The night was strangely very cold but the flickering fla from the fireplace was keeping the cold air away from reaching them. As the fire danced in the beat of the wind, Apollo sat quietly across the table where Ericson was sitting.
"Now then shall we start the story," Ericson said, taking a notebook out of thin air.
The kids were taken aback, seeing it was actually a notebook filled with all sorts of notes and articles; it seed that it wasn't only them who was searching for the truth.
"This is what we just heard let's start with the ti we wanted to welco our juniors. At that ti even when the other classes wanted us to stay in our juggle dorm we didn't listen instead we waited like the others, hoping to see what kind of people they were"
"Yes, thinking back then, it indeed started when we tried to welco our juniors." one of the senior students nad Aida agreed, but you could also see the sorrowful eyes in them.
Ericson's voice carried a bitter edge.
"After the three-month isolation ended, we expected to et our seniors, just like you did. But when we went to welco them…"
His fingers curled into a fist rember that mont. They were waiting, yet no one ca. The gate opened wide with any students, but none wore the sa uniform as them.
"They were gone."
Apollo and his classmates stiffened. Though they had a vague idea of what happened, it was still painful hearing it now.
"Not a single first-year from the lower class remained. The entire class was… dissolved."
A chilling silence settled over the room.
"At first, we thought there was a mistake. Maybe they were relocated. Maybe they rged with another class. But no—there was nothing left of them."
Braiden scowled. "So they just erased an entire class?"
Ericson nodded.
"We asked around. We searched every dormitory, every hall. We even resorted to… less friendly ans to get answers."
By "less friendly ans," Apollo knew exactly what he ant. Threats. Intimidation. Maybe even violence.
"Eventually, we found soone who told us what happened."
Ericson's tone darkened as he continued.
"The first years of that ti—your supposed seniors—were ambushed."
Alicia's eyes narrowed. "Ambushed? By who?" Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire
"By everyone."
The air turned suffocating.
"The high-class students, the middle-class students, even so of the combat and auxiliary classes joined in. They all gathered to gang up on the lower class."
Casper clenched his jaw. "Cowards."
Ericson scoffed. "You'd think they'd win easily, right?"
His lips curled into sothing between amusent and regret.
"But they didn't."
Apollo's eyes sharpened.
"What do you an?"
Ericson leaned back. "Despite being outnumbered, the lower class held their ground. No matter how many people attacked them, they kept fighting back."
Braiden let out a low whistle. "Damn. So they were strong."
Ericson nodded. "Very. They weren't just resisting—they were winning."
For a brief mont, hope sparked in their chests.
But then Ericson's voice turned grim.
"That's when the president of the high-class students ca up with an idea."
Apollo frowned.
"A plan to break them."
"The ambush halted, and they resulted in a different tactic. Small fights, harassnt, and even involve the professor. In the end, small fissures erge on the solid bond of the class. They began to crave vengeance for what they experienced but their president held them firmly not letting his classmates commit mistakes that may lead them to expulsion"
Ericson exhaled sharply.
"But then the harassnt needs to end....or riot will step in"
"Is that when...."
"Yes, Apollo, that is when the president of the high class, along with the other class presidents, proposed a bet."
Matilda narrowed her eyes. "A bet?"
Ericson nodded.
"If the lower class won, they would be left alone. No more bullying, no more discrimination. But if they lost…"
Blair finished his sentence. "They would leave."
Ericson nodded.
Arabella's expression wasn't as good as she said. "And they accepted? They should've known it was a trap."
Ericson shook his head.
"You underestimate them. The lower class at that ti was different. They lived by their pride and honesty. To them, this was the perfect chance to end everything without unnecessary trouble. They were desperate for peace that they ended up accepting despite being aware that the bet wouldn't be in their favor."
"They accepted embracing the possible consequence."
The hope that had lingered in the air began to sour, and every rumor and word they had heard before beca like a puzzle that began to form the chaotic past.
Apollo, sensing the worst, asked the obvious question.
"Did they cheat?"
Ericson's expression darkened. "Maybe we will never know, but according to what I heard, one of the students of the lower class was terribly ill at that ti, so their power wasn't whole."
Ericson ran a hand through his hair and then continued his narration.
"The fight happened. They lost."
The entire room was silent.
Alya's hands trembled. "And then?"
Ericson exhaled.
"They left."
McKenzie's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
The weight of those words crushed them.
The lower class, a group strong enough to withstand an entire worth of enemies, was forced to leave—not through strength, but through deception.
Ericson looked away. "So of them found ways to re-enroll in different schools. Others… disappeared."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
The reality of their situation finally sank in.
The entire first year of the lower class was gone.
Apollo's mind raced. This explained the entire rumor they heard, but if the entire situation happened during the first years, then why....
Why would the seniors act so defensively about the topic? They weren't even there...
"Why do I feel like soone is making a fool out of "
Then suddenly, at the back of Apollo's mind, a single person erges.
"That damn vice president"
He has no knowledge of what happened last year but pretends to because he wants to drive Apollo and his classmates around.
"Could that guy be the reason why there was such a sign at the entrance of the forest"
But then he won't know unless he personally asks them.
After a mont, Ericson spoke again.
"Now you know why we never ca looking for you."
Apollo and his classmates turned to him, puzzled.
"We didn't want to experience waiting for juniors who… never made it."
Apollo just chuckled and thought, "If we fail to eradicate the Monestry back then, perhaps your worry might have happened"
"For all we knew, you'd be gone too."
Their hearts sank, and Apollo's attitude shifted, having understood their feelings. In his mind, they must have stood in the crowd filled with people who didn't want them, but nothing ca. The people they were looking for at the other side of the gate were already gone.
Arabella's voice was barely a whisper. "But we're here."
Ericson let out a dry chuckle.
"Yeah. You are."
His eyes darkened.
"But for how long?"
The weight of his words settled over them like a storm cloud.
For the first ti since their arrival, Apollo felt it.
A feeling more terrifying than any battle.
Uncertainty.
Just to be clear, he isn't afraid that so of the classes would do the sa thing to them. Apparently, even if the entire academy gangs up on them, it won't really matter since he is powerful enough to fight back. This confidence doesn't co from the power he achieves through the system but also from the fact that the Mage tower is always by his side. But still, the future is always abstract, uncontrolled, and goes in a direction that no one can control for a mont. Apollo thought of many things that could transpire and remove the peace they already had.
Ericson's words beca a reminder to Apollo that he can't control everything.
"So this is it?"
A voice oozing with sarcasm broke the silence that enveloped them.
"If you are afraid of experiencing what happened last year shouldn't you all prevent it from happening?"
The owner of such words was none other than Matilda, "You were afraid but did nothing to change it. You know, before coming here, we were very excited to et the very people who left those encouraging words for us....even when we couldn't see you guys, we began to respect you. You might not know this but the words you left behind beca one of the things that keep us living. They gave us hope and inspiration not to give up, to continue moving forward, that even the worst will pass, and as long as we keep on moving, good things will happen, but now, seeing all this, why do I feel disappointed? Why do I feel like the exact words you left for us didn't reach you? Why are you giving up instead of fighting back?"
Her voice beca painful, and Apollo knew why; in the first month in the academy with nothing to rely on but themselves, the letters at the shrine beca the hope that made them feel the warmth. They felt motivated and wanted to beco strong to protect themselves and others. However, for so reason, all they can see are defeated people who seem to have given up. That causes them to feel pain as if it was also them who gave up.
User Comments
0 comments from readers