Ephurium

Chapter 16

Ace's Point of View

Immediately, everything flashed before my eyes, vanishing like a purge inside a game, until all I could see was darkness. I quickly looked around me, before I was suddenly flipped horizontally and felt a sudden cold, and soft surface against my back. I lifted my back up and my vision immediately returned to my eyes. Instinctively, I recognised the place as my bedroom, and I was lying on my bed.

It was evident that it couldn't have been a dream, as the bed would be warm due to a long period of me being wrapped inside. I was still wearing my school uniform - even my shoes were still on my feet, which I would never wear in bed due to hygiene issues. Unfolding the blinds of my window, the morning sun was slowly rising, and an alarm clock that I forgot existed in my bedroom began its irritating ringtone.

I quickly jumped out of my bed and rushed out of the door to see the usual extended balcony used as a hallway for ten rooms. Looking down beneath the balcony, the usual vast garden of the government department area was blooming in colourful blossoms. Going back to my room to fetch my school bag before dashing downstairs three times and boarded public transport as usual.

I arrived at my school within an hour and dashed like a cannonball into my classroom. Only a few students were present, and Stella was there early like usual, next to my seat. Just like my thinking, she pushed herself up from her desk and approached me, with an unclear facial expression.

"Did you know what had just happened?" She began, but I replied by shaking my head. "I remember living inside a village and also getting eaten by a cloud of darkness!"

I knew that telling her anything about the event would be causing mockery upon me, especially when nothing would seem realistic. There was only one thing that I could use as evidence for a more realistic reference - her Ephurium.

"What are you doing!" She shrieked as she slapped my hands as I reached for her neck.

"Check your necklace," I stated confidently. "It will tell you everything."

"But I don't wear a necklace." She replied as she searched her bare neck.

I remained silent, completely shocked by the absence of her Ephurium which she always wore on her neck as a necklace. However, it would all make sense that Professor Zayne erased the memories of all the slain tributes and reversed all the events to forbid the truth from exposure - just like the command I gave him. But, it was surprising that I still had my Ephurium crystal around my neck, along with my sense of mana flow around me.

"Stella, I think you just had a bad dream last night," I reassured. "By chance, did you become two peas in a pod with Jacob last night?"

"N-no what are you saying!" She exclaimed before her face became redder than a tomato.

I left her with her embarrassments and sat down onto my desk. At the exact moment that I organised my textbook and stationery for my period one English class, Matthew came bursting through the classroom door before everyone stared at him in fear. He simply shook his head and landed into the chair in front of me.

"Ace! I think I just had the best moment of my life!" He announced as he looked at me with excitement for once in my life. "Someday previous this week, when we were in math class, I encountered a group of hijackers that busted into our classroom and kidnapped ten students from our school! Then we went into this thing like a deathmatch and I died heroically saving you! And then I woke up on my bed this morning as if it was reality mixed with a dream!"

"Okay?" I reacted, completely shocked by how ineffective the memory wipe was on him. "That would be one hell of a dream."

"You just gave me flashbacks!" Stella interrupted in excitement. "I think I had the exact same encounter!"

I hit my hand on the table, alerting them and gaining their attention.

"You two aren't the only ones who had this encounter," I informed. "Along with you two, there are Calista, Farren, Jacob, Valerie, Aidan, Louise, and Luna know about the dream, as it was actually not a dream, sorry Stella, but it's actually the reality."

Matthew and Stella looked at me as if I was insane, but at the same time, they trusted what I was saying.

"There was a great purge, and thus our clear memories of what we had gone through was wiped out, along with the memories of other people who had even the tiniest particle of memory about it." I concluded. "Your Ephuriums, the crystal which gave support on mana to your body, were also destroyed."

Their serious faces immediately turned to laughers in a few seconds after my statement. I knew they would never believe the reality, but it was better this way, as it prevents them from knowing about their special abilities and cause chaos upon Earth again. The school bell rang right after our ridiculous conversation. As expected, the teacher dashed in right after the bell and began class as usual. However, she seemed rather energetic today.

"Alright class, I have just received the entrance results for all of your senior high schools!" She announced before the class suddenly became more nervous than ever. "I am happy to say that all of you have successfully passed your scholarship program!"

The class immediately went into an uproar as I packed my resources back into my bag, knowing that class definitely wouldn't be happening today.

"Congratulations Stella, you have hit full marks for your exams!" She continued as everyone cheered for her.

I glared at her in disgust as she smiled at with the face of someone who in their mind already have dreadful dares prepared for me. I knew that I should've never offered my agreement on the bet.

"And who would've known, this is such a disappointment." The teacher added. "Ace, I wished you failed your exams but you somehow also received full marks."

The class remained silent as everyone glared at me in bloodlust. Stella's face remained smiling as she sarcastically applauded before the class joined her. It was just depressing how everyone wished I failed my exams, but not Stella.

"This means I can leave you all alone in peace, right?" I mumbled in the silence before the whole class went into another uproar that was far more extraordinary than Stella's.

I slapped myself on the face before folding my arms on my desk and laying my head that was filled with despair onto it.

"Matthew, you are so lucky that you entered the same league as Stella and Ace just by a few points!" The teacher concluded before slamming her piece of paper onto her table. "And everyone went above this year's average by a great distance! You can all check your scores outside of the math building during break today!"

As the class calmed down from their energetic phase of the exam results, our teacher decided to let everyone do whatever they want inside the classroom as the last day celebration for junior high school, as long as nobody was hurt and no property was damaged. The day went onwards like any other day, except people, even the coldest ones, showed their emotions towards other school mates. After all, everyone will be all over the place after graduation, and making new friends in senior high would result in leaving their current friends behind.

After all, one's lifetime flows by like the wind. It will all go after a breeze.