"Could you turn around?" Xenon asked Regina as he got closer to the shore and the water level was getting lower than his waist.

Regina retreated a few steps for the shore and did turn around. Xenon immediately ran out of the water and put on a trouser – from his inventory – when he saw that Regina did turn around.

"Uh, I was trying to swim by the way." Xenon said after putting on his trouser. "But the tide came in and I slipped, and almost drowned."

"Slipped?" Regina turned back to him and asked.

"Yeah, my feet were on the sea bed. I was trying to teach myself how to... swim." Xenon was washing the blood off his face in the water.

"Oh. Why go into the sea when you can't swim?"

"Are you deaf or something. Didn't you hear me say I was learning how to swim!" Xenon's temper rose abruptly.

Xenon pulled a scarf from his inventory, dipped it in water and dabbed it at the cut on his head, above his left eyebrow. He turned around and walked away from the sea shore.

He didn't go back to the dormitory but decided to check if he would be let into the infirmary to get his cut treated.

'Who's that?' Xenon thought as he got within a few feet of the infirmary and saw someone walking sneakily out the infirmary doors. He quickened his steps and got behind the person in less than a second.

Rogue, feeling a sudden rush of the wind and someone's breathing turned around abruptly and almost collided with Xenon.

"What are you doing here?" They both asked each other at the same time.

"Are you trying to steal something?" Xenon asked as he sized her up.

"What? What do I want to steal here? Sick people?" Rogue replied sarcastically.

"How do I know?" Xenon shrugged.

"I am an apprentice here. Now what are you doing here?" Rogue replied.

"You don't have healing powers, or do you?"

"Uh, I can manipulate blood."

"How does that-oh! You're just what I need then."

"What do you mean?" Rogue was confused.

"This." Xenon removed the scarf he had been pressing upon his head and pointed to the slightly bleeding cut.

"Oh, come in."

Xenon left the infirmary a few minutes later after Rogue had used his own blood to attach the cut skin on his head back together. She had made the blood clot to hold the skin together, then wrapped his head in a bandage and advised him to cut hair which had grown a bit longer than shoulder length.

— — —

"You know, I have told the proprietor time after time to enlarge this school to include younger ones, so children can start their education early, but do you know what he always says?" Mr Hakym faced the first years in the hall as he asked a rhetorical question.

"He always replies that Arkham saw it would affect the timeline. What nonsense is that? And nobody else in the four continents would do it if that old man doesn't start first.

"If he had listened to me then, I would not be here wasting my morning with you when I still have a lot of work to do." Hakym sighed. "This world's educational system is garbage."

It was Monday and the first years of Erythros were attending homeroom. And the first thing their homeroom teacher did upon entering the class is complain about how his job would be easier if children in this world started their education early and not until they were teenagers.

"In order to be efficient, I will not teach you anything at all, but instead you will be allowed to ask questions which I would answer. That way we'll be able to cover a lot of ground." Hakym continued.

"Mind you, I will only answer questions about things you should know at this stage, I will not answer those about things you will learn later on in class or in the future." Hakym walked to the other end of the hall to seat in the place provided for him. "Now, shall we start."

"What happened to the other half of the world?" Juan raised up his hand and asked.

"I will not help you with your history assignment, Juan Marino." Hakym replied. "And yes I know it's connected to your assignment because Derp has given the same first assignment to all first years for about five years now." Hakym said when the students were surprised.

"Where does the world end?" Jason asked innocently.

"The world doesn't have and end, Jason." Hakym sighed loudly. "We discovered it was actually round a few decades back. And there is something beyond this globe of a world we live in.

"The sun that gives us light is actually not small, but it is a giant ball of burning energy. We can't calculate how bigger than our world it is, but it is very large.

"We discovered this globe we live on is surrounded by eternal darkness as far as we can see. And the tiny dots of light we see at night are actually like our sun, but they are very far away, they are referred to as stars now." Hakym explained.

"The proprietor and Professor Arkham are thinking of officially creating a new subject about the study of that beyond our world next year. You'll learn more if you decide to take the subject in your third year."

"Sir, are there other people out there?" Another student asked.

"I do not know." Hakym replied.

"There should be!" Xenon blurted.

"What?" Hakym turned to him.

"Well, I mean, if there are other suns out there then there might be other worlds out there that have people, or other creatures living on them." Xenon said.

"Well, we all feel that way too, but there's no way to prove if it's true or not." Hakym said.

Xenon nodded. 'If this world can attain space travel in about a hundred to two hundred years, I might be able to go back to earth.' Xenon thought.

_________________

That's if earth is in the same universe as this one.

And even if earth is just the next star system from here, your sister will be dead by then.

Or even worse, earth might be no more.

_________________

Xenon's face darkened immediately. 'Couldn't you at least have let me hold on to that hope till I realized it myself?'

_________________

It would be a waste of time.

_________________

"You said that this world is a globe, sir, and that we're surrounded be eternal darkness. Then how is this world in place? Why are we not continuously falling?" Juan asked

"Enough questions about that. Keep your questions till you're in your third years." Hakym dismissed Juan's question.

"Wait sir, what is the darkness surrounding us called?" Jason asked.

"I don't know. Eternal darkness, darkness, black space, there's no name for it yet." Hakym answered.

"Why not just 'SPACE'." Xenon said.

"Any other questions?" Hakym ignored Xenon.

— — —

Homeroom had ended prematurely as Mr. Hakym had been summoned by professor Arkham halfway through the class. Everyone had dispersed to do one thing or another and soon, it was time for the next class.

'Argh! I forgot to ask what the months are called here.' Xenon said to himself as he and Jason walked to History class.

"Xenon, look." Jason bumped into Xenon and pointed to something in front of them.

Xenon looked up and saw that Jason was pointing to Aoi. He was ahead of them, also walking towards the History class. Xenon and Jason looked at each other and both decided to close in on him.

They quickened their steps to catch up to Aoi, but Aoi also quickened his steps. They increased their pace again, and he did the same. They continued until they were almost running before Xenon stopped Jason.

"Stop, Jason. It's pointless, he is obviously avoiding us." Xenon said as he put his arm on Jason's shoulder and pulled him back.

"We should just corner him somewhere, he won't be able to run away then." Jason replied loudly so Aoi would hear.

"That's a bad idea, we can't force him to talk to us." Xenon also said loud enough for Aoi to hear. "Besides, he could try to force his way out, I don't want to end up like the mannequin if that happens."

Aoi who had slowed down on purpose to catch what they were saying inadvertently tripped and fell face forward after Xenon's last sentence.

Xenon and Jason walked past him – he was still kissing the floor – and continued to class. Aoi stood up, dusted himself and continued walking after he was sure they were completely gone.

"See what you caused, Aoki." Aoi spoke to thin air.

'I wasn't the one avoiding them, was I?'

— — —

"Good morning class." Derp spoke to the class and they replied. "Now, everyone should place their assignment on their desk. Juan, collect it after everyone had done that and place it on my table. The class will start after that is done."

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