The room had grown still again.
After all the talking, the explaining, the theories and questions—things had finally settled down. The oil lamp crackled gently on the study table. The pages of Gao's notes rustled as he opened his book.
The stranger sat in a quiet corner of the room.
Cheol Gae stretched his arms with a yawn. "Alright, Gao. Let's study a bit. Test tomorrow. Don't want to fail and end up cleaning dishes for the Dean."
Gao Zhi (already flipping through his notes): "That wouldn't be the worst outcome. At least you'd finally learn to clean."
The stranger blinked, a little unsure of what he was hearing. It was the kind of casual teasing that felt like home. Familiar, even if he couldn't remember what home meant.
Stranger: "…Hey. Would it be alright if I stepped out to the balcony? Just for a while?"
Cheol Gae (with a shrug): "Sure. Just don't fall off."
The stranger gave a small smile and stepped outside.
The air was cooler here.
The night sky stretched wide and deep above the city, stars scattered like forgotten ink across old parchment. The wind tugged at his borrowed hoodie gently, and he rested his arms on the stone railing.
He looked up.
He didn't know these stars. Not their names. Not their stories. Not even which ones were considered important. But somehow… they still made him feel small in a comforting way.
Behind him, he could hear faint voices.
Gao Zhi (firmly): "Cheol, I'm telling you—just because the scriptures sound similar doesn't mean the jinja, the mandir, the daouguan, and the church are all secretly run by one god. It's about philosophical convergence, not conspiracy."
Cheol Gae (frowning, confused): "But if they all say the same thing at the end, why make it so confusing? Just say it's one god!"
Gao Zhi (patiently): "Because it's not a same person who founded them and for the last time we arent going to attack them as if they are some kind of cult."
The stranger listened closely. He didn't understand it all. But something about it stirred something inside.
He thought:
"It might look like Cheol is a burden on Gao. Always questioning. Always confused. But from what I remeber… when you explain something to someone else, you remember it better. You make it real by saying it out loud."
He watched as Gao gently explained again, using strange metaphors and gestures.
Cheol nodded along. Or tried to.
And the stranger smiled.
"Even if Cheol's a little goofy… they're not just classmates. They're friends. You can't split that kind of bond. Not with gods, memory loss, or even worlds in between."
Something welled up in his chest.
It wasn't sadness. Or joy. Or nostalgia.
It was all of it at once.
And suddenly, his head began to throb.
A sharp, unexpected ache spread through his skull like a bell being struck. He winced, stumbled back into the room, and without a word, he dropped onto the mattress they'd given him.
His mind blurred.
He began to see something blurry and glitch somebody calling him as they cried in relief and jolting him around like a gaint and the only thing he could hear was Inglen Thoithoi
He passed out cold.