The pipe she was lifting froze in mid air, her eyes widening at my words. "The Hero, huh..." she muttered, frowning at my words. "So, the world really is about to end. Who is he? Where can I find him?" Her grip on the desk behind her tightened ever so slightly, her knuckles turning white.
Damn this Ward of Truth. "His name is Roy, no surname. I do not know where he is at this time, but next month, you can find him near Windrip in the Burning Gorge. Please, do not meddle with him." I could see the lack of interest in everything but the Hero, by how she didn't bother looking at me.
"Why call yourself a villain?" she asked, pulling out an embellished golden pocket watch.
My jaw muscles hurt from trying to fight the magic, but it was no use. "I caused the end of the world. I opened a portal that let hordes of Hellbeasts into these lands. I killed those that could've stopped it." I rose to my knees, my head hanging low as tears pricked my eyes. Her eyes put a heavy weight on me, judgement and anger mixed in equal measures. "Please... No more..."
She clicked both her tongue and fingers, and a strange pressure disappeared from my body. "You're lucky it's a child's body. Otherwise..." A hand grabbed me by the throat, lifting me with surprising strength, forcing me to look directly into her glaring eyes. "I would burn you in the worst illusions I could think of. And believe me when I say that I am very creative."
The Headmaster walked a few steps away before turning around. "So, how do we stop the end from coming?"
"'We'?" I responded, rubbing my throat. What a woman... Come on, Atlas, snap back to reality. I had to ignore the pounding in my chest, as I dreaded what she meant.
"Yes, we. I have connections, you've lived the future. You can't just run from the end of the world," she said, blowing a ring of smoke. She looked down on me, a small smile appearing. "Although I suppose you'll try. With some specialised guidance, I'm sure even you could become somebody noteworthy."
My head hung low. The thought had been on my mind, but there would be nowhere to go. Once Hell broke loose, that would be it. "I can't stay here," I admitted. She looked at me curiously, with eyes like a cat's, the pupils slitted enough that they focused entirely on me. It felt uncomfortable.
"Because you can't use your magic, right?" she said. Tapping her smoke pipe against the desk behind her, she almost looked at me with pity for the first time. But that look quickly hardened. "I don't know the specifics. However, you became quite frantic earlier. Has this been a thing since coming back to the past?"
No answer came to my mind, the memory of everything burning coming back. But I wasn't living it, merely remembering.
"No need to answer. Shue!" With the Headmaster's call, the door opened, revealing a very sweaty Shue. His smile seemed a tad strained, as he entered, making sure the doors shut behind him.
"Yes, Headmaster?" he asked, keeping his gloved hands behind his back.
"We're done here," she said, matter of factly. "Now, where was that cafe you told me about? Let's go together, now, if you don't mind." The Headmaster didn't offer the gesture, sliding up to Shue to put her arm through... his?
Huh?
"You're dismissed, Atlas," she said. There was no effort to even look at me as she dragged Shue out with her.
Professor Pretty Face turned his head to face me, his smile strained as he waved goodbye to me. "Get home safe, Atlas," he said, trying to make any distance with the woman holding onto his arm.
It took me a while to comprehend what had even happened in that room, much less how they exited. Most of the time I spent walking to the entrance of the school, where a brown-coated carriage sat, alone, as the last dregs of late-leavers left the academy, eyes baggy and shoulders sagging. It must've rained, at some point, as a thin layer of water slid down the carriage side. The coachman opened the door for me, not commenting on my tardiness, before shutting it after I entered.
School sucked.