Two hours later, at 9am, Markus woke up with bruises and a headache. His essence seemed to have mostly recovered but the greatest wound was that to his mind.
He knew Bailey was powerful but only after fighting against her- or rather barely resisting her- did he realise how big the gap is. Although he had made leaps of progress, he still had a long way to go.
He looked around, noticing he was alive and now magically at his dorm room at the academy. He did not know what happened or how exactly he had gotten there, but at least he was alive. Bailey did not discover that he was an imperial vessel.
He sat up, realising he was still in his combat suit. He saw that on his workdesk, placed vis-a-vis the bed, had a piece of paper with writing and a clean and freshly ironed uniform. A white shirt, black suit and black boots.
He realised he was dirty too. He read the letter first.
"Dear Markus,
I hope you are well and not too affected by the unplanned developments.
I am sure you have a few questions and they will be answered in due time. In the meanwhile, please get yourself sorted and dressed. Then go to your lessons. You will find your amended timetable on the back of this letter. Your teachers have been informed you would return today and are expecting your attendance, however I am unsure when you would awaken, I expect you will attend your afternoon classes but should you awaken earlier, please do attend your earlier classes.
Welcome back,
Charlotte Windbourne, Headmistress of the Tuatri Academy"
"I see… well- I suppose I should get ready…" he said, turning the letter over and looking at his timetable.
He put the letter down and went to shower and get ready.
Looking in the mirror, he was bruised along his back but not too badly. It will heal in a couple of days. He also felt some pain in his right leg, the one Bailey grabbed with force before slamming him down- however he noticed that if he augmented the muscle, although it still hurt, he could use it without causing further harm.
He hopped in the shower and enjoyed the warm water on his body. Washing the grime away and changing into new clothes- after months of living somewhat savagely, was a refreshing experience.
He fixed up his uniform and thought back to when he first met Bailey.
'Crooked collar my ass-' he thought to himself, a sad smirk appearing on his face.
Although it had only been a few months, he had grown quite a bit and matured his body. He now had some muscle definition and sharper features. He was only 145cm in height but that would soon increase- hopefully.
Most importantly, he had a different aura about him and a sea of essence ready to be used. Not to mention he was on the brink of advancing to the learner stage.
He stepped out at 9:37am and went to his first lesson back–
'You've got to be kidding me!' he said as he fully realised who he had for his 10am class.
At 10am the students entered the classroom and began to take their seats before their teacher arrived.
Markus arrived at the last moment, seemingly forgetting which way to go on his way here and getting sidetracked whilst also receiving plenty of unrecognising stares from people.
As he walked in, the class seemed to fall silent and staring right at him.
He awkwardly looked at them and lowered his head, walking to his old desk.
He pulled his chair back and sat down at the back, by the window to his right, only to notice they were all still staring.
"What?" he asked.
"Dude, who the hell are you?" a guy from across the class asked, Markus recognised his voice- belonging to Jack.
Right then the teacher walked in.
"Is that you who I heard cussing, Jack?" Mr Scrouge asked in his coarse voice.
He scanned the classroom and saw that for the first time in months, all the seats were filled.
"N-no Mr Scrouge– I–" he stammered as he stood up before being interrupted.
"Windwave?" Scrouge asked, not believing his eyes.
"Yes? Mr Scrouge?" Markus replied as he stood up slowly and casually looked at Mr Scrouge.
The class broke out in murmurs to each other.
"Silence!" the teacher demanded.
They all fell silent but now their stares at Markus intensified.
Everyone shared a single thought.
'What in the world happened to him?'
Mr Scrouge told them to keep their eyes to the front and began the lesson, telling the boys to sit.
"Today's topic- Quiz on Emperor Anax, last of the Destroyers." he said as he began to hand out tests.
He went around the class, handing them out face down so everyone would begin at the same time.
He finally got to Markus who had a relaxed but focused expression. He sat back in his chair, arms resting on his lap. His back was straight but his eyes scanned the room.
"I expect you've kept up with your studies?" Mr Scrouge asked
"I… tried…" he replied awkwardly.
He did study. But he was so exhausted that most of the time information flew in from one ear and left out the other.
The test began.
"How many years had Anax been emperor before he was finally removed and executed?"
'16?' Markus thought.
"20." the voice in his head spoke.
Markus jumped slightly. His body looked like it was jolted.
'Don't tell me you actually paid attention when I studied.' Markus thought, intending to speak to the voice.
"Sometimes. Now write 20 and move on. Time is scarce." the voice nudged him on.
"Which regions of the continent were under his direct control? Name them by their current name."
'Crimson, Stonebourne and Aquabourne. As well as the central region.'
The voice had nothing further to add.
"How many vessel states had been usurped by emperor Anax?''
'7?'
"19. Only 7 remained by the end of the reign." the voice corrected him.
A few more questions went on like this, sometimes Markus got it right, most other times the voice helped him.
And then the final question.
"Name the brave heroes who faced the Final Emperor of Destruction in a battle to the death."
'Kale Windbourne, Relix Aquabourne, Juran Stonebourne, Fleim Crimson and–'
"There is no and. The other was a coward who pulled strings from behind the scenes and fought from a distance, sacrificing his pawns to ensure he was the only winner." the voice angrily spoke.
'You speak as if you were there-' Markus tried to dismiss it.
"I'm merely… someone interested in the real history of the world. And the real history is this. The fifth one which they call hero- Gilead Crystalbourne- is a cunning coward who should've died with the rest of the miserable wretches." the voice said, a hatred seemed to exist within its tone.
Markus crossed out the 'and' he wrote and pushed his paper away, waiting for collection.
"Done already Windwave?" his teacher asked, standing up.
"Yes sir." Markus replied.
"Alright, lets have a look." he said, grabbing his paper and beginning to mark.
Within a few minutes he already got his results.
"Quite good- all right except one. Did you forget the name of the first king?"
"No. But he does not fall within the question. He was not a hero and he did not face the emperor." he said, matter of factly and with confidence.
"Is that so? Did you make a groundbreaking historical discovery? One plausible enough to overturn five hundred years of history?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well I-" he stammered. It was not like he could say there was a voice in his head telling him a different version of history with both a passion for 'the truth' and a hatred for the narrative.
"I thought as much. I suggest you remain orthodox to the mainstream material." he said, waiting for the rest to finish up.