The return to the citadel took considerably more time than the journey away from it. They no longer got to use the treadmill made of cubes that sloth allowed them to use getting here.
Still with the destruction Wrath caused, most of the winding paths through the canyon had disappeared. Several sections had suffered so much damage that they could barely be called canyons anymore.
Ludwig walked at the front of the group, occasionally glancing down at the thin fractures still visible across his hands. His Living Vessel had recovered considerably since the battle ended, though it clearly remembered what he had forced it to endure. The cracks now resembled faint scars beneath his skin, and one of his fingers still twitched without permission every few minutes.
Celine noticed each involuntary movement and remained silent. Her refusal to comment somehow made Ludwig feel worse than any lecture would have.
