ADAD Chapter 11: 16 years after

 Sixteen years have passed, since the three entered the Orestria Academy. Darius woke up on a bright spring day, and noticed that something was off about him. He stood from his bed, one bigger than the original bunk bed, that he had in his old room.

Harvey and he still shared a room, as they were both in their 16th year into their rune mastery, but their room was bigger now, and they no longer slept on bunk beds. 

Darius stretched his long limbs, and bounced up lightly on his feet. He looked at Harvey, who was already dressed, and reading some notes on his desk. 

"Hey, Harv, I think something is wrong with me," Darius said, wanting to know the answer, and knowing that Harvey, with his healing elective, could tell him what it was. 

"Really? Come over here," Harvey beckoned, and Darius came closer. The Fey placed a hand over the demon's forehead, and poured mana inside. "Huh, it seems that you have become immortal. Do you think that today is your real birthday?"

"I will still celebrate with Nastia," Darius proclaimed, and Harvey chuckled. 

"Yes, well, I didn't expect anything less from you," Harvey said, and then tilted his head to the side. "What are you going to do now, that you will be allowed to move through the Realms of the Forgotten Times?"

"Help Nastia with Gorgon," Darius proclaimed. "With the dimensional magic I can do, we can pack so many people in the oases of that world." 

"I don't know if the headmaster is going to allow you to help Anastasios with his project," Harvey murmured, and Darius sighed. 

"I will go through the official channels. Say that is what I want to do to prove my rune mastery. It is not unheard of, Harv," Darius said, and Harvey nodded. 

"Still, it is not common practice either," the Fey said, and then shrugged. "Good luck to you." 

"Thanks," Darius said, and then went to make his bed. The action left him relaxed, and he picked up his clothes for the day, and went in the direction of the bathroom. When he was before the full-length mirror, he took a good look at himself. This was going to be how he looked for the rest of eternity, and he wanted to get a good look at himself. 

He had a slim, but muscular build. A swimmer's build, for he had gone swimming every day, without skipping even a day, even when the club was not getting together.

Adding to that, his hair was short nowadays. He knew that it could still grow, but it would take him centuries to see it the length that it had been, when he started the academy. 

Long hair can get grabbed. Darius thought, as he ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. When it grows back up, I will cut it. 

His blue eyes were the same as always, although he saw that he no longer looked with eagerness at things. His lips were full, and Anastasios loved showering them with attention, so Darius was certain that he didn't get the short end of the stick, when it came to his face. It was good that the academy had not let them out of their grounds until now, for he would have had at least one scar to show for it. 

Scars are not for Orestria students. Although the bounty hunters back home looked cool with them. 

Thinking back on the bounty hunters who still send him beast blood via Rey, he smiled. The times when he just sent them runes that someone else had invented long ago were long pass him. Nowadays, he sent them all kinds of runes. Even a bottomless rune variant, that could be applied to almost everything, like his tattoo runes. 

"Hey, are you going to stay in there the whole day?" Harvey asked, as he pocked his nose inside the bathroom. "We might not have classes today, but we are still going to have to get to the hall for breakfast." 

"Ah, yes, sorry. I was just..." Darius said, and he glanced at his reflection once more. 

"Admiring yourself? Leave that to Nastia and get in the shower," Harvey said, and then got back inside the room. 

Would he be happy, that I am now an immortal? 

These thoughts followed Darius in the shower, and then out of it. He dressed, and went out into the room, to get his shoes. Harvey was already fully clothed, and waiting impatiently. 

"Come now, we must go," the Fey urged, and then pointed at the clock that hung over their door. "Or all the good food will be eaten." 

"I heard you, Harv. No need to repeat yourself," Darius said, and then followed the Fey out. They got the only two seats in the entire hall, and a pixie came to them. 

"What would it be, gentlemen?" She asked, and the two began to give their orders. After Darius finished his plate, he relaxed on the bench, and looked around. The new students were huddling together. 

So tiny. Was I this tiny once?

A small smile appeared on Darius's lips, and Harvey noticed it. 

"Hey, looking at the munchkins?" Harvey asked, and Darius nodded. 

"They are so adorable," Darius had never thought he would say something like that. Yet, here he was, ready to baby the bunnies. He had even gone out of his way to bring them cabbage and carrots on their first common tongue practice, just like how he got them, all these years ago. 

"To think, you will have to wait for eight more years, and then Anastasios will be immortal. Then, you will be able to adopt a child and get married," Harvey said, and Darius felt a pang of uncertainty. 

 "What if I am not enough to restart his heart? What if he is my soulmate, but I am not his?" Darius asked his friend and roommate. Harvey just snorted. 

"There is no such thing as a one-way soulmate connection," Harvey said, and then finished the last of his food. "Come on, you have to tell your soulmate that you want to help him with Gorgon, and that you are an immortal now."