Chapter 454
The letters were tightly gripped in his left hand, while his right hand remained free, hanging at his side.
Theo lowered his gaze for a moment, looking at the two envelopes, reading the names written on each cover with a single glance, then lifted his head and began walking away from the gate.
He did not turn toward his own classroom, nor did he head to the library, the cafeteria, or the usual places students often visited.
Instead, he took the path leading to the west wing of the Academy, the wing where the lower-level classes were located, the wing where Aldraya, with her distinctive long white hair, usually spent her time before the fever seized her consciousness and carried her into the embrace of light.
The corridor in the west wing felt different, more crowded with younger students who were still adjusting to life at the Star Academy.
Laughter and chatter echoed from various corners, light conversations about assignments, about lecturers, about the strange phenomena they had recently witnessed on the Multiverse Path.
Theo walked among them like an unseen ghost, his body moving to avoid collisions with instincts honed beyond those of ordinary beings.
Some students looked at him in curiosity, perhaps because they had never seen that face before, perhaps because they sensed something unusual emanating from the figure dressed simply with an expressionless face.
Yet no one dared to approach or ask, because in the Star Academy, it was common knowledge that some students carried secrets that were not meant to be disturbed.
Theo continued walking until he arrived in front of a classroom door with a number he had already memorized by heart.
Aldraya's class.
"Rarely does anyone refuse something as simple as a permission letter."
Theo stood at the doorway of Aldraya's classroom with two letters in his left hand, letters that would change the plans for the next three days for himself and the white-haired girl now resting within the depths of his consciousness.
He stepped inside calmly, passing rows of desks and chairs, most of which were already occupied by students busy with their own activities.
Several heads turned, several pairs of eyes followed his movement with curiosity, yet no one dared to greet or question him.
Theo walked straight to the class secretary's desk, a student with thick glasses and a serious expression who was arranging documents on the table.
Without any small talk, he placed one letter on the desk, a permission letter under Aldraya's name, complete with signature and official stamp guaranteeing its validity.
The secretary took the letter, skimmed it briefly, then nodded and stored it in a designated folder.
The first task was complete.
Theo's left hand still held one remaining letter, a permission letter under his own name.
He extended his hand, placing the letter on the same desk, right beside where Aldraya's letter had been placed.
But this time, the secretary did not immediately take it.
The face behind the thick glasses showed hesitation, the brows furrowing as he read the name written on the envelope.
He lifted his head, looked at Theo with a gaze that mixed confusion and courage, then slowly shook his head.
With a voice that trembled slightly yet tried to remain firm, he stated that he could not accept the letter.
The reason was complicated and convoluted, about procedures that had to be followed, about authority he did not possess, about the fact that Theo was not a student in this class and therefore should submit the letter directly to his own class secretary.
The secretary's voice echoed clearly in the sudden silence that filled the classroom, as all the students held their breath watching this unusual small confrontation.
Theo did not move.
His face remained as flat as the surface of a frozen lake, showing no ripple of anger, disappointment, or even patience that usually appears when someone faces rejection.
He simply stood there, staring at the secretary with a gaze that could not be interpreted as a threat, yet also could not be dismissed as mere indifference.
Seconds passed in a silence that grew heavier, more uncomfortable, making the secretary increasingly restless in his seat.
Some students at the back began whispering, wondering what would happen next.
Yet nothing happened, no words came from Theo's lips, no threatening movement from his body.
He simply stood, and stood, and continued standing, with a patience that seemed to come from a being who did not recognize the concept of time like ordinary humans.
And at that very moment, something changed within the secretary.
Perhaps he saw something in Theo's eyes, perhaps he felt a subtle invisible pressure, perhaps he suddenly realized that refusing a letter from a student he had never known was a grave mistake.
His once tense face relaxed, his previously stiff shoulders softened, and with a voice that completely shifted into one of humility, he said that he would be ready to accept however many permission letters Theo gave him.
Theo nodded once, very slightly, almost imperceptibly.
He left the letter on the desk, turned around, and walked out of the classroom with the same calm steps as when he entered.
Behind him, the secretary let out a long breath, wiped the sweat on his forehead that he had not realized had been pouring down, then carefully took Theo's permission letter and stored it in the same folder as Aldraya's.
"I suppose no one will question Aldraya's absence. With her current condition, even three days of rest could be considered too short."
Behind the permission letters now neatly stored in the class secretary's folder, there lay a reason far deeper than mere physical absence of a white-haired girl.
Aldraya's absence from the Star Academy for the next three days was something that could be understood by anyone who knew her condition, or at least by those granted access to the truth behind the fever that had seized her consciousness.
As the former number one Supreme Angel, an entity who once sat upon the highest throne overseeing the flow of reality, Aldraya was now undergoing a process that could not be explained by ordinary science.
The post-synchronization fever burning her body was not an illness that could be cured with conventional medicine, but rather a natural response of her existential structure undergoing transformation, adapting to her new status as part of Resolve, Will, Intent, and Ambition, the four aspects of creative extension belonging to the Great Author named Theo Vkytor.
The title of Supreme Angel had been released from her, no longer attached, no longer recognized by reality, yet the consequences of once bearing that title still remained in every fiber of her existence, demanding a transition process that had to be handled carefully.
Yet the fever and the synchronization process were only one layer of reason, a surface layer that could be accepted by simple logic.
Beneath that layer lay a more fundamental reason, more personal, more decisive in determining the direction of the ongoing episode.
Aldraya required physical absence from the Academy not only because her body needed to stabilize its turbulent core of consciousness, but because she had to follow wherever Theo went.
Not as a burden, not as a responsibility, but as an inseparable part of the man's existence.
And Theo, with all his precise calculations, indeed intended to move, to step toward a direction he had long determined.
To be continued…