Chapter 8: The Return to Normal
The pull of the Dream Continent had always been a disorienting experience, but this time, it felt different. One moment, Kael was standing in the middle of a chaotic, ever-shifting world, and the next, his stomach lurched, and he was back in the painfully familiar reality of Earth Prime.
His shoes were planted on cold concrete. The air smelled of car exhaust and too-sweet cologne. The familiar hum of the school bell echoed through his skull like a migraine that refused to go away.
"What the hell?" he muttered, stumbling as he blinked against the harsh fluorescent lights. His hand shot up to shield his eyes from the overwhelming brightness of the hallway. He wasn't sure if he was still in the Dream Continent or if this was some twisted simulation.
He glanced around. Same old hallways. Same old lockers. Same old students. It was all so normal, it was nauseating.
"We're back," Kael grumbled under his breath. "Home sweet home. For all the good it does me."
Juno groaned beside him, her usual sarcasm gone for a second, replaced by the dull exhaustion that always followed a jump between worlds. "Seriously? We're back here? After all that?" Her voice was flat, and she kicked at a stray gum wrapper on the floor as if it had personally offended her. "I was just starting to like being able to summon chaos magic without my phone dying."
Talia, ever the picture of composure, didn't seem as rattled, but Kael noticed the tightness in her shoulders. She was always controlled, but something in the way she moved—just a little too stiff, a little too careful—told him she wasn't quite herself, either. It was like their lives in the Dream Continent had become a different kind of reality, and now they were being yanked back into something that felt far too small and predictable.
"Yeah," Kael said, rolling his eyes. "And here I thought we were off to save the universe or something, and now... now we're stuck with finals week and group projects. Damnation."
He didn't really expect an answer, but Talia's voice cut through the awkward silence. "We'll have to adapt." She said it like it was a foregone conclusion. "This reality... it's different. But it's where we need to be, for now."
Juno's eyebrow arched at Talia's calm tone. "Look at you, Miss Cool and Collected. So ready to hit the books again. Or are you planning on running a business in the middle of our school hallway?"
Talia glanced at Juno but said nothing. She wasn't the type to joke or let her guard down, not even now, and Kael wasn't sure if that annoyed him or intrigued him. They had been through the ringer together, and yet, Talia still carried this air of detachment, as if she was always a step removed from everything happening around her.
"Alright, enough of this," Kael interrupted, flicking a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "I'm done with this school nonsense. I've got a test to fail and a lunch period to waste."
Juno snickered. "You should've stayed in the Dream Continent, Kael. At least there, your biggest problem was surviving giant monsters and evil forces."
Kael gritted his teeth. "Yeah, except there, my biggest problem was almost getting killed every five minutes. I'm not exactly feeling the 'nostalgia' for that. I'd rather be in this godforsaken school than face whatever those freaks throw at us next."
They walked down the hall in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Kael didn't know what he'd expected coming back to school. He'd been out for the better part of the week after that weird trip, and coming back to this place—these people—felt like a slap in the face. Everyone was so... normal. No one seemed to notice the tension in the air, the heavy weight of what they'd just been through.
"Hey, Kael," Juno said suddenly, her voice turning sly. "I saw your 'friend' from the other day—what's his name? Leo, right? He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon when you two went off to do your patrol."
Kael gave a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, that's Leo for you. All hard edges and 'I know what's best for everyone.' But you know what? The guy knows how to make things explode, so there's that."
"Explosions? Nice," Juno grinned, nudging him with her shoulder. "Maybe next time, we'll just make a big enough boom to blow up this stupid school."
Kael smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't tempt me. I'd love to turn this place into a crater."
As they entered the classroom, the mundane reality of school hit them all over again. The smells of chalk dust and half-eaten sandwiches in the desks, the clatter of kids gossiping about the weekend, and the oppressive hum of fluorescent lights above—they were all reminders that, for now, this was their reality. The real world.
But as he sat down at his desk and glanced out the window, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that the next time they were pulled back into the Dream Continent, it wouldn't be just for another patrol or a battle with a corrupted beast. This time, the stakes were going to be far higher.
He would be ready for it. And if anyone tried to make him sit through another day of math class while the universe was literally collapsing around them, he'd be sure to let them know. Sarcastically, of course.