Soon, Atniel demonstrates his ultimate technique, the Sky Cracking Punch, aiming at the sun from afar.
Psyuu!!!
"What was that?" Irvine squints, confused.
"Well, it'll take a few minutes to reach the sun. And don't forget, it also takes a few minutes for the light from that sun to reach here. So, what happens there will occur to your eyes in about…"
Atniel trails off, trying to remember the exact distance of the sun from Bastardia to calculate how long it would take light to travel. But just as he finishes counting…
Zmm!!!
A massive shock wave reaches Bastardia, painting the planet's atmosphere with blazing auroras.
Soon after this, Irvine jumps from one vision to another like a guy stuck flipping through TV channels in his sleep. The sun, though still clinging to the sky, wobbles like a spinning top about to fall, clearly on its way to becoming a supernova.
In another dream, he's treated to scenes of colossal tsunamis swallowing entire cities, mountains vomiting molten lava, and all the world's races running around like ants caught in a torrential downpour.
The destruction is beyond anything his poor brain can process. Unable to make sense of it all, he wakes up with a face so blank like the groom's face covered in baby powder.
"What the hell was that?"
The dream feels too vivid to be dismissed as just a dream. It clings to him like a chewing gum sticking to your grandma's hair, making him question everything. His perspective on the world and the universe begins to change.
Though he doesn't fully understand, he feels so humbled that his entire existence looks so insignificant, almost equivalent to nothingness.
As he sits there, marinating in existential confusion, the door suddenly explodes open with a loud "BRAAK!" Startled, Irvine instinctively leaps into a karate stance on his bed. But…
"What the heck?! I just fixed that door after you busted it yesterday!" he yells.
Standing there, fuming like a kettle left too long on the stove, is Elea Adlen. Unlike her usual disheveled self, she's decked out in the sharp military uniform of Ezlenmir Academy. Her chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath, and then…
"Yesterday?!" she snaps. "What the hell are you talking about?! I busted the door's handle two days ago!"
Irvine blinks. "Two days ago? Wait… does that mean…"
"YES! This is the freaking day we're heading to Flemur!" she roars. "And you've spent TWO WHOLE DAYS sleeping like a damn corpse?! Are you serious right now?!"
"Uh… m-maybe?" Irvine stammers, scratching his head like a guilty kid caught watching an adult movie.
Elea groans and clutches her head like she's debating whether murder is worth the paperwork. "I told you to rest! Not to hibernate like some lazy bear! Now get dressed and meet me at the western gate in ten minutes, or kiss your pathetic life at this academy goodbye!"
With one last huff, she storms out, taking a moment to slam the already broken door for emphasis. It falls off its hinges with a sad creak.
Before Irvine can fully process the chaos, Jay pokes his head in, his usual stupid grin plastered across his face.
"Whoa, dude. Trouble in paradise? Did you and Elea break up or something?"
Irvine ignores him, strips down naked, and hurriedly pulls on a clean uniform. Shower? Nah. Hygiene can wait. His only preparation for the mission involves grabbing his military knife and short saber, both still crusty with dried blood.
Disgusted, he mutters, "Great. I can't even ignore this." He quickly scrubs the weapons clean while Jay watches in confusion.
"What's the rush? What's going on?" Jay asks, clearly not catching the urgency.
"Can't talk! I'll be late! If I fail this mission, I'm out of the academy!" Irvine yells, tossing a small bag over his shoulder and bolting for the door.
But then he comes back, throws his room key at Jay, and says, "Fix the door for me, will ya? I'll pay you when I'm back from Flemur!"
"Wait, Flemur?! Is this a mission or a date with Elea?" Jay yells after him.
When Jay reaches the door, he finds Irvine sitting on the railing, preparing for a stunt to jump straight to the ground floor.
"Dude! We are on the 9th… floor…"
Apparently, the leftover craziness from that dream had set up camp in his brain, making him look at a nine-story drop and think, "Yeah, I could probably pull that off. Gravity's just a suggestion anyway," forgetting that he is no longer in a dream world anymore.
Before Jay can finish, Irvine leaps off like a wannabe superhero. The black dude can only slap his forehead, seeming so hard to believe his eyes as he sees his friend still able to run toward the exit, completely unscathed.
"Damn!"
Back in Irvine's room, Jay looks around and grimaces. The place is still a disaster zone, with clothes and junk scattered everywhere. Normally, Irvine keeps things messy but not this bad.
Rubbing his chin like a wannabe detective, he mutters, "Something's up with him."
His eyes land on Irvine's discarded uniform. The torn fabric and claw marks give impression that Irvine got wounded by some beasts. Jay frowns, remembering how Irvine looked perfectly fine when he saw him naked earlier, no injuries, no scars, nothing.
"Maaan! This is so concerning!"
Meanwhile, a few students are gathered outside the western gate. Jack the pervert is busy shamelessly flirting with two sexy nurses. A Fracklosk police officer leans against the bus, looking bored.
Then there's Maya, who paces anxiously, glancing at the gate every few seconds. Her worry for Irvine is painfully obvious.
Not far away, Aezel watches Maya with a sharp, calculating gaze. Her expression says everything. She doesn't like this one bit.
"How much longer do we have to wait, Elea?" Aezel asks, her tone sharp.
Elea, busy loading luggage onto the bus, doesn't even glance at Aezel. Once she's inside, though, she checks her watch and growls in frustration.
"I said ten minutes. Where the hell is that bastard?"
She debates going back to drag Irvine out of bed by his ear. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she spots someone near the gate.
It's Irvine, sprinting like his life depends on it. But here's the kicker: that reckless dormitory dive earlier didn't leave him unscathed. He managed to minor crack his left thigh bone, which sounds like a big deal, but now? He's out here running like nothing happened, powered by sheer denial and what I can only assume is a deep personal grudge against medical science.
"That bastard!" Elea seethes. "How dare he keep me waiting?"
Maya's face lights up as she notices Elea's annoyed expression getting out of the bus. She immediately turns toward the gate. And there…
"Irvine!"
She squeals, abandoning all dignity to run toward him.
On the other hand, Elea stops dead in her tracks after realizing Maya's overreaction beaming at Irvine like he just saved the world. Her anger toward Irvine is suddenly replaced by a strange unfamiliar feeling creeping into her chest. It's something she never felt before in her entire life.