Aurora walked in the direction where she saw the figure and when she turned the corner, she frowned when she found no one.
Just as she was about to continue down the hallway to see if she could catch him, she stopped as she felt the presence at her back.
“Strange way to say hello. Don’t you think?” Aurora asked, turning to look at the sapphire-eyes young man.
“Last time, I was called a pervert. This time I didn’t wish for something like that to happen.” Replied the young man with a strangely sincere expression.
Aurora’s lips trembled at that reaction.
She still remembered the time she saw him in Africa and the time she was drunk, although what happened wasn’t her fault... It was he who cornered her!
Aurora swallowed her shame.
Should she apologize?
That thought flashed through her mind as the young man gave a smile and approached with an amused grin.
“This is our fourth meeting. Don’t you think it’s time to stop with the coincidences?” The young man asked in a casual voice.
This time he wasn’t wanting her to be embarrassed, he was trying to find something else.
To drop the coincidences and go for something more direct.
Aurora couldn’t stop her lips from tilting, not because of his proactivity or how he was trying to cover his intentions, but for another reason.
Kairos’ eyes were shining and Aurora noticed that he was trying to give a strong appearance and someone direct, trying to hide the nervousness.
Aurora smacked her lips and watched the young man, slowly letting the time pass, enjoying how the tension was building, she helped him.
While she enjoyed seeing him embarrass himself, having him act this way was also very nice.
It awakened her more generous side, still...
“Then we have to define who is harassing who,” Aurora said, and seeing that Kairos didn’t understand, her lips curved into a smile and she commented. “I come as a student and suddenly I meet you here. Don’t you think it’s weird?”
It was a small tease, hinting that he was the one stalking her.
“Yes, I’ve thought the same thing too...” Kairos replied and, pulling out an ID card, added. “But in this case, I work here.”
It was one card that the workers used to pass the different restricted areas and this one, in particular, had his picture engraved on it without the position he held, but the logo showed it was authentic.
Proof that he was not the one doing the harassing.
Aurora was not embarrassed at that hint, however, as she was prepared.
“You got me,” she said, holding up her hands and seeing Kairos’ surprise at her response, she gave a tragic sigh and commented. “Unfortunately, I have too much work and can’t keep up with my... Interests.”
She changed her words midway through, for that, even though it was a lie, to say that she couldn’t keep up harassing the young man was too embarrassing.
And even though it was an act, her words were true.
Her work took up too much of her life and she often had no room to enjoy time with her friends, let alone maintain a friendship or meet someone in a future situation.
Adding what was to come in the future, Aurora knew she would have too much work to do.
It was unfair to set the stage for any future situation when she had no time to develop it.
Still...
“I think it’s time to switch roles, don’t you think?” Aurora asked with an intrigued tone.
Now she was the one who felt slightly nervous.
It was strange, and she had to admit that she enjoyed having these moments where all she had to think about was how to embarrass the young man in front of her.
To say she didn’t like it would be a lie, but it wasn’t as if she was deeply in love.
If the young man wanted something more to happen, then they would have to get to know each other. For her, that point was the most important.
Although it sounded great in her head, she was feeling very nervous.
She couldn’t deny that her request was quite unreasonable and meaningless, as she was inviting him to meet ‘opportunistically’ in the future.
Still, she waited and...
“Yes!” replied Kairos with a truly excited tone.
Instead of questioning or thinking her request unreasonable, he readily accepted the opportunity she had given, looking as if he had found a map to a great treasure.
Perhaps that was the way he saw this opportunity.
Aurora’s lips turned up in a charming smile, realizing that Kairos was being embarrassed by her very immediate response.
Who wouldn’t be embarrassed by such a situation?
Aurora could understand that, and this time, she restrained her desire to tease him further.
She was also feeling complicated by asking him to ‘chase’ her and instead of stopping, she let it be, wanting to be a little selfish.
“I assure you I will do a good job,” Kairos announced, trying to push away his embarrassment, and the problem was that those words sounded strange.
He was digging a well and burying himself in it, all on his own.
He was assuring her that he would do an excellent job at being a ‘stalker’.
Aurora had a hard time containing her amused laughter as she watched the young man embarrass himself while trying to act normal.
Hesitant to continue to tease him or not, she could feel a presence approaching and looked to where she had come from.
“We were worried you wouldn’t come back.”
Cithrel said, and approaching with a smile, she hesitated. “Is something wrong?”
Her eyes looked at Aurora closely and then at the young man who was trying to regain a semblance of a cold someone.
Aurora met the gaze of Kairos, who was prepared for whatever she might do, believing in the possibility that she would embarrass him as she did Alice.
However, in this case, she wasn’t drunk, and she wasn’t mean enough to let him down so badly.
“I was just talking,” Aurora said, and looking at Kairos, she commented. “My full name is Aurora Campbell. I waited to hear from you.”
With those words, she took Cithrel’s hand and fled, leaving that hallway behind and heading to where the drinks were being sold.
Then, as if nothing was happening, he turned away from Cithrel and went to the vending machine to get some drinks.
“What’s going on?” Aurora asked as she got the princess’s attention.
Cithrel was watching her with a certain strange expression on her face that was impossible to miss.
“If I say I’m jealous, would you believe me?” Cithrel asked and, seeing Aurora looking at her strangely, she laughed and commented. “Actually, I realized that if I want to have you, I have to be more proactive.”
“...”
Aurora was silent at that comment and couldn’t deny that she was nervous, slightly shy.
She’d like to believe it was because just a moment ago she’d been with a person who caught her eye, but... Looking at Cithrel’s flirtatious smile and how she was getting closer, she couldn’t lie to herself.
Hesitating for a moment, she finally was honest.
“I don’t...”
“You don’t like women? I have no problem if I’m honest...” Replied Cithrel, finishing her words and leaning close to her ear, she murmured. “I want to have you in another ‘way’.”
Aurora shivered like a bunny that found itself in front of a predator that was revealing its fangs.
Cithrel’s voice was too seductive and enticing, to the point that she felt it was too attractive.
Cithrel gave a smile as she saw that Aurora was embarrassed and then walked away, letting out a charming giggle.
Aurora looked at the back of that elegant and attractive woman.
That woman was no ‘princess’, she was a gallant and flirtatious prince... A very good one.
She had to admit that seeing Cithrel act so proactively made her feel rather good.
No one could deny that being ‘appreciated’ was an amazing thing.
With a more animated expression, she made her way to the table, where everyone continued to chat quietly.
When everyone had finished eating, Professor Forde had them say goodbye and thank her for the attentive attention of the Cosmos Company and the employees gave her a small box as a gift.
In it was the latest design of holographic watches that now had a greater capacity and higher security.
Since it had not yet gone on sale, all the students were impressed and, at the same time, very pleased.
Except for Aurora, who stared at the box realizing her mistake.
“I didn’t give him my number,” she muttered with a completely dumbfounded expression.
In fact, she wanted to change the role of the one “stalking” so that the other party would be the one to come closer, but Aurora had also thought of giving him her number to make the job easier.
Now, looking at the holographic watch case, she realized that she may not have left him a straightforward job.
Still, remembering that time in Africa where she had walked out of a big five-star hotel, Aurora just shrugged her shoulders without making a big deal out of it.
Maybe he could do a good job as a ‘stalker’... With that idea in her mind, she laughed in amusement.
She had to admit that for a day when the churches would give their announcement; she was quite animated.
******
An old man with a long white beard moved down the aisle.
His robe fluttered faintly, and every time he met someone, they would lower their head in greeting.
The old man nodded with an imperturbable expression, as if he had gone out of the room.
Step by step, he walked out of the hallway into a conference room and up onto the conference platform.
Cameras flashed continuously as hundreds of reporters recorded and snapped photos.
The old man watched the expressions of those present.
Some were curious, some worried, and some let their nerves show, but everyone present was attentive to his figure.
The Supreme Pontiff Abraham raised his hand, and all present stood in complete silence.
Behind him, Cardinals from the Church of Time and Space, together with the ‘Executors of the Order’ from the Church of the Order, stepped onto the platform.
The two major churches had given a statement together, trying to show the deep closeness between the two churches serving ‘Primordial Gods’.
As the Supreme Pontiff of the church of Time and Space, he was to give the announcement.
“The world is in constant change. A change that cannot be stopped,” said the Supreme Pontiff from the beginning.
He was before the eyes of the world and the cameras were transmitting to the entire world, yet the Supreme Pontiff remained in total calm.
The world was changing... It was an undeniable truth that had been happening since the Great Cataclysm.
To a lesser or greater extent, the world was changing.
“For thousands of years, our Guardians have protected us and kept us from that change.”
The Guardians; the ancient gods of the earth who were now slowly weakening had maintained the dimensional barrier to protect humanity from the magical energy.
Protecting it from the change.
“Then, before our Guardians left that task, another being decided to take us under their wings.”
Everyone knew that the Gods of Earth could not maintain the dimensional barrier, but the Gods, instead of letting humanity go through the ordeal of change, asked for help from another existence.
Thus, humanity was left under protecting that existence.
Perhaps their help was strangely and some would say, for the worse, but it was undeniable that, without the God of Time and Space, it would be doubtful if they could survive.
The knowledge brought by the players of Terra nova were weapons for all mankind.
However...
“There had to come a time when we would spread our wings and face our future on our own. We would face change.”
The old man, as a believer of that existence since he had gone to Terra nova as a player, had considerable knowledge.
Every world underwent a significant change when the dimensional barriers weakened. It was inevitable.
This time it was different, even though there was a great change, it was not really that drastic, very different from other worlds.
The protection that this Primordial provided was greater than they would expect.
Unfortunately, people did not understand it and instead of knowing that reality, they used the moment of peace to confront each other, believing that this protection would last forever.
And now...
“We must face a considerable change. In the future, ‘Abyssal Portals’ will come to this world. Where they appear and where they go are answers. We will have to discover on our own.”
Such shocking information completely stunned the entire room.
When the first temporal dungeons appeared, the Church of Time and Space and the Church of Order reported on that situation.
However, now it was different.
They were being left on a path whose destination was unknown.
“It is at this time that humanity must stand together to face the consequences of this change. We are strong enough to continue on our own and move forward, creating a new and wonderful path.”
Humanity was strong, there was no doubt about it.
The problem was the union... That was a big problem.
“We will face this change and together we will prevail!” announced the Supreme Pontiff Abraham, then leaving it to the cardinals to answer questions and to give more information, he descended from the podium.
His unperturbed expression did not change from beginning to end, but inside his mind sighed.
Change.
For those in the know, ‘change’ was only one facet of ‘Chaos’ and that was coming.
Aurora walked in the direction where she saw the figure and when she turned the corner, she frowned when she found no one.
Just as she was about to continue down the hallway to see if she could catch him, she stopped as she felt the presence at her back.
“Strange way to say hello. Don’t you think?” Aurora asked, turning to look at the sapphire-eyes young man.
“Last time, I was called a pervert. This time I didn’t wish for something like that to happen.” Replied the young man with a strangely sincere expression.
Aurora’s lips trembled at that reaction.
She still remembered the time she saw him in Africa and the time she was drunk, although what happened wasn’t her fault... It was he who cornered her!
Aurora swallowed her shame.
Should she apologize?
That thought flashed through her mind as the young man gave a smile and approached with an amused grin.
“This is our fourth meeting. Don’t you think it’s time to stop with the coincidences?” The young man asked in a casual voice.
This time he wasn’t wanting her to be embarrassed, he was trying to find something else.
To drop the coincidences and go for something more direct.
Aurora couldn’t stop her lips from tilting, not because of his proactivity or how he was trying to cover his intentions, but for another reason.
Kairos’ eyes were shining and Aurora noticed that he was trying to give a strong appearance and someone direct, trying to hide the nervousness.
Aurora smacked her lips and watched the young man, slowly letting the time pass, enjoying how the tension was building, she helped him.
While she enjoyed seeing him embarrass himself, having him act this way was also very nice.
It awakened her more generous side, still...
“Then we have to define who is harassing who,” Aurora said, and seeing that Kairos didn’t understand, her lips curved into a smile and she commented. “I come as a student and suddenly I meet you here. Don’t you think it’s weird?”
It was a small tease, hinting that he was the one stalking her.
“Yes, I’ve thought the same thing too...” Kairos replied and, pulling out an ID card, added. “But in this case, I work here.”
It was one card that the workers used to pass the different restricted areas and this one, in particular, had his picture engraved on it without the position he held, but the logo showed it was authentic.
Proof that he was not the one doing the harassing.
Aurora was not embarrassed at that hint, however, as she was prepared.
“You got me,” she said, holding up her hands and seeing Kairos’ surprise at her response, she gave a tragic sigh and commented. “Unfortunately, I have too much work and can’t keep up with my... Interests.”
She changed her words midway through, for that, even though it was a lie, to say that she couldn’t keep up harassing the young man was too embarrassing.
And even though it was an act, her words were true.
Her work took up too much of her life and she often had no room to enjoy time with her friends, let alone maintain a friendship or meet someone in a future situation.
Adding what was to come in the future, Aurora knew she would have too much work to do.
It was unfair to set the stage for any future situation when she had no time to develop it.
Still...
“I think it’s time to switch roles, don’t you think?” Aurora asked with an intrigued tone.
Now she was the one who felt slightly nervous.
It was strange, and she had to admit that she enjoyed having these moments where all she had to think about was how to embarrass the young man in front of her.
To say she didn’t like it would be a lie, but it wasn’t as if she was deeply in love.
If the young man wanted something more to happen, then they would have to get to know each other. For her, that point was the most important.
Although it sounded great in her head, she was feeling very nervous.
She couldn’t deny that her request was quite unreasonable and meaningless, as she was inviting him to meet ‘opportunistically’ in the future.
Still, she waited and...
“Yes!” replied Kairos with a truly excited tone.
Instead of questioning or thinking her request unreasonable, he readily accepted the opportunity she had given, looking as if he had found a map to a great treasure.
Perhaps that was the way he saw this opportunity.
Aurora’s lips turned up in a charming smile, realizing that Kairos was being embarrassed by her very immediate response.
Who wouldn’t be embarrassed by such a situation?
Aurora could understand that, and this time, she restrained her desire to tease him further.
She was also feeling complicated by asking him to ‘chase’ her and instead of stopping, she let it be, wanting to be a little selfish.
“I assure you I will do a good job,” Kairos announced, trying to push away his embarrassment, and the problem was that those words sounded strange.
He was digging a well and burying himself in it, all on his own.
He was assuring her that he would do an excellent job at being a ‘stalker’.
Aurora had a hard time containing her amused laughter as she watched the young man embarrass himself while trying to act normal.
Hesitant to continue to tease him or not, she could feel a presence approaching and looked to where she had come from.
“We were worried you wouldn’t come back.”
Cithrel said, and approaching with a smile, she hesitated. “Is something wrong?”
Her eyes looked at Aurora closely and then at the young man who was trying to regain a semblance of a cold someone.
Aurora met the gaze of Kairos, who was prepared for whatever she might do, believing in the possibility that she would embarrass him as she did Alice.
However, in this case, she wasn’t drunk, and she wasn’t mean enough to let him down so badly.
“I was just talking,” Aurora said, and looking at Kairos, she commented. “My full name is Aurora Campbell. I waited to hear from you.”
With those words, she took Cithrel’s hand and fled, leaving that hallway behind and heading to where the drinks were being sold.
Then, as if nothing was happening, he turned away from Cithrel and went to the vending machine to get some drinks.
“What’s going on?” Aurora asked as she got the princess’s attention.
Cithrel was watching her with a certain strange expression on her face that was impossible to miss.
“If I say I’m jealous, would you believe me?” Cithrel asked and, seeing Aurora looking at her strangely, she laughed and commented. “Actually, I realized that if I want to have you, I have to be more proactive.”
“...”
Aurora was silent at that comment and couldn’t deny that she was nervous, slightly shy.
She’d like to believe it was because just a moment ago she’d been with a person who caught her eye, but... Looking at Cithrel’s flirtatious smile and how she was getting closer, she couldn’t lie to herself.
Hesitating for a moment, she finally was honest.
“I don’t...”
“You don’t like women? I have no problem if I’m honest...” Replied Cithrel, finishing her words and leaning close to her ear, she murmured. “I want to have you in another ‘way’.”
Aurora shivered like a bunny that found itself in front of a predator that was revealing its fangs.
Cithrel’s voice was too seductive and enticing, to the point that she felt it was too attractive.
Cithrel gave a smile as she saw that Aurora was embarrassed and then walked away, letting out a charming giggle.
Aurora looked at the back of that elegant and attractive woman.
That woman was no ‘princess’, she was a gallant and flirtatious prince... A very good one.
She had to admit that seeing Cithrel act so proactively made her feel rather good.
No one could deny that being ‘appreciated’ was an amazing thing.
With a more animated expression, she made her way to the table, where everyone continued to chat quietly.
When everyone had finished eating, Professor Forde had them say goodbye and thank her for the attentive attention of the Cosmos Company and the employees gave her a small box as a gift.
In it was the latest design of holographic watches that now had a greater capacity and higher security.
Since it had not yet gone on sale, all the students were impressed and, at the same time, very pleased.
Except for Aurora, who stared at the box realizing her mistake.
“I didn’t give him my number,” she muttered with a completely dumbfounded expression.
In fact, she wanted to change the role of the one “stalking” so that the other party would be the one to come closer, but Aurora had also thought of giving him her number to make the job easier.
Now, looking at the holographic watch case, she realized that she may not have left him a straightforward job.
Still, remembering that time in Africa where she had walked out of a big five-star hotel, Aurora just shrugged her shoulders without making a big deal out of it.
Maybe he could do a good job as a ‘stalker’... With that idea in her mind, she laughed in amusement.
She had to admit that for a day when the churches would give their announcement; she was quite animated.
******
An old man with a long white beard moved down the aisle.
His robe fluttered faintly, and every time he met someone, they would lower their head in greeting.
The old man nodded with an imperturbable expression, as if he had gone out of the room.
Step by step, he walked out of the hallway into a conference room and up onto the conference platform.
Cameras flashed continuously as hundreds of reporters recorded and snapped photos.
The old man watched the expressions of those present.
Some were curious, some worried, and some let their nerves show, but everyone present was attentive to his figure.
The Supreme Pontiff Abraham raised his hand, and all present stood in complete silence.
Behind him, Cardinals from the Church of Time and Space, together with the ‘Executors of the Order’ from the Church of the Order, stepped onto the platform.
The two major churches had given a statement together, trying to show the deep closeness between the two churches serving ‘Primordial Gods’.
As the Supreme Pontiff of the church of Time and Space, he was to give the announcement.
“The world is in constant change. A change that cannot be stopped,” said the Supreme Pontiff from the beginning.
He was before the eyes of the world and the cameras were transmitting to the entire world, yet the Supreme Pontiff remained in total calm.
The world was changing... It was an undeniable truth that had been happening since the Great Cataclysm.
To a lesser or greater extent, the world was changing.
“For thousands of years, our Guardians have protected us and kept us from that change.”
The Guardians; the ancient gods of the earth who were now slowly weakening had maintained the dimensional barrier to protect humanity from the magical energy.
Protecting it from the change.
“Then, before our Guardians left that task, another being decided to take us under their wings.”
Everyone knew that the Gods of Earth could not maintain the dimensional barrier, but the Gods, instead of letting humanity go through the ordeal of change, asked for help from another existence.
Thus, humanity was left under protecting that existence.
Perhaps their help was strangely and some would say, for the worse, but it was undeniable that, without the God of Time and Space, it would be doubtful if they could survive.
The knowledge brought by the players of Terra nova were weapons for all mankind.
However...
“There had to come a time when we would spread our wings and face our future on our own. We would face change.”
The old man, as a believer of that existence since he had gone to Terra nova as a player, had considerable knowledge.
Every world underwent a significant change when the dimensional barriers weakened. It was inevitable.
This time it was different, even though there was a great change, it was not really that drastic, very different from other worlds.
The protection that this Primordial provided was greater than they would expect.
Unfortunately, people did not understand it and instead of knowing that reality, they used the moment of peace to confront each other, believing that this protection would last forever.
And now...
“We must face a considerable change. In the future, ‘Abyssal Portals’ will come to this world. Where they appear and where they go are answers. We will have to discover on our own.”
Such shocking information completely stunned the entire room.
When the first temporal dungeons appeared, the Church of Time and Space and the Church of Order reported on that situation.
However, now it was different.
They were being left on a path whose destination was unknown.
“It is at this time that humanity must stand together to face the consequences of this change. We are strong enough to continue on our own and move forward, creating a new and wonderful path.”
Humanity was strong, there was no doubt about it.
The problem was the union... That was a big problem.
“We will face this change and together we will prevail!” announced the Supreme Pontiff Abraham, then leaving it to the cardinals to answer questions and to give more information, he descended from the podium.
His unperturbed expression did not change from beginning to end, but inside his mind sighed.
Change.
For those in the know, ‘change’ was only one facet of ‘Chaos’ and that was coming.
