"Seems like she’s not in the academy..."
The voice could barely be heard ringing amongst the cacophony of noises from the students walking to and fro.
Some were seated in twos and threes, plates of food on the tables.
The place was none other than the cafeteria, and amongst the group was none other than a white-haired individual with a mini plate of dishes in front of him, and by his side, a glass cup of water.
It was none other than Ryuk, donning the students’ uniform to blend into the surroundings.
His hands held a knife and fork, which he used to dice open the meat before him.
He had felt himself starving ever since he had returned to Endearth, and so, he had thought it would be a good option to visit the cafeteria after his search.
As for the search, it didn’t yield much.
Even after walking everywhere the students were permitted within the academy, he still couldn’t find Morgaine.
His only thought was that she might have gone on one of the quests and wasn’t around at the moment, but he also wasn’t truly sure about it.
"Hmmm..."
A low hum escaped his lips as he suddenly turned his attention to the entrance, where a figure could be seen slowly making his way in.
A golden-haired figure—who, though seemingly having grown much different compared to the picture in Ryuk’s head—was still no doubt familiar.
It was as if the figure could also sense the gaze.
Slowly, he turned his head to Ryuk, his eyes furrowing for a while before he averted his gaze.
"He doesn’t remember me, huh?" Ryuk mused to himself, but he was quickly proven wrong when the figure jerked back his head toward him in shock, his jaw dropping to the ground.
"Ry... Ryuk!?" he asked in disbelief as he stepped forward, scrutinizing Ryuk’s face.
"Arthur Pendragon," Ryuk replied with a small smile as Arthur sat opposite him, his golden eyes still holding that bit of surprise.
"How...?"
"Where...?" Arthur mumbled before finally regaining himself, clearing his throat.
"It’s been a long time, Ryuk. A really long time."
"I could say the same...." Ryuk replied, even though the timeframe of the past was different for both of them.
Ryuk had known Arthur from their short introduction, and they had their first contact during the fight with the Colossal Titan, which Arthur had defeated—but had ended up collapsing in Ryuk’s arms.
He had gone into the trial just a few days after that, and now he had returned.
To Ryuk, this was all within a span of six months, and the memories in his head were still fresh.
Perhaps that was even why he was able to recognize Arthur at a fast glance.
But to Arthur, it had been two years.
Even with his eyes—which were able to identify people’s auras and made it easier for him to recognize someone compared to the usual person—he had still almost completely forgotten about Ryuk.
"It took me about a month before I woke up after that battle training. I searched around for you but noticed you suddenly faded away from all classes and training."
"I tried reaching out to the instructors for your whereabouts, but they didn’t seem to have much of an answer themselves."
"The closest I got to knowing where you went was when an instructor told me you were on some personal training with another instructor, hence your absence."
"I thought you would be returning soon, but after six months, your name was removed from the Top Ten Ranking, and not long after, your position was described as vacant."
"I can remember some guy called Thomas being the one to join the new Top Ten."
"It was a pretty huge uproar then, as no one had any idea what happened to the human in the Top Ten Ranking."
"Really?" Ryuk asked feeling bizarre.
He didn’t think his presence should have mattered that much to anyone.
"Yes. A student even got into a battle with the instructors due to your prolonged absence, demanding answers for your disappearance."
"She garnered quite a bit of support from other students, most especially the humans."
"And the academy eventually had no choice but to give their reason for your disappearance." Arthur’s fingers lazily clasped into each other, and Ryuk paused his action.
"And what did the academy say?"
"They said you were in a coma due to a cultivation mishap, and they had no idea when you’d be waking up. Most likely, you wouldn’t be waking up at all, but at least you were alive."
"I’ve always felt it was a bit foggy since anyone who fell into a long coma in the academy would usually be immediately pronounced as ’Half-Deceased,’" Arthur recalled lengthily.
Ryuk resumed his eating posture. He had thought they would have pronounced him dead, but being in a coma was the perfect excuse.
"The academy is right. I’ve been gone for quite some time now, but I’m back. Even though it might take some time before I integrate back into the setting..." Ryuk replied, deciding to flow along with the academy’s reason for his disappearance.
"Glad to see you’re doing fine now," Arthur said.
Ryuk nodded before asking, "How about you? How are you doing, Arthur? Two years have passed by so fast. What do you think of the academy still? Or should I say, how’s it looking for a human who spent two years in the academy and survived?"
Arthur shrugged his shoulders.
A lady soon approached both of them, placing a tray of food before Arthur, who nodded before also picking up his knife and fork.
"A lot of ups and downs, Ryuk. A real lot!"
"After using that art that killed the Titan, the backlash was severe. I remained in a coma for an entire month straight, missing a lot of classes!"
Arthur began excitedly as Ryuk listened attentively.
It had been a long time since he had talked to someone his age group, and seeing someone like Arthur was like seeing an old friend.
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That was something he had missed quite a bit.