The Headmaster sat behind Shue's wooden desk with paper stacked in three distinct piles. She stared at me, a pipe in her hand, not saying a thing. Shue stood behind her, his ever-lasting smile a tad strained. Neither side a word.
I looked around, seeing pages of signatures framed all above the bookcases that lined the walls. Ten, at least, covered from top to bottom, their readability ranging from legible to a toddler's handwriting. One had the year '05 written, another '10, then every year since. The newest was 4024, last year. Those must've been alumni signatures, then. He was loved by that many students?
That kind of pisses me off.
The fireplace in the corner crackled quietly.
The Headmaster smoked on her pipe, puffing out a perfect ring of smoke in my direction. I stood still. This smoke was nothing. "I've been told you're special," said the Headmaster, leaning back in Shue's chair. "Are you?"
What do I say to that? That I came from a ruined future? That I ruined that future? Maybe... Maybe it would be best to leave the safety of the world in those capable of saving it.
The Headmaster continued just as I opened my mouth, saying, "Personally, I doubt it. You had the lowest accepted score ever recorded for this academy, and your file says you've struggled to put out any results. Along with your personality score... I doubt you'll ever be worth anything."
What?
"Headmaster," Shue said, his smile briefly slipping. "If you'll just give him a chance, I'm sure he'll blow you away."
The Headmaster leaned back in her chair, looking up at Shue with an almost fond expression. She smoked her pipe, blowing out a heart-shaped ring of smoke. "The only reason I'm giving him a chance is because of you, Shue." She turned back to face me. "So, prove it. I've heard your fireball would have been quite special, if he didn't stop it."
Was that really it? Even in the time of my youth, when I was supposed to have the brightest future, no one believed in me? I was sent back to save the world, but...
"I see," she said, her hands slapping against the desk as she pushed herself to a standing position. "I was ready to be disappointed, but... This is beyond pathetic, you realise? Grow up already. If you can't handle criticism, then you're talentless."
"Headmaster, that's too much!" Shue said. He turned to me, a gentle smile on his face, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Atlas, it's okay, just do what you did at the training grounds." He looked at me, pitying me. I must've looked that pathetic, my head hung low, my eyes singed.
Fine. They want a fireball?
I let the hot Fire mana enter me as I gathered it. The heat coursed through my body, and I closed my eyes, trying to focus on bringing it all together. Then-
That same damned heat struck me, far more intensely, the creature sitting behind a blazing desk, smiling at me. The room burned, the signatures from the past gone up in flames, the bookcases burning. Smoke obscured my vision, building so thickly that I started coughing with every breath I took. The crackling of the fire almost sounded like a voice, and the longer I listened, the more it sounded like words being chanted.
I fell off my chair, my hands reaching for my throat, though I knew it wouldn't matter. I couldn't breathe. My vision was growing darker. Not even the pain could keep me awake. Yet that beast still stared at me, grinning, waiting.
"Burn. It. All."
I blinked.
Staring up at a ceiling, I had no idea what had happened. Rolling onto my side, I puked, the suddenness bringing me back to the present moment. That voice... It kept ringing in my ears. I knew I was shaking. My eyes searched the area, looking for anything to help-
"Here," said the Headmaster, holding a glass of water towards me. I took it from her hands, splashing it all over my burning body. She looked at me curiously, a small smile on her face. "You might have talent after all. How was the mana so pure? Can you do it again?"
'Burn. It. All.' I could hear the three words being chanted still. I barely heard her questions.
My eyes caught on the fireplace. I froze, nothing else mattering. The fire danced in a beautiful rhythm, giving off a warm light. Everything else felt cold, now. Shivering, I crawled towards it, the chanting getting louder and louder. I saw the beast, except it seemed majestic now. It's grin had turned into a tempting smile. My body got warmer the closer I got to it.
Then I remembered the pain, the agonising pain. Reality rolled, my lunch coming out in a half-digested pile of vomit. It burned as it came out.
Heels clicked in front of me, blocking my path to the fireplace, but more importantly, my view of it. I looked up. The Headmaster blew out a ring of smoke, and at the same time, the fire went out. "Curiouser and curiouser, Professor Shue," she said, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"Thank you, Headmaster." Shue breathed out a sigh of relief from behind me, leaning over me to pat me on the back. "You have pure mana," he said. His hand felt like it was giving me some kind of energy to stay awake. "I remember your mana wasn't so pure just last week. Would you kindly tell the Headmaster what happened to you?"
Last week? Right... Harry believed me when I told him, but would she?
"Leave us." It was simple words, yet the pressure they contained made me want to lull my head on the ground.
"Alright." Shue stood upright before heading out, though he glanced back at me from the door once. The door shut with a loud thud.
"Who's possessing this body?" asked the Headmaster, moving back to Shue's desk, leaning against it. "You're no child. Do not try and lie to me. I'm sure someone of your skill noticed the wards I set up. Now speak." I hadn't noticed any of her mana spreading out, nor did I even feel it covering me how a ward normally does.
The words flowed out of my mouth before I could think to respond. "It's just me, Atlas Clement." She raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, Atlas Clement," she said, the name rolling off her tongue like she didn't believe it. "Why are you here, at my academy, possessing one of my students? I might not like him very much, but still."
"I was sent back to the past from a ruined future," I said. There was no need for wards to make me say it.
She flicked away the burnt ashes in her pipe, taking out a cloth bag, filling it with some kind of herb. It lit with a twitch of her eyebrow, though her eyes were fitted on me. "Let's say I believe that. Why were you brought back?"
"I was the only option." My knuckles turned white as faces flashed in my eyes, hundreds to thousands of them, most dying of agony. I tried to push them away, but there were so many it was impossible.
"So everyone else died." She puffed out a ring of smoke, my heard turning from side to side from her guess.
"No, there was one other. And do not ask who he is. Please." I looked up at her, hoping she'd realise the importance. She didn't.
"Who is he?"
The question was a punch to the gut. He was many things. A Knight, a leader, a friend to all but me... But most importantly...
"He was the Hero," I said, looking down at the floor. "And I was the Villain."