It took him at least a minute to walk to the podium, which to some, felt like an eternity. The cameras flickered like fireflies in the night. Dolph Eichner and Rahkaze Zayne. In the same place. At the same time, face-to-face. Rahkaze wasn’t really thrilled to be a part of the spectacle, but it's not like he really had a choice.

To Rahkaze, this was deliberated and well thought out. If he would’ve stayed home, then he would’ve been called a coward or ungrateful. However, what would anybody in the right mind would think of him now and be here five years later.

Dolph spoke to the audience, “Rahkaze Zayne. As many of you have already known, now runs one of the most prominent engineering companies in the world, Zayne Enterprises New York. He was an outside contributor to the Oleander Syndicate.

“Even his little brother Mordechai followed in his big brother’s footsteps. We were all in dire need and when our situation was at our bleakest, Rahkaze Zayne, his brother Mordechai Zayne who works as an engineer, and his two colleagues Chloe Serpentine who is now actively working with Interpol as a criminal investigator and Andrea Mercy who is now a consultant for the New York Police Department, answered the call.”

The audience cheered and applauded Rahkaze and Chloe for about three minutes.

Dolph concluded his time with a presentation of his own, “Rahkaze Zayne, even though we didn’t get the chance to do former graduations with most of the students who completed the courses, I present to you your own accredited bachelor’s degree in demonology from the Novak University.”

Rahkaze stood there dumbfounded as Dolph presented him with his new degree. Everyone applauded and cheered for Rahkaze.

“Well, what do you know, the loudmouth is speechless!” Kayla heckled.

Both of them somewhat posed for the cameras, more like Dolph posed for the camera as Rahkaze looked lost. Dolph stepped off the podium, leaving Rahkaze still dumbfounded. He was given a live microphone and a live audience. Gradually the audience went silent as they waited for the young man to speak.

Rahkaze tried his best to make it all makes sense, “I… I don’t know what to say… I… I don’t know what to say on top of my head. Usually, it would be easy for me to say what is on my mind.”

Knowingly, this could be the best or the worst thing that could ever happen. The member of the Zayne family being put on the spot in a situation like this, “first, I want to thank the new headmaster of the… The Novak University of Demonology as I humbly accept my accredited degree. It took me a long time to earn something of this magnitude…”

Fortunately for Rahkaze, he came prepared for times like these. He reached his smartphone and pulled up a saved unfinished statement he was working on, but for some odd reason, this was appropriate.

He started to read off his smartphone, “My… father used to say every time I am emotionally down, life will always find a way to humble you. I’ve always looked at the old pictures of my friends who served along with me, and all I have seen is… pain. The people I had to work with over time grew ugly and incompetent in my own beliefs. The city that I used to roam the streets, I found dirty and disgusting…”

Everyone was aware of the history between the two factions has the audience murmured.

Rahkaze continued to read off his phone, “Now over the years as I grow a little bit older and wiser, I see a beautiful city and brilliant people rising from the darkness, and… in their struggles to actually find freedom, in their triumphs and defeats, through long to come, I see the evil of this time and of the… previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out. It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

As he concluded his impromptu acceptance speech, he received a positive response from the crowd as he received a standing ovation that lasted over three minutes. After stepping down from the podium and into the courtyard, he was welcomed and greeted by many others in the audience with pats on the back and handshakes.

Regaining most of his composure, he meets up with Chloe and whispers to her, “let’s get the hell out here…”

Chloe agreed as they both left the ceremony, dodging the press.