As Elyas climbed the marble stairs, he noticed a particular detail he had missed before.
The building…or the school had a name. Above the main door, was a sign.
D.E.B…What is that supposed to mean?
Elyas didn't hesitate to move forward, dismissing the sign. After all, he had more important questions to answer.
Unlike yesterday, the hallways were jam-packed with people. Primarily children. Much like any school, it was filled with the sound of chatter and gossip. As soon as Elyas entered the main hallway, everyone's attention was on him. He could clearly hear their whispers.
"Who is he? "
"Is he a new teacher? "
"Why does his hair look funny? "
"He looks like a beggar. "
"He looks bald "
Elyas was ignoring most of the comments, but that last one made him grab his pocket mirror and check himself.
"I'm not bald! Are you blind?" he screamed in his mind and fastened his pace. Before he knew it, he had reached where he needed to be.
Elyas opened the door of a small classroom, interrupting the teacher mid-sentence. "...Oh, I nearly thought you wouldn't show up sir. " The teacher, seemingly recognising Elyas, said as he gestured for him to enter.
"Class, this is sir Elyas…Uh, what was your last name?"
"Mortalle"
"Oh yes. This is Sir Elyas Mortalle everyone. He is a legacy and will be joining us as a student for the time being. " The teacher introduced him to class, fully expecting the chaos that it would create.
"A legacy! I'm not dreaming right? "
"But why would a legacy be a student? "
"Aren't all of them insanely powerful? Why is this guy here? "
"Why is he so old? "
"Doofus, that's what legacies are, people from ancient times. What did you expect, him to be our age? "
Elyas didn't even have the time to sit down properly before several conversations started.
Listening attentively while avoiding the numerous glances directed at him, gave him the answer to one of his questions.
'Ancient… I never thought one day someone would say that to me and it would make sense, but here I am, in a classroom full of teenagers and children learning about magic.'
He thought while the teacher stayed silent, waiting for the commotion to die down.
Elyas grimaced at the thought. He tried to find a window to look out of, but there were none. Apparently only the hallways had them.
After a bit, class turned silent. The teacher sighed and asked if anyone had any questions regarding what he had taught.
'This is an opportunity! I need to get answers… but asking them outright would be both suspicious and also make me look like a dumbass.'
After a short pause, Elyas came up with a simple question that hopefully would give him more answers than additional questions.
Elyas raised his hand.
"Yes sir Mortalle? "
"I was wondering…What is a heartless? And can you explain it to us? "
The corners of the teacher's mouth twitched as he heard Elyas speak. "...Good question. But today's lesson isn't focused on that. And sadly that's a bit too advanced for—"
The teacher was explaining when he was met with the students' uproar and protest, demanding he tell them. After all, they were as curious as Elyas about the matter.
The teacher looked towards Elyas with a hard to interpret face. It resembled scorn. After a bit he asked class:
"Do any of you know what will is? "
'Oh yes…Wait what? Will? What does that have to do with anything?'
The class was silent for a moment. Just like Elyas, nearly everyone had the same thought before someone raised their hand.
"Yes Cid, go on. " The teacher said as he looked at the student that was standing.
Cid nervously adjusted his glasses before speaking: "Will is the stored energy of a dreamer's body. It accumulates in the heart, and is the fuel for all of their miraculous powers. "
"Great job as always Cid. That is right. Some of you like him already know this, but no shame if you don't. After all, knowledge about dreamers isn't particularly easy to get."
After hearing that, Cid glanced towards Elyas at the back of the class. seemingly evaluating him. A silent question written on his face.
'…What's with this guy?'
The teacher looked at the two and continued with a few coughs.
"Will is something that every dreamer gets access to after they use their wish. It can be utilised in a variety of ways, from augmenting a body part, to something as simple as using their powers. "
"T…Teach? " A student raised their hand.
"Yes? "
"Does the heart just store will? "
"That's a good question. And a relevant one at that." The teacher said as he shot Elyas a piercing glance.
Why is he acting like I killed his father? I just asked a question.
"Short answer, no. The heart has another important role, and that is to regenerate will. Over time it'll slowly accumulate until it reaches the dreamer's limit…Which is decided by a variety of factors that are beyond today's lesson. "
'Great. So far it's going well…Putting the groggy teacher aside that is.'
"So… where was I? Oh yeah. As mentioned before, will can be used for augmenting one's body parts, and one of the most infamous augmentations is the heart.
"Augmentations are simple. A dreamer only needs to draw their will from the heart into the body part and keep it there for a set amount of time. Some can't do it since their control over their own will isn't strong enough, but there is always outside help to remedy that—"
"Teach? " A student raised their hand.
After a dramatic sigh he said: "...Yes? "
"Why is the heart augmentation infamous? "
"I'm getting to it! For the love of the suns! you people can't wait for two seconds!" He shouted. After a bit of massaging his temples, he calmed down and continued:
"Augmentations require a dreamer to focus their will on the body part they want to modify. But what if that part already has will in it? Well, that's where difficulties arise. A dreamer needs to block their natural will generation to not dilute the heart. Moreover, the time required for it is also not short, I think it was around a few days but I don't remember exactly."
"Even if you're done, this augmentation isn't done with you. Because its main purpose is to remove the dreamer's heart entirely."
'What? ! Remove? Doesn't—'
"And no, it doesn't kill them." He said as if done with his speech.
'…Are you not going to continue?'
As if to answer Elyas, he abruptly added:
"…But it does make the dreamer's life difficult…by completely removing the ability to store will. Don't worry, there are workarounds, but most rely on dangerous uncertainties like sealed artifacts or are just too minor of an improvement to be noticeable."
After soothing his voice with a few coughs, he added: "Most of you are thinking why in the sun's will would anyone do this, let alone a dreamer who needs will for their basic functions."
The teacher paused, giving the students ample time to come up with answers. But some already knew, and Elyas was one of them.
He knew. But didn't fully understand what his son or Noah went through to stay alive till this day.
"It grants the dreamer immortality. " He said it with the mischievous grin of a child, knowing full well that the entire class would become a chaotic warzone.
In an instant, as if someone had set them on fire, the students' shouts and heated conversations started.
The teacher was smiling as he watched the students jump around like embers. He always liked watching dangerous ideas spread on their own. But more than that, was his hate towards legacies.
In the corners of his eye, he could see a man, staring at the students carefree. Someone that made his blood boil.
He was looking at Elyas.