Three days passed quietly.
For the first time in weeks—
Kai wasn't fighting.
Wasn't running.
Wasn't falling off cliffs.
It almost felt strange.
---
Most mornings—
He could be found inside Noah's workshop.
Several sheets of old Oheyo documents covered an entire table.
Noah looked exhausted.
Eric looked fascinated.
Kai looked confused.
"...Why are there so many words for the same thing?"
Eric adjusted his glasses.
"Because language evolves."
Kai pointed at one page.
"This one means conduit."
He pointed at another.
"This one also means conduit."
Then another.
"...And this?"
Kai squinted.
"...Mana regulator."
Noah sighed dramatically.
"So they had three different words..."
"...for slightly different pipes."
Kai nodded.
"I think."
"I don't actually know."
Eric laughed.
"I appreciate your honesty."
The lessons continued.
Kai translated what little he remembered.
Some words came naturally.
Others only surfaced after a slight headache.
Noah wrote everything down.
Eric immediately began comparing the written symbols to Oheyo engineering.
"...Interesting."
Kai looked over.
"What now?"
Eric pointed toward one symbol.
"They don't write mana the way we do."
"They write..."
He paused.
"...Flow."
Noah nodded.
"Asphyxia describes energy."
"Oheyo describes movement."
Kai blinked.