"Vilyem, today's the day, wake up!" Vilyem's mother excitedly announced.
Yesterday, he had fainted, but fortunately, he was simply in an unconscious state.
Vilyem sluggishly stood up from his bed and remembered yesterday's events.
He got very flustered because of his old friend who didn't maintain her promises, but as they always said, sleep was the best cure for the mind, and he now looked at the matter with a much more reasonable mindset.
"At least she instituted public education as I advised her to..." Vilyem muttered to himself.
"What are you whispering about? Get ready, you'll be crossing Victory Boulevard for the first time!"
Victory Boulevard was a gated road that led to the administrative centers of Lafto, and to the renowned Consular Academy.
Vilyem nodded and began preparing for his first day.
His mother was dressing up in a red-and-white toga, the formal dress of the clergymen of the Church of Jevé.
Today, as it was the autumn equinox, people went to the Lafto Cathedral in order to pray to the god, Jevé, for a mild and bountiful winter.
Vilyem was indifferent to religious matters, but he had a liking to the Church of Jevé, who instituted a strict moral code.
He shrugged and began his own preparations.
Since he fainted yesterday, his mother thought he had a lack of blood, so he, unfortunately, had to consume large amounts of lamb meat and lentils for his 'breakfast'.
With an extremely heavy stomach, he groomed his appearance and dressed up in formal wear.
The uniform of the Academy consisted of two layers: light undergarments, and a thick white toga over them.
This was the traditional formal attire of the Aboriginals, an indigenous group of the Ifrivo continent.
It was rather hard to move in these clothes, but he had to bear it.
"School begins early, I can't accompany you yet."
"May Jevé guide you to the wise path," She sent him off with a prayer.
Vilyem smiled and left their house.
Victory Boulevard was in the center of Lafto, while they lived in a downtown area next to it, hence he didn't have to walk too much to find it.
Soon, he halted in front of a large gate.
All around Victory Boulevard, a spiky barrier prohibited entry, and watchtowers with high-level soldiers surveyed the surroundings.
When the guards at the gate saw his clothing, they promptly opened the gate.
Vilyem entered the reputed area.
There was a single, extremely wide street, and even from the distance, a single building dominated eyesight.
Pristine-white marble, a gargantuan dome the size of a hill, and thick pillars that supported the visual powerhouse.
The Domusalba, the residence of the Consul, who was the highest authority on the entire continent.
"Morrigan had a liking to Neo-Aboriginal architecture," Vilyem perceived only buildings of such a style in the boulevard.
Back in the days of the Empire, the God-Emperor had banned any sort of Aboriginal architecture, religion, and culture.
Unfortunately, he couldn't examine the surroundings anymore, as he had to speed up to campus.
The Consular Academy was recognizable by the white clocktower that pierced the skies from the main building, so he easily found his way.
"Speed up! Classes have commenced already!" A man at the door sternly scolded him.
Vilyem did as he was told and swiftly entered the wide building that cultivated the talent of the entirety of the continent.
There were many classes, but on an information board, he found out that he was in a class named Via Lacta.
Today's class was held in an amphitheater-like room.
Vilyem found a single empty seat and sneakily sat down.
The professor was doing attendance, and it, fortunately, seemed that she hadn't reached him yet.
"Vilyem Castel!"
"Here!" He quickly replied and went back to his seat.
"Castel? From the old capital, Kassel?" Suddenly, he heard a girl sitting next to him.
"What do you mean?" Vilyem was puzzled.
"Castel is simply the Southern name for Kassel, I presume your parents must have moved south and changed their family name to fit the cultural environment."
"However, they chose a northwestern given name for you, Vilyem, instead of the Southern version, William, to keep grasp of their roots," The girl comprehensively analyzed his name.
Vilyem looked through 'his' memories.
As it turned out, she was right.
With a blank face, he asked her, "How did you extrapolate that from my name?"
She giggled and replied, "Names not only show affiliation, but they also show history, there is a lot to analyze from a family name."
Vilyem did not know what to answer with, so they stared at each other in silence.
"Anyways, I'm Dael Navart, nice to meet you, Vilyem," The girl introduced herself and held out her hand.
'Navart? Like Margara?' His old friend, Margara's last name, was also Navart.
'Could she be a descendant of hers?'
Vilyem somewhat fell into a trance, yet he suddenly perceived he had left the girl's hand hanging emptily in mid-air.
"Nice to meet you..."
Dael looked at him with enigmatic eyes.
"Pupils, as you might know, this is your last year...." The professor began a speech.
Truthfully, it was rather monotonous, so he did not listen much to it.
Dael's attention was also clearly elsewhere, and he couldn't help but think.
There was only one way to know if she was a descendant of his old friend, and that was if she used an umbrella under the sun.
Sunlight Seer's abilities were transmitted through blood or affiliation.
The Sunlight Seers were extremely fearsome, and at a high level, they could see far into the future with amazing detail.
They received their visions from exposing themselves to sunlight, but there was one disadvantage.
If they stayed too long under the sun, they went permanently blind.
This handicap increased the higher their level.
At her peak, Margara could not stay more than five minutes continuously under the sun, or she'd suffer a tragic fate.
This is why Sunlight Seeresses used umbrellas, as it shielded them from sunlight and allowed them to block out unwanted visions.
If Dael was a Sunlight Seeress, she'd also use an umbrella, hence he could only wait for the end of class to see.
And so he did...
As a bell sound rang out from the clocktower above them, the students swiftly left the building.
Vilyem kept his attention to a certain person, and the person in question noticed his stares.
"Do you want to walk through the boulevard together?" Dael smiled and asked him.
"Yes."
Suddenly, as they stepped out into the sunlit street, Dael took out a black umbrella and held it out over her head.
This was all the proof he needed, and he was now sure of it.
However, he kept silent.
Dael asked him, "Do you have a Specialization in mind after graduation?"
Vilyem shook his head.
In the past, he had a...rather unique Specialization.
However, it reminded him of his second curse, which always shined an ominous red light in his interface, so he didn't like to think about it.
Dael nodded and proclaimed, "I want to become an Archeologist."
'Archeologist? That's an interesting choice,' Vilyem knew very well of this Specialization.
Archeologists were the opposite of Seers, and could instead see the past.
Suddenly, he had a certain thought.
Dael Navart probably had the Innate Specialization of Sunlight Seeress, which allowed her to see the future.
If she also became an Archeologist, that meant...
Vilyem's blood started boiling in excitement.
'Am I witnessing the start of someone great?'
If she succeeded, she would be able to see the past, the present, and the future.
"You seem rather distracted," She commented on his lack of response.
"Sorry, I just drifted away..."
'Margara would be proud.'
As he thought about that, they left the boulevard.
It seemed they now had to part ways.
Vilyem jokingly remarked, "Why do you wear an umbrella under the sun?"
Dael flashed her teeth, and calmly replied, "My skin's a bit sensitive to sunlight."
She put down her umbrella and looked towards the sky.
"On that, I feel like this is going to be a good year-
"No, I know it is going to be a great year," Dael insisted.
Then, she held back her umbrella and said, "Be careful of that building right there, it seems to have shaky foundations."
"Since you said it, I'll make sure to be careful," Vilyem's words had a hidden meaning.
Dael looked at him strangely and then turned around, leaving in slow steps towards the opposite direction.
Vilyem also left and made sure to stay on the opposite side of the street to that building.
*BAM*
Suddenly, the building shook, and the bricks collapsed upon themselves.
Vilyem turned around and saw that Dael stopped in her tracks.
The umbrella hid her face, but he was sure she had a smirk on.
'She reminds me so much of her...' He reminisced as he perceived that she picked her steps back up and left the scene.