Onward to the Sun

Chapter 8: The Second Wielder of Tempus Imperium

Chapter 8: The Second Wielder of Tempus Imperium

The academy’s main building was very massive and complicated, and there were many passages around it too which leads to who-knows-where. As someone who has no sense of direction at all, I am bound to get lost if I walk alone here without a map.

We ascended the bifurcated stairs with golden balustrades on each side and we turned right on it. When we were finally at the second floor, we walked straight again into another corridor which led to another smaller room that had stairs that went around the wall. The fact that my legs feel both numb and sore did not help at all, but I ignored it as we continued to ascend the circular staircase. When we were finally at the end, there was another passage that had a door at the end of it. We stopped in front of it and Santina knocked on the door.

As if on cue, the door automatically opened, revealing a woman in a dark blue and almost black cassock-like dress that fell three inches below her knees. She wore a black cape that flattered freely behind her. She wore a round eyeglass with silver frames, and she had already gray lines on her hair that was neatly combed backward. She had black socks on, and there was a brooch on her left chest which contains a symbol of a shield, a sword, and a magic staff—it must be the insignia of the Academia.

“Santina,” she greeted Santina, then her eyes turned to Helios with a disapproving look, “Mr. Helios Firestorm,” after that, she turned her gazes on me next. “And you are?” She asked.

“A pleasure to meet you, Headmistress. I am Luna Clockwork,” I replied.

“Clockwork?” The Headmistress’s eyes widened, but she regained her composure afterward. Why does it seem like she sounded so surprised? What is it with my surname? I suddenly remembered the words of Santina again which were just a few minutes ago.

“Your acnologia is called Tempus Imperium! That’s it... And your name ‘Clockwork’, that is the name of Eclipse Clockwork, the first and last Tempus Imperium wielder ever recorded in Acnologian History.”

“Before anything else, come inside my office.” Headmistress Aragona insisted and we all followed her inside her office which was big too and grand, with antique decorations and statues, her floor is made up of varnished wood, and she had a few chandeliers hanging on top of her chamber. She had a study table at the edge of the office and behind it were shelves containing books and other small figurines.

She signaled us to sit on the elongated sofa at the side of her office and we followed without a word. The Headmistress gave off this powerful aura around her, and I can feel the wisdom and knowledge she wields basing only on how she moves. It was precise and elegant, and her eyes too were gray. Like mine. I suddenly remember what Santina said to me a few minutes ago too, that gray eyes indicate that I had the blood of a superior or divine being running in my veins... But I got my eyes from my Dad, he also has gray eyes. Not unless... Not unless my mother also has gray eyes.

“We shall talk privately, later on, Helios—this is in regards to your penalty for breaking the rules of the academy, again. As for now, I am intrigued with you...” She pointed at me, “Luna Clockwork, right?”

I nodded.

“Are you related to Eclipse Clockwork?”

“I don’t really know...” I answered, “I am not sure. But will you hear out my story, Headmistress?” I asked the woman.

She nodded as if telling me to continue and get along with it.

“I come from a world called Earth where acnologia does not exist. Today is my 18th birthday too, and exactly on the midnight of my birthday, I heard these voices telling me to go to the painting that my mother drew before she was spirited away. I followed the voices and I ended up touching the painting. The next thing I know, the painting sucked me in and I was already in a different world, in this world called Magus Mundo. I was teleported. At first, I thought it was just a dream because I usually dream of this world before and the more I aged, the more frequent the dreams were. However, through various experiences, I realized that I was not and that this was all real.”

“A hopper, and a Clockwork... Intriguing.” Headmistress Aragona stared at me with her piercing gray eyes. They seem to penetrate through my soul, and I feel naked and vulnerable with just her eyes. She was very intimidating. I feel like all of my secrets will be exposed to her. After a few seconds, she started to walk closer, as if trying to get a closer look at all of my features.

“You look like the younger version of Eclipse...” The Headmistress declared shortly, making my heartbeat go fast because of her declaration—this confirms it then, this woman named Eclipse is my mother and judging by how she declared that I am sure they are acquainted and that they personally know each other. “Is she also in this world you call Earth?” She asked, curiosity was now vivid in her tone, which also made me curious why.

I shook my head, “she suddenly disappeared when I was born. No one knows where she is... It is as if she was spirited away,” I replied. “All traces of her were gone, or at least that is what my Dad told me. Only memories of her remained, but since she was no longer with us, I thought it was pointless if Dad told me stories about her, so, I always avoided conversations about her that were becoming too personal, to the point that I feel like I will start to know my mother. Another reason was also to save me from wanting a mother. That is why I have always kept myself in oblivion about her.”

“So, you know nothing about your mother?” The Headmistress asked, Helios and Santina were just quiet as they listened to me and the Headmistress.

“Yes, not even her name,” I replied.

“I see,” she replied shortly. “Do you want to see a portrait of your mother?”

To be honest, I have always avoided that. I never saw the face of my mother, I never got the chance to know her as well through my father. I was reluctant, but now, I feel like I have to face the truth and the reality that I never wanted to find out. I silently nodded my head, and that was enough for the Headmistress to pull her hand up. As if on cue, a book from the shelf behind her desk started to float and hover towards her hand. She held the book shortly, and she opened it to a specific page.

“This is your mother,” and with that, she showed me an animated picture of a woman who seems to be in her early 20s. Like mine, she had dark-red hair that almost seemed black, and her eyes were gray too. Her nose was like mine—small but pointy, and her lips too which were curved upward into a smile. I looked like a carbon copy of my mother like I was a younger version of hers.

“Mom...” I whispered as I stared at the moving illustration. And with that, the Headmistress closed the book, and using her acnologia, the book flew back to where it used to be displayed.

“If I may, can I also ask a question?”

“Granted.” The Headmistress replied.

“Why did you ask if my mother is still in my world?” I inquired.

The Headmistress simply looked at me and after a few seconds, she finally talked. “Because it has been twenty years already since she was gone. There are no traces of her in this world as if she was suddenly spirited away. We do not really know what happened to her, or where she is... All we know is that one day arrived, and Eclipse was suddenly nowhere. It is a big mystery—but finding out about you has made me connect the dots, that perhaps she teleported as well to another world where she met your father and had you. But it does not make sense that she suddenly disappeared from your world too...”

My mother has been missing here, in Magus Mundo, for twenty years already. I remember my Dad telling me that they were only together with my mother for two years, and given my eighteen years of existence already, the number of years she was gone from this world makes sense. Still, where could she possibly be? I suddenly felt hopeless because I thought I can finally meet my mother and get to know her, I was wrong. She is not here too, though she used to. This world is her home, and she wields a powerful acnologia.

“Now I am curious whether you also have inherited Tempus Imperium or not.” The Headmistress declared after a few seconds.

“She does, Headmistress.” Santina stated, “she used her power to not only heal Helios when he was critically wounded, but she also used it to return his mana back and his uniform in its original state. She twisted the time back for Helios’s body and things. That is something only a Tempus Imperium wielder can do.”

“Is that true?” The Headmistress asked Helios who simply nodded as if saying that none of it were lies and fake. Everything was real.

“I am not sure, though... Whether it was really me. I feel like it was just a coincidence.” I rebutted.

“There is only one way to find out then,” the Headmistress stated and she suddenly walked towards the door of her office, “follow me.” She announced and the rest of us stood from the elongated sofa and traced the trail of Headmistress Aragona who was descending the circular stairs already. We walked another hallway and proceeded to an empty hall that was very huge, at the center of the place lies a classic table with runic writings encrypted on it.

“Welcome to the Sorting Hall.” Headmistress Aragona told me, “come here and let us get you tested—to see whether you are an acnologian, and if ever, we shall know your acnologia and the tier you belong to. If it really happens that Tempus Imperium is your acnologia, it is confirmed for all of us that Eclipse is your mother, as acnologia is mostly inherited, and it is a rare case for a norman family to manifest acnologia within themselves unless they are blessed or really gifted.”

I nodded and followed Headmistress Aragona towards the table. On the other hand, Helios and Santina stayed behind and simply spectated from a distance.

When I was already beside the Headmistress, she started chanting an incantation using a foreign language and her hands moved elegantly as she did that, a few seconds later, the runic writings on the table started to glow, the light that the writings emitted starting to float towards the center of the table itself, and a few seconds later, the light started to form a small physique that has wings on it.

A fairy.

“You are in the presence of the Sorting Fairy, the last of my kind. I am Ellena Fiore.” The tiny figure stated after as her wings flattered, there were glowing specks of dust that were being ejected from her almost transparent wings, and she had silver hair, pale white skin, and silver eyes. She looked beautiful and adorable at the same time. The fairy looked at Headmistress after, “you have disturbed my slumber. Why did you summon me?”

“We need you to test her,” the Headmistress pointed at me and the eyes of Ellena, the Sorting Fairy, shifted to mine. She looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze and she flapped her wings towards my direction until she was close to my face already.

“Alright, let us get you tested then. Close your eyes.” She commanded at me and I simply followed. I felt her closing the distance between us, and I felt her small hands touch my forehead. I felt something warm that seem to enter me from where she touched me, and it seems to penetrate all over me, down to my soul. Whatever this sensation was that I was getting, it felt weird. I feel like I was being exposed and that I was suddenly vulnerable. I found it very uncomfortable like someone is actually peeking inside my heart, soul, and mind.

“Interesting...” Ellena stated after a few seconds, her hand was still on mine.

“What is?” The Headmistress asked.

“She is an acnologian,” Ellena replied, referring to me, and that somehow made my heartbeat become faster. That is not possible, I mean, how can it be? I am just a normal teenage girl, but then—I suddenly remembered what the Headmistress said about the possibility of this woman named Eclipse as my mother, what if she really was? She is an acnologian, which means her blood also runs in my veins, and it is not a far reality that I am also like her.

“Is it true?” I asked the fairy.

“Yes, without a doubt. You are an acnologian.” Ellena declared after. “You wield Tempus Imperium, you are the child of Eclipse Clockwork, the first bearer of Tempus Imperium who was personally blessed by Chronus, the God of Time. Your mother became a demigoddess because of that gift and blessing, and you have also inherited that gift. You also are a demigoddess as you carry the blood of a goddess in your veins—and your eyes are the proof of it.”

“The eyes of divine beings...” I whispered. My heartbeat was very fast already because of the things that I learned. I feel like I do not know myself anymore. I did not think it will be possible, to look at yourself as a familiar stranger. I feel like my life has been a lie. I just wanted to go home.

“You belong to the Divine Tier. Your acnologia is still a newborn, it is still weak... But with proper training, you shall become one of the most powerful acnologians of all time, perhaps even the most powerful.” Ellena declared. “Anyway, I have done my work now. I shall return to my spiritual realms and continue my slumber.”

“Thank you, Ellena.” The Headmistress smiled at the fairy.

“My pleasure,” she responded, and with that, she suddenly glowed and disappeared, as if she teleported to her own ‘realm’.

“I knew it!” Santina said proudly as she looked at me. “My guess was right!”

Helios nodded his head at me.

I looked at the Headmistress after. “Headmistress, do you know a way for me to be able to go back to my own world?” I asked the Headmistress. I feel like I can no longer stay here because I do not belong here. This is not my place. My place is somewhere out there, back on Earth, and not here in Magus Mundo where ‘acnologia’ exists.

“I have to be very frank and honest with you, Luna, but I do not know a way for you to be able to return to your home. However, I can help you...”

“How?” I asked, suddenly feeling hopeless.

“I will look for clues on how it is possible for someone to teleport from as specific world to another, but it shall take time... Which is why in return, while I look for answers, you shall be admitted to the Academia and become a part of Divinia Class, the class exclusive only for Divine Tier acnologians. With this, you shall be given free lodging, free food and necessities, and everything you need. Sounds like a good deal?”

I nodded, knowing I have no other choice. If I do not agree, I have nowhere else to go. It is better to stay here if I want to survive. In addition to that, the Headmistress will help me go home. I have nothing to lose. This shall only be temporary.

“Your mother, Eclipse, has also been my student and I helped in developing her powers and making her stronger. She is an excellent student and acnologian.” The Headmistress declared after. “It is getting late now. Let us proceed to the Dining Hall already and have our dinner. But before that, Santina...”

“Yes, Headmistress?”

“I give you the task to tour Luna around the Academia tomorrow, and purchase her uniforms, clothes, and things too which she may need. Tell the sellers that I shall pay for the expenses. Also, the room next to you is vacant, right?”

Santina nodded.

“Good, that shall be the room of Luna from now onward.” And with that, the Headmistress walked towards the door of the Sorting Hall, “let’s go.”