(Or is everyone around me either ridiculously strong… or just straight-up talented?)
The thought lingered for a moment, then faded just as quickly as it came. No point digging into it now.
Si Hon exhaled softly and turned back, opening his own book again as he walked a few steps away, settling back into his spot against the shelf. The pages flipped once more, his focus sliding back into that same steady rhythm, letting the skill sink deeper with each line.
Time passed quietly, the kind that slipped by without asking permission. The air stayed still, the shelves unchanged, Han absorbed in his book like the rest of the world had faded out for him.
Then—
Something shifted.
It wasn't loud. Not dramatic. Just a faint flicker at the edge of Si Hon's vision, subtle enough to ignore… but wrong enough that he didn't. His eyes lifted slightly, attention catching on it without effort— and there, floating just beside him, was the familiar interface.
The Sage of Guide.
But different.
