[Teacher Julius
You probably don't remember me, but I was once your student.
…
…
…
So, please, enjoy the fruits of my stupidity.
Best Regards,
Nobody]
Teacher Julius stared at the slightly crumpled note in his hand.
He had gotten it months ago, along with the now widespread Exploration Report on Everything, which he had found lying on his desk back in the Academy in the Waking World one day.
Until now, he was still unwilling to throw the note away. For some reason, it filled him with a sense of pride whenever he reread it, a pride that he could only describe as the pride of a father for his successful son.
…Or of a proud teacher with his student who had gone off to achieve big things, if the mysterious person who wrote that note was to be believed.
It was truly odd. Teacher Julius did not remember having such a student. And he didn't think he was so old that he'd forget a student as outstanding as Nobody seemed to be.
At least, he hoped not.
Still, it was a persistent question in the back of his mind:
Who is this Nobody, and which student was he?
Teacher Julius never had many students in the past, as most people preferred courses such as Combat Training, which used to be taught by his old colleague Instructor Rock, rather than the Wilderness Survival class he himself taught.
He could probably count with the fingers on his two hands, maybe the toes on his right foot too, the number of students he has had that actually stuck around after the first day.
He thought he remembered all of them quite well, and none of them seemed to fit this Nobody's character.
Eventually, he sighed in defeat. He refolded the note and put it back into his pocket, then went down into his storage room, where he kept all the Dream Realm exploration reports he possessed. Teacher Julius often went back to those reports to refresh his memory, and sometimes, he would notice things that he had missed in his previous read-throughs.
It always brought him joy and pleasure whenever he discovered something new.
As he held the Exploration Report on the Forgotten Shore for perhaps the millionth time, Teacher Julius recalled the owner of the Eye-Candy Café, Master Sunless.
He was also the person who wrote the document currently in his hands, he realized.
How had he managed to forget?
Teacher Julius sighed and shook his head. 'Okay, maybe I am getting a little too old…'
In any case, he had not seen the young Master since he left to go to war with Changing Star. The last he heard of him were rumors about how he was actually sent by the Lord of Shadows to infiltrate Changing Star's ranks and slaughter everyone when their guards were down after the war. Some also believed that he was the Lord of Shadows himself.
But luckily, some said, Lady Changing Star realized his schemes and beheaded him at the end.
Not everyone believed the stories, of course, but it seemed that it had become a general consensus that he was a mongrel of a man.
Teacher Julius wasn't sure what to think about the rumors surrounding the charming man. Oftentimes, rumors were greatly exaggerated and blown out of proportions, causing the truth to be completely buried beneath the endless deceit and false information.
Still, the rumors did seem to have some merit to them, and no one had come out to deny or refute the accusations, either.
'Perhaps it's true after all…'
Shaking his head slightly to clear the negative thoughts from his mind, Teacher Julius continued to peruse the report. He was half-way through reading when he suddenly had the thought to compare it with Nobody's work, and he laid the Forgotten Shore report and the Tomb of Ariel report side by side on the table.
And as he stared at the pages before him, he realized a few points of similarities between the two documents.
The reports were written in a clear, crisp language. Everything was relayed in simple words, concise and straightforward, leaving no room for ambiguity. The information was structured in a way that made it easy for the reader to absorb and understand, complete with detailed descriptions, explanations, and even intricate illustrations to help with imagery. Descriptions for Memories were also provided in both the human tongue and runic language.
Teacher Julius' eyes slowly widened as he skimmed through them over and over again, noting the way the writers categorized things, the way they composed the reports.
'Could it be?'
Could it be that instead of two writers, the person who wrote the report on the Forgotten Shore and the person who wrote the Tomb of Ariel report were actually one and the same?
He flipped to the cover pages and stared at the two names written there.
Sunless and Nobody.
'What if…'
What if Master Sunless is Nobody?
Was that even possible?
Master Sunless was a humble shopkeeper. He was a gentle soul, with a gallant and charming personality, who made some of the best desserts Teacher Julius had ever tasted.
Meanwhile, Nobody gave off the vibe of a very powerful and enigmatic individual. They certainly didn't seem like a person who would make and serve delicious waffles and pancakes in a brick cottage.
How could they be the same person?
It didn't compute. He couldn't reconcile the image of the kind and charming shopkeeper with the rugged image of Nobody in his head, who felt like a person who often got into trouble for the sake of exploration.
And yet…
Master Sunless was said to be a puppet of the Lord of Shadows, perhaps even the Lord of Shadows himself. Clearly, there could be many sides to a person and there was just no way to know every side of them if they didn't want you to.
So why couldn't Master Sunless be Nobody too?
That would explain the note, and why Nobody referred to himself as a past student of his.
'Maybe. Just maybe…'
Maybe he hadn't died. Maybe he had just gone on a little expedition after the war, and that was why he hadn't been seen since then. Maybe he had spent the months after the war making the Exploration Report on Everything.
Maybe he decided to open up shop elsewhere, like say, Ravenheart, this time.
As Teacher Julius tried to work through the many scenarios playing in his mind, the front door opened.
A grey-haired mundane woman who was still very energetic for her old age entered the house — his wife. Her intelligent eyes found him immediately and a bright smile bloomed on her face.
"Jules." She greeted him, coming over to where he sat with his reports.
His own lips tugged into a wide smile as he welcomed her into the seat beside him.
"Lena! You're home early," he commented. "I'm not complaining, though."
"Good." Lena laughed as she looked over the documents lying on the coffee table. "Hmm… Judging by the 'thinking very hard' face you have on right now, I'm guessing you've noticed another piece of information you missed last time?"
Teacher Julius looked back at the reports, his expression complicated.
"I… I just thought, what if Master Sunless is alive, and he's actually Nobody?"
His wife hummed, contemplating.
"Knowing how you are, you must have a very good reason to believe this is possible. So… present the evidence, I'll be the judge."
His lips twitched slightly.
It was just like her to say that, and how could he not take on the challenge? So he explained the similarities between Master Sunless' and Nobody's work to her. It didn't even take half an hour to detail his reasoning, and by the end of it, Lena looked more than convinced.
"I see it…" She said, perusing the documents herself, looking between the different reports. "Rain is close to Master Sunless, right?"
At the mention of Rain, Teacher Julius perked up with realization.
"Right! How could I forget? Sunless used to be her tutor back in NQSC."
Lena smiled. "Maybe you should ask her for confirmation. She'll be coming over today."
Teacher Julius pursed his lips. "…Is Rain still in contact with him, though?"
As if on cue, a young voice called out from the front door:
"In contact with who?"
Teacher Julius and Lena both looked up to find a young girl with pale skin and raven-black hair, looking barely out of her teenage years, standing there with a box of mini cupcakes in one hand.
It was Rain, his step-granddaughter.
Teacher Julius fixed her with a serious look.
"Rain."
The girl shifted slightly, eyes darting between him and her grandmother, Lena. "…Uhm, yes?"
"Do you think Master Sunless could be the person who wrote the Exploration Report on Everything, Nobody? Are you still in contact with him? Can you ask?" Teacher Julius asked, failing to keep the hope from his voice as he did.
Rain blinked, then averted her eyes.
"Huh? Oh, uh… Well, I — he, uh…"
It was obvious to anyone watching that the young girl was hiding something, and his wife was not one to let such a thing go. She narrowed her eyes at the granddaughter. Rain squirmed under her intense gaze.
Eventually, she gave up and sighed.
"Fine… I don't know if he's this Nobody person or not, but I can ask—"
But Teacher Julius wasn't listening to her speak anymore.
"Where is he? Where can I find him?"
"Uh, he's at that coffee shop and bakery called Abyssal Fire, last I checked…"
Before the words were fully out of her mouth, Teacher Julius was already standing up and heading for the door. His eyes were alight with a youthful kind of excitement that made him look way younger than his age.
"Thanks, Rain! Bye, Lena! I'll be late for dinner, so don't wait for me!"
And then he was gone, jogging down the streets of Bastion.
Back inside the house, Rain gave her grandmother a questioning look.
The grey-haired woman simply shrugged with a light smile.
"No need to worry, dear. He'll be fine." Then she beckoned the young girl to the kitchen, taking the box of cupcakes from her hands. "So, what flavors did you get?"