The clearing did not return to normal all at once.
It relaxed the way a great beast might after stretching,slowly, deliberately, with a lingering sense of coiled strength just beneath the surface. The wind eased first, currents unstacking themselves until the air flowed naturally again.
Residual static crackled faintly before dissipating, and the suspended mana threads Luna had woven into the periter dimd from blazing gold-green to a steady, watchful glow.
Leaves settled back onto the forest floor. Grass, flattened into perfect concentric patterns, slowly began to rise again, unbroken, unhard.
Only then did the world feel real again. The imnse aura of the Leviathan slowly dissipated, and allowed everyone to breathe easily once again.
Albedo straightened fully, Havoc and Ruin dissolving back into motes of light that sank into his soul space. His breathing was steady, but his pulse still thudded with lingering adrenaline. He rolled his shoulders once, testing himself, then let out a low, appreciative whistle.
"...Alright," he said, voice carrying genuine awe now that the imdiate pressure had faded. "That was absurdly impressive. You’ll have to teach how you did all that, I’ll find a way,"
Nymarielle blinked, clearly not expecting that tone.
"Impressive? What exactly do you want to learn? I doubt I can even teach you, everything cos naturally to ," she echoed.
He looked directly at her, blue eyes sharp, earnest, and very much alive. "Water with gravitational density control. Thunder that doesn’t borrow the sky but replaces it. Wind layered with mathematical precision instead of brute force. That was mastery."
For mont, Nymarielle just stared at him.
Then her expression softened, sothing warm and quietly pleased blooming across her face. A faint shimr rippled through the mana around her, like a tide responding to a gentle pull.
"...Thank you," she said softly.
Luna watched the exchange with interest, one silver brow arching slightly. "High praise from soone who’s survived things that turn seasoned Archmages into cautionary tales."
Albedo smirked. "I know what overwhelming force feels like. That wasn’t reckless. That was controlled."
Nymarielle hesitated, then let out a small, almost embarrassed laugh. "If that impressed you..."
She raised one hand, palm up, fingers relaxed.
"...then I should probably tell you."
The air around her palm distorted slightly, not enough to form anything, just enough to remind both of them what she was.
"That was approximately two percent of my current output."
The clearing went very still. Albedo stared at her, raising an eyebrow.
"...I’m sorry," he said slowly. "Did you say two?"
Nymarielle nodded. "Roughly. Perhaps a little more if I account for inefficiencies in this form."
Luna exhaled through her nose, clearly amused. "She’s being conservative."
Albedo ran a hand through his hair, letting out a short laugh that was half disbelief, half sothing dangerously close to admiration. "That’s not scary at all. Not even a little."
"It is," Nymarielle said seriously. "I am aware."
Her gaze turned distant for a mont, eyes reflecting sothing vast and ancient. "The Echoing Deep does not grant strength lightly. Every increase cos with... weight. Responsibility. Awareness."
She looked back at him. "This form exists because unleashing more would destabilize the region. Possibly the Kingdom."
"Possibly," Luna echoed dryly. "Definitely, if she lost focus."
Albedo nodded slowly, absorbing that. "So you’re walking around with a planetary-scale disaster sealed behind a polite smile."
Nymarielle tilted her head. "Is that... unsettling?"
He smiled crookedly. "Honestly? I’ve t worse."
That earned a genuine laugh from Luna.
"Spoken like soone whose life refuses to remain mundane."
Nymarielle studied him more closely now, curiosity bright in her sea-blue eyes. "Professor Luna told you had been through... many incidents. That you were changed."
She hesitated, then asked gently, "How have you been, Albedo? Truly."
The question landed differently than others had.
Not probing. Not assessing.
Just... concern.
Albedo looked away briefly, gaze drifting to the trees, the wards, the grass still faintly bearing the mory of her power. He inhaled, then exhaled slowly.
"I’m alive," he said at first.
Then, after a pause, "Which, given the last few months, already feels like an achievent."
Luna’s posture shifted subtly, listening now, not observing.
Albedo leaned back against a tree trunk, crossing his arms loosely. "The exchange was... long. Complicated. Political, in ways I didn’t expect. Dangerous, in ways I did."
He smiled faintly. "I fought demons. Negotiated with beings who could erase cities if they sneezed wrong. Trained under pressures ant to break people, not refine them."
Nymarielle’s eyes widened slightly.
"I lost sleep," he continued calmly. "Got injured more tis than I can count. Learned things I wish I hadn’t needed to learn so soon."
His fingers tightened briefly, then relaxed.
"But I survived," he said. "I adapted. I got stronger. And I ca back."
He glanced toward the Academy grounds beyond the containnt field, as if he could see the city, the house, Gwen.
"I’ve got people waiting for now. That helps."
Nymarielle’s expression softened, sothing like understanding settling in. "You carry weight similar to mine," she said quietly. "Different in nature. Similar in burden."
Luna nodded once. "You both walk ahead of your peers whether you want to or not."
Albedo snorted. "I’d settle for a boring week."
"You will not get one," Luna said cheerfully.
Nymarielle smiled at him then, not the shy smile from before, but sothing brighter, more confident. "I am glad you are well," she said. "And that you returned."
He t her gaze. "Sa. Looks like the world’s gotten more interesting while I was gone."
"The sea does not remain still," she replied. "Nor do storms."
The wards humd softly around them, holding steady.
Three figures stood in the clearing: a beast who had learned to wear humanity, a professor who shepherded monsters with wisdom and restraint, and a young man who kept surviving things he had no right to survive.
A week off.
And already, the world was reminding him why rest was never simple.
But as Albedo smiled, surrounded by power that did not threaten him, he realized sothing important, with such a powerful ally, he’d be able to walk sideways throughout the Kingdom.
Unless he did sothing truly stupid, no-one could touch him.
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