Michael awoke with a stir, dazed and confused as he felt the incredibly hot golden shingles upon his right cheek.
He pressed his hands against the hot metal, pushing himself into a kneeling position.
His head was wracked in confusion as he had lost all sense of self for the last however many minutes.
Or even hours...
He tilted his head, slowly recovering as his eyes shifted from a blurry gaze to utter shock as he took in the world around him.
He was kneeling atop the roof of a mighty castle, sitting at the center of a giant city- No, city was far too large of an understatement.
This was a kingdom... Floating atop the world, resonating a divine amount of energy, leaking into his breath with every inhale.
The vast construct of buildings surrounding this grand castle were vast and gilded in gold, revealing true wealth within this mystical world.
"Michael?" A familiar feminine voice called out from behind, who was leaning against one of the pillars that held up the peak of the castle.
Michael turned, wiping blood from his face.
"How long was I unconscious?" He asked after the clearing of his throat, as Neveah shrugged heavily, her armor cracked and shattered from what could have been countless attacks.
"Did I...?" Michael began to ask before Neveah shook her head vigorously.
"No... This was not your doing... Either way... If you remember anything from Olympia, just forget it, that wasn't you..." She spoke, determination and anger rising rapidly within her tone.
A shadow figure stepped out from beneath the arch of pillars behind Neveah.
"Besides... We aren't done yet." Gabriel said with a hefty breath, before turning his head behind him, scowling beyond the shadowy hallway... Towards a grand throne room that say at the true center of this world.
Within that gilded throne room...
Stood a true figure of immense power, radiating divine energy as he simply stood before the golden throne, his movements idol as he remained in thought at the long and unwavering watching of what seemed to be more than just a throne.
"We have to fight him...? Like this?" Michael asked, feeling the certainty of defeat crashing down on him before the actual battle had even begun.
Gabriel only nodded, staring with intensity at the man who had acted as a father figure for all students of Phoenix Academy...
The symbol of knowledge, Leander of House Orion...
Michael grit his teeth.
What other feeling could he feel in that moment? What other emotion could be radiating throughout his own body?
Uselessness.
A traitor...
He had failed his team, his friends... His family.
"I'm s-"
"Enough." The voice boomed from the throne room, cutting off Michael's declaration of defeat before it could even be uttered.
Neveah sluggishly pulled her greatsword from its sheathe.
Gabriel made no attempts at movement, his trident stained with the blood of his comrades- gripped tightly within his hands...
Leander made no attempt at turning around, his eyes glaring into the throne from afar, yet his voice travelled at the speed of light, echoing throughout each and every alley and road within the desolate golden kingdom.
"Come..." He spoke, his voice carrying a scarce amount of prowess... His body radiating such a powerful aura that the buildings below had begun to dismantle, quaking and trembling from the golden energy resonating throughout this soaring city.
Michael had no choice but to stand, gritting his teeth even further, feeling the hot pressure of blood rising through his body and into his head.
His heart was racing, smashing against his chest with paralyzing force.
This man...
"I will not say it again Children..." The voice rang within their ears again, causing Neveah to almost lose her balance- but had been caught by Gabriel.
Michael stepped past them... Almost entranced by the powerful voice.
"Headmaster...?" Michael asked, stepping through the shadowy hallway as golden candles lighting up along his path as he walked towards the throne room.
Gabriel grimaced, Neveah trembled, both having no choice but to follow close behind.
This man...
He turned towards them the very second they had entered the throne room, his once white hair, cut golden and short, revealing a terrifying eye that he had always kept hidden.
An entire constellation sitting within the socket... Voided by the power of time and paused for all of eternity as no star within it dared to move an inch.
An entire galaxy... Sitting within the skull of Leander.
"You were quite lucky..." The sound of the headmaster's voice lowered profusely, no longer threatening to end their very existence at just a simple order.
"Why is that...?" Gabriel asked, gripping his trident even tighter beside Michael.
Leander chuckled softly, turning towards the golden throne... Stained with blood...
Their eyes rose.
The corpse of a mimic- lying mangled and lifeless at the crown of the throne...
"Because this fool had called upon my Dominion... You do realize that this is not reality correct?" He scoffed, turning towards the children, while clearly amused by the mimic's attempt.
"So this isn't real?" Neveah asked, tilting her head in confusion.
The corners of Leander's lips curled into a smile- No, a grin...
"Incorrect..." He continued.
"Mental energy!?" Gabriel called out, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this world.
"Also wrong..." Leander's smile widened, his golden armor glimmering under the sunlight shining in through the glass ceiling above them.
"This is no Trinity art... Nor is this a form of Nexus Arts... It is a shame though... While you were quite lucky with this fool summoning the one plane where my existence still remained..." He paused, sighing as he looked up at the incinerating sun above him.
"I would like to welcome you personally... To my Dominion... The Soaring City of Orion..."
Michael trembled as his voice carried immense power from just declaring his Dominion...
Neveah gripped her sword tightly, her back foot retreating slightly.
"Do not worry children... I have already rebuilt the energy catalysts that you have foolishly destroyed... Reigniting life within you in doing so..."
Michael spoke up quickly before he could continue. "Wait! What do you mean destroyed?"
Leander frowned, tilting his head while looking at his students.
"You were careless. You ventured into the heart of a place desolate of the likes of mankind... You played with the demons that made it their home... And you failed to defeat them... And now currently in the outside world... Chase of House Tartarus is going to break the second seal in order to kill the goddess of trickery..." He grimaced, showing true fear in the face of a Paladin.
It was at this moment when the reality of the situation truly dawned on Michael.
"Goddess?" He asked, eyes widening.
Leander nodded slowly.
"You have made enemies with not only the goddess... But beings far beyond your comprehension... You have rushed the sands of time, causing everything I've built to break in only a single year... It was not according to my intuition for you all to battle this goddess at this point in time. You were supposed to enjoy your youth, but now..."
He paused, his eyes growing darker and darker as his words escaped his lips.
"You have condemned not only yourselves... But humanity itself... As the war between the gods will soon wage on... And you have not even reached the level of a Paladin and yet..."
His words turned to low anger as he continued.
"You will have to face beings that could do far worse than kill you, by just baring the sight of them..."
Neveah stepped forward.
"Then how can we get stronger!?" She pleaded for an answer, trying her best to get any sort of solace from the Symbol of Knowledge.
Time stopped, freezing the three of them in place.
Leander let out a soft chuckle.
"I don't think you understand what I'm getting at children... I expected much more from you..."
He slowly stepped forward, causing reality to quake with every slow and calculated step.
"Only one of us can survive this world... As it is my very concept that you stand within... I said that you were lucky... Lucky because had it been the mimic... You would have died instantly without ever learning why... But now, you are faced with a dreadful reality... A much damning realization..."
He stared each and every one of them in the eyes as a single page, marked with only distortion and runic letters began to fall slowly from above.
The page landed easily in-between the fingers of Leander's right hand.
"My Dominion is that of battle... A place where only the victor can leave... And you have foolishly stumbled upon the most powerful foe you will ever bare witness too in your fruitful lifetime..."
He took a calm breath, staring down at the page in his hand with indifference.
"You are no more than dead in this very moment, having gained the bliss of knowledge of that fact... You still have the audacity to stand within my father's castle... The last place in all worlds where my soul still lives on..."
His eyes widened with power, shaking the entire castle with immense amounts of energy...
He outstretched his left hand, stretching his ring-covered fingers that were now pointed towards his students.
"You now have to kill me... The lesser god of time..."