I guess I’ll never get used to it.

They were certain that if they told anyone what had happened to them, no one would believe them. Heck, they wouldn't believe themselves either.

Penny, her brothers, and Zoren sat in the living room. The air was stale; none of them had spoken a word since returning to the castle. Even the hot tea prepared for them sat untouched. All they did was stare at it as it slowly turned cold.

They were injured and should be resting, but they were all too overstimulated to even think about sleep. Above all, the castle was the complete opposite of the battlefield they had just left. It was quiet and peaceful, filled only with the soft humming of birds as the sun rose once more.

Everything that had happened just hours ago felt like a dream—like it had all been in their imagination. If not for the traces left behind—their wounds, their exhaustion—they might have thought they had simply been hallucinating.

"What are you all still doing?"