– Teacher POV
The door had shut, but the presence of him lingered like incense in a temple—heavy, sacred, inescapable.
Mr. Aldren Blackwood—once Aldren Hale—gripped the edges of the lectern as he tried to steady his breath. He'd taught this class for nearly twenty years. He had watched students rise, fall, and graduate into positions of honor, military service, or government. But this—this day—was unlike any other.
He looked at the students.
No one fidgeted. No one whispered. Even the ones who usually passed notes or doodled in the corners of their imperial-issued journals were frozen in perfect form.
Chris had visited his classroom.
His.
Aldren dared not waste the opportunity to drill it in deeper.
"You've just seen what most never will," he said slowly, stepping away from the lectern and toward the center of the room. "You've felt it—haven't you? That silence… it wasn't fear."
He tapped his own chest. "It was order. The living embodiment of the Blackwood vision. The reason your families have food. The reason this land does not burn in chaos. That was not a man. That was the will of history."
He turned toward the blackboard and wiped it clean with a swift motion, chalking in a new heading:
The Reclamation Wars – Origins, Execution, Legacy
"Class, take this down."
Chalk scraped across the board with purpose.
1. Origins: The Fall Before the Rise
"Before the Empire, the world was fractured. Corruption in every corner. False identities. Hidden traitors. Borderless anarchy. The great deceivers built their wealth on lies and fake freedoms. Our Emperor saw through it all. And while he disguised himself as a common man, he built something immortal."
2. Execution: The Silent Storm
"Operation One Name. Operation Blood Reclamation. Lockdowns. Purges. The rebirth of society under one truth—the Blackwood truth. Through precision, not cruelty. Through strength, not chaos. Every act calculated. Every law passed with legacy in mind."
He paused to let them catch up, watching them scribble furiously.
"Do you remember the decree? That your last name is now Blackwood?" He pointed to a boy in the back. "You were Elijah Mako. What are you now?"
"Elijah Daramako Blackwood, sir," the boy replied, standing up instinctively.
"Correct. Your father's name as middle name. Blackwood as your badge. Your brand. Your bloodline."
He wrote:
3. Legacy: One Empire, One Name
"There are no more families—only branches of the same tree. A single house. A single ruler. And those who chose otherwise were… re-educated. Some… erased. Their lands repurposed. Their names forgotten."
He turned again, placing the chalk down with deliberate care.
"You must remember this not just to pass exams… but to inherit the future. Each of you—Blackwood by name—may become Blackwood by power. But that is not a birthright. It is earned. Every day. With your choices."
The bell rang again.
But not a single student stood.
Mr. Aldren smiled, finally breaking into something softer. "You may go."
Still… most of them just sat, stunned. Deep in thought.
History had walked into their class today. And not a soul would ever forget it.