EMIL

Time relentlessly advanced. Despite Emil’s reluctance, the weekend ended and classes returned. At the crack of dawn, he dragged himself off of the guest bed at Petra’s residence and limped towards the Academy campus.

He spent the last two days confined to the bed—partly due to his debilitating injuries and partly because of Petra’s draconian monitoring. But even with her efforts and the resilience of an Exalted’s physique, Emil still found himself in agony as the week began.

A pair of Sentinels were at the gates of the campus’ southern entrance. The sight of the guards in their azure-colored uniforms instantly sent dread down his spine. Emil hid his trembling hands in his pockets, clenching tightly to his thighs to stop the incessant shaking.

Calm down.

We eliminated everyone that saw our faces. I made sure to remove traces of our Gifts at the sacred grove.

There should be nothing that connects us to Professor Callum’s death.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Petra had kept him up-to-date with rumors circulating Azure City over the weekend. There was nothing about the professor’s death. Emil had doubts, however, that Callum’s body hadn’t been found.

They’re likely keeping the news to themselves.

Just like with Ellen’s murder, this incident would likely be swept under the rug with some vague explanation. After all, there was no benefit for the Academy to announce the murder of one of its staff members.

“Your student card, please,” one of the Sentinels said as he arrived in front of the gates. Emil handed over his identification. It took an absurd amount of willpower to steady his rattling hands.

“Leaving campus at the first chance you get, eh?” the other Sentinel said while Emil’s student card was being verified. Apparently, students were allowed to leave campus on the first weekend of every semester. For most students that came from the upper echelons of Ardairan society, this would be their first experience being away from their luxurious homes by themselves. This was the Academy’s way of giving those privileged students some time to adjust to the boarding school lifestyle. Emil had completely forgotten about this policy.

He put on an innocent boyish smile that he thought was typical for his age. “Yeah, I heard it was going to get hectic soon. Might as well see the city while I can.”

“For sure. Just be careful, yeah?” the Sentinel gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder, “This city is pretty safe, but it can get rambunctious at times.”

Emil fought the urge to squirm under the man’s touch. His combative instincts nearly compelled him to retaliate.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Emil said, putting on a cheery façade as he received his card back. The Sentinel pair opened the gates for him with bright smiles.

He stepped in, once again back on the prestigious campus of Exalted Academy. He let out an exhausted gasp of air. His heart was pounding out of control. Emil reached for a cloth in his breast pocket and then lightly dabbed at the front of his forehead.

Despite the chilly morning, his face was already soaked with sweat.

This is going to be a long day.

***

Morning lectures arrived.

Emil took his seat, relieved that his shaky legs finally had something to rest on. The lecture room was filled with the usual cacophony of his classmates’ loud chattering. For once, Emil was thankful to hear them ramble.

Everything seems normal so far.

No one had pulled him aside yet. No scrutinizing gazes, aside from the normal curiosity and wariness from his status as a delinquent.

Nothing had been communicated to them that suggested Professor Callum’s classes were going to be cancelled. Nor did the rest of his classmates seemed to be aware of their professor’s untimely death.

Did they find a replacement for him already? It would explain why classes were still scheduled. But if so, then it effectively confirmed that the Academy had already found his body.

“Morning.”

Emil turned to the arrival of his accomplice.

“Morning,” he replied.

Anna looked relatively normal. She had her usual set of dark bags crowding beneath her doe-like eyes. Expected. Sleep must have been hard to come by with a guilty conscious. Surprisingly, her hair had been straightened and her face appeared to be freed of blemishes despite the gruesome battle within the temple—likely the work of some clever make-up.

“I didn’t expect you to be in class today,” Anna whispered as she took her seat. Her face was mired with concern. “Are you okay?”

“I could be better.” He pulled back his sleeves, exposing the fresh bandages that were wrapped around his arms beneath the wrist.

Anna narrowed her eyes. “You should be in bed, dammit. How are you even moving?”

“The Academy will start poking its head around if I’m absent,” Emil said, trying not to wince. As much as he hated to admit it, Anna had every right to be concerned. His injuries had barely started to heal. Even now, pain inundated every inch of his body. “Besides, this is hardly something that I can’t handle.”

“Classic male pig-headed behavior. Just say something if you need my help, alright?” she offered, shooting him a pitiful look. Their short conversation came to an abrupt end.

The doors to the lecture hall closed.

The chatters suddenly stopped. Footsteps echoed from the front of the class from heavy soles striking against hardwood.

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That’s a new face.

Unlike Professor Callum, this new professor was noticeably larger in frame. He had broad shoulders and a stout physique, reminiscent of a warrior. With his gray hair and a face rugged with age, he gave off the impression of a strong, grizzled veteran.

Whispers of curiosity eventually spread as the new professor took his spot at the podium.

“Greetings,” his deep brass voice reverberated through the lecture hall with powerful authority, “You may call me Professor Harold. You may be wondering why your usual teacher isn’t here today. As far as I’m aware, Professor Callum has decided to take on an indefinite leave of absence due to extenuating circumstances. As a result, I will be filling in on his behalf for the foreseeable future.”

Confusion rippled across the lecture room. Emil frowned. Indefinite leave of absence. That’s one way to say that someone will never be seen again.

He was starting to see a pattern in how the Academy likes to operate.

***

“Last time Professor Callum covered one of the four parameters of mana used to measure an Exalted’s competence—Sensitivity. Today, I’ll cover another one—Processing.”

Professor Harold began to inscribe a diagram on the blackboard. The speed and precision of his drawings were enthralling to watch.

“Mana in its raw form is ethereal energy. It is formless. Think light from the sun or heat from a fire pit. Mana needs to be weaved by an Exalted to manifest their Gifts and produce phenomena. The speed and complexity of that phenomena is what Processing measures. You can broadly qualify Processing into four categories.”

Professor Harold suddenly faced the class with an outstretched arm pointed towards the door. Emil saw the surge of mana radiating from the Azurite ring from his index finger.

“My Gift is called Hydrargyrum. It manifests mercury in liquid state and gives me the ability to morph it to my desire. I suggest the front row of the class move back a row for precaution’s sake.”

Immediately, the first three rows of the class jumped out of their seats. Once everyone cleared the space, he began his demonstration. Mana poured from his Azurite ring. A few seconds later, a blob of silver liquid gradually emerged, hovering just a few inches in front of his face.

“Low speed. Low complexity.”

Harold dismissed his Gift. The blob of mercury vanished. Then, he tried again. This time the liquid silver manifested immediately, snapping into existence in the blink of an eye.

“High speed. Low complexity.”

Harold lowered his hands, commanding the blob of mercury to drop onto the ground. Slowly, the amorphous blob began to transform, meticulously agglomerating into a shape of a small bestial creature.

“Low speed. High complexity.”

The professor allowed the mercury to collapse back into an amorphous blob. He snapped his fingers. This time the blob instantly blossomed into an array of swords and spears. Excited gasps raged through the lecture hall at the dazzling depiction of the swords and spears in the form of liquid silver. Even from the back of the class, Emil could appreciate the intricate details, such as the beautiful emblem inscribed on the hilt.

“High speed. High complexity.”

The glow of Azurite ceased. The display of mercury weapons vanished, much to the student’s disappointment.

“That concludes the demo. Those are the four main categories to measure Processing. There is one more parameter I want to quickly cover before we end today’s class.”

Professor Harold began writing on the blackboard again.

“Interference range. Despite its complicated name, what it describes is actually very simple. It’s the maximum distance that an Exalted can manifest phenomena. Another way of thinking about it is how far mana can be extended away from an Exalted’s body before their control over the ethereal energy vanishes.”

Professor Harold turned to face the class.

“Unlike Sensitivity and Capacity, which are somewhat constrained by an Exalted’s innate ability, Processing and Interference range are parameters that can be fine-tuned and trained. Keep this in mind during your evaluations today.”

***

The first half of the day’s lectures came to an end.

Emil and Anna walked together towards the cafeteria for lunch in silence. A heavy mood lingered over the two as their eyes discreetly darted about—sensitive to any abrupt movements, especially from professors and Academy staff.

Tension crawled along Emil’s skin as they moved through the campus hallways. Anna was apparently no different. The girl had been fidgety the entire morning. Even now, her eyes were furrowed in a nasty glare. The students that they passed by immediately jumped out of the way when they noticed Anna’s foul mood.

She’s probably going to explode after we start eating. Emil thought as they arrived at the food stations. He grabbed two extra sets of pudding just in case.

They found a table for two at the corner of the cafeteria—away from the rambunctious excitement that was taking place. Emil found it nauseating. The cheerful ignorance of the student body was a dark contrast against the horrors they had experienced just two days ago. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. No doubt Anna felt the same.

“I can’t take this anymore,” she whispered before Emil could take his first spoonful.

Never mind, I overestimated her.

Emil put his spoon down. Anna had a haunted look on her face. Her hands were buried deep into her scarlet hair, now messy after being tampered with.

“The paranoia is killing me, Emil. Every time I look at a professor or a staff member, I get this nasty feeling that they know what we did. Please tell me I’m not alone.”

Emil raised his hands in front of Anna’s face. Without any prompting, his arms began to shake with incessant fervor, stirred by his frantic heart. He was just as nervous.

“To be fair, I doubt the Academy would leave us be if they had even the slightest suspicion that we were involved,” Emil said with a pained smile, “If it’s one thing that we learned, it’s that the Academy is not known for its subtlety.”

“Do you think they found his body?” Anna asked in a soft whisper.

Emil nodded, “Undoubtedly. Otherwise, they would not have replaced him already.” He turned his head slowly, eyeing a group of students who passed by in his periphery.

“Let’s change the topic. I think we’re in the clear for now,” he said, taking a spoonful of his food before Anna could go on another tangent. The sweet, savory bite popped in his mouth. His nerves calmed a bit at the comfort of food.

“Then, what do you think of Professor Harold?”

“Serious. Strict. Probably used to serve in the military given his perfect posture and physique. Seems competent,” Emil said in between mouthfuls.

“How about the likelihood that he’s also involved in some nefarious experiments?”

Emil slammed his spoon down on the table. Heat rose to his throat.

“Anna, drop it,” he warned.

“What?! It’s a legitimate question!” Anna’s voice rose to a dangerous volume.

“Save it for later. We don’t have to talk about this right here.” Emil tried to get his point across, noticing a familiar figure approaching in his periphery. Unfortunately, the honors student was too indignant to listen.

“Excuse me? Don’t tell me what to do!” Anna said.

“Did I come at a bad time?” A deep brass voice reverberated behind her.

Anna immediately froze. Her eyes went wide—the edges quivering with fear. Emil smiled, trying to hide his discomfort, slightly relieved that Anna didn’t say anything stupid. He took the chance to compose himself, putting on the mask of a polite student.

“Not at all, Professor,” Emil turned to the voice. Professor Harold towered over the side of their table. A perplexed expression drawn across his rugged face.

“Just our usual banter,” Emil added.

Professor Harold broke into a smile, “I see, the two of you get along quite well then. It’s a rather surprising turn of events after what happened on the opening day.”

“Ugh, you’ve heard about that too?” Emil asked sheepishly.

“I don’t think there’s a single staff member on campus who hasn’t,” Professor Harold let out a hearty laugh, “Anyways, I’ll keep this brief. I know Professor Callum’s sudden absence might come as a bit of shock. While I can’t replace him, I will do my best to provide lessons in his place. Please feel free to come to me anytime if you have questions.”

Professor Harold made himself sparse afterwards. Emil watched until he began speaking with a couple of their other classmates who were also eating in the cafeteria.

He didn’t single us out. It was only then that he leaned back into his chair, letting the tension flush out of his shoulders. I didn’t notice any hint of bloodlust or malice. Everything he said seemed to be genuine.

He sighed, turning back to his food. Anna remained silent, seemingly still shaken over Professor Harold’s sudden appearance. That could have been a close call. Emil reflected. Petra’s warnings about Anna blared in his head. His throat felt hot again.

“I’m only going to say this once. Don’t bring this up again, especially on campus,” he hissed, not bothering to bottle up his anger, “I hope I don’t need to explain why.”