(It had already been a week since the events that happened to my younger self were all but concluded. Unfortunately, Luciano did exactly what he said he would do. He fabricated a story about young Ryatt Drakel bullying and injuring students off-campus. It was unknown how many knew the truth versus how many truly believed that this student was as violent as the claims. However, in the world of the humble and powerless, resources equaled power more than anything. Luciano's entire family may be gangsters, but they were hard-working thugs. House Graves was a minor house in the Grand Acadian Empire. Time. Such an abstract construct of the universe. To physically traverse time would require sufficient mastery over the laws of space. This isn't something I was blessed with. Thus, only this wisp of my eternal soul was able to make it back. To do so, I had to sacrifice everything. If I failed, it would leave me with nothing but nihility and regret!

I couldn't help but grow worried.

After all, things were quickly becoming different from my memories. While things were different, the end results seem to follow the same trend as my own timeline. Of course, a few disparities bothered me, but they didn't seem to be detrimental to my younger self. If anything, it set him on a better path than my own. This was a unique opportunity to study the structure and rules of time law, but there was just so much riding on the back of this mission. I couldn't risk exploring all these different perspectives, intruding into the inner hearts of people whose thoughts should remain a mystery to me. On top of that, it constantly felt like so many eyes were constantly watching me, making me incredibly uncomfortable. Where was the privacy?

I was hardly one to talk at this point. Was this a completely alternate timeline, or had I altered this timeline with myself with my peeking? Although I was an intruder, I couldn't be sure. I had already noticed that at times some force would pull me into my younger self's perspective before I realized it. It seemed to happen whenever the younger me became too emotional. Almost as if his soul subconsciously reached out to mine to stabilize the youth's emotions. During those times, I even temporarily forgot that I was a mere spectator. It felt as if I was really back in my youth.

The only thing aware of my existence in this place should be the doctrine of the heavens, or what I called the will of the universe itself, the Universal Heart. Although the heavenly doctrine of this land lightly resisted my presence, I hadn't been expelled. This could only be because the Universal Heart was curious about my existence. But that didn't mean I would never be expelled. There was no way I could hope to understand the true reflection of the universe on my own. I had to remain vigilant and not get too wrapped up in exploring the perspectives of this reality. After all, once I merged my consciousness with my younger self, the past reflections wouldn't be nearly as effective as the warnings of the future. I had to stay focused on my original goals. I decided to share the perspective of the very existence that I felt was constantly watching myself.

All I could do is bide my time until the opportunity to communicate with the younger I presents itself.)

Universal Heart:

— New Origin City Inner Sector, Education Bureau’s Discipline Hall

"What can you say for yourself, Mr. Drakel? This is disgraceful," said a large-bellied, white-haired, and old man in his early 60s to the young boy seated opposite of himself. The young boy looked indifferent and unbothered. There was no respect in his eyes when he looked at this older man. The older man spoke so righteously that the young boy almost believed himself guilty. Luckily, he knew the truth first hand, or even he might even doubt himself. "You are such a smart and strong young man, a genius even. When I talked your mother into enrolling you into our school system, you showed such promise. Why get caught up in so much trouble, huh?" The brown suit-wearing older man had olive skin and thin lips, heavy bags seated under his eyes. Bags from dealing with miscreant students day in and day out, he definitely felt tired. (Superintendent of Major Acadia Primary School, Ria Bookend. News flash: I always hated this old coot because of the lustful way he looked at my mother when she wasn't looking. He hid it well enough as I got older, but in the beginning, he didn't even bother hiding his lecherous gaze from me. Of course, back then, most men I encountered looked at my mother in this way. In fact, watching Marc beat the piss out of a few of the perpetrators was the only time I considered him useful.) "Mr. Bookend, I know you heard about that incident. Do you know they tried to kidnap two female students? Why didn’t they get interviewed, too? Is this just? Why should I let them push my friends or me around? Because they are richer than us? No one does anything to stop them from behaving so wildly… Why can’t I?! Because they sponsor the school? That isn’t enough of a…" a young boy who appeared to be age 10 sat opposite of Mr. Bookend and fired out a series of questions with a calm and rather indifferent tone.

Who else could this handsome little guy be but young Ryatt?

"Baseless slander!" "How dare you!" Many of the officials showed looks of anger. "Shreya!" berated a fierce whisper from behind the boy. Hearing this voice whisper his middle name harshly, the boy immediately shut his mouth as if conditioned. One couldn’t help but be exasperated with this rascal. From his tone alone, it was as if nothing happening today had much to do with him. The fair-skinned to the extreme and chocolate-colored boy shrugged his shoulders. He had shoulder-length braided dreadlocks neatly done per his mother’s insistence. The young boy’s big penetrating hazel eyes were deep and bright like stars, and his hemp-made clothes were stylish. The name badge the youth wore around his neck said Ryatt Drakel, but his mom, sisters, and pretty much everyone he favored called him Luck. -------

Lucky's Heart:

I wasn’t too surprised about this older man’s frustration or the berating whisper from my mother. It had already been a week since we were cornered and attacked by Luciano's gang. That matter from before really did get a little carried away. But could I even be blamed for hurting those part-time gangster students? In my opinion, it could’ve been far worse. However, the education bureau didn’t seem to intend on investigating thoroughly. I wasn’t surprised to find myself in the current situation, with five students ending up heavily injured and one embellishing the story with all sorts of schemes and tricks. After all, I knew that only two of those punks were students. Where had the others come from?

Even though this older man had known me for a long time, it couldn’t change the big file's contents on the desk. In his opinion, so many reports of one student causing problems couldn’t be made up or false, an opinion shared by the four other officials seated around him. The front of the folder read Class 57 student Ryatt Drakel - Red Level. I could see the pink referrals and orange suspension slips piled up even from where I sat. It made me feel rather stifled.

Corrupt officials wrote over 90% of these referrals under false pretenses. I didn’t believe that these officials were unaware of that. Mr. Bookend picked up the stack of referrals and flipped through them like he was reading a magazine before stopping on a particular page. Seeing the label, I was already familiar with what the older man was reading. After his mother received the school’s latest notice, Marc banned Riot from returning to the corporation's lab. He told me that if I couldn’t even maintain excellence among the humble, then I would never amount to anything impressive.

"It would be better to focus on walking a lesser path as a lesser man." Can you believe that? I couldn’t. It was too audacious! Those words had utterly enraged me. I was mad to even now, standing on the edge recently. ‘How dare that crackhead call me lesser? Who could be greater than me?’ I mused. Maybe many were great for now, but how old was I? I didn’t believe I’d remain weak for very long. As for getting kicked out of the humble schools… Did it matter? -------

Universal Heart:

Ryatt’s biggest regret was that all of his friends were currently heading to see the profounder at the central plaza. Unfortunately, forget becoming a profounder's student, Ryatt could only wait to hear about the event. [RYATT SHREYA DRAKEL has been involved in far too many behavioral conflicts within and around the school grounds. There have been repeated instances of this student involving himself in severely threatening and violent confrontations. The most recent act of violence resulted in three students being hospitalized, where they remain. See images A-J. The student has been openly hostile with fellow students and has violated the attendance policies on multiple occasions. In addition, due to the most recent incident, the district is forced to recognize this individual as a potential threat to the students and faculty. For this reason, Origin Province’s Education District is recommending student RYATT SHREYA DRAKEL be EXPELLED.] Even the boy in question felt stunned, speechless upon reading that letter. Major Acadia Primary school suspending him was one thing, but the entire Origin Province wanted him expelled for misconduct? Who exactly was the gangster in this situation, him or Luciano?! This was more than Ryatt expected. Ryatt found the letter in the kitchen, the blotchy ink making it obvious some tears fell on the parchment. After reading it, he immediately cut it up and trashed it right away. In the end, his mother didn’t react too negatively, only becoming a bit sad. After all, she helped him on the day of the incident, so she was aware in advance. Ryatt felt shocked at that time because his mother was usually giddy and lovey-dovey to a fault, a dazed look ever-present in her gaze. The day he arrived at home with his injured classmates and minor cuts and bruises on his own body, that dazed look in his mother’s gaze had withdrawn completely, replaced by unbridled rage. To date, it had yet to return fully. Kiya seemed only to resume this state in the presence of his stepfather. When Ryatt, his baby sister, and his mother were alone, her attitude had already done a 180-degree turn, becoming far more attentive and talkative. For this reason alone, he was happy to have fought that day, no matter how crazy things got. On the other hand, Ryatt's stepfather acted enraged and incredibly disappointed upon hearing the news, dishing out a series of punishments and chores relentlessly. Of course, his step-father always used any excuse to punish him in this manner. Ryatt didn’t understand his mother and her husband. He felt these two were hiding two separate secrets from him. This was a type of intuition. Today was Ryatt’s hearing with the Education Bureau, his only chance to remain in school. Only, he wasn’t concerned with staying in school at all. At least, not at this school. This was a school for the humble, and Ryatt no longer intended to stay among them. His elder sister had made the same choice. "Are you sure there’s nothing you want to say in your defense, young man?" Mr. Bookend’s heart-piercing gaze barreled into Ryatt’s eyes inconsiderably. -------

Lucky's Heart:

The older man was signaling me to apologize. He was bound to be disappointed today. "Mr. Ria, please!" the soft and dainty pleading voice of my mother rang out behind my ears. Her voice was melodic and pleasant to a fault as she said, "You’ve known my Ryatt since he was only five years old. Does he really seem like the type of miscreant they’re making him out to be? He’s a good, humble child." A delicate woman stood up and stepped forward, bowing deeply to the superintendent. Seeing this action made me furrow my brows. My mother seemed to be…more than just attentive and concerned lately. She was smarter and more calculated in her actions than before. This wasn’t something I was accustomed to, so it stood out. I hadn’t seen her behave in this way in a couple of years, and I had nearly forgotten. Seeing this woman’s sparkling blue eyes, the superintendent was first stunned, before shaking his head in frustration, seemingly angry now. (My mother, Kiya Prozen. A true goddess.) Kiya Prozen wore a plain hempen dress. Her long, wavy-dreaded azure hair was braided to the back. Mostly hidden under her dress, all sorts of tribal tattoos and markings were only a bit exposed. Even though she dressed simply, her countenance was otherworldly. No one in the room had ever seen such a beautiful and perfectly proportioned creature. Despite her supreme countenance, her humble demeanor didn’t fail to impress the officials in the auditorium. I felt touched that my mother would fearlessly defend me at this moment. I was even more excited that the strange look was recently absent from her eyes. That look was far too similar to the look in Micky’s eyes that day. I knew it was pointless no matter how she pleaded for me, though. After all, I disregarded the consequences before. Today was no surprise to me. That rich gangster brat Luciano crossed my bottom line. It was a moment of life and death. There was no way to avoid any of it. "Enough, Miss Prozen!" Mr. Bookend barked unhappily, his bearing somehow growing more imposing in my eyes.

I recognized this as a superior pressure unique to power refiners. It was the same as Luciano’s had been. This older man suddenly reminded me of that brat from the Black Tyrant Legion. I suddenly felt something was off.

Mr. Bookend continued, "We have all heard your testimony on behalf of your son. We do not need reminders, do not need another." Mr. Bookend exerted pressure on only two people, but not even the boy reacted to this pressure.

The superintendent seemed shocked and amazed as he stared wide-eyed at me. Mr. Bookend’s brow tensed momentarily but then relaxed a bit as he slowly said, "Please sit down, Lady Raizen. It is time for us to hear from the student." 'Lady Raizen, huh?' Kiya turned around and frowned as she heard the superintendent address her as Lady Raizen. I also frowned at this moment, as my stepfather’s name was Marc Raizen. As the man's legal wife, my mother's title was indeed Lady Raizen. Earlier, this man referred to my mother as 'Miss Prozen,' her own surname. Now that Mr. Ria failed to intimidate us with his power base, he tried to pressure mom by exposing his connection with her husband, Marc Raizen.

By doing this, Mr. Bookend had already confirmed Kiya's suspicions. This education bureau was indeed involved with her so-called husband. In Kiya's opinion, this entire event could likely be Marc’s plot. Unknowingly, I thought the same thing as my mother!