Shadow Slave

Teacher Julius had never expected his twilight years to be so very busy. He remembered thinking of retiring a few years back — the world was constantly changing, and he was afraid of not being able to keep pace with it. As much as it pained him to admit, his lessons, which had been vital for innumerable young Sleepers in the past, had not had high attendance in a long, long while.

That was only natural, considering that Awakened of the Second and Third Generations... gods, were they on the Fourth generation, already?... had absorbed most skills necessary for survival in the wilderness of the Dream Realm as children. Granted, those school curricula were quite shallow, never delving deeply into the subjects he felt passionate about.

So, Julius had thought about hanging his hat.

Who knew that he and his family would become so involved with building a brighter future for humanity on behalf of the new Domain? His wife was doing important work helping refugees settle in Bastion, for example. Julius himself, meanwhile, had found himself in charge of developing an entire new education system for youths residing in the Dream Realm.

There was so much he and the team of academics under his leadership had to consider, envision, and implement.

After all, they not only needed to make sure that children taken to the Dream Realm learned everything they needed to know about that dangerous world and developed into competent adults, they also needed to make sure that children that would be born in the Dream Realm in the future did not forget their roots, inheriting the knowledge and culture of Earth.

Which, apparently, was not long for this world. Soon enough, Earth would become a part of the Dream Realm, too — a fact that he was still trying to come to terms with.

In any case, Julius had spent most of his time in Bastion, since that was where the governing institutions of humanity were slowly migrating. His life there was both eventful and meaningful, but he still enjoyed his rare visits to NQSC.

After all, this was where he had spent most of his life — especially the familiar grounds of the Awakened Academy.

Julius took his time walking along the paths of the Academy park before entering the Sleeper Compound and making his way to his former classroom. This was where his NQSC office was now located. Despite knowing how numerous calls and communications with valued colleagues who still resided on Earth awaited him, his gait was ginger and energetic, and he was humming a boisterous tune.

‘Better finish everything quickly, get all the planned social engagements out of the way, and get back home...’

There was something new and exciting happening in Bastion every day. Not too long ago, young Bethany finally managed to launch her ambitious hydroelectric power plant. Now, a magical tramway was being built along the main thoroughfare, and there were myriad other things being created and invented as well. Julius did not want to miss anything.

Sadly, he knew that many of his colleagues were quite stubborn and cantankerous. So, the scheduled meetings were probably going to run late... especially because his old academic rival, Sando — who was not as smug these days, but still a complete hack — would be participating in one of them.

“Let’s see. It’s almost time for the call with the Song Foundation... huh? What is that?” Julius blinked a couple of times, which caused his bushy eyebrows to perform a complicated and faintly frightening dance. There, on his table, lay something that he did not recognize. It was a leather-bound journal that looked quite mundane, but emanated a daunting feeling of something uncanny... almost mystical.

There was also a handwritten note placed near it, with neat cursive filling it. The paper was black, and the ink was silver-white — the note looked like a piece of the dark sky that someone had cut carelessly from the fabric of the night, taking the stars and starlight with it.

Julius scratched the tip of his nose.

“Did I forget to lock the door?”

The Awakened Academy was a restricted area with heavy security, so no one was supposed to be able to enter his office unannounced.

His curiosity won over his caution, though — well, of course — and Julius picked up the note after sitting behind the desk.

His eyebrows climbed higher and higher as he read it.

The neat handwriting read:

[Teacher Julius,

You probably don’t remember me, but I was once your student.

Many years have passed since the days I attended the Awakened Academy, yet I always remember your lessons fondly. They are the reason I survived long enough to write you this note. As I grow older, I often reminisce about the past: many things have changed, and I have changed as well. That, too, is a privilege I earned thanks to you. You promised to make me immortal on the first day we met. Please forgive your incompetent student, Teacher Julius — I am not quite immortal yet. But I am working on it.

Meeting you was truly my great fortune. I don’t think I ever thanked you properly for everything you’ve done for me, so please allow me to express my gratitude in this modest way.

Below, you’ll find an exploration report I compiled after traveling far and wide in the Dream Realm, visiting places that no human has ever reached and unraveling mysteries that no one has ever been able to solve — which, in hindsight, was quite a foolish affair, considering how many times I almost fell victim to my curiosity.

However, as Professor Obel used to say, humanity needs a bit of stupidity to survive. So, please, enjoy the fruits of my stupidity.

Best Regards,

Nobody]

Teacher Julius stared at the note in bewilderment.

”Nobody? The Nobody?!”

Had the author of the Exploration Report on the Tomb of Ariel actually been his student once?

‘I would have remembered such an outstanding student, surely...’

Completely forgetting about his schedule, Julius grabbed the leather-bound journal and read the title embossed on the cover. “The Exploration Report on... Everything?” Opening the journal with a trembling hand, he read the first few lines. 𝙍𝘢₦Ọ𝐛ÈȘ

His eyes widened like saucers.

“W—what?!”