Chương 116: Beauty in the Dark

Dragon's Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Thacea and Emma's Room. Local Time: 0110 Hours. Thacea There was a rule — unspoken yet clearly defined — between those of royal blood and those belonging to a more common disposition. That rule, hedged upon the principles of expectant decorum, was so universal that it purveyed every waking moment of my sensibilities. So much so that despite understanding the current circumstances were anything but expectant, I still managed to feel taken aback by Emma's actions.

Actions being the operative word in this instance. As in addition to the sheer… awe that came with the topics shown within her sight-seer, it was her actions following its conclusion that had managed to elicit the irritation that came with an unruly subject. I had instructed her to retire for the night. And yet, even after a full bath, did I arrive to find her nowhere close to carrying forth that instruction.

Instead, I exited the bath to find a trail of manaless trinkets leading towards the balcony which she currently stood upon, her head firmly craned upwards towards the very impetus which spawned this night's outing — the 'starless' skies. I approached slowly, displeased by the lack of the earthrealmer's adherence to my reasonable request, yet also concerned for the unnatural and undeniably gargoyle-like posture which she currently assumed. A posture which never once flinched as far as I'd taken notice.

"Emma?" I asked politely, refraining from assuming my social role, one which otherwise came naturally to me in practically any other situation. But not here. Not with this earthrealmer who had managed to slowly chip away at that expectant role from that very first night. Yet despite the… laxness that came with our interactions. This was an instance in which I had to take charge. If not for decorum's sakes, then for the sake of Emma's own well being. Emma I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had my doubts. No.

I had more than doubts following Ilunor's explanations of the Nexus' own peculiar cosmology. Yet I never thought to myself that I would be experiencing an ' Ilunor moment' — a moment of sheer fundamental systemic incongruency as I stared out at an object, a thing that should not have been there. Atop my head was a souped-up version of a battlefield recon-optic suite, one designed for use in both the Forward Expeditionary ranger forces, and the pathfinders within T-SEC.

Except this one was rated for far, far more than typical tactical activities. This was rated for minor astronomical tomfoolery. And that tomfoolery was what I had intended to gun for the moment Ilunor's explanations graced my ears. So as soon as Thacea had excused herself for her hour-long spa session did I immediately clamor for that module attachment, fixing it onto my helmet's compound-lock rail system, before barreling towards the balcony to stare up into that ominously dark and starless sky.

I'd expected to see a moon. As in spite of Ilunor's assertions, his explanations… never really landed. Instead, they merely lodged themselves as a point to disprove. A fact that I now chastised myself for, especially given how I'd promised myself to be more open-minded to the possibilities of impossibilities within an entirely different dimension; an entirely different reality. An impossibility… that had now well and truly come to fruition.

As what I saw was something that even the primary school astronomy student would find odd. Because instead of the typically-rendered surface one would expect from a zoomed-in view at the moon — a view that even the most amateur of home astronomers would be familiar with — filled with the tell-tale landmarks of another world, I instead saw… a round circular body. One, which neither I nor the EVI could extract any surface details from, other than the off-white dim light being exuded from it.

It was less an object deep within space, as much as it was just… a hole. One which even pulsated, its perfectly round shape twitching ever so slightly, even going so far as to narrow and widen, dilating like some oversized eye. These latter observations, as subtle as it may be and perhaps even impossible to notice with the naked eye… completely destroyed me. As I watched, minute after minute, my eyes no longer focused on its surface but on its… twitching throughout the hour.

Only once or twice did I disengage, and only to double-check my sanity through the EVI's extended sensor reports (ESRs). Each line of which, spat out point after point of erroneous readings. None of which conformed to what one would expect of a planet's natural satellite. From the unnaturally flat light curve, to its trajectory which upon closer inspection, left a sort of trail.

A barely noticeable artifact of light that at first looked like some sort of refractive light phenomenon, but throughout the course of the hour seemed more like a gap left in the moon's wake. Like it was actually'zipping up' the 'sky' behind it. Part of me was in sheer awe at this, wanting to find ways to now support Ilunor's assertions over its nature.

Yet another part of me couldn't help but to feel a growing sense of dread over it, attempting to rationalize it in a way that made sense with my own understanding of what it should have been. Rationalizing it in an attempt to make it more congruent with what I'd expected. Both of these conflicting thoughts however, along with the cosmic horror slowly gnawing at me in the back of my mind, was suddenly and thankfully interrupted by the princess. I felt myself coming back down to earth.

But instead of finding the typical concerned expression on Thacea's face, my cameras instead relayed to me an expression that fit more in line with stoic frustration.

"Had I not instructed you to retire for the night?" She spoke with an audible level of irritation. One that I could only blame myself for, as I turned around to face the avinor, her expressions changing if ever so slightly as her eyes moved to notice the massive 8-lensed monstrosity of a device sitting 'precariously' atop of my forehead. This definitely wasn't going to help the arachnid-like claims Ilunor had thrown around following the revelation of my ARMS. Thacea I blinked. Rapidly.

As the indignant part of me came to a screeching halt at the sight of the… arachnous lenses Emma had chosen to adorn her helmet with. I couldn't help but to shudder, this unexpected addition adding an entirely new layer of otherworldly unsightliness onto an already ominous being. A being whose people seemed to be alarmingly adept at constructing more and more highly specific, esoteric artifices to enhance whatever form it was that lay beneath the layers of protective steel.

However, this sense of otherness soon faded upon the voice of its user breaking through these layers of artificiality.

"Oh, erm, sorry Thacea. I… got a bit carried away there, what with Ilunor's claims and stuff." She began, as she yet again raised her arm up behind her helmet. Her overly colorful body language and the animated voice behind that helmet completely disrupting any and all of the foreboding the armor and its new addition had just exuded.

"I couldn't help myself from investigating it immediately. So I decided to grab some equipment just to give the moon a cursory look. And erm… yeah, it's definitely not what I was expecting." This… casualness, and the inexplicable friendliness that always seemed to come through the earthrealmer's voice, had almost completely disarmed the royal indignancies welling within me. In fact, the overt familiarness through which Emma carried herself, which was at first off-putting, now felt inexplicably agreeable.

As this sort of earnesty was otherwise a completely foreign concept in most circles.

"I assume those are lenses of some sort?" I asked, giving into both my own growing curiosity, and a desire for equally casual banter.

"Yup! That's correct!" Emma responded promptly, though in spite of the eagerness to talk, I couldn't help but to notice the disquieting anxiousness welling beneath it.

"I'm sure the fact that it's multi-lensed is probably throwing you off—""I assume that similar to certain artifices, they are to detect more esoteric aspects of the world. Perhaps analogous to manasplicers — specialized tools designed to further aid in the observation of different spectrums of mana." I interjected, causing the earthrealmer to simply nod in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, this thing's rated for more than just simple optical zoom-ins and whatnot so you're right on the money there, Thacea." Emma admitted, her tone of voice hinting at her emotional recovery as the conversation continued. This… clear discomfort prompted me to momentarily abandon my pursuit of the earthrealmer's compliance, instead choosing to join her on the balcony, peering up at the wide and radiant night skies of the Nexus.

This moment of silence was spent with the human cocking her head in my direction, as she moved back and forth between her own observations of the skies, and the movement of my own eyes.

"There's probably a lot more going on from your perspective, huh?" She managed out with an eager restlessness, prompting me to nod as I began pointing at each radiant point, using what means I had available to illustrate to Emma the stunning natural beauty that stood in contrast to the rot that was the Nexus. I superimposed the shapes of the various manastreams as points of visible light.

I colored in the spaces between those shapes, using light that was visible to the naked eye, in turn creating what I would hazard to even call art without the flair of any mana overtones. Following all of which, I eventually brought these points of static art to life, creating what I could only describe as a flat and lifeless facsimile of the real beauty floating just behind it. A twinge of concern quickly precipitated as a result of this display however.

As I worried not for a jab of criticism at my artistic abilities. But instead, the social gesture this act had inadvertently treaded into. The act of belittling, through what could be misconstrued as a patronizing gesture. I held my breath, ready for the offense to be responded in kind with a dismissive slight. But nothing came. Instead, the only thing to be vocalized was a soft and barely audible.

"Whoa." Followed close in tow by a reaction brimming with earnest wonder.

"That's stunning." The human spoke, her voice drenched in such astonishment that I could actually attribute a phantom smile to it.

"And I don't just mean the fancy light shows and auroras, but the art itself." She continued, eliciting a cock of my head, as she turned to face me instead of the small patch of light in front of us.

"A natural mage, a scholar, a skilled statesman, and now an artist too? What else are you going to surprise me with next, your grace?" Rarely was I ever thrown off by a response, and rarer still were those moments where conversation elicited a physical reaction. This, however, happened to be one of those rare few instances. As I stood there — feathers thankfully not on end — but only as a result of the conditioner and rejuvenating oils I'd just applied.

Flattery was often the cheapest and most readily used tool in the roster of weapons one had within banquets and galas. But flattery spoken with such earnesty … was something I had rarely experienced. If ever.

"Erm, Thacea? I'm sorry if that was offensive to say or anything—""Oh, no! No. I apologize for taking a moment, I just…" I paused, gathering myself by clearing my throat.

"It is not often that I receive compliments, most certainly not for an impromptu sketch of all things." I attempted to explain, staring at those red lenses, as if peering closer into them would've allowed me a greater glimpse into the enigmatic being within. A being that had somehow managed to defy not only fundamental expectations, but any worldly expectations of decorum too.

"Heh, well, I'm glad it wasn't offensive or anything. I know there's a lot of unspoken social rules here and you're really the last person I'd want to stir up any issues with, especially if it was unintentional." The human promptly added, moving to rub the back of her head once again.

"I… appreciate that Emma, thank you." The next few moments were once again marked by silence, as I glanced up at the most powerful spectacle of all within the Nexus at night — the 'moon'. Or more specifically, one of many which punctuated the different regions of the Nexus.

"Thacea… I gotta ask, was Ilunor… actually right?" Emma began, her voice sheepish, as if realizing that the topic was taking us further and further away from my actual goal for the both of us.

"T-that's the last question I'll ask for the night, I promise." She quickly added, reminding myself of a young, reckless fledgling incapable of taking a simple order from a nurse bestowed with maternal authority.

"To avoid losing ourselves to yet another long-winded tangent — yes." I answered plainly, and with an authoritative cadence that came naturally to me, as I kept… swaying, between both a formal yet informal and dare I say it — personable rhetoric — when addressing Emma. Natural authority, despite it being the expected diction by which to address Emma, just never felt appropriate. This sentimentality was difficult to truly place, but its effects were felt all throughout.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Especially as I acquiesced to the burning whims of human curiosity.

"I sense you wish to briefly follow-up that question. So I will allow it —""Thanks!" The human interjected ecstatically, raising both of her hands up in front of her arachnous-face in some foreign gesture of excitement. Yet instead of being repulsed, offended, or indignant of what would in any other situation be a social slight born of commoner dispositions… I instead felt amused by it. In a way that was immensely difficult to put into words.

"So, er, I just wanted to quickly follow up that question by asking this. Is it the same across the board? As in, other adjacent realms? Because I can try to suspend my disbelief for the Nexus. But like, since every adjacent realm is more or less another dimension, or at least separate dimensions from the Nexus, are they all like this? Or are some of them operating more similarly to my realm's cosmological paradigms?"

"I do not have a definitive answer for that, Emma." I answered promptly.

"Nor can I speak for every realm. However, what I can speak for is my own. In which case, the answer becomes… nebulous. This is because all ideas purveying anything other than the Nexian status quo comes from our rich history prior to the Nexian Reformations. However, as the reformations in Aetheronrealm were both divisive and bloody, much of our records from that era have either been lost or continue to exist as unsubstantiated folktales. However, if the aforementioned…

whispers are to be believed, the empiricalists from before my time claimed that the universe, and reality itself, operated in a way that was… strangely analogous to what your people have discovered, Emma." I paused, taking a moment to ponder that statement, especially as the Nexian cosmological truths felt so compelling when in their raw and unquestionable presence.

"The belief was that our globe, our world, existed as merely part of a greater system. One separated not by the fabric of reality, but by sheer distance and unimaginable scale." Emma That answer… brought about so many more questions. If the Nexian narrative was what Ilunor claimed it to be, then could we be looking at a whole hodge-podge of realities with vastly different universal rules? Or was it a clear cut divide between what I was now coining the Nexian Model, versus the Standard Model of cosmology?

And when taking into account the blatant historical revisionism that was the 'Nexian Reformations', was it possible that Thacea's reality was simply operating on the 'Standard Model'? Theories abounded now over this whole can of worms. Theories that, unfortunately, had to be saved for another day. As Thacea would reinforce her two-question policy for the night with a stern glare that caused something within me to physically flinch.

"I concede to your will, your grace." I bowed playfully, eliciting yet another flustered expression from the royal as she took a single step back, before slowly but surely recovering. These small moments were what made this whole mission so worth it, as I couldn't help but to gleefully smile beneath the helmet. We both reentered the dorms wordlessly, but not before I continued playing the part of the princess' knight, opening and closing the double doors of the balcony.

However, right before I left for the tent, and before I could even bid the princess goodnight, she suddenly brought up a topic that I wasn't at all expecting.

"Emma?"

"Yes, Thacea?"

"There is… one more item I wished to briefly touch upon before you retire. That is, if you believe yourself able to—""I'm all ears, Thacea." Thacea paused, and in one of the rare few instances in which her barriers were lowered, shifted forwards with an expression that stood in contrast to the regally stoic mask she typically wore. It was in that instance that I knew something was up. That, or I might've been misreading things entirely.

"During your presentation, you mentioned that there is, quote — beauty to be found in the dark." Thacea began, halting halfway as if out of some tepid self-doubt.

"Yes I did." I nodded, not so much urging the princess along out of impatience, as much as it was an attempt to provide reassurance where she so clearly needed it.

"Did you mean it?" Thacea continued abruptly, taking me by surprise.

"Yeah, I did." I replied intuitively.

"As with anything else in that presentation, I was being completely frank about—""That much I gathered, yes. But what I mean is… did you mean it as a representative, an emissary of your people's values. Or do you also believe it, intrinsically, on a personal level?" There was… a level of weight to that question that I wasn't at all expecting. One that should've prompted me to stop and think long and hard for an answer. But one that I instead chose to reply with an earnest stream of consciousness.

"Both, princess." I began.

"I meant it, both professionally and personally. I don't think I have to elaborate further on the professional part, but personally? I find that the dark is usually misunderstood. The dark simply obscures all things, equally, and indiscriminately. And sometimes… maybe the monsters most people see, might actually instead turn out to be anything but. Because sometimes, we make monsters out of what in actuality should be beautiful, just based on dumb preconceived biases.

And I think it's important to acknowledge that." Thacea paused at that answer, her eyes shifting as if pondering something, before ultimately giving a curt nod in response.

"Thank you, Emma. I appreciate your earnesty… in all matters." Dragon's Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Thacea and Emma's Room. Local Time: 0800 Hours. Emma No dreams this time around. Or at least, none that was out of the ordinary. This was probably why I managed to not wake up in a puddle of my own sweat and drool, which was definitely a plus. Though rolling over, I kinda made that point moot by inflicting the same damage a nightmare would've incurred…

by slamming face-first into my propped-up tablet and keyboard. Last night's report more or less took its rightful revenge, as I'd yet again fallen to the foolish thought of finishing work in bed. It didn't work the week before. Nor did it ever work back home. Why then would I have thought that this time would be any different? I guess the indomitable human spirit really isn't so indomitable when you're up against crisp bed sheets.

"Right." I steadied myself, grabbing the tablet and scrolling through it. Most of the important bits are already there, at least. A wrap-up of events including the highlight reel, with helpful annotations from the suit's internal memory storage unit, off-loaded and shunted into the tent's databanks.

"I'll get back to this later. Maybe even work on it in Vanavan's class if things get really tedious." I groaned, before shifting my attention to… My non-existent HUD. … A quick donning of my glasses fixed that issue, as the AR environment returned in all of its seamless and glowy glory.

"EVI, morning briefing." I began through a refreshed yawn, taking off my undersuit and shunting it into the washer.

"Acknowledged. Local time: 0800. ETA to Professor Vanvan's Classes: 1 Hour. 1 Objective noted for class: Homework."

"Right. Print out homework." I nodded, heading straight into the shower, allowing the EVI to continue unabated." Acknowledged. Printing. Briefing continues… Current mission objectives as indicated by Mission Commander… A. Locate and Secure the AM-d-002b Low-Bandwidth Exoreality Unidirectional Narrowband Pulsator (Minor Shard of Impart) from the 'Amethyst Dragon'. Status: Awaiting completion of reconnaissance operations by local assets: " Sym's Troubleshooters"."

"Yeah, they had a time limit of one week to find the dragon. But given our monetary incentives… I expect they should be done in the next few days." I 'replied', garnering an affirmative beep by the EVI." B. Rebuild the ECS."

"Yeah, that's a given."" C. Resume 'Library Questline' with ILUNOR RULARIA… Objective 1 COMPLETE: Scouting and espionage operations on MAL'TORY'S OFFICE… New Objectives as follows: i. Secure temporary possession of the 'Green Book' from Apprentice Larial. ii. Return to the library with the original 'Green Book'. iii. Return the 'Green Book' to Apprentice Larial."

"Yeah, just make a note that all of these objectives are now heavily contingent on the circumstances surrounding Larial. The current plan is to simply ask for the book. Which… given how we managed to determine Rila's whereabouts by simply asking, might actually mean the mission will be more straightforward than we thought."" Acknowledged."

"Long term objectives for the Library Questline' might include actually finding the burned books though. Just take note of that, since the whole 'finding the green book' thing is more a probationary mission for the Seekership, rather than fulfilling Ilunor's complete freedom."" Acknowledged." I sighed, stepping out of the shower now as I started wiping down my glasses.

"Continue."" D. Rila's whereabouts. Objective COMPLETE."

"Yeah, actually, that may be the one thing we've properly completed. Take it down to secondary priority now, and designate a new objective: find Rila a long-term solution for her current… unemployment issue."" Acknowledged."" E. Follow-up on Lord ETHOLIN ESILA'S meeting request. Objective: COMPLETE."

"A-firm on that one. Move Etholin's whole thing to the secondary objectives masterlist too. I have plans for him. Namely, the securing of 'Low Nexian' dialects so that I can better communicate with normal folk, and also furthering the pen shop idea with him as a joint-venture project."" Acknowledged."

"I was never one for the private sector honestly, never thought I'd touch it. But I guess there's a time for everything." I spoke to no one, as the EVI eventually continued." F. Continue the mana-desaturation experiments. Priority: Foodstuff viability tests. Status: 9 confirmed staple foodstuffs determined as per the HACCP protocols."

"Right. So, about the food… I was thinking of visiting the kitchens eventually, just to see what's up with the mana saturation levels of these dishes. Because correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a marked difference noted between the complexity of the dishes and the mana saturation levels of each dish, correct?"" Affirmative, Cadet."

"Yeah, that's something that I need to investigate. And where better to do that than the kitchens themselves? So, just add that in. We might not get to it this week with the dragon quest and all but… it's nice to note."" Acknowledged. Objective added."" G. Review drone footage from DEAN'S office following scheduled or prompted self-extraction."

"That drone hasn't returned yet… right… we're going to play a waiting game with that one then…" I paused, my eyes eventually landing on a new major objective. One that I'd added in the haze of my sleep deprived state no doubt.

"Right, let's formalize this objective. I. Determine the nature of the Nexus' skies and cosmology. We may need to whip out or print some special toys for this one."" Acknowledged. Clarify Objective H?"

"You mean expect the unexpected? I thought I told you, EVI, that objective stays no matter what!" I winked, garnering yet another beep from the virtual assistant.

"Anyways, we'll work out the details for Objective I later, this… is going to be a pretty big undertaking." Next came the Academy dictated objectives, most of which were already covered by last week's completion of both the House Choosing Ceremony and the town shopping trip. Though two new objectives quickly came to take their place." A. Class Sovereign 'Questlines'. B. Homework."

"Yeah, nah, we're not interested in A. Just make a note to keep an eye for how things go on that front, but we're not getting involved. As for B, I'm sure you have that covered. Right, EVI?" I grinned widely, eliciting a drawn-out affirmative beep as I began drying myself off and donning a fresh new undersuit.

"Right, well, let's head out to class. We got to face the music with Etholin's group and the awkward fallout of us coming just ahead of him in the House Choosing Ceremony. And I think I might just pay Rila another visit today, though even that'll be contingent on whether or not Larial is available first."" Acknowledged… Addendum: Reminder to mission commander. Current status on Project: 'Wand Step For Mankind' — printing Alpha Prototype. Time to completion: 5 Hours."

"Right! Thanks for reminding me, EVI. We'll get that installed soon then."

"Acknowledged." Dragon's Heart Tower en Route to the Grand Concourse of Learning. Local Time: 0840 Hours. Emma"I gotta say, guys, the Academy uniforms aren't so bad…" I grinned, eliciting annoyed grunts and frustrated hisses from the Vunerian and the Lupinor in equal measures. Gone were both of their signature outfits.

Replaced instead by the outfit I'd mostly associated Thacea with for the past week — the reserved, dare I say 'common' outfit consisting of a plain white blouse, deep navy blue pants, a weird brown and grey corset-thing, and a gem near the neck-line, acting like a weird sort of brooch. This… outfit, whilst fitting with Thacea's aesthetics, did nothing to add to the two men. If anything, it detracted from the martial aesthetic I'd associated with Thalmin's roman-esque armor, and Ilunor's streamlined baroque getup.

The black cloak did mitigate the damage to their aesthetics however. But only so much that it hid most of the damage done by the white blouse. In stark contrast to this however, the addition of the academy cloak actually added to the aesthetic of my armor. This was one of the rare few instances I had to thank the armor. I thought to myself with a sly grin.

Whilst nothing to write home about compared to the bespoke GUN-inspired hood and cape courtesy of Mifis, it at least added to the aesthetic rather than detracting from it. A fact that Ilunor was hesitant to bring up, but something that Thalmin was very much vocal about.

"You're one to speak, Emma." He began with a grumble.

"You manage to keep your identity, whilst bolstering it with a mantle that complements your knight's visage."

"What can I say, I guess I'm just built different." I shot back with a sly smile. Only for that back and forth to be interrupted by a certain bull. As he not only walked past us, but purposely bumped into both Thalmin and I. This unexpected slight, given how light it was, wasn't immediately countered by the EVI. However, before I could vocalize a response, something else came into view that prompted my attention.

As a certain ferret appeared, alongside his three peer-mates, with one woman in particular seemingly the most peeved amidst the entire group. [A75 LADY ILPHIUS SELEAT]"Third-ranked house, and yet, their arrival is sorely behind fourth-ranked." The large serpent-like woman spoke, with Etholin in the background seemingly powerless to stop her, even if he did shoot the woman a sharp gaze.

"Tell me, what was it that truly made you better, hmm? Oh, I do not blame Lord Rularia, nor his wolven compatriot, or even your tainted fellow. Nononono. My issue lies in the one-trick act that is entirely suited for fourth-rate status. One that your friends have since artificially lifted you from." She seethed, her voice hissing with frustration, the scales on her form glistening to the tune of several distinct mana radiations.

Her hood, flaring, revealing patterns both natural and unnatural within their interior confines. It felt as if another contender was about to make a scene out of their frustrations. But thankfully, that was not to be. As another, formerly unassuming student finally came to untangle the sour web of fervent accusations and unrestrained vitriol.

A student, who'd formerly been hidden firmly in the shadows of his cloaked outfit, but was now proudly on display as a being that the EVI had yet to have classified, save for his name and title. [A74 LORD TELEOS LOPHIME] The man was tall, about Qiv's height, just about rivalling the armor's, but was built in a way that I could only describe as wiry yet fit. His skin was a deep red, though 'skin' was a debatable descriptor for it, as it partially shone and shimmered in the light of the morning sun.

Zooming in, small aquatic scales were seen where otherwise mammalian skin should be. What's more, his face was the most notable out of the rest of his features. As I was momentarily met with two golden pupils, set against a jet-black sclera, that swung back and forth between my lenses and the offending snake's. This was not to mention the anglerfish-like lure that emerged just above his brow ridge, one which seemed to lack any shine to it at this point.

"Let's go." Was all he said, in a deep and resonant voice.

"But Lord Lophime—""I said. Let's go." He reiterated, refusing to take no for an answer as he grabbed the snake's wrist, pulling her out of the hallway and into the classroom. Etholin soon followed suit. But not without a barely audible'apologies' that he mouthed in my general direction. That… was already a lot to unpack. But time marched onwards as we eventually found ourselves once more within Vanavan's classroom.

Though this time, everyone seemed to once again be busy sorting themselves into the new seating arrangements.

"I must apologize." Vanavan began.

"But given the conclusion of the house choosing ceremony, we must now return to the traditional manner in which seating arrangements are conducted." He explained, garnering a series of moans and groans that refused to die down, until both Qiv and Auris raised their voices. Twenty minutes had passed before we were able to acquire our new house-seats. Following which, homework was delivered to the front of the class, courtesy of both Ping and Qiv who seemed to compete amongst each other for the gathering of homework.

Qiv was the one to receive my printed-out homework. His eyes grew with suspicion as his gaze swung back and forth between my hands and the paper in front of me.

"Good morning, students! Now that we're all settled, let us begin today's lecture." Vanavan's voice… was practically drowned out by the ambient noises of the world following that line. As I turned to the EVI with a loud sigh, properly muted from the outside world.

"EVI, I wish there was a way for us to fast forward through class."" Acknowledged."