Giurmes said with irritation, "Get ready. We've received an invitation for tomorrow."
On the table lay a letter that read:
"To the strange dictator Giurmes, the Foolish One. If you want Toraat to remain safe, come to Southeastern Vanpien, the city of Elrnaos, specifically the Agrisa Forest, at 7 AM on Tuesday."
---
Elsewhere
Opehajos Sekmon, the leader of Vanpien, frowned. "Are you serious? There's movement?"
The commander nodded. "Yes, sir. That fugitive has shown his face in Elrnaos."
Opehajos muttered, "The Nameless One has some nerve, showing up in my territory."
The Vanpien commander added, "Oh, and sir... two people are seeking asylum in Vanpien. You'll find this funny—they actually claim they defeated Tidtimus." He chuckled.
Opehajos stared at him seriously. "What are their names?"
The commander trembled slightly. "Hector... and Ivan."
Opehajos nodded. "Good. Grant them asylum. And we'll see just how strong this Nameless One really is. We'll depart at 2 AM."
The commander straightened. "Yes, sir."
---
The Next Morning - Agrisa Forest
Giurmes called out angrily, "You summoned me here. Now show yourself!"
Two figures emerged from the treeline.
The first one spoke. "Well, well. The bizarre leader of Tidtimus actually came all this way to meet me. Thank you—though I might take that back. I'm Hector, commander of Hisme's new guerrilla forces. This is Ivan Thelesy, my deputy. Our purpose here is simple: return all the territories you've annexed from us, and pay 193 million Pins in reparations. If you want peace."
Giurmes scoffed. "And if I refuse? What will you do?"
Hector met his gaze. "Then we continue the war."
Giurmes stepped forward, laughing. "If you die here today, does the war continue? You haven't realized it, have you? Hidden below are one destroyer, 14 tanks, and 15 armored vehicles. You're surrounded. It's laughable that you still talk about war."
Suddenly, another figure appeared—the most wanted man in Tidtimus.
The Nameless One spoke casually. "You think you can kill them? I may be a killer, but I support what's right. You, Giurmes, only know how to colonize Toraat, and now you're trying to colonize Hisme."
Giurmes sneered. "You think I'm afraid of you, Nameless One? You're alone. You can kill men, but you can't destroy my tanks and ships."
The Nameless One smiled. "Here's the thing, Giurmes. You're not the only fool here—your troops are just as foolish for not realizing what's happening. I was saving this for later, but I'll use it now."
He pressed a button.
In the distance, explosions erupted. Everything Giurmes had brought—destroyed.
A frantic radio message came through: "Sir! Thirty percent of our weaponry just exploded! The buildings are collapsing!"
Giurmes realized his mistake—too late.
The Nameless One stepped forward. "Now... your turn."
"Stop."
The voice froze everyone. It was Opehajos.
He declared, "You dare fight in my territory? Leave now, or I will join this conflict."
Giurmes spun around, stunned. When he looked back, the Nameless One had vanished. Hector and Ivan were already walking away.
A gunshot rang out. Giurmes screamed—shot in the shoulder.
Opehajos lowered his weapon. "That's a warning, Giur. Try anything like this again, and you'll face the consequences."
Bleeding and humiliated, Giurmes had no choice but to retreat.
---
That Afternoon - History Class
Gram's cold voice cut through the room. "Where are the absent ones now?"
Zavian raised his hand.
Gram acknowledged him. "Yes, seat C8. What is it?"
Zavian answered, "They're skipping, sir. I saw them at the pool building."
Gram's expression hardened. "Let me see their faces for one second, and I'll shoot them. Now, continuing the lesson..."
"For 200 years, nothing remarkable happened—until 792, when a man named Ereois Van Koisia founded West Fikxes. You can guess where from the name. Astonishingly, the main government quickly fell, and he became the leader of East Fikxes as well. Koisia then invaded the small nation of Tokriko and won. For context, that's the peninsula region now belonging to Tidtimus."
"East Fikxes held 54% of the world's scientists at the time. Arrogantly, they declared war on the Tisup Theocracy. Within two years, Tisup was completely overwhelmed—431 million dead out of a global population of 982 million. Then Ereois stopped. He turned north toward Vanpien—and lost this time, due to the polar climate. But his people revered him. He declared the Eastern peoples superior within his nation and ordered massacres against two ethnic groups: the Volas and Tisup peoples."
"At his peak, his wealth reached 1 trillion Pins, growing throughout his life until he died of illness in 842. After his death, his territories were reclaimed. His history is sparse—much of it is still rumor due to the Dark Ages. Even what I've just told you was only discovered two years ago by archaeologists from the Deleted History School."
Zavian raised his hand again. "Sir, is this one of the 11 Lost Histories and Memories?"
Gram nodded. "Yes. Recently discovered, but much of it remains missing. Currently, the 11 Lost Histories include: the story of Oirens the Great of Demonstration—fragments found, but incomplete. The tale of Xonoa versus Ereois—yes, they were contemporaries. The history of the Golden City—now considered legend, but archaeologists confirm it existed around 3,000-4,000 years ago based on gold-adorned skull fossils and ruined houses with gold remnants found in Vius, dated to approximately 3,300-3,600 years old. There's also the history of Zokrak, founder of the ancient Omeris civilization—lost. And many others."
"But what I'm most curious about," Gram admitted, "is the Tikoia Whale—the tamest whale in history, estimated to have lived 4,000 years ago. Strangely, it belonged to the same family as the killer whales from 1,500 years ago. I wonder how they managed to tame the most ferocious whales of ancient times."
---
One Month and 21 Days Later
Riju, Zavian, and Yui walked toward Gram's classroom.
Riju complained, "I swear, Gram's class is so boring. And you can't even skip unless you're literally hospitalized."
Yui shrugged calmly. "Relax. As long as our heads are still attached, we're fine."
They entered the classroom just as Gram began.
"This is your final lesson. Pay close attention."
"In 1542—38 years ago—the Tisup Theocracy experienced a rebellion from the Volas people, who demanded independence after being systematically marginalized by the Xier government. After two years of bloody revolution, with total casualties reaching 2.1 million (82% of them Volas), the Volas people finally regained their independence. They renamed themselves the Republic of Vius, with teohork as their ruler—still in power today."
"In 1560, citizens outraged by Volas's secession demanded a change of dynasty. At the time, the Baken Dynasty had ruled for 700 years, with Baken IX on the throne. After four years of revolution, with 4.8 million dead, Gis Xiak—now our headmaster—and Gosmes Gisee successfully couped and overthrew the Baken Dynasty."
Gram continued his lecture, but suddenly stopped. He fired a shot—the bullet whizzed past Riju's ear. Riju, who had dozed off, jolted awake in terror.
Gram said flatly, "He's awake now. Let's continue."
"Gosmes led with renewed spirit. The corrupt systems of the Tisup Theocracy were replaced—trade reforms, the construction of the Alkei trade city under Gosmes's rule. They prioritized domestic merchants over foreign ones. But then, a crisis: Gosmes's military overlord, Wuhas Xokoa, was diagnosed with cancer and given only two years to live."
"Gosmes presented him with two famous choices: continue his duties and be honored as a hero, or retire with a monthly pension of 30,000 Pins. Xokoa chose the first. For one year, he perfected the military—firing 20% of incompetent officers, replacing them with capable ones, opening military factories, intensifying training. After one year and nine months of struggle, Xokoa died peacefully in his sleep."
"Vis Gaka, Gosmes's student, was appointed as Xokoa's replacement. Within one year, he improved the military's strength ratio from 1:2 to 1:1.4."
(For context: a nation's military strength is measured by comparing it against the combined forces of all other nations, excluding the one being measured.)
"Four years after Histep's founding, a man named Yuri emerged. He led an elite unit called the Eroickos. Yuri proposed something Gosmes immediately rejected: unify the world under Gosmes's system and show Histep's true power to everyone."
"After arguing with Gosmes, Yuri was fired. One month later, he declared independence from Histep, becoming a terrorist who killed without hesitation—even children. Eventually, Vis Gaka killed him."
"Two years later, in spring, Histep was couped by Liber. The Oiks District was seized by Hijus, becoming Hisme. Meanwhile, Tidtimus attacked from the east and seized the Toraat District. Gosmes was killed in the coup. No one wanted to continue the empire. Tyusue, governor of the Fuiska District, was forced to take the throne as emperor to protect his region—but was pressured by Cuiris to declare independence. Thus, Tyusin was born, with Tyusue as its leader."
"Around the same time, Cuiris and the entire Tidtimus government were sentenced to death for massacring 82% of Toraat's population. Giurmes, then a governor, was forced to take power and rebuild the government."
"There's nothing left to discuss. In 10 days, you'll have exams, followed by a holiday. Class dismissed."
---
The Next Day - Library
Riju, Yui, and Zavian went to the library to study before exams.
They found a book about Oirens's famous demonstrations. Fascinated, they read for two hours—only to find an infuriating note:
"The story of Oirens ends here. Not because it's complete, but because the history is lost."
Riju and Yui slammed the book shut. "Damn it! That was actually interesting!"
Zavian suggested, "What if we try visiting the Deleted History School? Maybe they have more there."
Riju's eyes lit up with determination. "Okay. Let's go."
---
ARC 4 PART 1 - END
ARC 4 PART 2 - ???
---
Hello everyone, just to make things easier—I'm Tio Van, or often called RizkySimple. I'll talk here after you finish reading. So, this story will be on hiatus for 3-4 months. Sorry about that, but I'm still in school and graduation exams to move up to the next level are starting soon. I need to focus on my studies first. Hope you understand!
It won't be a complete hiatus though—every month I'll release a sequel segment about Sikharns Academy's headmaster Gis and about the Histep Empire.