Benjamin barely had time to take his seat in the classroom before a pair of all-too-familiar hands slammed down on his desk.
"Heya, Billy! Did you finish my essay, yet?"
"My name's—"
Benjamin didn't even know why he bothered. Rydell hadn't learned it the first few hundred times Benjamin corrected him.
"Yeah, yeah. Did you finish it or not, Bob? 'Cuz if you didn't, I might have to motivate you." Rydell massaged the palm of his left hand with the clenched fist of his right as he grinned at Benjamin.
Benjamin had a feeling Rydell wasn't doing this because he cared about his grades. But he sighed and bent down to grab the essay from his bag right when the bell chimed.
Rydell frowned and looked up.
"Did the school change the bell…—?"
Rydell's voice faded without anyone listening to his question.
Everyone in the classroom, including Benjamin, was busy looking around at their surroundings in mixtures of disbelief, shock, surprise, awe, doubt, and confusion.
Less than a moment ago, they had been in the same boring old classroom they had started their days in the last couple of years.
Less than a moment later, they found themselves surrounded by white marble floors and pillars like an ancient Greek temple. A bit further away, they could see ornate walls decorated with beautiful murals depicting tales they couldn't decipher.
The ceiling….
There was no ceiling.
Above them, a bright starry expanse spread out like the canvas of gods.
Even with the scenery of a night sky, it was as bright as day where they were. There weren't any suns, torches, or lamps to light it up. The ambient light that came from nowhere was enough.
Benjamin looked around. He thought he heard the faint sound of running water somewhere beyond the white walls.
"Ahem."
But someone cleared their throat before Benjamin could get a proper look through his classmates' bodies. And for some reason, everyone turned to look at the source of the voice like it compelled them to.
Benjamin's view was still obstructed by his classmates since he was at the back, and almost everyone in class was taller than him. But he still caught a glimpse of the mystical being that was one and a half Rydell tall with an owl's head and wearing a suit.
"Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the Arthea Pantheon. I am Tamzi, the Messenger—"
"What's going on?!"
One brave soul among Benjamin's class spoke out in a complex blend of feelings as they looked at Tamzi.
'If you would have kept quiet, Leo, he…It would have explained it.'
Benjamin scowled at his impatient classmate. But he hurriedly retracted his gaze and looked at Tamzi again, curious about what the owl person would do at the interruption.
Tamzi tilted his head slightly before looking at Leo with a patient gaze.
"I'm sure you have your questions."
Tamzi looked at the rest of the class as well.
"All of you must be wondering a lot of things. If you have any questions after my explanation, I will be delighted to answer them within reason. We have matters to attend to and gods we can't keep waiting, you see."
"..."
Leo stayed silent under the gazes of Tamzi and his classmates.
"Excellent."
Benjamin was pretty sure Tamzi smiled, but it was hard to tell.
"The short version is very simple. Arthea, the planet we have summoned you all to, is old. It and we gods need new recruits, I guess you could say, to keep everything going."
"...Is that it?"
Tamzi nodded at Leo's question.
"Yes, but don't worry—"
"What about the long version?"
Tamzi glared at Rydell for his interruption. But he smiled graciously after a moment.
"The long version would take more than your mortal lifespans to retell. Neither you nor we have the time for that. But don't worry. I'm sure it was an inconvenience to be summoned like this. That is why you won't be doing it for free, and there are no requirements on what you must do."
Tamzi smiled as he clasped his hands and looked at everyone in the class.
"You will all receive the great honor of standing before the great gods of Arthea and being given the chance to receive their blessings. If you're lucky, you might even be chosen as apostles. That will happen in a few short moments, so I hope you're looking forward to it."
Someone reached up a hand.
'Joanna.'
Benjamin identified the delicately manicured hand even without seeing the owner's face. He remembered how sharp those nails were.
"Yes?"
"Is this a joke?"
Tamzi was stunned by Joanna's straightforward question.
"No, I can guarantee it isn't. But even if you don't believe me, the future will confirm it. As you accept what comes to you, you will all gradually accept your new reality."
With that, Tamzi turned around.
'That is all that's within reason?'
Benjamin was doubtful. He could tell that his classmates were also suspicious. Some even started discussing how it could have been a prank and that they were all sharing a lucid dream or an acid trip somehow.
Others were denying reality.
Benjamin observed his surroundings.
For some reason, he couldn't come up with an option that made sense other than it being real.
He didn't know how or why. But he decided to assume Tamzi and what they had said weren't fragments of a collective imagination.
On the far-fetched chance that this was real, it wouldn't be good if he assumed everything was fake. The worst that would happen was that he would be mocked when the cameras were revealed and the masks removed.
It was just like any other day in his life.
With anxious steps, Benjamin and his classmates followed Tamzi through the Pantheon into a grand space that dwarfed even the Colosseum in grandeur.