The academy bell echoed through the marble halls just as Kael and Lyra slipped into the classroom.
“…We made it.” Lyra let out a relieved sigh as she dropped into her seat.
“Barely.” Kael nodded quietly before placing his satchel beneath his desk.
The classroom buzzed with conversation.
No one was talking about assignments.
Or exams.
Or the upcoming festival.
There was only one topic.
“The stars.” “I heard another constellation disappeared.” “My brother says it’s just a rumor.” “My aunt works at the Central Observatory.” “They’ve stopped letting visitors inside.” “Seriously?” “My father says the Council is hiding something.” Kael remained silent.
He stared through the enormous crystal window beside him.
The sky looked exactly the same as it always had.
Blue.
Peaceful.
Infinite.
Yet every time he looked at it…
His chest tightened.
“You’ve been quiet all morning.” Lyra rested her chin on one hand.
“Even for you.” “I’m thinking.” She laughed softly.
“That’s exactly what worries me.” Before Kael could answer…
The classroom door opened.
Silence spread almost instantly.
Professor Orion entered with slow, measured steps.
His white robes flowed behind him like drifting clouds.
He carried no books.
No notes.
Only a slender crystal pointer in one hand.
Without greeting the class, he turned toward the board.
With a single movement…
Letters of glowing blue light appeared.
Today, we will discuss impossible things.
Several students exchanged confused looks.
One of them chuckled.
“Impossible things?” Another laughed.
“I thought this was Astronomy.” Orion calmly faced the room.
“It is.” The smiles disappeared.
He raised one hand.
The classroom lights dimmed.
A sphere of light floated into existence above the center of the room.
It expanded, growing larger until the entire ceiling became a living image of the night sky.
Thousands of stars shimmered overhead.
Some students gasped.
Even after years at Aetherion, Professor Orion’s lectures never failed to impress.
He pointed toward one bright constellation.
“Observe carefully.” The stars remained still.
Then…
One disappeared.
No explosion.
No flash.
No sound.
It simply…
Stopped existing.
Several students frowned.
Another star vanished.
Then another.
The holographic sky accelerated.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
Entire constellations slowly unraveled as points of light vanished one after another.
The room fell silent.
When the projection finally stopped…
Large empty spaces scarred the once perfect sky.
Professor Orion lowered his hand.
“This…” He looked at every student in turn.
“…is not a simulation.” No one spoke.
“These are official records gathered from every observatory in Elysion.” A girl in the front row slowly raised her hand.
“…Professor…” “Could they be dying?” “No.” “A supernova?” “No.” “A black hole?” “No.” Each answer came without hesitation.
Without emotion.
Finally, a boy near the back leaned forward.
“Then…
where are they going?” Professor Orion remained quiet for several seconds.
“We don’t know.” The simplicity of the answer unsettled the room more than any explanation could have.
“We have studied the heavens for thousands of years.
We understand how stars are born.
We understand how they die.
We understand how galaxies collide.” His gaze drifted toward the projection.
“But never…” “…have we witnessed stars being erased.” Erased.
The word lingered in the silence.
Not destroyed.
Not consumed.
Not hidden.
Forgotten.
Kael felt his heartbeat quicken.
His hand instinctively reached inside his satchel, brushing against the worn leather cover of his sketchbook.
He remembered the unfinished constellation.
The empty space.
The feeling he couldn’t explain.
Almost without thinking…
He raised his hand.
The entire class turned toward him.
Lyra blinked in surprise.
Kael almost never spoke during lessons.
Professor Orion looked at him.
“Yes, Kael?” He hesitated.
The question sounded absurd.
Yet it refused to leave his mind.
“…What if…” His voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“…it isn’t the stars that are disappearing?” Silence.
Kael swallowed.
“…What if…” “…the universe is forgetting itself?” The room froze.
Professor Orion’s eyes widened.
Only for an instant.
Then his calm expression returned.
He looked directly at Kael.
“An interesting hypothesis.” Another pause.
“…But one I hope never proves true.” The academy bell rang.
The lesson was over.
Students slowly filed out, whispering excitedly about the lecture.
Some argued.
Others laughed nervously.
Most dismissed it as another one of Professor Orion’s thought experiments.
Kael remained seated.
His eyes were fixed on the fading holographic sky.
One constellation looked…
Wrong.
Not because a star was missing.
Because he couldn’t remember what had once been there.
Several minutes later…
The classroom was empty.
Except for one man.
Professor Orion stood alone before the window.
His reflection stared back at him.
Older than he remembered.
More tired than he wished.
He looked toward the heavens.
Far above the floating islands.
Far beyond the clouds.
A single point of light vanished.
Not within the projection.
Not within a report.
The real sky.
Orion slowly closed his eyes.
“…It’s accelerating.” Somewhere beyond reality…
The Silent Rift expanded.
Once more.
End of Chapter 2