The Transmigrated Professor

Chapter 50: Old Times

"Man, I was so stoked about going to the Academy." Lizzy slumped down on the table with a huge sigh. However, she wasn't going to be all stubborn about the matter now that she had heard a Second Catastrophe would soon be upon their planet.

Although the kids in her generation were born in an era of peace, they had grown up hearing about the horrors their forefathers had to face during that time.

Even now, outside the five major Cities, some regions still face the consequences of the first Catastrophe.

"I admit it is a bit unfortunate, but Mr. Ray is right. It would do you two good to proceed with caution." Jacob warned the two children. "The world is soon going to change in ways you can't imagine, and I believe the Academies wouldn't be able to nurture as well as protect you."

Ray was glad to see someone supporting his decision.

"Father, is the Catastrophe really that dangerous?" Mike asked curiously. As a native of the Sanskriti Archipelago, the children there were taught practical skills like fishing and farming for day-to-day survival, as opposed to Magic and its history.

To him, the Great Catastrophe was something akin to a myth or legend - certainly not something he would ever have to experience in his life.

Like all grandparents, Jacob was someone who loved to tell stories to those of the younger generation. It was anything like an inspirational speech or an educational lesson. To be honest, it was more selfish in nature - he didn't want his memories to be forgotten.

He had read the history books the children in the City were taught. Maybe it was an attempt to protect young minds from the trauma society had once suffered from, but Jacob sadly couldn't feel even the minuscule essence of the pain he and his kin had to go through while they survived in that world of destruction and lawlessness.

"It still sends shivers down my spine when I remember the first day those damned Gates opened up." Jacob closed his eyes, as he found himself back in the rusty old room in his small orphanage.

"The world was still recovering from the effects of World War II, so nobody expected that the danger this time would come from somewhere they never expected."

Hearing the old tale firsthand from a survivor certainly expressed the horror in a way no movie or words in a book could ever express. Ray and the others couldn't tear their attention away from the monologue so rich in history and experience. Even the twins, Ryu and Yuna fell silent, sensing the tone their grandpa was reminiscing.

Ray was especially interested in hearing the history, so similar and yet so different at the same time, to the history he was exposed to in his previous world.

"I was only seventeen at the time, and the sounds that rang that night were so like the ones that kept us at night for the past 6 years, afraid that this night would be our last. But at the same time, these noises were different - more dangerous and primal in nature."

"I ran out to find the source of those horrifying screams gliding through the winds and found the corpses of my fellow brothers and our teachers strewn on the field. Blood-curdling screams and tears filled the nightly air as people cried for their parents, wives and children. But instead of crying for my brothers who had died at that moment all I could do was hide. Hide from whatever monster it was lurking in the dark, waiting for the sun to show its first light and save us from the terror of the unknown."

"But come morning, it wasn't any more safe either. It was worse since I could now clearly see those horrible monsters pouncing on the weak and the destruction they left in their wake. I had to scavenge for food and water all alone, as I hid from the monsters, praying to God they wouldn't find me. Soon, earthquakes split the continents and tsunamis displaced entire oceans leaving behind a world that was unlike the one before or after the war."