The System chimed.
Not a sharp alert—this one rolled through the air like a bell struck deep beneath the world. Everyone in Aurelion paused, even the attendants.
[Global Notification]
Mana Stones dropped by monsters can now be exchanged for Elnor currency.
Exchange rates vary by grade. Authorized exchange points have been updated.
A murmur spread through the gathered Earth survivors.
Lucas didn't react outwardly.
He opened his System interface silently.
[System Storage]
Low-Grade Mana Stone ×158
Level: 28
He stared at the numbers for a second longer than necessary.
One hundred and fifty-eight.
In the old timeline, that amount would've meant something else entirely. Enough to catch attention. Enough to invite danger. Here… it was valuable—but not absurd.
Still, level twenty-eight already.
He exhaled slowly and closed the interface.
Beside him, Adithya tilted his head, eyes following something above the street.
Lucas noticed it too.
Lanterns.
Dozens of them still hung across the avenue—silver frames etched with runes, faintly glowing even in daylight. Some floated lazily, others were tethered to spires and balconies, their light dimmer than the night before but not yet extinguished.
"Those weren't here yesterday," Lucas said.
Adithya nodded. "They were hung last night."
"For what?" Lucas asked.
An elven passerby overheard and answered casually while walking past. "Wedding lanterns."
Lucas blinked. "Wedding?"
"Yes," the elf said with a smile. "A grand one."
They didn't slow. Didn't elaborate.
Lucas glanced back up at the lanterns. Wedding lanterns in Aurelion weren't common. Mana was expensive. Public blessings even more so.
"Aurelion weddings aren't small," Adithya said quietly. "Whoever it was… they mattered."
Lucas frowned slightly.
Then it clicked.
"…Right," he muttered.
He remembered now. From the early days after Earth's transfer. The rumors. The whispers.
A couple from Earth.
The first to marry here.
Back then, it had sounded unreal—almost symbolic. Two humans binding themselves in a foreign world that barely understood them.
"If that's the case," Lucas said slowly, eyes tracing the glowing runes, "then it must've been massive."
Adithya gave a short hum of agreement. "The city doesn't decorate like this for nothing."
Lucas didn't know why, but a strange sense of distance settled in his chest.
Some people were already shaping this world—leaving marks deep enough that even the city responded.
And he?
He was counting stones. Calculating exchanges. Watching from the edge.
Lucas clenched his hand once, then relaxed it.
Fine.
If this timeline was different—
Then he'd carve his place differently too.
Above them, a few lanterns finally dimmed and drifted down, their purpose fulfilled.