2 Hours Later

“Wow, this is a pretty nice campus, huh?”

“Oh, it’s really nothing special,” Kievkenalis insisted, smiling awkwardly as he led Pallan, Kaoné, and the Keys down a stone pathway. Small canals of water flanked the path on both sides, which itself was more than wide enough for two groups walking four-abreast in opposite directions to comfortably pass each other. Trees adorned the far sides of the walkway, their branches stretching across the water canals and the path itself as they slowly released their autumnal leaves over everything below, giving beautiful crimson and golden accents to the already gleaming white that was the stone pathway.

“’Nothing special’, he says,” Austin deadpanned, taking in the soft sound of leaves underfoot while he allowed his gaze to sweep across the buildings and green spaces that surrounded the group. No building stood more than three stories tall, with most of them topping out at one or two, their stone arches and sloped roofs partially hidden by the trees that grew in front of them. “This place feels right out of a fantasy novel, or somethin’.”

“Yeah, like what most people seem to think Atlantis would look like!” Sky remarked. “There’s marble and water everywhere! How do you keep this place so clean?”

“Uh… constant maintenance?” Kievkenalis replied. “The same way that any city or campus keeps itself clean.”

“Uh, well, sure, but that’s not… ah, whatever.”

“Huh? Well, if you say so,” the Dean commented, and then stopped walking. The rest of the group stopped behind him and looked up at the administrative building standing in front of them; it bore the same stone archway and sloped roof architecture as the rest of the buildings nearby, though it stood at three floors tall and served as the main pathway’s endpoint. In large, serif block letters carved into a large arch over the main entrance was Nimalian writing, automatically translated by the Earthians’ ocular RTV implants to read “Yumach Chaotic University of Riverana”.

Conrad looked up at the words before glancing behind the group; the main pathway that they had just walked down stretched in a straight line for several hundred meters, with the campus’s main gate appearing at the far end. The campus pathways were overall quiet, especially given that the time was currently mid-afternoon on a weekend — though there were still a handful of individuals out and about, each of them clearly focused on some task or another. “…Pretty quiet around here,” Conrad observed. “Are the dorms not on-campus?”

“Oh, no, they’re right over there,” Kievkenalis replied, pointing down the path to the left. “They’re on the southwest edge of the campus. But the main reason you don’t see anyone is the time; most students spend their weekend out in the city. If you come back to Stonemain in the morning or late afternoon, then you’ll see plenty of people. —Uh, sorry, ‘Stonemain’ is what people have come to call the main pathway.”

“I wonder why,” Pierce deadpanned as he tapped the marble underfoot with his toes.

“I find that YCUR tends to be quieter than the other Schools of Chaos,” Kaoné said, and then passed Kievkenalis a cheeky glance. “Which is kind of surprising, given how many Chaostechnics you have here.”

“Hey, just because we have to verbally activate our abilities doesn’t mean we’re all loud people,” Kievkenalis countered.

“It still seems rather quiet around here, though,” Twy said. “Weekends at WCU usually felt just as busy as weekdays…”

“That’s because WCU is a small campus,” Kaoné stated. “It’s the smallest of all the Schools of Chaos, in fact. YCUR, meanwhile, is one of the largest.”

“Only because of all the labs,” Kievkenalis interjected. “In terms of actual student facilities, Kevérin or Christeané’s schools are bigger, and better.”

“What?” Spike looked at the two Deans cluelessly. “I thought these were supposed to be schools…?”

“Well, they all seem to style themselves after colleges and universities,” Phoenix pointed out. “And most universities do engage in research.”

“That is true,” Pallan remarked, “and the kind of research that can be committed by Chaotics is rather interesting, indeed.”

“So students do research, here, huh?” Pierce questioned, while smirking bitterly. “I bet they can’t get up to much before graduating and getting shipped off to the military, huh?”

“Actually, most of the researchers here are dedicated scientists or engineers,” Kievkenalis replied cheerfully, oblivious to the obvious jab in Pierce’s words. “Many of them are aligned with the NSD, but many of them aren’t.” He then puffed out his chest proudly. “YCUR has the prestigious distinction of being one of the only private institutions in the Nimalian Union that engages in Chaos Energy and Chaotic research. This gives numerous opportunities to the students, as well, of course.”

“Wait, one of the only private labs? Really?” Phoenix questioned incredulously. “Are you saying that Chaos Energy research is usually done by the state?”

“…Well, yes,” Kaoné answered. “It’s typically the military that handles that research, especially if it pertains to Chaotics. That’s where all of the Chaotics are, after all…” She then passed Kievkenalis a glance. “The fact that you were able to get the Union to approve of a private institution is nothing short of impressive, Kevken.”

“Ah ha ha…” Kievkenalis let out a sheepish laugh. “Honestly, though, I didn’t really do anything. It was you and Davídrius who led the way.”

“On the contrary, Dean Yumach,” Pallan countered, “you and Hero Machina all saved the entire galaxy. Allowing you to set up such an institution as YCUR is the least I could do for you.”

“Sure, but there was nothing special about us. We were just in the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on how you look at it…”

“…You know, now that you mention it…” Sky spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention, “…I know that the Schools of Chaos are headed by the former members of Hero Machina, who saved the world or galaxy or whatever, but is that really the only reason the schools are considered so prestigious?”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, good point. It’s only been 20 years since the Nanocreature War, too. How’d y’all get this rep that fast? Are the schools really just that good?”

“The quality of their education is top-notch,” Pallan proclaimed.

“…Though being galactic heroes undeniably helped,” Kaoné admitted. “If not for the War, we would all still be in the NSD. They only let us quit and start semi-private schools for Chaotics because the public liked us so much…”

“And even then, they only let Davídrius go, at first,” Kievkenalis pointed out. “Probably because he was Tresédian, and, well… I’m sure you all know by now how most Nimalians feel about Tresédians.”

“Kinda fucked up,” Austin commented.

“Yeah, but, that’s just how it is,” Kievkenalis replied with a casual shrug. “It’s starting to change, though, I think — partly because Davídrius’s WCU was the first School of Chaos.”

“He had Christeané’s help,” Kaoné added, “but the two of them were able to prove that the concept had merit. Three years later, I saw how it was working out, and decided to try founding my own school in Nimaliaka. I had Rebehka’s help, of course; without her, I never would have gotten the school off of the ground — and without Archoné Nimal’s word, the NSD never would have let us. But, nevertheless, I was able to found the Densalin School for Chaotics, just over ten years ago.”

“Ah, yes… I do remember it,” Pallan declared. “It took all of the Nimalian Archonés, not just myself and Sonwé, to convince the Nimalian Systems Defense to loosen their conscription rules enough to allow for the Schools of Chaos. But I’m glad to see how the schools have worked out, and that each nation now has its own.”

“Probably because it let you shove us into the system…” Austin muttered under his breath.

“It’s nice, but it’s also a lot of work,” Kievkenalis pointed out. “Especially managing all of the research around here. Everybody’s always asking me permission for this or that, or asking me to participate directly in their experiments. I’m always so busy!”

“Well, you are a Chaos Conduit — one of only two in the entire galaxy,” Pallan remarked. “And the other is rather unwilling to participate in experiments. It’s no wonder that researchers would be keen to study your abilities.”

“…’The other’ being Surdeus, right?” Twy questioned. “One of the Drakkar Faction Leaders?”

“That’s right,” Kievkenalis replied with a nod. “Fun fact: I fought him once! Not-so-fun fact: I wasn’t a Chaos Conduit yet, and he went easy on me, and I still lost. Would’ve been really bad if Morcii hadn’t shown up!” There was a brief pause, at which point the Dean frowned. “Wait. That sounded better in my head.”

“You guys really got up to a lot of shit, huh?” Pierce remarked.

“Indeed they did, and I would love nothing more than to go over all of their deeds in detail,” Pallan said. “…But while Chaos Conduits may be able to halt the flow of time, their ability works only on themselves and other Chaostechnics. For the rest of us, time marches on.”

“The Archoné has a point.” Kaoné passed Kievkenalis a glance. “We’re here to show the Keys something specific. Can you lead us to the lab?”

“Right, right. Sorry.” Kievkenalis sheepishly smiled as he bowed his head apologetically. He then turned on his heel and began walking down the path to the right, bidding for everyone to follow. “Most of the labs are on the northwest side of campus,” he explained, and then turned left down another path that went down the side of YCUR’s main administrative building. “Some of them, however, are built right on Fall’s Edge, or in the Curtain.”

“The Curtain…?” Phoenix echoed in confusion, but trailed off as the group emerged in a wide-open area behind the campus admin building. Ahead of the group were a series of stairs, bordered on the left by trees, and the right by a sloped grassy terrace. At the bottom of the stairs was a small building, flanked on both sides by tall guardrails — over which the magnificent Anika waterfalls could be seen.

YCUR was located on the north side of the crescent-shaped falls — as opposed to the hotel, which had been on the south side — so the new angle gave the group a distinctly different view of the falls. Additionally, one of the massive waterfalls was barely a dozen meters away; in fact, the YCUR campus appeared to have been built partially above the river leading off the cliff — which itself dropped off into a sea of crimson and gold several hundred meters below. The forest stretched out for almost as far as the eye could see, making way only for the large river that flowed away from the bottom of the falls, eventually curving to the south and merging with a massive lake that was just barely visible on the southern horizon.

“Wooooow!!” Sky exclaimed, rushing forward down the steps and nearly slamming into the railing at the bottom as she stared, wide-eyed, at the waterfalls. The several kilometer-long crescent looked even more vast from up close, and the spray of the nearby waterfall seemed just close enough to touch — in fact, it was. Dim shimmers of gold in the air beyond the railing indicated that energy shielding was stopping droplets of water from flying up onto the observer’s deck; combined with the natural gleaming of the water drops in the afternoon light, the falls almost seemed to be covered entirely in a magical sheen of gold and faint rainbows.

“Lot quieter than I expected,” Conrad observed as he and the rest of the group joined Sky at the railing. “Always thought waterfalls were supposed to be loud…”

“That would be because of the sound dampeners,” Kievkenalis explained. “The roaring falls can be nice to listen to, sometimes, but most of the time it’s just too much.”

“Still… this is a lot prettier up close!” Twy remarked, “and now that we’re this close, you really can see all of the structures built into the cliff face, behind the waterfalls! That’s so cool!”

“Seems dangerous, to me…” Austin commented.

“It can be, but thanks to the power of Chaos Energy and Chaotics, it usually isn’t,” Kievkenalis declared. “Besides, the fact that it’s difficult to access or observe the Curtain can make it more secure.”

“Curtain…?”

“Ah, right, you’re not from around here. The ‘Curtain’ is what we call all of the structures and buildings built into the cliff face under the waterfalls. We call it that because it looks like they’re hiding behind a ‘curtain’ of water — you know, the falls.”

“And while we’re on the subject,” Kaoné spoke up, “Fall’s Edge refers to anything built on or near the edge of the waterfalls, just in case you didn’t know. YCUR, for example, is part of Fall’s Edge.”

“Well it makes for some hella nice views, that’s for certain!” Phoenix exclaimed. “There must be some excellent restaurants or shopping plazas on the Fall’s Edge. I can’t wait to get a look at those!”

“Looks like there’s some running trails that thread the Edge and the Curtain, too,” Pierce pointed out. “I’ll have to give those a look.”

“Ha ha, I’m glad you’re enjoying our city!” Kievkenalis remarked, and then turned away from the railing to approach the nearby building. “But unfortunately, I didn’t bring you here to admire the view.”

“Doesn’t make it any less fantastic of a side show!” Sky replied cheerfully as she led the group after him.

“What are we here for, then?” Spike questioned.

“And does it have anything to do with this weird feelin’ I’ve had since we stepped on campus…?” Austin added warily.

Pallan passed Austin a knowing glance. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

“Right…” Austin muttered, turning his attention forward again as the group entered the building, revealing smooth tiled floor leading up to a glass elevator. Standing on either side of the large elevator doors were two guards, bearing the same white and green uniform as the soldiers that had accompanied Pallan and Kievkenalis earlier.

“More soldiers…” Phoenix commented quietly, her face growing sour.

“Well, it’s to be expected, considering where we’re going,” Kievkenalis replied in kind, and then straightened up his posture as he flashed a badge at the two soldiers. Pallan quickly followed suit, at which point the soldiers offered the two men a curt nod and stepped aside — just as the elevator doors opened. The Dean gestured for everyone to follow him in; as soon as everyone had boarded, the elevator doors closed, and they began to descend.

“Well this is… great…” Austin said, grimacing as he looked down. The entire elevator was made from glass, including the floor, allowing the group to look out upon the water falling in front of them, the rocky cliff face behind them… and the turbulent waters several hundred meters below.

“Ha!” Sky threw Austin a teasing glance. “Still scared of heights, huh?”

“I— I can handle heights just fine,” Austin countered. “I can fly, after all…”

“I’m a little more concerned about security,” Twy remarked before turning her attention toward Kievkenalis. “If we’re going where I think we’re going, then isn’t it a little insecure to have glass elevators, that onlookers can see through?”

“This is one-way glass — and I mean actual one-way glass,” Kaoné replied. “Thanks both to advanced material science and holograms, this glass appears completely opaque to someone outside, while someone inside can see out perfectly fine. Even if it’s light in here, and dark out there.”

“Advanced material science?” Kievkenalis echoed, and then passed Kaoné a cheeky grin. “Is that what you’re calling your Materiatechnism, now?”

“It wasn’t just me who came up with this,” Kaoné quickly refuted. “I just used existing ideas…”

“Wait…” Phoenix looked between the two Deans in confusion. “Are you saying that you made this elevator yourself?”

“Well… I made most of the glass here, yes,” Kaoné admitted. “It was a special request from Kevken.”

“And well worth it,” Kievkenalis declared as he looked out over the sprawling autumnal forest below through the curtain of water in front of them. The city of Anika was no longer in view, save for the palace and other structures built on the Fall’s Edge; now, only the waterfalls around them and the cliff face behind them could be seen, as well as the series of structures built into the cliff face that consisted of the Curtain.

One such structure rapidly approached, forming a stubby hallway that protruded a couple meters out of the cliff face to meet the elevator — which soon came to a stop. Bright afternoon sunlight shone into the elevator and upon the solid doors into the hallway, doors that refused to open until Kievkenalis stepped up and swiped his wrist over a small pad on the side. Once he did, a loud beep echoed through the elevator, followed by the doors slowly opening sideways — and revealing yet another set of doors a dozen meters beyond.

“Lotta security,” Conrad remarked as Kievkenalis led the group out of the elevator and through the hallway that burrowed into the cliff. “Underground, too, huh? Must be hiding something important.”

“Well, we aren’t really hiding anything. Everyone knows what’s here,” Kievkenalis replied.

“What is here?” Austin questioned.

“Ah. I guess no one told you?” The Dean glanced back at Austin and then stopped walking. A brightly lit tube, just large enough to fit a small two-lane road, stretched out in front of them. Massive locks filled the walls to the left and right; they seemed to be blocking off another small road that ran the length of the Curtain. Similar locks appeared further down the tube, with a small but heavily armored security kiosk stationed just to the side. “…All of the security here is to protect one thing,” Kievkenalis commented, “but let’s get past it all first before I explain everything.”

“Oh boy, a lecture,” Pierce groaned as the group began approaching the security kiosk.

“I think you’ll find this one more interesting than most lessons I’ve taught,” Kaoné replied.

“And far more important,” Pallan declared.

“That’d be easier to tell if anyone actually said what we’re doin’…” Austin grumbled, watching as Kievkenalis approached the kiosk. After a brief exchange with the two guards at the kiosk, the Dean filled out a quick form and then engaged in a series of security checks: fingerprints, optical scanners, even a full-body scan of some sort. Despite the apparent complexity of the checks, Kievkenalis had completed them all in barely half a minute… a half minute that soon ballooned into nearly 20, however, as Pallan, Kaoné, and each of the Keys had to perform the checks in turn — with no small amount of complaints from the Keys, Pierce and Phoenix in particular.

Eventually, however, everyone was cleared, and the guards opened the massive locks, allowing Kievkenalis to lead everyone through… where he and Pallan both engaged in yet another series of security checks and locked doors, featuring knowledge checks, CENT field checks, and even a DNA swab. By the time Kievkenalis indicated to everyone that the security checks were fully complete, over an hour had passed, as well as three different security kiosks and five doors.

“Ugh…” Conrad groaned, dragging his feet along the ground as he followed the group through the sterile white hallways of what appeared to be a research center. “Whatever is here had better be worth it…”

“What a pain in the ass that was,” Pierce affirmed. “Why the fuck is there so much security, huh? Do you guys have a fucking nuke, down here?”

“That’s actually not a bad analogy,” Kievkenalis remarked, eventually stopping the group before one final set of double doors. He quickly flashed his wrist across a small pad to the side of the door, causing the magnetic locks to release and the doors to slowly slide open — revealing a large, circular room inside, with a handful of terminals along the outside wall. White tiling and a bright white ceiling, nearly three meters high, gave the room a distinctly sterile appearance, aided by the relative lack of objects or furniture to fill the empty space… except for a small white gemstone placed upon an austere pedestal in the center of the room.

“For those of you who may not know…” Kievkenalis eventually spoke up once more, beginning to explain as everyone filtered into the room around the gemstone. “There are only nine objects in the entire galaxy that are capable of actually creating Chaos Energy. These nine gemstones are incredibly powerful; just a few of them together can destroy planets. They’re so powerful, in fact, that the nations of the galaxy came to an agreement to split these gemstones among them, so that no one nation would be too powerful. As a result, the Nimalian Union has only three, and this gemstone…” He gestured at the white, triangle-cut gemstone resting on the pedestal. “…Is one of them. This is one of the nine Chaos Ayas. This… is the Mystryth Ayas.”