Chapter 20: War

Solomon’s family were conjurors. Mystical shamans who practiced unconventional magic to achieve great magical feats.

Supposedly, it was the dragons that gave them their power. And in return, they offered their thanks in prayer and devotion.

There was a mass meditation space in the castle. Used for rites, rituals, and communion.

Somehow, Solomon knew that he would find everyone in the castle there.

As the ceiling collapsed around them, and fire rained down from the sky, over a hundred people were on their knees in prayer. Some had already died and were bleeding on their brethren.

“Father!” Solomon yelled over the roar of the flames.

A man at the head of the congregation lifted his head.

Abidos A’Kenai was the greatest A’Kenai shaman of the last six hundred years.

He was a tall, handsome man with mahogany colored skin. His grayish-white hair was bound in intricately woven cornrows depicting draconic characters.

He was maybe fifty pounds lighter than adult Solomon, but his presence alone could take up a whole room.

“My boy, come!” Abidos held out his hand.

Young Solomon rushed to him, but he noticed that no one else in the room seemed to be showing signs of moving anytime soon.

“We need to leave, why is the army not fighting back?!”

Abidos grabbed Solomon by the arm and forced him to kneel with the rest of them.

“I have forbade our participation in this storm. We are taking shelter here and preparing for the Great Ones’ judgment to strike down the wicked ones.”

Solomon’s anxiety level rocketed. “Y-You’re joking, right..! We can’t just sit here!!”

“This isn’t the time for your defiance, Solomon! Learn something for once instead of making a concerted effort to disgrace yourself before the Great Ones!”

“You’re being stupid! If we don’t do something then they’ll kill everyone and destroy our home!”

“Stop your talks of little faith! The great ones would not turn their backs on their chosen people!”

Young Solomon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His juvenile mind could not formulate the words he wanted to direct at his father.

He felt sick, angry and out of breath.

Their world was falling down around them. The palace was on fire and the people they were supposed to protect were being killed.

And Solomon’s father wanted them to hide and pray…?

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was like the whole world had suddenly gone mad.

Nothing made sense to him anymore. But the anger he felt for his father was completely insurmountable.

He began tugging his father, trying to get him to let go so that he could run away.

Abidos continued to hold his wrist firm. “Stop this! Sit down at once!”

Solomon and his father never really saw eye to eye.

As a boy, he played a lot. He had little interest in the areas of his study. It always seemed rather boring to him and it drolled on for hours and hours…

Abidos wasn’t necessarily the most patient or nurturing man. Which was hard to believe, considering he told anyone who would listen that Solomon was his miracle child delivered by the sky.

Perhaps that was just his flimsy excuse for why Solomon didn’t have a mother around.

But the culmination of Solomon and his father’s disagreements came on the last time they would ever see each other.

Young Solomon struggled against his father’s grip. Scratching and pulling as desperately as he could out of fear for his life.

“Stop it, boy! For once in your life, listen to your betters when they are trying to- GAH!”

Solomon took a large bite out of his father’s wrist; causing Abidos to release him.

Finally free, he scrambled to get off the ground and ran from his father and the rest of the coven.

“…How did you evade the soldiers outside?” Rena finally asked.

Solomon shrugged.

“It was dark. I was small. I guess that was enough.”

The scene changed again to show a young Solomon running towards the docks where a merchant ship was stationed.

“I ended up hiding out there for days. Guess the merchants who brought the ship in were being held by the enemy because when they finally boarded they were real eager to get out of there.”

Rena rubbed her arm uncomfortably. “You never told me about all of this… you know, before.”

“Not exactly great pillow talk.”

“We talked about more than just sex before I left, asshole.” Rena punched him in the shoulder.

Solomon laughed at the blow. “I guess I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me. Everything that happened sucked, but… I actually liked my new life better than my old one.”

The scene changed once again to feature a myriad of images.

Solomon could see himself laughing and smiling with Raizel, Emmanuel, and especially Rena.

Solomon was focused on a very simple scene.

The two of them, staring at each other awkwardly in a confined space late at night.

To this day, Solomon had never again seen Rena that off balance.

“Your face was hilarious.”

“Shut the fuck up. You couldn’t control your body and I had never seen one before.” Rena huffed.

“I mean, most young boys get like that around their crushes.”

“…I don’t understand why you liked me. I was mean as shit to you and I was missing an eye.”

“I think it’s because you were older, honestly…”

“Idiot.”

Solomon laughed again as he looked through more of his memories.

He was rewatching the time he and Raizel got drunk together when he felt something warm his back.

“I, uh… got something for you. Another birthday gift, but it’s a little late.”

When Solomon turned around, the last thing he expected was to find her holding a glowing orange ball of pure energy.

“What the hell is that..?”

Rena bit her lip awkwardly.

“It’s… something called Armageddon Force. I want you to take it.”

“And why would I do that?”

“It’ll make you strong. Strong enough that what happened here today doesn’t have to happen to you ever again. You’ll never lose anything else like you lost me.”

Solomon stared at the orange orb for a long time, then he lifted his head to stare at Rena’s painful expression.

“…You’re not her, are you?”

The ghost smiled wryly. “Did you ever really believe I was..?”

Solomon stepped forward and took her cheek into one hand. Rena melted at his touch.

“…I wanted you to be. More than anything.”

Solomon and the ghost both shed a single tear together.

“I may not be her, but I know what she would want. And that’s for you to be safe and strong. She was proud of you. She loved-”

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear that from you.” Solomon said.

He could no longer pretend that this was something different than what it was. An illusion. Albeit a damn good one.

The ghost placed one hand over the back of his neck and pulled him closer. He didn’t fight her despite knowing that he should have.

She took the orb and pressed it into his chest as she kissed him deeply.

Solomon felt himself become warm and lightheaded. As wrong as everything felt, he could not force himself to pull away.

He hung on to everything about Rena while he was still able. Because he was certain this would be the last time he had the opportunity.

When the specter finally pulled away, she brought her hand to Solomon’s cheek and wiped away the single tear running down his face.

“You know she wasn’t the kind of woman who would want you blubbering over her. Don’t go embarrassing yourself and her by association.”

The specter showed him an infuriatingly perfect version of Rena’s most genuine smile. Solomon could barely stomach it.

“You know what kind of woman she was. If you want to mourn her, then the best you can do is cause a bit of havoc in her name. After all, you’re still her ’War’, aren’t you?”

–

“EVERYONE GET DOWN!!”

Only the sharpest warriors followed Raizel’s instruction before everything went to hell.

An explosion of fire shook the ballroom and caused the entire ceiling to collapse.

Weaker bodies were either crushed or incinerated upon contact. Even the strongest could not escape being burned.

The roar of the flames was almost deafening.

With his head and arms tightly tucked in, all Raizel could do was wait for the flames to subside so that he could prevent things from becoming even worse.

And that was when he heard it. A deep, guttural cry that notified him the worst case scenario was already here.

“BLOOOODDDDDD!!!!!”

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