Raizen blinked his eyes open properly and looked toward the table.

Kenzo, Professor Eiden, and Saffi sat there already eating.

Sunlight poured into the room, warm and bright, painting Ukai's wooden walls with a gold shade. For a moment, everything looked peaceful enough to pretend yesterday didn't happen.

Kenzo saw him first.

Then his grin appeared like a weapon.

"Well, look who decided to return from the dead!" Kenzo said, teasing. "Where were you?"

Raizen stared at him with sharp eyes, still half asleep.

Then he pointed a finger weakly. "Don't."

Kenzo's grin widened. "Don't what?"

"Don't... Talk" Raizen answered, voice rough. "Don't ask questions. Don't even breathe at me."

Kenzo laughed like that was the funniest thing in the world.

Professor Eiden glanced up once, calm as ever, then returned to his food as if whatever Raizen did at night was none of his business until it exploded.

Saffi shifted on the bench, scooting slightly to the side and patting the space beside her.

Raizen shuffled over.

The table was high - higher than anything back in Neoshima. The seats weren't chairs but two long wooden benches, polished and simple. When Raizen sat down, his legs dangled slightly off the ground.

Raizen made a tired sound and reached for food.

The table was covered with… Green stuff.

Not all green, but his mind was too blurry to think about any other color.

Leaves that looked like thin fans. Small bowls of colorful berries. Pale slices of something that looked like a kind of mushrooms but smelled like honey.

"A full vegetarian course, huh?" He thought.

Then, memories came back. Elin modifying the animals, not allowing Ukaians to hunt.

They still didn't get rid of that lifestyle, even after 8 years. They still didn't eat meat. That's how big Elin's influence was. She basically forced an entire city to become vegetarian!

Raizen paused, then slowly started laughing.

Not loud at first. Just a quiet chuckle that built and escaped him before he could stop it.

Kenzo looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

Raizen kept laughing, shaking his head. "Nothing."

Professor Eiden lifted a brow. Saffi watched him with mild curiosity.

Raizen swallowed the laughter down and waved it off. "It's just… Nothing, heh... Forget it."

He grabbed something that looked like a broad leaf, folded it in four, and took a bite.

Butter.

Actual butter taste, rich and warm, but the texture was crisp like a fresh plant.

Raizen blinked, surprised.

He slowly grabbed some berries next. They burst in his mouth and spilled a smooth, sweet ooze that tasted like lemon and ice at the same time.

He didn't ask what it was.

He didn't care.

He kept eating, body remembering he was starving.

Saffi watched him with a smile that tried to look like it wasn't concerned.

"You sure are hungry, huh?" she said softly.

Raizen nodded without looking up. "Yesh..."

Kenzo leaned back, eyes narrowing. "You sure you don't want to tell us where you were?"

Raizen chewed, swallowed, and pointed a pointy leaf at Kenzo.

"Leave me alone" he said, dead serious. "Or I'm throwing one of these leaves at your face."

Kenzo laughed harder. "A terrifying threat! Those taste like bubblegum, for some reason, by the way"

Raizen didn't answer. He just kept eating.

After a few more bites, he realized he needed a distraction. If he didn't steer the conversation somewhere else, Kenzo would keep poking until he either snapped or accidentally confessed something stupid.

So he looked at Saffi.

"So... What did you do yesterday?" Raizen asked.

Saffi's eyes lit up like someone lit a fuse.

"Oh!" she said, and the sound alone had more energy than Raizen's whole body."Oh, Raizen. You have no idea."

Kenzo groaned dramatically. "Here we go."

Saffi ignored him completely.

"So it turns out that Mina is actually a biologist expert" she said, and her voice carried that insane passion she got when she found something new. "Like, a real one. Not just someone who reads books. She knows plants like they're cousins or something!"

Raizen nodded slowly, still eating.

"She showed me so much..." Saffi continued, hands moving as she spoke, like she had to shape the words in the air. "They have an entire botanical hall. Like an inside garden with multiple levels. Inside one of the Academy halls."

Raizen blinked. "Inside?"

"Yes!" Saffi leaned forward, eyes wide. "It was huge. Layers and layers of plants, all arranged like they belonged together. And the flowers - the flowers looked unreal."

Kenzo muttered something under his breath that sounded like "help" but Saffi didn't care.

"There was one blue flower" she said, "that looked like soft claws made of petals. The petals curled like they were trying to hold something. Its name was... The Blue Spider Lily, I think..."

Raizen paused mid-bite, actually listening.

"And there was another" Saffi said, "that looked like a spiral of glass, but it wasn't... glass. It was petals so thin they were almost transparent, and they had tiny green veins running through them. When the light hit, it looked like the whole thing glowed from the inside."

Raizen nodded, chewing slower now.

"And this other one..." Saffi added quickly, almost bouncing in her seat, "it was like a bell flower, but the inside was lined with little specks of blue that moved. Mina said they were like tiny Eon-reactive seeds. When wind passed, the specks shifted and the flower made this weird humming sound."

Raizen's brows rose slightly. "That's… actually insane."

Saffi beamed. "Right??"

She inhaled like she was about to continue for hours.

"Mina told me the first Ukaians didn't start with beasts" Saffi said. "They started by shaping Eon into controlling nature. Flowers. Branches. Even fruits"

Raizen ate another bite, nodding. "I wonder why..."he thought.

"She said they learned how to create free space without cutting branches" Saffi continued. "They grew the city around people instead of forcing people around the city."

Kenzo made a small, impressed sound despite his amused face.

Saffi's voice softened for a moment.

"And she told me about someone from the Phalanx" Saffi said. "Apparently she was… Kind of a Sovereign? Mina used that worf, but I don't know what it means... I still don't fully get what Sovereigns are, but Mina made it sound like she was one of those people who changed the world just by existing."

Raizen's chewing slowed.

Saffi's eyes shone, half awe, half sadness.

"That woman helped build the structure of Ukai" Saffi said. "She shaped branches, reinforced bridges, created space for platforms without killing the tree."

"Mhm..." Was the only answer Raizen managed.

"And the most amazing part... She created over a hundred and fifty new species of plants! Like… imagine that. One person making that much life."

Raizen nodded, quietly.

Saffi's smile faded slightly. "She died in the Velarion war, though..."

Shortly after, Saffi lifted her shoulders, as if trying to shake off the sadness.

"Anyway" she said quickly, forcing brightness back in, "it was amazing. Mina was amazing. Ukai is amazing."

"Woah there, don't get to excited, little one!" Kenzo laughed. "You still haven't even seen half of it!"

Raizen nodded again, and because his mouth was full, he hummed in agreement.

He kept eating. The food tasted too good for him to slow down. He tried a green slice that looked like a vegetable and found it tasted like fresh mint and warm tea at the same time. He ate something that looked like a roasted root and it melted like sweet bread. Everything was strange, but tasty.

Kenzo watched him eat with amused disbelief.

"You're going to inhale the table, kid" Kenzo said.

Raizen swallowed and answered honestly. "Maybe, if it's as good as this food"

Kenzo laughed.

Then he cleared his throat, shifting into a more practical tone.

"By the way" Kenzo said, "The guide is very busy today."

Raizen blinked. "The host?"

Kenzo nodded. "He won't escort you two. So you and Saffi go to the Academy yourselves."

A short pause.

Kenzo lifted a hand in a lazy shrug. "If you want to-"

"Of course we want to!" Saffi shouted immediately, eyes flashing with excitement.

Kenzo flinched dramatically. "Ow. My ears."

Professor Eiden finally spoke, voice calm and measured.

"I'll attend the Echelon meetings today, as usual" like it was just another schedule item.

Raizen stared at him, then looked down at the map Keahi gave him, then back up.

He didn't say anything.

Kenzo leaned back and stretched, then glanced toward the corner where his hammer rested.

"Well... I don't have anything to do today" he said casually, as if that was a rare luxury. "So I'll lead you."

Raizen's brows rose. "You?"

Kenzo grinned. "Yes, me."

He stood, walked over, and lifted a hand.

A couple of Eon particles stirred around him, subtle and clean.

The huge hammer rose from the floor and floated beside him like it weighed nothing. It hovered near his shoulder.

Kenzo looked toward the door, his grin turning into something a little more thoughtful.

"I wonder if some of my old friends are still there" he murmured to himself.

Saffi hopped off the bench with too much energy for morning, already ready to move.

Raizen grabbed the map, tucked it away, and followed them.

They stepped out into the bright Ukai morning, sunlight cutting through leaves like gold blades.

Kenzo walked ahead with his hammer floating beside him.

Saffi walked close, still talking about weird plants she saw.

Raizen walked behind them, quiet, stomach full and happy, mind still catching up, but for the first time in a long time, the day felt... Simple.

They started walking back toward the Academy.

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