The gate shut behind them without a sound.
Just the faintest shift of air, as if a giant exhaled.
The corridor ahead was narrow—white stone, cracked yet enduring—and the only light came from a dull bluish glow seeping from unseen runes worked into the walls. Their footsteps echoed loudly, bouncing into the distance, as if the passage stretched farther than physics allowed.
Sol ran his fingers along the smooth stone. Cold. Clean. Older than anything outside.
They walked in silence until the corridor branched into a wider passage. The air here tasted metallic, thin and sharp.
A mural stretched across an entire passage wall, etched into the stone with such precision the lines still pulsed faintly with gold dust.
But The cohort couldn't read the ancient script
The golden letters twisted slightly when one looked too long.
Painted with a yellow glow, solace was curious as to what a mural of this size could hide.
He looked at the ancient script in front of him, and floating runes appeared midair.
The mural read:
"In the rooms of houses and beyond their walls
beneath dark waters and across moonlit skies
Below earth mound and above mountain peak
in northern leaf and southern flower
inside each star and the voids between them
within blood and bone, through all souls and spirits
among the watchful winds of this and the several worlds
behind the faces of the living and the dead. ... He watches......"
The runes cut off, As if the system itself refused to translate them.
Solace touched his chin with a confused expression.
'A being which is omnipresent, A God? Hmm. Is it the same one who sealed Netharis? Then It would actually make sense. But then what about The King of this Kingdom achieving something important in the history of humanity? Was it for a different purpose'
'In this world, There was not a single Omniscient and omnipotent God but multiple Gods having authority in their own domains, At least this is what the novel said '
After some thoughtful time lampooning, he decided to let go of this for now.
Matching the pace with Veyra which was moving sluggishly. The poison was reaching the vitals. Lily too was starting to cough up blood, Her wound almost turning black.
Veyra paused for a second, looking at him.
Then she looked away and said. "If we make it back, I'd like to take you on as a student. A mentee."
Sol nearly tripped.
"Veyra—"
"Don't overthink." Her tone stayed light, but her eyes… weren't. "You have instincts worth tempering. And of course I understand if you refuse. I'm only layer 3 after all."
Sol stared at her for a second
At first, he was shocked to hear this question from Veyra And he knew that even if she takes him under her own mentorship, she could not teach him much seeing he was already Layer 2, because usually she only trains the first years, She is after all Instructor of class C. But despite this he didn't mind staying under her. Partly because, Even if the principal herself teaches Solace or the main cohort, they will eventually outgrow her. But also because After spending the last month and half with Veyra and the rest, He had gotten very comfortable with them. He truly sees Veyra as some kinda Mentor already.
Sol smiled at her scratching his head, and said with a low voice
"I think I already see you as my Mentor, So.."
She looked at me and a soft smile bloomed on her face.
Looking away, she muttered to herself, "I guess you do live up to your name".
"What"
"Nothing"
Veyra's voice drifted out again. Gaining everyone's attention, she spoke
"Listen, This is the last stretch, Everyone. I feel it in my bones, we're going home."
Like a cold hand closing around his spine.
He forced himself to meet her gaze.
"Then let's make sure all of us cross."