💎A Collision of Fates💎 (Straight to Gay) (MxM) (18+)

17 - Chris

"If we trace the history of apocalyptic cults, specifically ones that were determined to bring about the destruction of the Goddess or her sister, we see that they peeked right after the Paxtan invasion of 441." Master Lyle rubbed his chin as he paced in front of the class. "Would anyone like to guess about why this is?"

Silence. The other guys in the room looked down at the textbooks in front of them, or suddenly became very interested in the windows. Even Adam started to flip through the pages of the textbook, clearly trying to look busy. Chris didn't turn away, he let his gaze stay on Lyle.

When the young Master's eyes met his, he knew what was about to happen. "Chris? Any ideas?"

To his surprise, he actually did. Maybe he had payed more attention to the readings than he had thought.

"Well, just guessing here, I could be off, but I think I read that when the Paxtans made their final push, they burned and destroyed villages all across Sesstria?" The eyes of the room turned to him as he spoke, Vinton and Landel smiled at each other. "So, with that, I would assume that thousands of Sesstrians lost their homes, their communities, their livelihoods." He shrugged. "Perfect chance for crazed idiots to come in and whip those people up into a frenzy, convince them that destroying the Goddess is the answer."

Lyle nodded, a grin creeping across his face. "Yes. Quite correct. Good work, outsider."

Pride swelled inside of Chris. It surged through him like a warm gust of wind. He had always been good at memorizing facts, it was the one ability that had gotten him through High School and University. He could read something on a page, or hear it from a professor, and then regurgitate it back to them on a test. It was his superpower.

Lyle continued then. He lectured about the death cults of the post-Paxtan invasion era. It was interesting stuff and the way that Lyle taught it made it feel real, immediate. He spoke as if Tarnin, the cult leader, was still out there, and not long dead, as if Keissas La'Torrie was still the king instead of Esteck.

When Lyle finally finished, after three hours, they were dismissed. The classes in the Academy were long. Very long. But, then again, they only had two a day, so it wasn't unbearable.

Adam and Chris grabbed their books and followed Vinton and Landel out of the classroom and into the stone hallway beyond. Their World History class was near the bottom of the Academy, on the far side, so the windows on their left looked out over the sun forest and the Goddess in the distance.

"How did you know that?" Adam asked, fixing his billowy white robe while trying to hold his textbook steady.

"Just a guess," Chris said. It had been a little more than that. An educated guess. But Chris didn't like to brag.

"Jesus Christ, man. Pretty good guess."

Chris winked at his friend. "Not just a pretty face."

"Lyle seemed impressed by you," Landel said, turning around. "He's never impressed by anyone."

"And an outsider no less," Vinton said. "Congratulations, deelo."

Chris put his hands out, calming. "Chill, guys. It was just a lucky guess."

"Ah, don't sell yourself short, man. You're a smart guy," Adam said, throwing an arm around Chris's neck. "It's why we're friends."

"That's it, eh?"

"That's it."

A sharp, hot pain fired in Chris's back, making him jerk forward.

"Ah, fuck!" He rubbed the spot. It blazed with pain, throbbing with heat, and the dulled. The other three looked at him with concern for a few moments.