-Three Months Later...
The journey to Volkova Academy is shrouded in mystery.
Applications are sent to a dummy address in Eirbane and, if accepted, visit a specific seaport on a given date.
The only thing Solomon recalled was stepping on the boat.
The next thing he knew, he and about 500 other passengers were standing on an unfamiliar stretch of land with no idea how they'd gotten there.
'What… what just happened?' Solomon asked telepathically.
Unlike him and everyone else, Raizel had seen everything that had occurred during the boat ride.
'They frisked you while you were under hypnosis. One of them seemed real into it by the way. Might want to check the position of your undergarments.'
Solomon rolled his eyes, knowing he was fine.
His months on the run had hardened him in both appearance and spirit.
Solomon's skin had taken on a healthier dark hue. His goatee had grown to circle his full lips and give him a more refined appeal. The former curls sitting atop his head were bound in tight cornrows.
He took in the majesty of the unfamiliar place sprawling before him.
Nestled between two mountain peaks in the distance was the single largest structure Solomon had ever seen.
He could not easily tell if he was staring at an academy or a fortress. The beige walls were thicker than most buildings, and as high as the grandest towers.
As they got closer, the fortified gates and surrounding blue moat finally made an appearance.
When they were around 100 yards away from the drawbridge, robed figures suddenly appeared in front of the group.
Some had their faces covered, others did not. All were carrying some kind of clipboard.
Solomon and Raizel were face-to-face with a woman with a robotic expression and demeanor.
"Applicant number?" She asked coldly.
'1347-456-9021.' Raizel informed.
Solomon repeated the number to the woman, and she began writing something down on her clipboard.
He looked around and saw that everyone else was being interviewed as well. However, he couldn't hear a single thing any of them said.
The tactics that the academy used for secrecy were unbelievably crafty.
"What about him?" The woman pointed toward the metal giant standing closely beside Solomon.
"He's a mere attendant." Solomon lied. "Pay him no mind."
'Rude prick.'
'I had to sell it!'
The woman sized Raizel's metallic body up and down.
She could see very clearly that he was a spirit possessing a suit of armor. However, the quality of the vessel was truly something to marvel at.
It was clear that it was quite an expensive body of work. She wondered if Solomon had come from a well-off family like most of the other applicants.
Looking at him, she found it hard to believe. While he was a good-looking young man, his appearance was more rugged than polished and pristine, like the usual young masters of established families.
He was very tall, even for a titan-blood. When the interviewer finally glimpsed the orange eyes underneath his hood, her surprise led her to have even more questions.
But now was not the place for such things.
"Come with me, cadet. You are to be provided with a tour of our facilities before the banquet begins."
As the woman walked away, Solomon and Raizel looked at each other as if they were both trying to confirm they hadn't misheard.
''Banquet...?''
-
Volkova Academy was somehow one of the single most beautiful structures Solomon had ever set foot in.
It was built on rich, thriving land that hummed with the sound of roaring blue waterfalls and verdant greenery.
Solmon was very surprised to learn that there were wild magical beasts living all around them; animals mutated by mana in the air, who developed an ability to form their own cores, similar to swordsmen.
They were excruciatingly rare. The only other place in the human realm where Solomon had heard of them running around freely was the Black Depths. He silently wondered if the creatures here would be of an equally ferocious variety, but almost immediately dismissed the thought.
Solomon continued to walk through the fortress labeled as an academy.
He witnessed the grand, sprawling library, the great staircases made of white marble, and the day-to-day lives of his new upper-classmen.
However, he could tell that there were certain things his eyes were being kept away from. Though he wasn't sure what they were.
Solomon was led towards a door he was told was his quarters. He was instructed to wait inside and someone would eventually be along to fetch him for the banquet.
Inside, Solomon found a large room with simple furnishings. A bed, bathroom, sitting area, bookshelf, and a desk.
A separate door on the far side of the room led to smaller, private servant quarters.
Even after spending over thirty minutes inside looking for traps or poison, Solomon didn't find anything.
Raizel merely watched his brother tear apart the room looking for something pointy and inconvenient.
"I think you can stop looking now. If you haven't found anything yet then it stands to reason that-"
"I'm not buying it. If even half the rumors about this place are true then we're already being examined for something. I'd prefer to be prepared."
Raizel thought about it momentarily and realized that his brother was right.
He vacated his armor and drifted around the room in his spiritual form.
"So… I know we haven't really discussed this yet, but we should talk about your name."
Solomon lifted his bed with one hand and checked underneath it. "I told you, if you call me War I'm going to make you recircumsize yourself."
"No, no, not that. It's about you using the A'Kenai name."
"You think I shouldn't?" Solomon glanced over his shoulder.
"It might attract some dangerous attention… plenty of people were happy to see your island fall. I'll also remind you that those seven aren't dead and they'll surely be looking for you."
"Let them look then." Solomon yawned. "Whatever happens is going to happen."
Raizel stopped searching for a moment and stared at his brother's back.
His father and the other martial heads would likely never stop searching for Solomon. They would want revenge, true, but they would also have questions they wanted answered.
And they would be much more prepared for Solomon the second time around.
It was true that he could not die, but there were worse things than death in the world.
Raizel couldn't tell if Solomon didn't care because he was being overconfident in the new power he possessed, or if there was something deeper at work…
He lingered over the bed for a bit, occasionally staring at Solomon with a questionable look.
"You know the mission… Do as well as you can here so that you can attract the attention of the acolytes in hiding."
After not finding anything, Solomon lay on his mattress and closed his eyes. "And you're so sure they'll come for me because?"
"They need good soldiers. The Athanatoi don't have any yet, that's what you're for. But they think if they gather up some forces to serve the metal twats, they'll be rewarded on the Day of The Lights."
"And that is-"
"When the Amnael come through the gate and try to fuck our skulls."
This made Solomon open one eye. "… Seriously-"
"No, I'm just being colorful with language, but you get the point. The bastards are horrific."
Solomon closed his eye again. "Why am I the one they want to build their stupid fucking army… don't they have the church for that already?"
"The church is good as is. Giving people a favorable impression of the Deathless will provide more than enough of a benefit. None of the others interact with them, and I doubt that anyone other than Redeemer has ever spoken to a clergy member at all."
Raizel gave Solomon a pat on the shoulder that he could just barely feel. "And if you want to know why you have the responsibility, it's because you, my friend, now have a literal wellspring of apocalyptic energy within you.
But it's not just creating droughts and tidal waves whenever you feel like it. The Yaksha will make you a fearsome general. It will train your mind and your body better than any instructor could. I know you can already feel it."
Solomon knew his body was steadily improving, and his mind felt clearer. But he hadn't had many thoughts of warfare or military strategy as of late. Quite the opposite in fact.
Most days, he spent his time under Raizel's instruction, learning how to use his powers at a stable level.
"Oh, I forgot. You'll have to make friends too." Raizel reminded.
"And why do I have to do that?" Solomon almost sat up.
"Secret societies don't really induct unremarkable people who don't say a word to anyone and go straight to their their rooms after class ends."
Solomon stared at his brother as if he were the dumbest person to ever live. Or die.
"Have you literally never read a book or a newspaper? That's exactly who they induct!"
Raizel held his mouth open for a moment before realizing the error of his words.
"Okay, fair, but that's when it comes to commoners. Elites like to talk. They like to know each other down to a science so that they can undercut and blackmail each other at any given moment. Or offer nefarious opportunities… So, you'll have to at least pretend to be likable."
"…I'm likable."
"You're not even funny."
"Yes I am!"
"Tell me a joke right now."
"…I don't have anything off the top of my head, but I can still be funny. Emmanuel used to say so all the time!"
Raizel folded his arms. "May the divines rest his soul, but Sir Emmanuel Galloway was not a high-brow man. You farted trying to pick up a 200 pound stone once and he spent the next thirty minutes laughing about it. Told all of the cadets at dinner."
Solomon remembered that. It was the most embarrassing day of his life.
"Alright, maybe not then, but Rena laughed at my jokes all the time."
Raizel arched his brow. "She laughed at your jokes or she laughed at you? And was this before or after you put your mouth on her no-no squares?"
Solomon spent the next thirty seconds opening and closing his mouth like a fish.
Eventually, he rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes for the final time.
"I should have let you stay dead…"