From July 9th, Wednesday, to July 11th, Friday

July 9, Wednesday.

Zek was live-streaming to over a million viewers.

"Let's play a game, my faithful followers! I got some new games on Vapor... Blue Alive Redemption 3 or Spirit of Takishima?"

As Zek drank and played, he received numerous donations, but only the largest ones caught his attention. One message accompanied by a donation read: "Hey Zek, the guy who shot the kid in your city was watching your live stream."

"That's just hater drama, man. I don't tell anyone to kill. If he was watching, he didn't get the message. I tell people to save themselves, not to kill... got it?" Zek said, eyes wide, as he died again in the game.

A few minutes later, another donation came in: "Zek, can you stop the rain again? My city is flooded."

"Not in the mood, man. It was hot, and now it's nice and cool with the rain. Send me a hundred thousand euros, and I'll stop the rain, okay?"

Then, a donation of one hundred thousand euros came from someone named "ne_pleut_plus." The chat exploded, and Zek was surprised his request was fulfilled.

"Holy crap! They actually donated!"

Zek stood up, opened his window, knelt on the floor, and shouted for the rain to stop. Silence. One second passed. Then five. Ten. A minute. Two minutes. Nothing. The rain continued, and Zek's smile vanished.

"Yeah, so guys, I used a lot of my power that time. Maybe it's delayed or something. Hey, let's play something else?" said the prophet, returning to his gaming chair.

The chat went wild again. "HEAVEN OFFLINE HAHAHA," "It's lagging," "Divine server crashed," "You're a fraud!" "Scammer!" "HAHAHAHA THE FOOL LOST A HUNDRED THOUSAND EUROS!" "Zek is the antichrist!"

"Shut up! I'm the reason you're alive, you ungrateful people! If you knew what I saw and heard, you'd stop talking crap!" Zek shouted, throwing a beer can out the still-open window.

He immediately ended the live stream, and nothing else was talked about on Squawk besides his failed attempt to stop the rain again.

July 10, Thursday.

Exactly 24 hours after Zek had asked for the rain to stop, ironically, it ceased, just like the first time. For some, it was a coincidence. For others, a "divine delay." Some called it a timed miracle or an apocalypse bug. Now, the sun was shining.

July 11, Friday.

Iris and Jonas were heading to school. It was the day of the second field trip that Gabriel had planned: they were going to the university where he studies, to attend a lecture and some sample classes, only for those interested in pursuing higher education.

"Are you sure we were supposed to leave this early, Jonas?" said Iris, tired, drinking coffee from a thermos.

"Teach Gabriel wakes up much earlier..."

Iris took a big gulp of coffee and comically ended up spitting most of it out, narrowly missing Jonas.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" the boy shouted.

"It was an accident! It's too hot... let me make it up to you, I'll buy us something to eat. Who knows if they'll serve food there..."

"Iris, you don't have to..."

"Whatever's left, you can give to Thérése, okay?" said the girl, smiling.

The group going was much smaller than Gabriel had expected. From the third-year class, only Bernard, Iris, Jonas, Lilianne, Lucien, Nathan, Renata, and Vivianne were present. He greeted them with a smile, doing his best to hide the mix of relief and sadness. These were the students who still dared to plan for a future, no matter how uncertain.

After nearly an hour of bus travel along a truck-filled highway, they finally arrived at the university. That place, once full of young people seeking a better future or simply irresponsible youth, now seemed to hold nothing but uncertainties. "Fall Admissions" posters were next to faded notices about meteor trajectories and religious warnings.

As Gabriel guided the group, an old man with long white hair, dark circles under his eyes, a blue university T-shirt, and a red headband, resembling an elderly and scrawny version of Rambo, arrived to welcome them.

"Hello! Welcome to Tartetatin University! We have various courses and even offer sample classes for those interested," said the man, handing out pamphlets to the students.

After that, Gabriel's students sat in the auditorium, which also had students from other schools. A short woman with black hair, around forty years old, arrived on stage, trembling slightly with nervousness.

"Hello. My name is Maëlle, and I'm a sociology professor. I was asked to give a lecture on the joys of academic life... But I... suppose we're all feeling conflicted right now, aren't we?"

The entire auditorium was silent, except for a cough and the sound of Iris eating chips.

"Whatever happens..." Maëlle continued. "Knowledge matters. Even if the world ends, knowledge is the only thing that won't betray us. Let's begin the lecture, shall we?"

After a few minutes, it was time for three dynamic young people to arrive. A girl with a bored look and two men, one wearing a Rockallica band T-shirt, and the other, an Antarctic Simians band T-shirt.

"Look at those guys trying to seem cool with rock band T-shirts. Antarctic Simians? That's boomer stuff!" said Bernard.

"Really? Time flies, huh..." replied Nathan.

"Being unique is being Unitartetatin, being unique is being Unitartetatin..." One of the men sang off-key a jingle, while the woman accompanying them on stage tried not to laugh.

After the cringeworthy show, they brought something related to physics: a sphere that, when touched, would give a small shock and make one's hair stand on end.

Next, the students split up to explore the courses they were interested in. Iris went to a small veterinary lab, picked up a pamphlet about animal rescue, and sat down to watch the sample class.

Jonas, on the other hand, went to a room full of architectural models, observing miniatures of bridges and sustainable housing and shelter projects, including a model that mimicked an underground bunker with solar energy. He was thoughtful, wondering how to build a bunker with discarded construction materials.

Renata went to the journalism department, which still had some antiques, like an old tape player and a typewriter. The girl, who almost always seemed sad and downcast, now appeared happy in that environment, lightly touching objects from decades past. When she sat down for the start of the sample class, she noticed Lucien sitting next to her.

"I didn't know you liked journalism too..." said Renata shyly.

"There's a lot about me you don't know," replied the boy.

The twins entered the music room, coldly debating instruments and making music "even if it was just to play at their own funeral." Nathan was ecstatic to discover a wall of botanical samples, naming each plant with almost scientific precision.

Bernard was a bit hesitant, but upon seeing a group of theater students laughing, he decided to check out the sample class. He felt he had found more people who had an honest, unfiltered laugh, as a challenge to the world's decay.

At the end of the sample classes, the group gathered again, ate at the university cafeteria, which had a menu almost identical to the school's, and then boarded the bus in the early afternoon sun.

The students were quieter. Even Bernard, the loudest, was silent, wearing headphones. Returning to the bus felt like a return to reality. They had glimpsed futures they might never reach. Not due to incompetence or lack of money, but because their lives could end soon.