The newly appointed President Nathan Modernson stepped foot into the Student Council room once again, this time not as a guest, but as its owner. He had to say that what it looked like had completely changed, accompanying his association with it, just like everything else in this world.
Though he said he was prepared, the responsibility and burden that came with the role only came crashing down onto his slender shoulders when realisation struck. Among those born in his generation, he was going to have the most say in the upcoming future. This, for a boy who once thought Lostburg was the entirety of his life, was a feeling that could not be described.
Nathan paced around the central table, taking brief stops at gadgets or luxurious decorations that seemed slightly outdated. His final destination was the window that laid out half of Lostburg exclusively for him. His mind became shrouded in a dreamlike denial that, at his position, the city, even more prosperous than he had ever imagined, was now something so insignificant that he needed to lower his head to see it.
Everything happened too fast, but destiny never let anything get in its way.
"The room belonging to those who coronate the future…" Henry Nox's voice dragged him back to reality from behind, "Nathan, this place shouldn't be that unfamiliar to you, isn't that so?"
"I wouldn't go that far…" Nathan replied without turning back, not because he was too proud, but because he was lost in the streets of Endnest below him, at every individual that had shrunk to a mere dot.
"No matter, you will become familiar with it." Henry didn't seem annoyed by Nathan's inaction at all. He sighed, talking to both himself and Nathan, "You have chosen to fall into the trap Arthur Paradox had set up, but I know, for the descendant of Viviana Modernson, this is a measured scheme rather than a reckless resignation."
Nathan replied with a laugh that didn't carry happiness.
"This aside, it's time for you to learn the duties of a Student Council President. You can leave most things to me, but some rules remain ironclad."
Thinking about it, Nathan really didn't even know what the role of president meant, except for a title that carried more responsibility than any work. He finally persuaded himself to move his gaze away from outside the window.
"459 years," Henry repeated, "it has been 459 years since the founding of the Student Council. 459 years ago, this room was empty in more than one aspect. Call it a tradition, every Student Council President who was fortunate enough to represent their generation left one object, and only one object, behind. Gradually, it became the Student Council Room we know today. When you graduate, you should probably leave something behind too, but that's too far to account for."
"There is a Rune Art that has been passed down to the professors of the Imperial Academy that was perfectly invented in that exact year. A Rune Art that sealed memories within these objects, for all future generations to witness the chronology with their own eyes."
"Nathan, prepare yourself. Not everybody finds this experience too pleasing…"
Before Nathan could process and question Henry's last sentence, the window behind him began to glow in a stimulating brilliance that was too disturbing for him to stare at. But as he turned his vision away, the Student Council room he was in had already disappeared, replaced by a chamber roughly the same size, but silently empty.
The only thing that resembled the original room even slightly was that there was a door, though made from much cheaper material; doors weren't meant to serve any more purpose than to be opened and closed anyway.
Nathan watched as five people walked in directly towards his direction. They wore white uniforms just like him, but the design was much simpler and made of leather instead of refined silk. Their hairstyles would be considered too ridiculous by modern standards as well, with boys having relatively longer hair than girls.
The person who led the team opened his mouth and began to speak. The accent and grammar of the old language made comprehension difficult, but Nathan somehow understood everything he said.
"Welcome, visitor from the future. My name is Elijah Clayfield, 68th Student Council President and, honourably, the first to record and send this message to you. Whatever your name is, no matter who you are, I'm glad to acquaint you through the obstruction of time."
Nathan wanted to greet him back, but he was immediately interrupted as Elijah continued with a hopeful smile. He realised that, after all, this Rune Art was a rather ancient one, unable to allow interaction, only a visual slideshow. As Elijah began explaining the rules and obligations of the position, Nathan listened from the side. Usually, something as boring as this would send his imagination free in minutes, but the President's words didn't travel through his ears; rather, they struck him directly in the brain. As Henry described, not an extremely pleasing experience. Fortunately, his speech did not last very long. It shifted to something far more amusing: an accelerated montage of their work in this empty room that rolled on tomorrow after tomorrow.
He couldn't help but lower his head in disappointment as he saw blue-uniformed students enter the room. Even 459 years ago, people had already been divided into classes. Nathan couldn't even sigh; he was just a bystander who watched history, not a scoundrel of a judge that he usually was.
Days had gone past in a split second, just like a dream. Elijah turned towards him and smiled brightly like he always did, "We are at the highest building of Endnest, but are unable to observe the beauty of the capital city. Such a shame, such a shame…"
"For the sake of future generations, let's add some windows to this room, shouldn't we?"
And the flashing light reappeared, followed by the instantaneous materialisation of windows in the room. However, they were clouded by chromatic mists. It mattered little to Nathan; however, his attention was not focused on the outside.
Following Elijah Clayfield, the Student Council of each generation appeared before him one by one, following the same procedure but providing different, interesting stories every single time. Nathan felt like an eternity had gone past, and his mind was constantly bombarded with new information, but in reality, it was all less than a second. These memories were inserted into his mind, like data transferred into a computer.
Out of all the bizarre stories, some were spirited enough to make Nathan burst out in content laughter; some were filled with so much despair that they almost brought him to tears. There was too much to be remembered, to the point that all he retained were the last lines that added their exclusive object to the progressing room.
"What is a council without chairs? Let's hope the next generation brings in a table as well; that will make everything so much easier."
"We need a clock to ensure that such tragedies won't recur in the future."
"This room is way too lifeless. You remember that Timmy guy? His father owns a decent luxury goods store. Let's find one that we like the most and leave it here."
"This wallpaper is way too bland! I don't have anything that comes to mind to add to this room. Let's just renovate it a bit. Who agrees?"
"Let's ignore the fact that our secretary is one of the most disorganised people I've ever met, but we still need a file box to make everything easier. Any opposing opinions? Of course not, y'all wouldn't dare. Hehe."
"Do we really have to leave something behind? I don't have any good ideas… How about this pen? It's the first thing that came to mind."
"We are all exhausted after this turmoil of a year. If there is anything worthy to be left behind… It's probably this figurine. It may mean nothing to future generations, but it did give us the courage to keep going when times got tough."
"..."
"..."
As their last sentence ended along with their legacy, the object that they had chosen would appear like the windows in the same fashion. Nathan watched as the Student Council became more and more like the one in the current day, but for some reason, he felt a slight sorrow that he would probably never see these vintage versions ever again.
Time progressed along with the room, and people began to speak and look like the students that Nathan was used to. The same applied to the uniform, but needless to say, what changed was only the material, never the colour system that separated the two worlds.
Until suddenly, Nathan caught the first familiar face, and the declaration of his name proved his assumption.
"I'm Andrew Helmander, 405th President. I was once in your position, and my story is something you would not forget." The boy who resembled Edgar Helmander was nobody but the legendary Second Seat of the Rune Arts Federation, Mirror.
In the same generation, he saw the most beautiful girl in his life, a four-coloured Rune Artist with divine features, but with a harsh and straightforward way of speech. It reminded him of somebody he knew quite well. The answer regarding the girl's identity didn't take Nathan too long to figure out. It was Clara Marshall, the nightmare of the modern education system in her youth. This was the first time Nathan understood what aging meant to a person, how nothing changes somebody more than time itself.
It also led him to question: Didn't Clara Marshall get expelled for committing an unforgivable crime? Was she lying the entire time?
The girl who sat opposite her was another story. She emitted an aura so gloomy that Nathan felt fear even by just staring into her eyes. As for the two Vice Presidents, they were a unique bunch that left a mark on his memory, too.
The First Vice-President was a boy with unattractive features, and even that was a comment made out of politeness for his seniors. However, Nathan felt a distant yet comforting connection with him, finding a sense of liking through his villainous smile that resembled his own. He also carried a sword on his back the whole time. It seemed like the Hallowed Sword of Elderia to Nathan, but he wasn't too sure either. It could be a counterfeit like the one he bought Monica.
Using eye contact only, he had silent yet seemingly fascinating conversations with the Second Vice-President, a girl with pigtails who always wore an energetic smile. She could never sit still, and her two wands were always spinning in her nimble fingers. It seemed to Nathan that it was a romantic relationship, though he never understood why that girl would fall in love with someone who looked like that.
Until one day, the three girls in the Student Council disappeared as if they had never been part of it in the first place. They were replaced by a new group of students. The only evidence that it wasn't an error in the memory was the loss and sorrow in Mirror's eyes and, more evidently, in the other boy's. That boy's smile disappeared, replaced with a heavy determination that almost seemed vengeful, as if he had made up his mind on something extreme. The reason for their disappearance was never explained. Out of all the stories he had seen, this particular one pained him the most. Just like the suffering he was used to, it was an inaudible tragedy that forced you to forget it and live on, leaving no mark for you to even grieve over.
Like the event itself, the presentation continued without halting for him to process his emotions. A few years of peaceful eras passed, until a familiar face once again froze his gaze.
"Welcome, new President of the Student Council, my name does not matter. People will remember me as V." Viviana Modernson spoke smoothly. His mother's youthful, unwounded face echoed in his eyes.
She had an edgy hairstyle and dashing makeup that Nathan would never expect to suit her. The way she carried herself was nothing like she was now, but it still appeared to Nathan that he had seen similar manners of speech before. She was wild, noisy, and careless with her actions, something that other Representative Students detested but did not speak against.
The Student Council crew was the closest-knit group he had seen. They were always together, always sharing secrets, always chattering about the future. He saw his father, or maybe it was his twin brother; he wouldn't be able to tell. The Eric Runaria he was looking at defined what it was like to be born royal, well-mannered, with an undertone of undeniable authority. Yet, when Nathan looked closely, there had always been a speck of disappointment in his gaze that rose from nowhere.
Henry Nox was there too. He was the only one who had basically never changed. His arrogant elegance followed wherever he went, similar to the presence that Nicolas Terrast gave.
He didn't quite recognise the other two, but he could guess that one of them had to be Arthur's mother, head of the Paradox family, Agnes Paradox, through her wavy, half-white, half-black hair. The way she and Eric interacted reminded Nathan of Jennifer and himself, but something was different that he could only name as "distant." There were barely any arguments between them, just smooth collaborations that often felt "off."
She was Jay's height, or perhaps even shorter, but the powerful aura she gave off seemed to force people to lower their heads. All this said, her expression was much less cold than her son's.
Across this timeline, the atmosphere was mostly light-hearted, even when some of the more bothersome commissions came their way. Even until it finished, there was never a single suggestion that Nathan could detect that led to his father's decision to forsake the kingdom, or even the faintest hint of his relationship with his mother at all.
Just when Nathan thought Henry's words were just another one of the many lies he had heard, a dazzling light overtook the whole atmosphere. The Student Council room, along with everything inside it, began to twist and reshape into an unfamiliar chamber.