3: Sunbreaker's Deacon

The Professor took his leave, heading towards the next desk. Nifiya looked torn between whether to show sympathy or to berate him for his declining academic performance.

Mir wouldn't blame her for choosing the latter option, because as lab partners, his scores would affect hers, although not by a great margin.

College-level education was pretty much a race to reach a bigger stage. The students in the National Colleges were competitive and full of potential. Among his 40 classmates, at least 10 would get the chance to study at the National Universities, and 10 more would enter into internship contracts with various firms, getting an opportunity to compete against the top 10 in a different track.

By the end of the class, all of the students managed to complete the first task perfectly, although no one managed to make much progress on the second dissection. But the good thing was, the College had procured a large supply of the insects from the expedition. They could conduct three more classes on dissection before running out of subjects to cut open.

While everyone made their way out of the faculty, Mir rinsed his hands and reexamined the red stripe on his hand in the washroom.

In the case of ordinary people, the red stripes caused by the sunlight usually disappeared by 30 minutes.

But it had been two hours since the red stripe on his hand had formed. It was showing no signs of fading away.

Mir pulled down his collar and examined another red stripe on his neck. Yep, same result.

He had realized this oddity two years ago. He had immediately informed his parents, fearing something terrible happening in his body...maybe even the manifestation of the sun's curse.

His parents had taken him to a doctor, who had merely said, "Your body has lower innate defenses against the virus. It takes your system a longer time to fight and flush those microorganisms out. And the virus multiplies itself a lot during that time, hence the obvious coloring. Not too rare a condition. So don't worry about it."

His parents had stopped worrying, and so had he. But the sight of the stripes regularly surfacing on his skin never really let him forget the condition. And now, he felt like a death row inmate hearing the evening bells.

His watch showed the time- 12:30. He still had to wait for an hour before his bus arrived. Had there been safer ways to travel back to his house right now, he would have taken it without hesitation. He really couldn't afford to walk under the sun in this condition.

Cleaning up, he made a visit to room 304 on the third floor, knocking on the door gently.

"Enter."

Professor Corwin was waiting inside. Gesturing at him to take a seat at the other side of his desk, the professor leaned over, giving off his usual intimidating aura.

"You scored a C minus in your last class test. Not only in my class, you've also performed terribly in every other subject you've chosen in College. From regular A's, this downfall hasn't been sudden. Your grades have deteriorated over the course of the last four semesters. Are you confident that you can achieve anything noteworthy in the national exam at the end of this semester?"

Mir stared back at the professor with a steady gaze. In another situation, he might have defended himself, providing some believable excuse. But now he just wanted to go home. An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them for a long time.

"Are there any problems in your home that are hampering your studies? Any personal issues that are troubling you? Feel free to share. Even if I can't help you, I'll find someone who can." Professor Corwin relented a little.

For another long minute, the student and the professor stared at each other, both of their gazes cautious.

In the end, Mir decided to put an end to the awkwardness growing in the chamber.

"It's my older brother. He was a student here too, one batch ahead of me."

"Murray? You're Murray's brother?" The professor's eyes widened, making Mir laugh. This was a common reaction.

"Yeah, we do look pretty similar. His... accident was a great blow to the family, including me and my sister. My parents aren't sure whether to invest in his future or invest more in the two of us younger children. He has not been able to live up to his promises, and neither I nor my sister feels confident in doing the same. After all, he was the most talented child in the family."

"...." Professor Corwin leaned back into his seat as well, looking as defeated as Mir.

"Think you can do anything about that?" Mir asked with a hopeless smile.

"I need some time to think. This is not the first time I've seen this situation. Do your parents still run the same business?" the professor said slowly.

"Yeah. They asked Murray to help around the shop after he was released from jail. But he outright refused."

"Understandable. If he really was as innocent as he claims, he would harbor some misgivings. After all, your parents were the one who forced him to confess despite his protests."

The conversation came to an end after that. Mir left the faculty and decided to wait outside the college. The military recruiters were still there, right outside the campus. The number of students crowding around them had dwindled, though. Mir avoided the crowd and headed toward the bus station.

A small voice in his head said, "Maybe the reason why your academic performance has been deteriorating has more to do with your lacking willpower, not your family problems. Look at your sister. Her grades haven't dropped that much. You're the one who completely gave up!"

As usual, Mir ignored the annoying voice.

Half an hour later, riding on the bus again, he headed home. On the way, they passed under the shadeless region once more, giving birth to a second red stripe on his right hand.

He really was unlucky. Was the entire day's sunlight lethal? How come he got infected both times?

Mir's home was at a corner of the main city. It was in one of those shelters that would be prone to attacks from mutated beasts if not for the fact that way too many people had gathered around it, forming a messy, overpopulated locale that even beasts knew to avoid. The classic principle- 'Strength in numbers' had manifested properly here.

Principles of cavemen becoming the shield of modern civilization... Mir couldn't help but dwell on the irony every time he saw the packed, narrow streets.

Hands in pockets to prevent theft, he made his way to his home, a two-storied building that looked ready for a gentle demolition.

Mir's older brother was sitting on the porch, wearing-

"Deacon Uniform?! Mir was so stunned that he forgot about his own plight for a second. "You joined the Church of Sunbreaker?"

Murray laughed, seeing his expression morphing into shock.

"It took some convincing. But how can they turn down a rare talent even if he has fallen from grace? Is it not the Church's duty to guide the fallen, help them repent, and return to the Lord's path?"

Their family had never worshipped any of the twelve cosmic Architects. How did this guy adapt so fast? How long has he been planning this? He had only informed the family that he was considering joining the church three days ago!

Was entering Sunbreaker's Church so easy? Mir doubted it.

"Don't look at me like that!" Murray looked around surreptitiously and leaned over to whisper, "I did it for the benefits. There was an opportunity that nobody in my position would've let go of."

That didn't answer the question as to why the Church had accepted him as a deacon, but Mir wasn't in the mood to ask.

He nodded mechanically, his surprise eventually dwindling as the invisible threat over his life took back the focus of his thoughts. He tried to enter the house, sidestepping Murray, only to be grabbed by the shoulder.

"What's wrong? Bad news from college?" Murray whispered in concern. Knowing Murray, he understood that he wasn't going to be freed from the forceful hug without explaining himself. Feeling resigned, Mir explained his morning encounter briefly, just emphasizing what the doctor had said.

Murray's countenance grew grave. "Did you see the report yourself? What was the extent of your viral infection?"

"I didn't see it myself. But I asked. It's around 40% already, just 5% away from the danger zone. The other stats are low, though. That's the only reason they didn't detain me right away to avoid risks. I still have some time."

Mir wasn't particularly hopeful, and his helplessness leaked through his tone.

Murray thought for a moment before patting Mir on the shoulder lightly. "Remember the benefits I said I got from the Church of Sunbreaker? I think something there might be able to help you."