Chapter 65: A History Of Stars

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: A History Of Stars

Hearing his name, Aeon looked in the direction it came from. There at the entrance stood Sophia. She wore the standard academy uniform. With a short skirt that almost reached her knees, coupled with black stockings that covered her legs.

Seeing her in that outfit, Aeon was momentarily mesmerized by her beauty. However, her expression was entirely different. Her gaze was directed past him and fixed intently on Lunaria, as if she were killing the Elf a thousand times over in her mind.

And she truly was. Aeon could clearly hear her thoughts echoing, even without actively focusing on them.

Sophia walked gracefully down the aisle of seats toward Aeon. Soon, she reached his sear and stood directly before him.

She didn’t spare Lunaria a single glance at first, focusing entirely on Aeon. "Good morning, Aeon," Sophia said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she brushed hair.

Aeon smiled warmly and replied in a gentle tone, "Good morning to you too, Sophia. You look breathtaking today."

Hearing his compliment, Sophia felt as though a swarm of butterflies had suddenly taken flight in her heart. She fidgeted with her fingers, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red as she lowered her head shyly and whispered,

"Thanks, Aeon."

The moment she finished speaking, her bashful demeanor vanished entirely. It was replaced by a cold, indifferent look as she turned her head toward Lunaria, acting as though she possessed two completely different personalities.

"Excuse me, I haven’t introduced myself properly. My name is Sophia Solaris. May I know who you might be, Miss?" Sophia asked Lunaria. Her voice was sharp, yet strictly polite.

’Girl, you changed your expression way too quickly.’ Aeon thought, highly amused by her sudden shift.

Lunaria, already reading the underlying tension, offered a genuine, playful smile and stood up. She extended her right hand in a friendly greeting.

"My name is Lunaria Auralith. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sophia. Please, just call me Luna. We are going to be classmates, so I hope we can get along very well."

Sophia’s eyes narrowed slightly. She stared at Lunaria’s extended hand for a brief second before extending her own, locking their grips in a formal handshake.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you too. And please, you can call me Sophia," she replied with a strained smile, her demeanor remaining as frosty as before.

Lunaria gave a light nod. Then, without any warning, she suddenly pulled Sophia forward, spinning her around so that Sophia’s back was pressed against her front. Lunaria then wrapped her arms snugly around Sophia’s waist, locking the Dragon girl in a tight embrace.

"What do you think you are doing?" Sophia demanded, thoroughly caught off guard by the physical display. Even Aeon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he examined Lunaria’s bizarre behavior.

Unexpectedly, Lunaria leaned her head closer to Sophia’s ear. Without moving her lips, she used a Sound Transmission technique to whisper directly into Sophia’s mind.

The Sound Transmission technique was a localized art that allowed martial practitioners to communicate secretly without vocalizing words, acting as an alternative to magic spells or telepathy.

"You like Aeon, don’t you? Don’t worry, I don’t harbor any romantic feelings toward him. But if you want, I can help you win his heart."

The moment the words registered, Sophia’s face burned a fiery crimson, feeling as though she had just been caught red-handed. She looked back over her shoulder in pure disbelief, quickly using her own Sound Transmission to fire a question back.

"H-How do you know that?!"

Lunaria flashed a mischievous smirk, leaning even closer to Sophia’s ear. "You are far too gullible. Anyone with eyes can tell you are completely infatuated with him. I would bet good money that he knows it too, unless he is just as dense as you are. So, how about it? Let me help you win him over, and we can all become close friends. What do you say?"

Sophia’s mind reeled at the deduction. She had done her best to conceal her affection, utterly terrified of how to confess. Yet this strange Elf was casually claiming that Aeon might already be aware of her feelings?

She sneaked a glance over at Aeon, her face flushing completely. ’Does he really know? This is so embarrassing.’ Sophia said inwardly. The mere possibility of Aeon knowing her deepest secret was something she had never anticipated.

However, beneath her immense embarrassment, a sudden wave of sharp determination locked into her expression. She transmitted her final answer back to Lunaria.

"Fine. I accept your proposition. Even if he already knows, I still want to completely win his heart. But make no mistake—if you dare try to steal him for yourself, I will kill you. He is mine." Sophia said, delivering the final warning with unyielding coldness.

"Ooh, so possessive. I love it," Lunaria replied playfully. "Rest assured, I have no intention of stealing your future hubby. I genuinely just want to make a friend. I’ve never had any real friends before, so I was hoping we could start there."

Sophia blushed again at the casual mention of Aeon being called her husband, but she softened slightly as she picked up on the hidden loneliness behind Lunaria’s words. "Ahem... that is definitely not how normal people make friends. But, I will do my best to be a good friend to you."

"Perfect! From this moment onward, we are officially friends. Let’s get along well," Lunaria transmitted happily, finally releasing her grip and stepping back.

Switching back to her normal vocal voice, Lunaria looked at both of them and smiled. "It was wonderful meeting you guys. Let’s make sure to be great friends and look after each other during our time here and after." Turning on her heel, she walked gracefully back to her original seat by the window.

Sophia watched Lunaria’s retreating figure for a brief moment before sliding into the empty seat next to Aeon. Sensing his questioning gaze, she offered a quick, partially omitted explanation to defuse his curiosity.

"Don’t worry. She didn’t mean anything by it. She just wanted to become close friends."

Aeon offered a simple, understanding nod and chose not to push the matter any further. In truth, he didn’t need to—he could cleanly hear every single line of their secret Sound Transmission dialogue. He simply chose to play along and keep the revelation to himself.

Shifting his focus, Aeon communicated mentally with his system. ’System, give the Harem System interface to Sophia tonight.’ Although It is true that he cares and loves Sophia, he hadn’t formally confessed his feelings yet, he wanted to utilize the system’s new function to help manage and steady her overly obsessive tendencies, ensuring his future harem would remain perfectly harmonious.

[Affirmative, Master. The task has been scheduled.]

Aeon then resumed his casual chat with Sophia. A few minutes later, Seraphina arrived, seamlessly claiming the seat on Sophia’s other side. Sophia still vividly recalled how this girl had boldly proposed to Aeon during their first meeting, which made her sit up a little straighter in discomfort.

Before long, the rest of the top 20 rankers began filtering into the grand lecture hall. Alex and the rest of their immediate group arrived together, filling out the seats along the same aisle, as they greated on one another.

A few minutes before the hour, the heavy door adjacent to the speaker’s platform clicked open, and a professor stepped inside. He was a human male in his mid 30s with neat, dark hair and sharp brown eyes framed by a pair of elegant eyeglasses.

He walked up to the front whiteboard, picked up a marker, and clearly wrote out his name. Turning back around, he rested his weight comfortably against the edge of his long desk, leaning back on his hands as his gaze swept over the fresh faces.

"Hello, new students. My name is Professor Nathaniel Vasquez, and I will be your history lecturer for this academic cycle. I look forward to our time together," he spoke, pausing briefly to let the introduction settle over the quiet room.

"Before we dive directly into the curriculum, let’s conduct a brief round of self-introductions. It is highly important to familiarize yourselves with your fellow classmates, wouldn’t you agree? Let us begin with the front row on my far right and proceed down to my left."

The moment the instruction was given, the first student stood up instantly. "My name is Jiang Han. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." One by one, the students stood up to state their names and backgrounds.

Soon enough, it was Aeon’s turn. The remaining students who hadn’t met him yet had already deduced his identity. He had been firmly on everyone’s radar since the scores dropped, and since he was the final elite left in the class who hadn’t introduced himself, the conclusion was obvious.

True to their expectations, Aeon stood up smoothly with confidence. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Aeon Astaraeas. It’s a pleasure to meet you all." He offered a polite nod and returned to his seat.

Professor Nathaniel stood up from his desk, acknowledging the completion of the introductions as he officially started the lesson.

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you as well. Now, let us begin our lecture. Every individual sitting in this room should already be thoroughly well-versed in the basic history of Nexus Earth and the events surrounding the Great Merge. Therefore, our focus today will transition to what lies entirely beyond the boundaries of Nexus Earth," Professor Nathaniel announced, tapping the interface of the massive console embedded in his desk.

Instantly, a colossal holographic star system flickered to life in the center of the room, projecting the stellar layout surrounding Nexus Earth.

"Prior to the occurrence of the Great Merge, humanity on Earth only possessed concrete knowledge regarding eight local planets, alongside confirming the theoretical data of roughly 6,000 exoplanets spread across the broader star system."

"At that specific point in time—approximately 19,500 years ago—humans were the only recognized lifeforms in existence. Concepts such as magic, dragons, cultivation, divinities and foreign species were relegated entirely to the realm of fiction and fantasy stories," Professor Nathaniel explained, tracking the attentive expressions of his students.

"However, following the catastrophic onset of the Great Merge, multiple foreign dimensions were forcefully fused together into Earth’s cosmic coordinates. Entirely new lifeforms originating from those dimensions began to populate and claim various celestial bodies across our star system.

As our cultivation pathways matured and our technological frameworks evolved alongside them, it finally became possible to physically visit and explore these foreign planets."

"Of course, some became hostile toward us, while others welcomed us with open arms. After 19,500 years of exploration, we have now mapped and confirmed that more than 20,000 worlds exist within our Grand Star Cluster alone. While the vast majority of them remain unoccupied, a diverse array of species spans across our star system."

He paused, expanding the hologram with a fluid gesture to slowly display the vastness of their local star system.

"And yes, our star system is not the only one within our Star Cluster. Within the boundless expanse of the Milky Way Galaxy exist countless star systems and thousands of star clusters, each containing innumerable celestial bodies and worlds."

He tapped the console once more, triggering a historical video playback. The projection displayed a chaotic battlefield where advanced flying starships exchanged heavy fire while armored cultivators tore through opposing lines.

"This sudden cosmic revelation drove many races and powerhouses to clash ruthlessly over raw resources, ruins and territories, each fighting for absolute dominance."

"Unfortunately, due to our constant infighting, our common enemies—the Voidbound Cult and the Voidborn monsters—took advantage of our fractured state. They inflicted devastating losses upon us, obliterating many inhabited planets and nearly driving several civilizations to total extinction."

Professor Nathaniel delivered the last sentence in a distinctly gloomy tone. Although he had not personally lived through that dark era, he had meticulously studied the records and seen the harrowing evidence of the destruction their enemies had caused.

He soon shook off the heavy mood and continued his explanation. "However, out of that tragedy, a peace treaty was forged, giving birth to a completely new order. To preserve galactic peace, enforce universal laws, and prevent any rogue empire, race, or external enemy from threatening the survival of our galaxy’s civilizations, various races united to establish a centralized Galactic Governing Organization."

"Thanks to that unified front, we were finally able to shift our collective focus toward hunting down the growing Voidbound Cult and destroying the dimensional gates that are opening across the galaxy to stop the influx of Voidborn monsters."

For the remaining three hours, Professor Nathaniel continued with a general overview of the galaxy’s history, answering questions and discussing the characteristics of various dominant races, the tragic fates of lost civilizations, and the current political landscape.

For Aeon, listening to the lecture was thoroughly engaging and fascinating. Throughout the entire duration of the class, his focus never once drifted away from the platform.

Ding! Ding!

Eventually, the automated bells chimed throughout the lecture hall, signaling the conclusion of the period. Professor Nathaniel deactivated the holographic terminal and looked at the students.

"That is all for today. See you all in our next class." With a polite nod, he stepped down from the platform and made his exit, leaving the classroom to filter out.

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