Chapter 224: Return To Academy

The city streets were lively, warm with afternoon light.

Zane and Eirenyssa walked side by side, their pace unhurried.

People stared.

It wasn’t subtle.

Whispers followed them like a trail.

“…Who are they…?”

“…What a handsome guy…”

“…She looks unreal…”

“…They look like a noble couple…”

Eirenyssa heard every word.

Her storm-grey eyes lowered slightly, and though she tried to keep her expression calm, a faint blush crept onto her face. A small part of her felt embarrassed.

Another part felt… oddly happy.

Zane, however, wasn’t paying attention to any of it.

His mind was elsewhere.

That shopkeeper’s tone.

“You’re lucky to be heading home in times like these.”

It hadn’t sounded casual.

It sounded… tense.

He slightly turned his head, speaking low enough that only his technowatch would pick it up.

“Hey, Eira. Access the miniaturized bee cameras across the world. Tell me what’s happening.”

The watch flickered softly.

“On it, boss.”

A short pause.

Then—

“…Oh.”

Zane’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What?”

“Boss… I can’t access the global mini bee network.”

“…Why?”

“Because the mini Gen-1 satellite was destroyed.”

A beat.

“In the explosion of that white star-level attack you stopped. The one launched by the god realm guys.”

Zane went silent for a second.

“…Right.”

He exhaled softly.

“I didn’t factor that in.”

“No satellite,” Eira continued, “means no long-range relay. I don’t have current data. The last recorded footage before shutdown is from…”

A pause.

“…Wait.”

Another pause.

“…More than six months ago.”

Zane stopped walking.

Eirenyssa almost bumped into him.

“Six… months?” he muttered.

Then it clicked.

“…That explains it.”

He resumed walking, slower now.

“In god realmwe may have spent only 30 minutes but It’s been six months since we left.”

Eirenyssa’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh yeah because of the time dilation between here and godrealm is very large”

Zane ran a hand through his hair.

“Damn.”

His voice was low now.

“My students…”

He let out a faint breath.

“I missed half a year of their growth.”

The realization irritated him more than he expected.

“This time dilution is getting very annoying,” he muttered. “I forgot about it because of all the… entertainment.”

God realm. Fights. The leaders. Abyssals.

It had been amusing.

But more than six months or to be precise 6 month and 28 days in here .

He looked ahead, expression sharpening slightly.

“In six months, a lot can change.”

His eyes narrowed faintly.

“That shopkeeper wasn’t speaking casually.”

Eira’s interface flickered again. “Without satellites, I can’t see global movement.”

Zane nodded slowly.

“In six months… something must have happened.”

His gaze lifted toward the direction of the academy.

“And that’s why she was saying that. We have to see.”

His tone didn’t rise.

But something in the air around him shifted.

They had barely taken a few faster steps when a voice rang out from behind them.

“Master Zayne!”

Zane stopped.

“…Who?”

Both he and Eirenyssa turned around.

A short man with blonde hair and brown eyes stood a few paces away. He wore simple commoner clothes—a brown shirt, black pants—nothing special. But his expression was sharp, confused, almost suspicious.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“What are you doing here, Master Zayne?” the man asked. “Didn’t you say you were going on an investigation with Captain Valeriana? You told to meet my family after my injury…but now you are roaming here…”

He then glanced at Eirenyssa, frowning.

“And who is this person?”

Zane blinked once.

“Valeriana…?”

His mind moved quickly.

Zayne… has gone with Valeriana?

Hmm.

He’s mistaking me for him.

Before Zane could answer, the man’s expression shifted. A flicker of anger appeared in his eyes.

“…Are you cheating on Captain Valeriana?”

Zane’s face turned blank.

“…Cheating? On Valeriana?”

He stared at the man.

Zayne is in a relationship with Valeriana?

When did this happened ?

What happened in these six months?

He raised a hand lightly.

“Whoever you are,” Zane said calmly, “I’m not Zayne. You’re mistaking me.”

A small pause.

“I’m his brother. Zane Creed.”

The reaction was immediate.

The man’s eyes widened—and then hardened.

“Wait your eyes are deep purple unlike master Zayne’s light purple and you claim to his brother then…..”

“How dare you try to impersonate Mr. Zane?!” he shouted.

Without warning, he lunged forward and threw a punch.

Zane blinked.

“…What?”

His body moved before thought did. He stepped aside effortlessly, the punch cutting through empty air. With mild reflex, he delivered a very light chop to the back of the man’s neck.

The man dropped instantly, unconscious.

Silence.

Then murmurs.

“He said impersonate…”

“What’s going on…?”

People were staring now.

Zane looked down at the unconscious man, mildly annoyed.

“…Damn. What happened that he got so angry?”

He tilted his head slightly, a faint smile forming.

“I really wanted to read his mind and extract the information.”

A small pause.

“But… this is more interesting.”

The curiosity.

The mystery.

The slow unfolding.

It felt better than simply ripping answers out of someone’s head.

Eira’s hologram flickered on his wrist.

“So boss… Zayne is in a relationship now?”

Zane exhaled lightly.

“Yeah. I was surprised too.”

Eirenyssa looked between the unconscious man and Zane.

“My lord… what was that?”

Zane shrugged.

“Who knows.”

His eyes shifted toward the direction of Astralis Arcanum.

“But we’ll get our answers there.”

His tone sharpened slightly.

“As to what really happened.”

Without another word, he grabbed Eirenyssa’s hand.

They vanished instantly.

Leaving behind a stunned crowd, an unconscious man on the street, and a city now buzzing with confusion.

.

.

.

They appeared again—this time just outside the towering gates of Astralis Arcanum.

The academy stood exactly as Zane remembered it. Vast stone walls, layered magical barriers humming faintly in the air, banners hanging from high towers. Guards stood posted at the entrance.

For a brief moment, it felt normal.

Zane stepped forward.

“Hm… let’s go inside.”

He approached the gate casually.

One of the guards turned—and froze.

His eyes widened.

“…Professor Zane?”

For a split second, recognition flashed across the guard’s face. Then it vanished just as quickly. His expression hardened.

“…Stop. I won’t fall for this again.”

Zane paused.

This again?

He tilted his head slightly.

Feels familiar. Just like the first time I entered this place.

Without arguing, Zane simply stepped closer and tapped two fingers lightly against the guard’s chest.

The guard collapsed instantly, unconscious.

The second guard reacted immediately, drawing his weapon and moving to strike—but Eirenyssa was already behind him. A precise, gentle chop to the back of the neck.

He dropped.

Silence returned to the gate.

Zane walked past them.

“Let’s go.”

They stepped into the academy grounds.

At first, everything seemed normal. But as Zane walked further in, his eyes narrowed slightly.

There were marks.

Scars.

Sections of stone that had clearly been repaired. Training fields with faint burn patterns. Walls with signs of impact that had been magically patched but not perfectly.

Battle marks.

Zane’s pace slowed.

“…What happened here?”

Then he saw it.

At the center of a wide courtyard, towering above everything—

A statue.

Nine feet tall.

Solid gold.

Zane stopped walking.

The statue depicted him. Long coat flowing behind him, body angled upward as if flying into the sky. One hand extended forward, expression calm and resolute. Heroic. Dramatic.

Very dramatic.

Below the statue, engraved in polished stone:

“We express eternal gratitude to Professor Zane Creed,

who sacrificed himself to save Orimund.”

Silence.

A long, heavy silence.

Eirenyssa blinked slowly. She looked at the statue. Then at Zane. Then back at the statue.

Zane stared.

His expression slowly twisted into something between disbelief and confusion.

“…What the fu—”

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