"0%!?"
It is a shock. One second, the cube showed the brightest glow it has ever been in. But then, in another second... It was devoid of light.
In all of the years that Shin has taught in Knights Academy, he never experienced such a peculiar event!
'How is this possible?'
He stared right at the white-haired Prince and he looked as shocked as he was.
"Your majest-"
The Prince let go of his hands on top of the cube, and stepped back.
Immediately, his eyes rolled back and he slowly fell to the ground. He was lucky though, Shin was fast enough to catch him and prevent him from getting an injury to the head.
"Your majesty!"
His eyes closed and he fainted.
"You with the amber hair, take charge for a second, I'll be back!"
Shin carried Veritas in his arms, and stood straight up. Immediately, him and the body of the Prince suddenly vanished into thin air.
Alice was dumbfounded.
'His majesty fainted? What actually happened?'
It all happened so fast that the majority of them did not even realize what just occurred.
All they knew was that the Professor was suddenly in a state of panic due to the Prince's fainting.
And within mere moments, he vanished. Many students such as Morgan, Leo and Hana, already knew about the Professor's Path.
His Path was Oblivion, capable of erasing anything, and anyone.
No one knew the fine details of his Path, but for what Morgan and the others knew.. the Professor had not once went all out in a battle.
They said that his skill was comparable to that of the Principal or even the King!
He was like a secret trump card for the Kingdom and no one knew what Rank is Path is..
Now, he teleported away due to his mastery and understanding of his Path. He erased the space between him and the nursery office, therefore capable of travelling fast in short and long distances.
Morgan stared at the panic-stricken students and composed himself.
"Everyone calm down! I'm sure that Professor Shin is handling it properly. Rest assured, he left his lesson plans so in the meantime.. we can study."
Some were opposed to his idea but could not do anything. The best action to take was to wait and let the professionals handle it.
Morgan contemplated.
'I wonder what truly happened..'
He began reading the lesson plans and started to write on the board.
*
Veritas awoke in a soft field of grass, stretching through the vast space inside walls of wind that encased a small hut in the distance.
He felt emptiness coming from the Winds, silent as it may be, it whispered to him.
"Come.."
"Go..."
"Wake.:"
Veritas was compelled and tempted to go towards the lonely hut inside the eye of the storm.
"I'm.. back here."
He looked around and was greeted by the familiar sight. Last time, he felt dizzy and fainted due to the sight of the lonely hut.
But now.. he could look towards it freely, without any repercussions.
The whispers tempted him to walk towards it.
"Agh- Damn annoying.."
He waved his hands to fend off the silent whispers of the Winds but could not grasp their physical form.
Well, they were Winds... of course.
He felt dumb trying to remove the whispers but immediately calmed down.
'I.. fainted again. What happened in the Aptitude test? Did I really get a 0%? Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about it.'
He sat down the fields of grass for a couple of moments before finally snapping at the continuous whispers.
"Damn! Alright, I'll go there! So annoying.."
He stood up and walked over to the faraway hut.
"You win, stop whispering already."
Yet they did not stop, almost every second of his way towards the hut was spent agonized by the non-stop whispers.
It took 15 minutes for him to arrive at the hut, and Veritas saw that it was way bigger than he thought.
It was not a hut at all!
It was a buried mansion, leaving only the roof exposed. Maybe this was what Veritas thought to be a hut, but he was not sure..
In the distance, it looked too clear and seemed like a small hut, but upon getting closer to it, the size seemed to shift and reality itself began to be revealed.
"It's.. how do I enter?- stop!"
Veritas covered his ears but he still heard the agonizing whispers.
"Just tell me how to enter.."
The whispers did not help at all, Veritas circled the buried mansion roof and hoped to find an entrance.
Then, he found a hole double his size. It was a perfect opportunity to enter, Veritas did not know what was inside but the whispers were telling him to go..
Veritas inspected his surroundings for a little while before deciding to enter the buried mansion.
He sighed and felt dejected.
'Damn it.'
Veritas jumped in and fell inside the dark area of the roof.
The dream-like sun still shone through the horizon yet it was mostly covered by the storm. Still, the light was enough to be visible inside the dark area.
Even if it was dark, Veritas could still see with his Eye of the Kraken.
Inside, Veritas felt a cold breeze touch his skin, it was a different type of breeze though. It was as if it emanated from a source rather than natural means.
"Someone is here..."
Veritas did not know how many floors the mansion had but he guessed that it was somewhere around 2 to 3 floors. He was at the uppermost floor right now, so it would take about 2 to 4 flights of stairs to reach down.
He walked through the floor, and the darkness gradually enveloped him. It was not a problem though, he could see very well in the dark.
However, the problem was.. his senses were dulled. Not having the Winds as a 6th sense felt weird to Veritas.
The past month, he had been training his Soul and Swordsmanship alone, Veritas also practiced extending his senses to scout even further.
But in the tranquil silence of the Winds inside the eye of the storm, Veritas could sense nothing. So, he could only rely on his eyesight once more.
Veritas carefully made his way down after finding the way down. Surprisingly, the mansion looked intact and sturdy even when it was buried. No signs of dirt or sand inside, and no signs of ruin anywhere.
After descending down, Veritas saw the similar halls that he was very familiar with.
As a Prince, Veritas visited many places of nobility, and many of them had luxurious mansions or something alike.
Yet something was peculiar in this place. It seemed... like it was fake. It was only natural, Veritas felt that the entire place, even the grasslands, were all a dream.
He was not sure though, but the vivid dream-like state of the area was too enticing.
Veritas easily explored the entirety of the mansion with utmost efficiency. It was not too hard due to its nature but it still took a considerable amount of time.
He explored every hall and room of the mansion yet found nothing of importance.
Veritas, though, didn't notice that the whispers were already gone once he reached the heart of the mansion.
He was currently sitting on a comfy couch in the lounge.
'What am I even supposed to find here?'
Veritas let out a long sigh and tilted his head back.
'I'll explore once more..'
This time, Veritas didn't stand up from the couch but rather... 3 identical versions of himself suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Veritas' eyesight suddenly extended into 4. It made him quite dizzy at first, but the rigorous training that he did made him get used to it.
In a second, the 3 copies walked towards their respective directions.
One explored the floor that he was currently in.
One explored the second floor.
And the last, explored the floor where Veritas had entered.
Veritas saw all of these through his vision, which was split into 4. Still, it was nothing that he couldn't handle, Veritas saw the familiar halls that he previously explored and saw nothing change.
He didn't really focus on the main body's vision and looked at the other 3.
After a few minutes, Veritas ordered them to go back. They collectively walked back towards Veritas, descending down each of the stairs carefully.
Then, they've finally arrived back at the first floor where the main body resided.
They simultaneously walked from different directions.
In Veritas' vision, he saw the three of them approach him in different perspectives.
He was sitting down on the couch, his head resting back and his white hair flowed down.
However- there was... someone.
'Who the hell?!'
With his 3 visions, Veritas saw his body jolt up in surprise. His face looked distressed yet Veritas stood up vigilantly.
Veritas dismissed his 3 visions.
Now, it has returned to a singular point.
Veritas looked more closely at the figure.
'White-hair, and a well defined facial structure but was shadowed due to the darkness.'
Even with the Eye of the Kraken, Veritas could not see the individual's face.
He dressed like a King, wearing a dirtied and broken mantle, it looked as if it had been years since it had been fixed.
Then, with his raspy voice, he spoke:
"I am sorry.."
A tear trickled down his shadowy cheek, and dropped down the floor.