The change didn't hit during training.
It showed up after.
Lucas realized that as he stepped into the dorm corridor that night, shoulders still carrying the dull weight of sparring. The building was quieter than usual, but not empty. Doors were half-open. Voices drifted out in low tones. People weren't relaxing.
They were replaying.
He paused outside one of the common rooms without meaning to. Inside, three students sat around a small projection, arguing over something that had happened earlier.
"You shifted too late," one of them said.
"No," another replied. "I waited because you were already committing."
"That's exactly the problem."
Lucas leaned against the wall for a second, listening.
No one raised their voice. No one tried to win the argument.
They were trying to understand it.
He pushed off the wall and kept walking.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "This isn't stopping anytime soon."
His room felt smaller than usual.
Not physically.
Just… quieter.
