Realm Lord

The afternoon sun filtered through the car windows as they drove down a winding road, casting long shadows across the leather seats. Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his position. The hum of the engine provided a steady backdrop to the conversation that had been going on for what felt like an eternity.

"Wait, you guys were only actually in the castle for a month, but yet almost two years passed on the outside!??" Myah’s voice pitched higher with each word, her eyes wide with disbelief as she turned in her seat to face Arthur more directly.

Arthur chuckled awkwardly, the sound hollow and forced as it escaped his lips. The memory of stepping out of that nightmare only to discover that the world had moved on without them still sent chills down his spine. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and glanced sideways at Aziel, who was staring out the window with that familiar distant expression.

Aziel’s jaw tightened as he thought grimly about the experience, his fingers unconsciously tracing the faint scars on his forearm that served as permanent reminders of their time in that place. He rolled his eyes and looked away from Myah’s intense gaze, his voice barely above a whisper when he finally spoke. "Yeah... it was pretty weird."

The understatement hung in the air like a lead weight. Arthur’s throat constricted as he tried to find the right words, his voice taking on a somber tone that seemed to age him beyond his years. "Yeah... it was pretty weird," mirroring what Azile said, though the words felt inadequate to describe the horror they’d endured.

Myah’s reaction was immediate and intense. Her eyes lit up like a child who had just discovered the most amazing toy in a toy shop, completely oblivious to the pain that flickered across Arthur’s features. She leaned forward, her hands gripping the edge of her seat with white knuckles. "And you said this was all done using that realm’s native magic!?"

Arthur’s discomfort was palpable now. He looked around the car awkwardly, his gaze darting between Myah’s expectant face and the passing landscape outside. The trees seemed to blur together as his mind wandered back to memories he’d rather forget. "Uh, yeah..." he managed, his voice barely audible.

The confirmation seemed to hit Myah like a physical blow. She recoiled slightly, blinking rapidly as if trying to process the impossible information. Her breathing quickened, and her hands trembled slightly as the full implications of what Arthur had just confirmed began to sink in.

"That’s absurd..." she whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and terror. "That means the magic they used had the possibility to bend space and time on massive levels... amazing!"