As the maglev train continued speeding across the illuminated nightscape, Zael finally leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes briefly.
The past few hours had been mentally exhausting.
Cosmic systems.
Erasure.
Kael.
Tier Four combat power.
Even someone like him needed a moment to breathe.
So for the first time since leaving the camp—
Zael decided to rest.
Or at least attempt to.
But just as his consciousness began drifting slightly—
A burst of laughter echoed faintly from the neighboring carriage.
The sound caused Zael's eyes to open slowly.
The voice was…
Familiar.
Yet strangely unfamiliar at the same time.
Then realization struck.
Seraphina.
Zael blinked once quietly.
Truthfully, he hadn't spoken to her ever since the day of talent awakening.
The day everything changed.
The day she broke up with him almost immediately after awakening.
Back then—
It genuinely hurt.
Not necessarily because he deeply loved her.
But because of what it represented.
Rejection.
Powerlessness.
Being abandoned the moment he lost value.
And afterward—
He occasionally saw her together with that Legendary-grade awakener from Cyan High School.
At the time, each encounter felt irritating.
Like a lingering thorn in his chest.
But eventually—
Life moved too quickly.
Dungeons.
Battles.
Evolution.
The camp.
The Gods and Demon Battlefield.
One overwhelming event after another left little room for old emotions.
And now that he thought about it—
Almost an entire year had already passed.
A faintly amused expression appeared on Zael's face afterward.
Time really changed things.
Back then, Legendary-grade talents seemed untouchable to him.
Existences standing at the peak of genius.
Yet now?
Zael silently glanced at his own panel briefly.
Unknown-grade talents.
Mythical abilities.
Conceptual authorities.
A combat power vastly surpassing ordinary Second Tiers.
Even the principal of their high school—
An existence students once viewed with awe—
Was merely a Level Eighty-something Second Class Change awakener.
Meanwhile Zael, despite still technically being Level 90 Second Tier Peak, had already reached a point where ordinary awakeners at that level likely wouldn't even survive one exchange against him.
And most importantly—
He no longer cared.
Not truly.
Because compared to everything now surrounding his life—
Seraphina simply felt…
Distant.
Like a memory from another era entirely.
Coupled with the fact that he now had genuinely important people around him—
Lily.
Auralis.
Aurelia.
Even rivals like Zuko and Cassian—
The lingering bitterness from the past had already faded without him noticing.
So hearing her voice now stirred almost nothing inside him.
No anger.
No sadness.
No regret.
Just quiet acknowledgment.
Then another burst of laughter echoed from the next carriage.
Zael closed his eyes again afterward.
And this time—
He actually managed to rest.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A few hours later—
The intercity maglev train finally arrived at the capital.
The moment the doors opened, a wave of noise and movement flooded inward instantly.
Compared to Blackstone City, the capital felt entirely different.
Larger.
Faster.
Stronger.
Towering skyscrapers covered in holographic advertisements illuminated the night sky while countless flying transport vehicles moved overhead in organized aerial lanes. Powerful mana fluctuations occasionally swept through the crowds as high-level awakeners passed by openly without bothering to conceal their presence.
This was the true center of humanity's younger generation.
The location of the top universities.
The gathering point of geniuses.
Zael stepped off the train calmly with one hand in his pocket while carrying his bag over his shoulder.
Despite the surrounding chaos, his expression remained indifferent.
Truthfully—
After everything he had experienced recently, even the overwhelming aura of the capital no longer felt particularly impressive.
As he exited the station and prepared to call for a cab—
A voice suddenly called out behind him.
"Zael Nightshade."
The tone carried faint recognition.
And something else.
Mockery.
Zael stopped walking.
Then slowly turned around.
His gaze landed on a small group standing several meters away.
Seraphina.
Beside her stood the Legendary-grade awakener from Cyan High School—the same one she started dating shortly after breaking up with him.
Alongside them were two other girls Zael vaguely recognized from high school.
One of them visibly widened her eyes after properly seeing him.
Probably because Zael looked drastically different now.
Sharper.
Calmer.
More dangerous.
The weak and uncertain boy from back then was almost impossible to see in him anymore.
Meanwhile Seraphina herself seemed momentarily stunned after meeting his eyes directly.
Not because of attraction.
But because of unfamiliarity.
The current Zael felt strangely distant from the version she remembered.
Still—
Before anyone else could speak, Zael simply looked at them calmly and asked:
"Can I help you?"
His tone was polite.
Neutral.
Like they were merely strangers stopping him on the street.
That response visibly caught the Legendary-grade awakener off guard for a moment.
Then the boy laughed lightly before stepping forward with a grin that carried obvious mockery beneath its friendliness.
"Hey man, don't be like that."
He casually draped an arm around Seraphina's shoulder afterward.
"I know you might not recognize me…"
"But at least you should remember her."
He pointed toward Seraphina with a smug smile.
And at that moment—
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly.