It's black. A familiar scene.
Huh, that's weird though. I shouldn't be seeing this since I fixed that whole thing with Yumeko.
I remembered everything. So then, why?
[Me. That's why.]
A voice answered.
It isn't the girl's voice.
It's the voice of a boy or man. I can't tell.
[Hah, calling me a man or boy is being generous. I've been alive for thousands of years then I've been reincarnated for thousands of more years. I'm an old man.]
Excuse me?
Who are you?
[I'm you.]
I appeared in front of myself.
I wore black clothes and was sitting dominantly on a throne. The other me's fist was on his cheek. I stared at him.
He looks like me...
But... It feels weird though... This person... isn't me.
[Bingo! I'm not! I kind of lied there.]
Then... Who are you?
[You already know. I'm your other side.]
Who, though?
The other me smiled.
[The Black Emperor.]
--
It's been a week and a bit since the attack.
It's now May the 13th and we're finally back in lessons. Because of some damage to the city and school, classes were cancelled temporarily. Now, we're back in class with our normal schedule.
Kitamura and I were walking to our first lesson, Ancient Runes, which, until now, has been working out of textbooks.
"Hey, Kitamura."
I started.
"What?"
"I've only noticed this now, but each class has 30 students right?"
"Our class has 31, but yeah."
"31? Shouldn't it be 32?"
"A student dropped out before you came here. Family circumstances."
Okay...
"Anyways, if there's 30 in each class and 4 classes in each year then there should be 360 students or so, right?"
"Correct."
"Then, how come when I go to the lunch hall, I see over 360 students?"
Kitamura stared at me blankly.
"You don't know?"
I give him a quizzical look.
"Know what?"
Kitamura sighed while shaking his head.
"Let me enlighten you, my uneducated friend."
He shook his finger.
"We have 3 courses in this school."
Courses?! Do we have courses in this school?!
"The most popular one is the Streia course, the one we're attending. It's mostly for fighting and learning magic, though all courses learn about magic. Those in the Streia course do it more in-depth."
I stayed silent and listened.
"The second most popular course is the Strategist course."
"Strategist?"
"Yup. They do more theory than practical lessons. They work more on logic and war plans. Those who attend the Strategist course usually want to join the SSB as a consultant or strategists. Though most are rejected. It's still a popular dream."
"And the last?"
"That's the Standard course."
"Standard?"
"In the Standard course, you can become anything. A Magus, Strategist, Scientist, whatever. Their lessons are balanced between the Streia and Strategist course."
"Oooh... What's a Magus?"
"It's a Streia who does work for the SSB. You should've heard Ms Sasaki use the word occasionally."
I have.
We heard the bell ring. As we did, we stared at each other and started panicking.
We sprinted toward the Ancient Runes classroom which was on the third floor. Once we finally reached the classroom, a lady, whom I have never seen, was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Kitamura stopped abruptly. I also stopped, looking at him.
"You two are late, the class started a minute ago. We're waiting for you."
'We're?'
She must be our proper teacher then for Ancient Runes.
"Holy crap..."
I heard Kitamura breathe. His hand was on his mouth while his eyes shone with admiration.
"You there."
"Yes!"
Kitamura saluted as she called out to him.
"Get in the classroom. I need to talk with this one."
She pointed at me.
I didn't like her attitude.
"Of course! At your service, ma'am!"
He walked toward the classroom, following orders like a dog.
I know he's a pervert but he shouldn't be this bent over a girl.
I mean, she has average-sized boobs and her face is pretty. She does have a seductive body line but I know that Kitamura has seen better.
"Oi, Kitamura, do you know her?"
I asked before he entered the classroom. He looked back. This time, his stare wasn't blank but full of rage.
"Wait, you don't know her?!"
"No..."
I feel like I shouldn't have asked this question.
I looked over at the lady; she had a shrewd look on her face.
"Wha-! This is Lady Merlyn Pandora! The great Magia!"
Ma...gia?
"Magia is feminine for Magus."
The lady said as if she read my mind.
"Run along, Kitamura. Tell the class that I'll be two minutes."
Kitamura's eyes lit up once more. He cheered and enter the class. I could hear him shout, "Yay! Lady Merlyn said my name!"
The woman walked toward me. There was a weird aura around her. She felt comforting and kind but also bloodthirsty and ruthless.
She stopped short of me and looked me in the eye. There was an awkward silence.
I started up a conversation.
"Uhh... How did you know that I didn't know what Magae was?"
She smiled.
"Well, Altair is always making that mistake."
"Al... Altair? Who's that?"
Upon asking that, the woman backed away, surprised.
Is that another name I'm supposed to know?
"Oh... So, you're telling me that you haven't heard his voice? Not even once?"
"His voice? Who's voice?"
Suddenly, I thought about the weird dream I had this morning.
When I met myself. Well, it wasn't me. It was someone else. It was the Black Emperor.
After he introduced himself, I woke up, so I couldn't learn anything more but...
She must be talking about him, right?
Then this woman knows about Black Exodia too...
The woman noticed my surprised look.
"You know who I'm talking about, right?"
I nodded gently.
"You called him, 'Altair.' What's the name of the Black Emperor?"
She chuckled slightly but I ignored it.
"So, I guess he still hasn't told you."
"I heard him for the first time a little bit earlier."
"Then... Let me tell you, his real name."
I swallowed my saliva.
"His real name is..."