Acting the part of a worried professor, Alex inquired as he took his seat. "What could be the problem, Headmaster?"
"I’m sure you are aware that to obtain the position you currently possess, we had to remove the person who once held the post," Roland replied as he laid back in his chair, his eyes trained on Alex.
His deanor compared to last ti when he was quick to speak, hardly giving Alex a chance to respond, had taken a notable shift, giving off a somber air.
"Yes, Professor Albus." Alex intoned before adding. "Speaking of which, I just saw him being escorted off the premises."
"Unfortunately, Professor Albus, in a fit of rage over losing his post, planned to... exert so form of retribution on the school. Thankfully we caught him in the nick of ti, else I worry about the disaster that might have befallen the students."
"That..."
"You know, I hardly do this, after all, learning is much more interesting than speaking, but when I see a fellow scholar having to experience such, I can’t help but feel resentful. Albus was a good friend and an interesting rival."
Leaning forward in his chair, Roland added. "And you have left no choice but to treat him thusly."
"... I apologize for the inconvenience, Headmaster."
"Your apologies will not change anything. However, I do hope you can prove yourself otherwise, don’t think you would be having the best of ti in the Academy."
"I understand and I promise to do my best. I had my first class today and I daresay it was a success."
"Don’t be too quick to make such assumptions."
"..."
Roland let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly in deep thought.
"What will happen to Professor Albus now?"
"Since he didn’t attack anyone, I believe he would be locked up for a night or two and then released with a restraining order, keeping him from the academy."
"I see."
"Regardless, I have lost a great rival and you will have to make up for it."
Furrowing his brows, Alex remarked. "I don’t quite understand, sir."
"This," Roland remarked as he pointed at the Orb. "Every HOD in charge of the Finalists has always had one by the privilege of being a degree holder, a thesis creator, and a scholar of impeccable record. You are none of those things and so are undeserving of it."
"..."
"So you will have to acquire one for to acknowledge you as a proper HOD and yes, you can’t buy it, it can only be earned."
Nodding in understanding, Alex inquired. "What do I need to do, sir?"
"First of all, Do you know what this is?" Roland asked back as he carefully took hold of the Orb on the table.
"Not at all, sir."
"It’s called the Orb of Truth, at least by mundanes like yourself. For us learned folks, we refer to it by another na; Eye of David. Do you know why is that?"
"No sir."
"David was a great seeker of knowledge that existed so ti during the 2nd Era. He is said to have glimpsed the truth of our world and because of this, died a horrible death. Naming things after him serves as a reminder to scholars that in the pursuit of the truth, danger abounds."
"... I don’t quite follow, sir. Why are you telling this?"
"You shall be writing a thesis, Mr. Fitzgerald, and this thesis shall decide your fate in the Academy, a slight misstep would surely have only one end in store for you. However, as you write the thesis, you might be faced with certain truths that can be... dangerous. My story is ant to serve as a warning to you who are about to walk on the path of a scholar."
"I understand, sir."
Satisfied by the response, Roland remarked. "Now then, before you begin your thesis, you have to choose the subject to write on."
"Can I get a list of available topics?"
"..." Roland frowned as he stared at Alex, acting as though he’d said sothing strange.
"Sir..."
"Grab this." Roland casually said, cutting Alex off as he placed the Orb back on the table before pushing it closer to Alex.
Though skeptical as to the effectiveness of just grabbing the object, he couldn’t claim to know better than the one that actively made use of it and so, after so hesitation, Alex reached out and made contact with the glassware, which felt quite warm to the touch... then he blacked out.
***
Waking up, Alex found himself blinded by an incandescent radiance.
Shielding his eyes from the light, he sought to gain so understanding of his current whereabouts only to be further stumped as nothing in sight was familiar to him.
"Wasn’t I in the Headmaster’s office a second ago?" Alex couldn’t help but question no one in particular as he gazed upon the desolate landscape that stretched on, seemingly without an end.
Coarse black sands covered the entirety of the landscape, all glistening with a lustrous sheen that though captivating, left Alex more perplexed.
"Is it because of the Orb?"
It seed the only possible reason why he’d change locations so abruptly, but even then, who knew the Orb of Truth could be utilized in such a manner?
Yet again, the world of mysticism left him wondering just how much of it he understood.
Amused by this, Alex regained his composure enough to scrutinize his surroundings further before deciding on further action.
He took a deep breath as he shifted his attention to the incandescent radiance before him, taking the ti to slowly adjust to the light so he’d get a better view, however, once able to do so, what he saw left him feeling... awe.
The object shared similarities with a Rubik’s cube from Earth, only several tis larger and it was floating with its body tilted to an angle.
Its body, which seed to be made of pure gold, glistened as though it were freshly polished with strange symbols etched on its six faces which shifted and changed positions intermittently, almost like soone was actively trying to solve it.
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