Instead of looking upset or disgusted, Lucifer looked confused.
"May I ask the reason? I think it might have been justified in some way, or you wouldn't be here roaming free," he asked Cassius.
"The reason? It's because he made too much noise, I became upset, and I killed him. As for not getting punished, that's because I'm from the Great Zaini family," Cassius answered.
Before Lucifer could even say anything, Cassius continued, "At least that's what the world thinks. I don't even know how that rumor got started about me."
Hearing that, Lucifer took a deep sigh of relief. When Cassius said why he killed, Lucifer had actually thought that maybe he was wrong about Cassius, but his second sentence made Lucifer realize that what he said before wasn't true. It was just a rumor.
"What actually happened then?" Lucifer asked. "What's the true story? And how did this rumor get started?"
Cassius took a long pause as if he was reminiscing that day.
"It was a normal day that day, but my mood wasn't good since I had fought with my parents in the morning. That's why I was upset. In class, there was too much noise, and my friend also kept talking. I kept telling him to stop and that I wasn't in the mood, but he kept talking," Cassius answered.
"And then, I snapped. I yelled at him, even threatening to kill him if he didn't stop making noise. I guess that's where the root of that rumor took place," he further said.
"But you didn't kill him by then, I assume. You were just angry? People speak nonsense that they don't mean when they are angry," Lucifer answered.
"That would be it if he actually hadn't died that evening. But after the school was over, something happened which resulted in me fighting against a few other Variants. In the battle, my friend who was still walking with me died. As for his death, it happened because of my attack," Cassius explained, sighing.
"That sounds like an accident. And from your words, I don't think that you're lying," Lucifer responded. "Didn't you tell the truth of what happened that day?"
" I told the truth, but no one believed. My previous words and the false testimony of my enemies made it seem like I killed him in anger. The whole world shut me out. Everyone heard this story and started thinking of me as a killer," Cassius replied.
"At first, it hurt. But after some time, I stopped caring as well," he continued.
"Anyway, it's because of that rumor that people go silent in my presence, thinking I'll go crazy and kill them if they make unnecessary noise. In a way, it's good too, since I get the silence and peace."
"But this also makes it so that no one approaches you. Do you want to be in isolation all your life? All alone?" Lucifer asked.
" I don't even know what being alone like that would feel like, but I think it should be scary. Not having anyone with you," he further said as he sighed.
Cassius didn't answer this time as he stayed silent.
It was only after a long pause that he spoke again, "So, you know both the stories now— my version and the version of this world. Do you trust my version? Do you still want to be my friend? Who knows, I might be lying."
"I believe you aren't lying. And yes, I still want to be your friend," Lucifer said.
"You really are different from others, Alex. Not in a bad way," Cassius said as he smiled finally. "From now on, you're my friend."
Both Alex and Cassius shook their hands.
..
Two more months passed. Cassius and Lucifer started spending more time with each other, deepening their friendship.
As for Dash, he was even more upset. Throughout these two months, he kept trying to make Lucifer use his powers, but he couldn't. He didn't know why but it seemed like Lucifer was a vault that just refused to open.
Time kept passing as his efforts intensified.
While Dash put most of his attention in getting Lucifer to make mistakes, Lucifer kept his focus on learning. In fact, he had become the favorite of teachers by now. His talent seemed to be off the charts.
He had never studied in a Variant School, and it was his first time in a Variant Academy, and he not only caught up to others, but he also left them behind.
In the chess classes, even his teachers were unable to defeat him now. As for the computer classes, he had already learned everything that was taught to Third Year students. He was now studying the courses of Fourth Year when it came to computer classes.
And when it came to Swimming, he was the fastest, even without using powers.
Within such a short time, Lucifer had become a person that everyone knew about. He was said to be confirmed to graduate at the top of his batch and rise even more from there.
As for Cassius, he was happy for Lucifer's popularity since he didn't actually care about fame or ranks.
After getting so much negative fame throughout his life, he just wanted to stay away from everything like that.
Soon, the third year of the Academy was over too, and it was time for the Third Year Exams of Class A where Lucifer was studying.
As for the exams this time, they were going to be even tougher than the last year's exams, according to what Lucifer and the others had heard.
Lucifer, Cassius, and the others were standing in a massive arena where six teachers were standing before them.
Five of them were the primary teachers who were Alexi, Franci, Mirali, Yovann, and Morbius. As for the sixth teacher, it was the martial arts teacher, Venton.
"Today, your Third Year Exams will commence. Are you all ready?" Alexi asked the students, laughing.
All six of the students nodded their heads.
"That's good. Now let me tell you the rules. This time, you won't fight any Dungeon Dwellers or go through the tests you did last time. Instead, it'll be much different. Today, you have to face your teachers to pass," Alexi informed the students.
"Face the teachers?" Rune exclaimed in surprise. "Won't we all fail then? I mean, we are only in our third year. It would be strange if any of us could defeat you all."
"That's right. This test seems too tough. Why is it different from the Third Year Exams of the previous batches?" Dray asked.