Apart from division-specific subjects, there were a couple of subjects that were compulsory for all divisions, and this was one of them.

"First, congratulations on passing the entrance test," the lecturer said with a small, almost polite smile tugging at the corners of his scaled cheeks, "I am Professor Sirius Quinn, and I will be teaching Solar History and Theory."

His voice sounded so calm and serene that it made him seem like the nice big brother type, if not for the vertical pupils that made him seem like a half dragon from comics.

But everyone, well, most knew that he wasn't. He was human as most of them were.

Some students sat up straight at his words, while others leaned back; after all, they already knew about most of what he was going to teach since they had been lucky enough to get private tutors while they were young.

But Sirius didn't mind, he just smiled, turned to the holographic board, and tapped the tablet in his hand.

"Let's start with Eclipsed and what they actually are," he said, pulling up a 3D holographic model of an Eclipsed, "you might be curious as to what they are and where they come from—"

Before he could complete his words, someone cut in, "We all know that they come from rifts, so I honestly don't see the point of this class."

The one who spoke was a red-haired boy with a cocky expression on his face. He seemed like one of those spoiled brats from a noble family so none of the students said anything in response to him.

"Is that so?" Professor Sirius said, his face not losing its smile before he added, "Then am I right to assume you also know how rifts are created and what's beyond them?"

"That...." The red-haired boy started but paused, yes, his family had hired private tutors for him, but who would waste time in all this boring theory?

All he was interested in was combat and how Solar techs worked, especially now that he had finally gotten his core, not some boring lecture on Aureum's history and that was coming back to bite him.

Professor Sirius Quinn's smile didn't falter, though a faint glint of amusement in his eyes. He tapped the holographic board, and the 3D model of the Eclipsed slowly rotated.

"Exactly," he said calmly, "you know the surface, that they come from rifts. But knowing the how and why is what separates a Solar Knight from an idiot ready to just throw away their life."

This caused the red haired boy to blush in embarrassment before shrinking into his seat, he had been informed very early that his noble lineage would do nothing in this academy, so he didn't dare threaten the lecturer as he was used to.

Doing that would just mean that he'd be asking to be expelled which his family would very much not like, so he just shut his mouth allowing the professor to continue.

"As I was saying," Sirius continued, "there was a time in Aureum's history known as the age of gods but for reasons unknown to mortals, the gods suddenly abandoned us."

The attention of the students were successfully pulled as Sirius continued explaining, switching the hologram to different figures.

"The divine imbalance from the gods leaving birthed the beings we now know as Eclipsed," Professor Sirius said before pausing and looking at the faces of the students, "or that's what most believe."

While the professor looked around, he suddenly spotted a blonde haired kid who obviously had something to say, but was hesitant.

With a smile, he looked directly at the student and asked, "would you like to share something with us?"

Cass was a bit surprised at being called out, he was also nervous, but the urge to share his theory was greater than said nervousness so he stood up.

"I believe the Eclipsed weren't created by a divine imbalance," he stated, causing all other students to look at him.

They fought the urge to chuckle, since he was from one of the most influential families in Aureum but even they had to admit, he was making it difficult to ignore him.

After all, what fool would openly challenge a theory that had been built, refined, and defended by generations of scholars before him?

But Sirius didn't laugh or even look like he was about to, instead, he looked interested, very much so.

"And why do you believe that is the case?" He asked, looking at the kid.

"Let's take SE as an example," Cass said, "for SE to be corrupted and become umbra energy, it needs to be in an area with high umbra energy and even then it'd take years for that to happen."

Sirius nodded in agreement, still waiting for the kid to get to his point.

"But according to the timeline from the disappearance of the gods and the emergence of the Eclipsed," Cass took a steadying breath, glancing around at the room full of students, "the time gap is too short."

"From what we can tell, the Eclipsed appeared almost immediately after the gods vanished," he continued, his voice gaining confidence, "If umbra energy needs years to fully corrupt SE, then we can assume the same for whatever divine energy the gods use."

"So what you're saying is—" the professor started and his words were completed by Cass.

"The Eclipsed might've been there all along," he said, "maybe sealed, and the disappearance of the gods removed that seal."

Total silence.

Most students couldn't decide whether to laugh or not, after all, they weren't smart enough to debunk his theory, but one thing was for sure.

Cassian Burns was definitely crazy.

"Interesting theory," Professor Sirius Quinn said with a smile on his face, "but for now, let's stick to what the geezers have written down for us, we'll discuss your theory in detail...."

"Cassian," Cass said, "Cassian Burns."

"Ah, that makes sense," Sirius said with a chuckle, "let's get back to the lecture, Cassian."

"Yes sir," with that, Cass sat down with Nox and Devon looking strangely at him.

"What?" He turned to the two..

""Nothing,"" they responded in sync before turning back to the podium.

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