Silarias stood in the heavy council chamber, his gaze shifting from the bewildered, stern faces of the council members to the small children beside him as the silence in the room grew heavy and charged.
Silarias drew a deep breath, rubbing his chest where the golden veins still glowed softly beneath his skin, and looked intently at the circle of dignitaries. The memory of the overdose cut through his mind once more, fresh and vivid.
"It was not an ordinary coma," he began, his voice ringing with a strange, double resonance that caused the torches along the walls to flicker. "When that colossal amount of energy drenched me, my consciousness did not shut down. It was cracked wide open. I saw my mother... Kelayla. I felt the raw, untamed power of the Void Hydra Beasthuman and saw flashes of the battles fought by the previous vessels. But that was not all. Right in the middle of that chaos, I heard the voices of Lucifer and Bansadarius calling through my soul. I heard the roar of their battle, the clattering echoes of a fight that seemed to tear reality apart."
He fell silent for a moment, letting his gaze rest on Solomon and Juro, who was seated beside him, before continuing with an intense expression. "And then, right in the midst of those screams, my eyes opened in a place I did not recognize. I looked around and saw a golden kingdom stretching to the horizon. In the middle of it all stood a grotesque, gigantic table. When I looked up, I found myself staring straight at my own face. I saw myself enthroned above the kingdom, as though I were looking down upon myself from somewhere far above. And then... only after that did I partially return to my own body."
Silarias let out a hoarse, slightly self-mocking chuckle and wiped his thumb across his lips. "But, eh... do not think it had no effect on me or anything. I did have to throw everything up into a decorative urn outside, so it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience, hehe."
For a single second, dead silence hung over the hall. No one moved. The council members stared at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.
Then the silence erupted.
"YES! HAHAHA!" Fukarou suddenly roared, beating his wings and swinging wildly around. "That is the real power of the Laughing Goat! Bizarre! Absolutely intense! The guy just looks at himself from the heavens and comes back as if he took a stroll!"
Lord Caspian and Pyra likewise began cheering loudly, overwhelmed by disbelief and excitement. "Unreal, man!" Caspian called out with a laugh, while the three top students completely lost their minds over the sheer scale of what Silarias had just described.
Solomon and Leonardo exchanged a brief, meaningful look. The gravity of Silarias' words sank deep into them, while the students' reaction began to disrupt the seriousness of the council session. Solomon calmly raised his massive hand and looked at the top students with an urgent yet composed expression.
"Silence, please," Solomon said in a controlled voice. He nodded kindly to the three. "Top students... I kindly request that you leave the hall now. We must handle this matter in a closed session."
Fukarou gave a thumbs-up and was already cheering again as he moved toward the exit. "No problem, director!"
As Fukarou passed Silarias, he gave him a broad grin and delivered a gigantic, thunderous slap on his back that echoed through the hall. Caspian and Pyra followed his example, jovially thumping both Silarias and Nyx on their shoulders. Caspian even stopped for a moment, bent his knees, and gave little Ren and Miki a friendly handshake.
The heavy oak doors swung open and slammed shut behind them. But not even a second later, Fukarou's voice rang out, loud and untamed, right through the thick wood.
"THEY NEED TO HEAR THIS! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!"
Silarias raised an eyebrow and looked at Nyx questioningly. "Ehh... They? Who is 'they'?"
Nyx sighed deeply, squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and glanced toward Vulkan through Nicola. Vulkan let out a heavy sigh, rubbed his palm across his forehead, and took a step forward.
"Yeah, Sil..." Vulkan muttered wearily. "Like... everyone has seen this. Apparently, with that gemcraft, they can not only create still images with that crystal... they can do moving images too. Just like that holopad of yours back in the day, with your gunslingers."
When little Ren heard the word 'gunslingers', he instinctively dived for cover behind Nicola's broad back, his small hands gripping tightly to the man's jacket. Nicola noticed the child's movement, but his own thoughts were completely overwhelmed by the sensational realization of what Vulkan had just revealed.
Nicola's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Wait... what?! Who saw what?!"
Nyx bit her lip and looked away. She would actually have preferred not to say it out loud, but Nicola took over without sugarcoating anything.
"Sil... let me put it this way," Nicola said urgently. "Most of the people who have seen it are from the university. But honestly? If you really want to know who 'everyone' is... it's practically the ENTIRE Ward. And those images just keep looping and spreading. But hey... you really looked good in them."
Silarias' eyes widened. A sudden wave of ego and pride shot through him.
YESSS! he thought triumphantly.
But almost immediately afterward, doubt struck like an ice-cold wave.
Oh no... what do they think of me now?!
He frowned and looked intently at Nicola. "Wait... why do I hear doubt in your voice, Nic?"
Nicola answered hesitantly, his gaze serious. "Silarias... in those images, it seriously looks like you're completely knocked out. It looked like you went so far off the deep end that shutting you down was the only option to keep everything from being destroyed."
Silarias turned toward Nyx with a stern expression. But Nyx showed no trace of fear or doubt. She stepped toward him, firmly took his large hand, and looked him straight in the eyes with a gaze full of unconditional support.
"But there was a logical reason for it, Sil," she said softly yet unflinchingly. "And next time... I am standing right beside you."
Silarias felt a warm shock go through his chest. He nodded firmly and regained his focus. "You know what? We will save this for later, for the journey. We are HERE for one thing."
He turned around, coughing heavily as he limped slightly toward the head of the table, fixing his gaze straight on Solomon.
Solomon looked at him with a calm, paternal expression and gently extended his hands. "Silarias, my boy, relax. I understand your emotions and your determination. But let me explain that everything will turn out fine. There are simply consequences to what happened in the arena and to the academy's rules. You must surely understand that—"
"SO THEY PUSHED ME ONE TIME TOO FAR?!" Silarias interrupted furiously. His voice cracked with pent-up frustration. "This is just one incident among countless others! She tried to push me past that boundary!"
Solomon could not suppress a brief chuckle and slowly shook his head. "Silarias... she is not just being reprimanded. She is being sent away. Exiled from the University."
At the side of the table sat Juro. He remained quiet, a dull, lifeless look in his eyes. He said nothing, his body covered in medical bandages, and seemed unsure of what to feel or say. Deep down, Juro knew that he, too, had pushed too far during the training sessions and that the blame did not lie solely with Vespera.
Silarias did not accept Solomon's answer for a second. He brushed aside the arguments and roared, "YES, SO?! AND YOU DECIDE THAT?! She is a massive asset to this University and to the entire Ward! Vespera is like a mother!"
He turned his head toward Vespera, who sat at the table with her head bowed and her shoulders trembling. "A twisted, pushy mother... but she will always mean well! This will never happen again!"
Solomon straightened up, and his voice instantly turned stern and strict. "BUT SILARIAS, THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO DECIDE!"
Nyx stood at his side. Although she supported Silarias in everything, she was boiling inside as she looked at Vespera. The anger over what had happened in the arena and the dangers they had been plunged into still burned in her chest.
Aurelius and Beat quickly stepped forward and placed their hands on Silarias' shoulders to hold him back. "Sil, cool down, man..." Beat muttered urgently.
But Silarias deftly slipped out from between them. Limping and stumbling, he stepped right up to Solomon's chair, gasping for breath as he shouted, "WE ARE ALSO PART OF THE WARD! AND IF SHE HAS TO GO... THEN I'M LEAVING WITH HER! WHEREVER VESPERA GOES, I GO!"
Vespera, who sat with her head bowed and her shoulders trembling softly, heard his words. She could hardly understand what she was hearing. Her lips trembled, and a large tear glistened as it rolled down her cheek and fell onto the polished wood.
Aurelius and Beat looked at each other, nodded firmly, and determinedly stepped forward, ready to leave the academy with Silarias if he truly meant it.
Silarias stood right in front of Solomon's chair. His voice suddenly grew softer, almost pleading, but was still filled with iron will. "Director... please. Give her one more chance."
Solomon gave no answer.
His gaze slowly shifted from Silarias to Aurelius and Beat, who stood firmly behind him. Then he looked at Nyx, whose hand was still tightly clasped around Silarias'.
At the side of the table, Juro moved for the first time. He laboriously lifted his bandaged head.
"Director..." he began hoarsely.
All eyes turned toward him.
Juro clasped his hands together and stared at the dark tabletop. "Vespera went too far. I do not deny that." He swallowed laboriously and cast her a brief glance. "But she was not the only one. During our training sessions, I crossed boundaries that I should have left alone as well. I saw what was happening, and I did not stop her. If she is the only one punished for this... then we are acting as if the rest of us bear no responsibility."
Vespera jerked her head up. "Juro..."
"No," Juro said softly. "Let me say this."
Vespera's lips trembled. She looked from Juro to Silarias and then to Solomon. With both hands, she gripped the fabric of her clothing.
"I do not expect forgiveness," she said in a broken voice. "And I am not going to hide behind them either. I made that choice. I pushed Silarias even though I knew his body and his power were unstable." She drew a trembling breath. "But if I get one more chance... I swear I will never force a student past such a boundary again."
The hall fell dead silent.
Solomon turned his head toward Leonardo.
Leonardo had barely moved throughout the entire conflict. Both of his hands still rested on his wooden walking stick. He looked long and piercingly at Vespera, then slowly closed his eyes and gave a single, brief nod.
Solomon let out a heavy sigh. His shoulders dropped slightly as he looked once more at Silarias and the group behind him.
"One time," Solomon finally said sternly, raising a finger. "She gets one more chance. But if this ever happens again... then she will be expelled permanently. No exceptions."
"YES!"
At that exact moment, a loud, explosive cheer erupted from right behind the doors.
The heavy double doors flew open. Caspian and Pyra literally tumbled over each other into the hall. They had spent all that time with their ears pressed flat against the wood, eavesdropping.
Caspian scrambled to his feet in a hurry, smoothed his clothing, and looked at Solomon with a sheepish, caught-in-the-act grin. "Hehe... oops."
Doppo, who was still standing in the hall with the water pitcher in his arms, stared at the two figures on the floor in surprise.
Solomon was just about to raise his voice and lash out furiously at them, but Silarias immediately interrupted him.
"At the right moment... great," Silarias said quickly to Caspian and Pyra. "Find Fukarou and bring him to me immediately. Let him tell NO ONE else anything unless my restrictions are included! I am well aware that this footage could turn out completely wrong."
Caspian nodded quickly and wanted to turn and make off, but the words caught in his throat.
An icy, cutting cold suddenly rippled through the entire hall.
The temperature dropped so quickly that everyone's breath turned into small white clouds. In the doorway, pitch-black darkness formed, a penetrating void that seemed to draw the surrounding torchlight toward itself and swallow it whole.
Out of that churning shadow stepped a figure.
An old man, clad in a dark cloak beneath which gleaming crimson-red armor was visible. His long grey beard and mustache were so long that they touched the stone floor. Pure, thick darkness poured from his eye sockets, streaming like black, smoking water over his cheeks and armor.
The old man stretched out his knobby hand and tapped his knuckles against the wooden doorpost.
"KNOCK KNOCK... HAHA!"
His voice reverberated through the hall with a terrifying double resonance, as if two beings were speaking at once.
"...Sooo... WHERE IS SOLOMON?!"
Everyone in the hall stiffened and stared wide-eyed at the sinister apparition. Solomon slowly stood up from his chair, his gaze ice-cold and stern.
"Morta de Grey..." Solomon said in a deep, low voice. "So, you are here..."
Morta de Grey began to laugh hoarsely and darkly as the black smoke curled around his head. "So my reputation precedes me... Hahaha!"
Miki and Ren tightly covered their eyes with their hands and ducked behind Nicola, remaining motionless as they waited for this dark presence to pass.
Morta turned around with a fluid movement. His cloak lit up with a sickly greenish void-glow. With an exaggerated, theatrical bow, he looked around the circle.
"Pardon..." Morta de Grey chuckled as the black, watery smoke dripped from his eyes. "But since your beloved student is DEAD... hahaha! Sir, madam... and the little ones too... Hahaha! Morta de Grey, a pleasure. And who... are you?"