At the onset of the rising sun, Horcus dropped his brother, Aegis, at the gate. It was still 6 AM. So, it wasn't as crowded as usual. It was the time when Aegis normally entered the campus every day.
He had chosen such a time to avoid social interactions.
Not that he had anyone to talk to.
'Hey! I still have friends!'
Aegis shook his head and walked inside the wide campus. The stone path was carved from an ancient stone titan, as the legend goes. The garden featured various herbal trees along with a vast pond to the east of the approaching Hall.
Pristine white crystals carved the hall at the center of the campus, and the pillars had golden, intricate rune designs. Those weren't for show-offs. In fact, it was a defensive measure against…
The rising cold.
Aegis looked around the campus.
'It's warmer today.' He murmured as he felt the cold. It wasn't snowing, but white snow had blanketed the trees around the campus. As for the landmarks inside…
The magical runes played a crucial role in providing heat, both inside and outside, for a specific radius.
As he was looking around, his eyes landed on the lone figure standing by the gate of the great hall. A lady around his age.
The lady had long golden hair and held a stick in her right hand. She was a foot shorter than Aegus himself. But regardless, she was his classmate.
If not for the fact that the poor girl was blind, Aegis wouldn't have dared to stare at her. Because not only was she a Merit student, but also a member of the Vale clan.
Walking past the girl with silent footsteps, Aegis felt an aura of impeccable prowess from her.
"Good morning," The girl said, catching Aegis offguard.
Aegis paused for a moment and then replied with a cold indifference,
"Good morning, Miss Vale."
And then he dismissed the lady and walked inside the pristine hall.
…
The class hasn't started yet. So, Aegis found himself sitting in the library. He had the whole library for himself, so why would he waste such an opportunity?
The librarian was a skinny, pale boy, just like Aegis. But he wore glasses and was actually famous among the nerds, more precisely, the ladies.
'What's with them and twinks?'
Not that he was willing to admit that he was twink himself.
Sighing, he put down a stack of books on the table. He sat by the window and had gotten himself a cup of black coffee. Life was perfect.
But it wasn't until.
"Senior Aegis!" The voice came from behind. He didn't rush to turn; he didn't need to.
"Mark." Aegis cut through the greetings and addressed the skinny boy who now stood beside him.
"Senior. I made… a…. Breakthrough." His voice was uneven, and he was panting heavily.
Aegis raised an eyebrow and signaled the boy to sit. The boy rushed to the wooden chair in front of Aegis.
A piece of glass shard fell from the boy's grasp. Aegis picked it up and studied it for a second, putting it against the dim sunlight to inspect.
Numerous paths of golden lights were alive inside the transparent glass shard.
"What did you discover, Mark?" Aegis replied with one eye, inspecting the shard.
Mark paused for a moment and then said simply,
"The reason behind Saint Javier's death."
Aegis raised his eyebrow and studied the shard as he asked, "How?"
The boy explained,
"The shard possesses a material that is foreign to us. I've searched all around the country for the last month. But to no avail…"
He continued, his tone hurried, "However, the shard contains a little amount of mana essence. But 90% of the substances, more specifically, the golden threads, belong to the…"
"Belongs to what?" Aegis asked, then put the shard on the table.
Mark replied with a cold indifference, "A scripture that belongs to the other continent."
Amused, Aegis replied after sipping on his coffee,
"So, I was right… It's them."
…
"Colonel Horcus? Why the somber face?"
Horcus looked to his right, and the distinguished lady who wore battle armor similar to Horcus's spared him a faint smile. She had lustrous, long black hair and lips as red as the crimson moon. It was very easy for men to fall for her.
But Horcus knew her well. Too well, infact.
"Nothing much, Colonel Klara," Horcus replied, "It's just…that I've been worrying about the upcoming war."
"Valid," Klara sighed as she closed her arms; her armguards made of metal clanked as she did so.
"You must be worried about your family, aren't you?" She asked nonchalantly.
"Not my family, though. I've been thinking about Saint Javier's death for a while. He was such an honest man. What a pity that the spies got to him."
"His son reads at the same university as your brothers," Klara added. "The poor boy had even won the Graveheart Tournament. Why do all the talented fellas have to go through such a dramatic tragedy?"
"I think you've been reading too many novels nowadays." Horcus scoffed.
"Probably." Klara shrugged, "Anyways.... We've arrived."