Lost Legacy

Chapter 2

Chapter II:

Fragile Connections

Hako set down the tablet. His melancholy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a creak in the door. That was promptly followed by Wren's voice, "Koi. Are you up there?"

"Yes."

Hako heard Wren prance up the stairs, singing whatever song he had learned wherever he had been. Wren glanced at a distraught Hako, recognizing immediately that something was wrong.

"Did someone die this time?" Hako's face shot up in fury at Wren's crude humor.

"Yes."

Wren's eyebrows shot up. His body tensed.

"Who? Someone important?"

"Yes."

Wren clarified, "Who?"

"Yes."

Wren remarked, "Koi. That's not a yes or no question. You've said nothing but four yes's today. Give me some answers." Hako snapped out of his trance and held the tablet out, pointing at the most recent entry on Chancellor Scythe. Wren read the passage in seconds, then again. His face became an undulation of expressions. Disbelief, realization, shock, and finally horror. He echoed faintly, "But how?"

Hako nodded, sharing the same thinking, "But how?"

"Chancellors don't die."

Hako smiled slightly. Sometimes, Wren could be the cold opposite of Hako, at other times sharing identical thinking. Perhaps that was why Wren Chen was assigned to Hako at the start of the Equidinx Academy's school year.

It took Wren a full moment to understand the impact. A buzz broke the silence.

Hako read, "All students report to Epicenter immediately." Wren, however, was still trapped in his own bubble.

The tablet blared, "Hako Li, Wren Chen please report to Epicenter immediately." His name seemed to jolt Wren from his trance as he blinked furiously a few times.

He faintly voiced, "Let's go."

Outside, the sky was a perfect blue, ideal for an outdoor gathering. Of course, no one was in the mood for having a celebration. Hako and Wren reached the Epicenter last so they were obliged to be squeezed at the very back of the podium.

The Epicenter was a stadium in the academy, dedicated for important end-of-the-year announcements or award ceremonies. It was decorated with oak trees and small perfectly cropped bushes in the shapes of circles.

The secretary of the academy, Mace (Mei Mei) Abruksen was a powerfully built man topping six foot. While seeming increasingly like a professional bodybuilder with his short black hair and rippling muscles, his scholarly achievements were almost perfectly depicted with tiny perfectly circular glasses set on the bridge of his nose. This was the man that Wren despised with his life.

Mace announced, "I am here to help prepare us for events that may occur in the future. I am not here to drive you to insanity. So brace yourselves. Please leave if you are sensitive to real world situations." No one left.

"Perfect." He took a deep breath. "We all understand the severity of the world's problems nowadays. Climate change is pushing us to the brink of industrialization and dying governments around the world are consulting the UO's assistance. We, ourselves, are in dire need of resources, namely oil and coal. Simply put, the world is dying." He paused, letting people comprehend.

"So here came the Chancellors. All seven came in multiple timelines that have finally converged. The eternal loop has its first unification. Together, they forged a new world for us. A new world where the eternal loop is broken. And a new world where we can live in." Suddenly, an elementary girl burst into tears, bawling about how her stuffed animals would all be gone. Eventually, she silenced and looked back up.