353 Starfall

A small boy of roughly 6 years old patted Mia on the shoulder before running off with the other kids on the playground.

"Ah? Hey, that's not fair!" Mia pouted.

She pushed the previous thoughts to the back of her mind and chased after the other kids as they played a game of tag. 

Ring~!

Not long after, the bell rang before a female teacher holding a walking stick came out to fetch the kids on the playground and take them back to the academy nearby for schooling.

"Alright, children. Playtime is over. It's time to head back and resume class." The limping female teacher said warmly to the children. 

The female teacher was another Great Warrior, but she had a lean build without excessive muscle mass like the other warriors at her level. 

It was apparent that her body was not well trained since she had taken up post as a teacher. She had retired from battle after sustaining an injury to her leg and could not walk properly without her walking stick's support.

"Teacher Brunhilde!" 

The children all ran over obediently once they were called and gather around the female teacher. Some were even hugging onto her legs, causing her to wobble uncontrollably. 

"Easy, children easy. Teacher's leg is not in good shape. Teacher will fall if you continue to shake." Teacher Brunhilde said helplessly. 

Most children immediately let go in fear of hurting their teacher, but there were still two naughty ones who refused to let go. 

"Fall, fall, fall!" The two naughty children shook harder with excitement.

'These little shits…' Teacher Brunhilde inwardly cussed.

Teacher Brunhilde was fond of children. Otherwise, she would not have chosen to become a teacher after retiring from the hunting team. However, she was only fond of the obedient and quiet ones. The loud and mischievous ones were annoying little runts.

"Still not letting go?" 

Teacher Brunhilde glared at the two naughty children with the imposing aura of a Great Warrior. 

"Ahh! Teacher Brunhilde has become scary!" The two naughty children cried in fear and retreated while the other children laughed, "Haha! Serves you right for not listening to Teacher Brunhilde!" 

"Alright, children. Be good now. Let us head back to class." Teacher Brunhilde put on her best smile again.

She only needed to use a little bit of her Great Warrior aura to scare the naughty children into obedience. If she had exerted a slightly stronger aura, they would have broken down into loud wails instead.

"Come, Mia. Don't fall behind now." Teacher Brunhilde called out after seeing Mia lagging behind the others.

Mia nodded and picked up her pace slightly. Although she came out to play with the other children, it was clear that she was still not used to her new environment.

Inside the classroom, there were no tables nor chairs for the children to be seated. There were only soft fur cushions stuffed with straws for the children to sit on.

After everyone was seated, Teacher Brunhilde began the lesson with a question, "Now, where did we leave off last time?"

"Teacher was about to talk about the Age of Darkness!" A boy answered after raising his hand.

"Oh, yes. I remember now. Thank you, Little Hector. But next time, remember to answer only after I call you. Otherwise, it will not be fair for the others who have also raised their hands. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Teacher Brunhilde." Little Hector said obediently.

Teacher Brunhilde nodded approvingly before she said, "It was said that before the Age of Darkness came, the world used to be a much brighter place. A sun would hang in the sky and illuminate the land in all its brilliance and glory."

"Torches of fire were not needed to light the tribe during the day, and at night, the moon would shine the land with its bluish-white light. But ever since the Age of Darkness came, the dark clouds blotted out the sun, the moon turned crimson, and humankind has never seen the light of day since."

Seeing Mia raised her hand, Teacher Brunhilde asks, "Yes, Little Mia?" 

"What is the Age of Darkness, Teacher?" Mia asked curiously. 

She naturally did not know much about the Dark Continent's history as she was new to the place, but her question made the other children rowdy.

"Ehhh? How can you not know about the Age of Darkness?"

"Not like you know about the Age of Darkness until a week ago, either!"

"Oh yeah…" 

As the children chattered, Teacher Brunhilde smiled. 

"Now, now, children. Be nice. Mia is still new around here. It is normal for her to be unaware of our history. But since I have talked about the Age of Darkness before, will you all be fine with me going over it again for our little friend Mia here?"

"Yes, Teacher!"

The children said in unison. They have yet to be familiar with Mia, but she was personally brought by the Chief to attend the academy. She had to be someone important. 

Although they were only first-graders, they had enough self-awareness not to slight someone who could potentially have significant backing.

"Since that is the case, I will begin to talk about the Age of Darkness again. But before that, we must first talk about the Starfall that started everything. 3000 years ago, a colossal object fell through the atmosphere like a falling star and crash-landed into our world."

"This fallen star managed to pierce a hole in the sky and transformed the entire south into a desolate wasteland. The Age of Darkness came roughly 2500 years after that, which also happens to be 500-odd years ago."

Teacher Brunhilde spoke vaguely about history. In fact, what she knew was much less compared to the Crimsonfog Tribe. She only learned about it by word of mouth from her ancestors in the past.

"Yes, Little Hector?" Brunhilde asked after seeing Little Hector raised his hand.

"Does the Starfall and Age of Darkness have any relation to the existence of Demons in our world, Teacher?" Little Hector asked.

"That is an excellent question, Little Hector. Even I do not know the answer to that question, but it has been a popular topic of debate nowadays. Some theorists say the demons came to our world through the eye in the sky created by the Starfall."

"Others believe demons first appeared after humans got too close to the eye in the sky and got punished by the Sun's wrath."

"Which theory does Teacher believe in?" 

The children asked after listening to this point.

"Me? Interestingly enough, I believe in both theories. They are at least more plausible than the crazier theories out there."

"Eh? There are more theories regarding the existence of demons in our world?" Little Hector was surprised.

"Of course, there are. Some say that the demons are the minions sent to carry out the Sun's wrath and punish the beings that treaded on the Sun's dominion in the past, and the reason demons are black is due to being scorched by the Sun."

"There's another opposing theory that states that the demons are not the Sun's minions, but the minions of a more primal demon sealed within the Sun. The demons escaped after the seal weakened due to the Sun dying."

"Whatever is the case, it is true that demons are our worse enemy and must be exterminated. It is either they die, or we die. The world we live in is dangerous, and without sufficient strength, we cannot hope to survive in it. Not long ago, we were almost overwhelmed by the Bone Calamity." Brunhilde inserted her own opinion at the end.

Other teachers might try to paint a beautiful world to give the children hopes and dreams, but Brunhilde was the opposite of this and did not hide anything from them.

She thought it was best to make them aware of the reality of things to prepare themselves for what they had to face once they grow up. The tribe needed warriors and not soft persimmons, grown in a greenhouse.

Various thoughts flashed in Mia's eyes. While the others had not seen the Sun, it was not the same for her. However, she was self-aware enough not to boast about it.

"What is it, Little Hector?" Brunhilde asked again, seeing Hector raising his small hands again.

"How does Teacher know so much? Even my parents don't know about these things." 

"Are you sure they don't know about these things? Have you asked them about it before?" Brunhilde asked patiently with a smile.

"Ahh..."

…