"I'm going back to my child," Dayesh said as a farewell to Dioh and the others.
"Let me come with you, big brother. I want to finally see my niece," one of them replied quickly.
"I'll just bring her here someday," Dayesh answered calmly.
"Oh, so we'll finally meet our granddaughter at last!" another voice chimed in with clear excitement.
During his few days of staying in Caelumn, he had at least managed to speak properly with his family again. There was no lingering anger on his side, and he did not feel resentment toward them either. He had simply grown tired of their constant expectations and strict decisions for his life. When he finally gained independence and the ability to choose for himself, he chose distance instead of conflict.
Without further delay, Dayesh opened a portal directly connected to his room.
"I'm leaving now," he said.
"See you, big brother. Bring my niece next time," they called out behind him.
Dayesh stepped through the portal and vanished.
Return Home
He arrived at Lzith's room.
It was already early morning in Caelumn's time, but when he stepped out of the portal, the sun outside the estate was still high and bright. Time flowed differently between the two places.
He slowly opened the door, careful not to make any noise.
Inside, Lzith's room was quiet. Amon was sleeping on a separate bed, and the owl is still awake, watching over both of them with sharp attention.
"Welcome back," the owl's voice echoed through telepathy. "You were gone for several days."
"I had matters to attend to," Dayesh replied mentally. "How have things been here?"
"Everything was stable. No incidents."
"I see," Dayesh said. "I'll rest for a while."
Morning With Lzith
"Papa. Papa."
Small hands gently tapped Dayesh's face, trying to wake him up.
"Hmmm," he murmured, still half asleep. "What is it, my child?"
"Papa, I'm hungry," Lzith said softly.
Dayesh slowly opened one eye, then instinctively reached out and pulled her closer.
"Sleep a little more," he said lazily.
"I'm really hungry," she insisted again.
"Alright, alright. We'll go downstairs," he finally surrendered.
He sat up, then carried Lzith in his arms as he walked toward the dining area.
By the time they arrived, the table was already set with food.
At that moment, Dayesh's eyes met Sapphire's.
For a brief second, neither of them spoke.
There was something slightly awkward in the silence, like both of them were unsure what version of each other they were currently seeing. A master who had returned after days of absence, and a caretaker who had grown too comfortable filling in roles.
Sapphire was the first to break the silence.
"So you're back already," she said casually. "I was about to come upstairs and take the child to eat."
"I just arrived a while ago," Dayesh replied.
Lzith looked between them, then smiled brightly.
"Auntie mama, I'm going to eat now."
Sapphire blinked.
"Auntie mama?" she repeated immediately. "No, no, it's just auntie. I'm not your mother."
"But you also do what mama used to do," Lzith said innocently.
"That's different. Your mother is your mother. I'm just auntie."
Lzith tilted her head.
"Okay then. Auntie mama it is."
Sapphire sighed, defeated in the most harmless way possible.
"Just eat your food," she said.
Lzith happily started eating.
Dayesh watched the exchange quietly. There was a faint softness in his expression, something that rarely showed when he was outside this space.
After a while, Sapphire excused herself.
"I'll go eat in my room. Bye," she said, already turning away.
"Alright," Dayesh replied.
She left without looking back.
Once she closed the door behind her, Sapphire finally exhaled.
Only then did she feel like she could breathe properly.
She placed her plate on the table and sat down, but instead of eating right away, she just stared at it for a moment.
A small smile formed on her lips, almost unintentional.
He's back.
It was a simple thought, but it carried weight she did not want to fully acknowledge.
The house felt different when Dayesh was around. Not necessarily better or worse, just… complete in a way that was hard to explain.
She picked up her spoon, but paused again.
It's weird, she thought. "I'm literally working under him, but I ended up acting like a nanny for a kid in a different world with magic and portals."
She shook her head slightly, amused at her own situation.
Still, it wasn't unpleasant.
Not at all.
Night Walk
That night, Sapphire thought of going outside for a short walk before sleeping.
The air was cool, and the sky above was calm.
But her thoughts were not.
So many things were running through her mind at once.
"I miss the modern world, she thought. But there's no way back. Or at least, I don't know how."
She kicked a small pebble on the ground as she walked slowly.
"What about everyone there? she wondered. My mother… are they okay? And what about work? All those unfinished papers before I died. I didn't even get my salary."
She let out a quiet, bitter laugh.
"Seriously. Even after dying, I'm still thinking about unpaid work."
Her eyes drifted upward.
"What about my crush back then? Did he survive the earthquake? Or did something happen to him too?"
The silence around her did not answer.
She stopped walking and just stood there for a moment, staring into nothing.
Well… she finally thought, "if I'm alive, then I might as well go with the flow."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly.
"I'll save up money. Maybe I can take a vacation somewhere far away someday."
Then her expression softened again into something more grounded.
"Also, I still don't have a companion to help me wiht the chores. No one even applied yet I guess."
"It's strange", she thought. "I died, got transported into another world, and somehow my biggest concern right now is still work and staffing problems."
The world felt quiet, but not peaceful in a comforting way. More like it was holding its breath with her, letting her thoughts echo back to her.
And for a moment, she simply walk back, alone with the weight of everything she could no longer return to.
Next Day at the Guild
"Long time no see," Rana greeted Dayesh as soon as she saw him. "Did you enjoy your little break?"
"I just handled some matters and rested," Dayesh replied briefly.
Without wasting more time, he turned toward the quest board again.
The guild was busy as always. People were scanning quests, discussing rewards, and arguing over difficulty levels.
In one corner, Khafa and Ghoth were sitting together.
Both looked like they were waiting for something that might never arrive.
Khafa leaned back on his chair, casually spinning a small coin between his fingers.
Ghoth, on the other hand, was slouched with his arms crossed, staring at the ceiling like it might suddenly give him answers to life.
"You know," Ghoth muttered, still looking up, "if it's another strength quest, I swear I might lose my joints before I get rich."
Khafa finally glanced at him.
"You don't look like someone used to battlefields anyway."
"I'm not used to them anymore," Ghoth replied.
Khafa smirked slightly. "Then what are you used to?"
"Surviving," Ghoth said flatly.
There was a short pause.
Then Khafa chuckled. "Fair enough."
They both went quiet again, letting the noise of the guild fill the space around them while neither of them truly blended into it.
Dayesh stood near the quest board, scanning silently, already thinking ahead to the next steps of his plans.
Somewhere far behind him, life continued as usual.
But for everyone involved, nothing ever felt truly simple anymore.