"Your highness, it is time," said a middle-aged man with a mustache wearing black attire who is standing in front of the door while facing a handsome young man.
"I told you to call me Luceran while we are in The Academy, Nelez." The youth responded lazily while wearing his attire.
"The graduation ceremony will start in less than an hour. I suggest Your Highness start walking to the main hall now so that you won't be late." Suggested Nelez while bowing.
"Sigh… I told you to call me Luceran." While shaking his head.
"It is important to distinguish the status, Your Highness, and it is impolite for me to call you by your name." Reminded Nelez.
"Fine, whatever." The youth finished his preparation and walked outside of the room.
This is the graduation day of this year cohort, so the youth has to arrive on time to not embarrass himself and also his family. By the time the youth closed the door, most of the students locked their eyes on him. Well, "most" is an understatement; more like ninety-nine percent of the students locked their eyes on him, at least the students that are in the same corridor as him. This moment lasts for a few seconds before things get back to normal. The youth sighed and shrugged his shoulders to Nelez, who is retreating into the shadow. While walking around the corridor, the youth spotted many teenagers around his age also walking outside of their room to go to the same location, which is the main hall.
"Luceran!" Shouted someone a bit far from the back of the youth. Luceran looked back and saw a teenager with brown hair and purplish eyes waving at him. The boy was wearing a dark blue attire just like him, the same with all the other students.
"Hey, it is rare to see you in a rush like this." Replied Luceran to the youth.
"Well… I had to pack all my stuff and also write a letter to my family." Explained the youth.
"I see. Let's go together then." Luceran and the youth walk together to the main hall, along with the other students, who sometimes steal a look at the both of them.
"So what next?" Asked Luceran to the youth.
"What do you mean, 'What next?'" The youth replied.
"Kellen, the prodigy of the Immortal Academy! The only disciple of the principal for the past 10,000 years! The whole world wants to know what your next plan in life is. After all, this is only the beginning." Luceran said.
Kellen just be silent listening to Luceran's storytelling. To be honest, he has been thinking about this since the time he was accepted to become the principal disciple. He has a rough idea as to what he wants to do; it is just that he does not know the exact thing yet as to how to achieve it.
"What is your goal in life, Kellen?" Asked Luceran.
"Hmm… I think it is to continue The Teacher's dreams. It is to further develop the well-being of Primordia and to pursue the truth of the world." Answered Kellen truthfully.
"What a grand and ambitious dream." Luceran exclaimed.
"You are mocking me." Snickered Kellen after hearing Luceran remarked.
"No, you misunderstood me." Said Luceran while shaking his head. "I envy people like you actually." Luceran explains.
"Oh? The second prince of the Kyros Divine Empire actually is envious of this humble scholar? Your Highness, you must be joking. You have everything that everyonehopes to have, and you are saying that you envy this person?" Kellen asked with a confused expression.
"Sigh… if only it were that easy." Luceran answered silently. The duo then continued down the corridor to their destination.
By the time they reach a t-intersection, the corridor is getting crowded. There they saw a young man with purplish hair and a stern face. His posture was straight as if a sword ready to be unsheathed. His brows were sharp and arched, with a small horizontal scar on his left cheek. There is a purple scabbard hanging on his waist. Luceran whistled when he and Kellen met the stoic purple-haired youth with a sword on his waist. The youth looked at them, responding to Luceran whistling.
"Prince Luceran, Kellen." The youth slightly bowed to the prince and greeted both of them.
"Ugh." Luceran rolled his eyes and complained to the youth response.
"Haveth, want to go together?" Kellen asked politely.
"The prince and scholar may go together. I have to wait for someone." Haveth replied the duo.
Luceran and Kellen nodded their heads and continued their walk among many other students. Around a few minutes later, they arrived in an open space area. It is the Garden of Arcana. The garden is decorated with trees that are glowing with arcane lights. The road is made with paving stones that are carved artistically. There are benches on the left and right sides for every 10 meters, stationed diagonally. The flowerpot with blue, purple, and pink flowers above the pot decorated the garden perfectly. Flying lanterns 7 meters above are scattered around the garden to lighten the garden during the night. Together with the other students, they maneuver around the garden to the north, to the main hall of the Immortal Academy. The garden is quite big; it takes 15 minutes to walk at a normal pace.
"It will be long before I can enjoy the peaceful environment of the garden again." Luceran state.
"Oh? And why is that?" Asked Kellen.
"Because I have to return to the capital and do my duty as the second prince." Stated Luceran dully with a flat face.
Kellen did not reply, seemingly deep in thought listening to the prince response. They walk around for a few minutes until they arrive in front of a majestic-looking gate that is already opened, together with the other students
"Here we are." Kellen said.
"Yes. Let's go in." Luceran replied.
It was a majestic grand hall thrice the size of a football field, with walls decorated with medieval fantasy paintings about heroes, magicians, and dragons. In each corner of the hall, there is a gigantic pillar around thirty meters tall supporting the hall. The pillar was made out of silver granite stone with beautiful carvings on it. A grand and majestic chandelier levitating mid-air to lighten the grand hall with white-yellowish light. To decorate the floor, a giant blue carpet with rune carvings as a pattern on the carpet. At the end of the hall, there is a two-meter-high stage, covering a third of the width of the hall; in the middle, there is a silvery podium carved out of wood with ancient carvings. The carvings are glowing slightly with purple-bluish light. Inside the hall, there are at least 5000 teenagers, male and female, standing. Some are standing while talking to one another, some are grouping and discussing many things, and few people are just standing silently or lost in their own thoughts.
Suddenly, the ambience and colors of the lights of the chandelier changed from white-yellowish to rainbow colors, and the sound of trumpets could be heard.
"Let the ceremony BEGIN!"