The heavy iron grate of the restricted archives hissed shut, sealing Vane and Nora within the glow of the tactical maps, but high above in the observation deck, the air remained frozen in a state of hostile contemplation. General Varick did not move. He continued to stare at the spot where Vane had vanished, his golden skin shimmering with a restless, agitated light. The silence between the two generals was not a peaceful one. It was the kind of silence that preceded a shift in the tectonic plates of their society.
Varick finally turned his head, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Kaine. "You know as well as I do that a Monolith Grade cannot be kept a secret for long. The moment word reaches the capital, the balance of the four schools is over. Zenith will want him. Even the Iron Spire will scramble to offer him whatever they can to crawl out of the bottom rank. My own superiors at Aethelgard will not just sit back and watch Valis climb the rankings because of a single transfer student. They will try to recruit him, Kaine. They will offer him status, wealth, and the finest Spark conductors the High Brass can forge. Why would he stay here, in a third ranked school, when the top of the world is calling his name?"
General Kaine kept his eyes on the medical droids below as they finished loading Kaelen onto a hovering stretcher. "You can try, Varick. You can send your recruiters and your diplomats. You can offer him the sun and the stars, but you won't succeed. You are looking at him through the lens of a ranking system that he does not acknowledge. You see a prize. I see a boy who is already haunted."
Varick scoffed, crossing his metallic arms over his chest. "Everyone has a price, especially someone who has lost everything. He is a survivor of Omen. He is essentially a refugee. Why would he feel any loyalty to Valis?"
"It is not about loyalty to this school," Kaine replied, his voice dropping to a low, somber tone. "It is about what he left behind. Vane didn't just walk out of the ash of Omen Academy alone. He walked out carrying the memory of everyone who didn't. His friends, his classmates, his entire life is buried in the soil of the fringes. He chose Valis because we are the closest point to that ground. He is not here to climb your social ladder or sit on a golden throne in Aethelgard."
Kaine finally looked Varick in the eye, his expression hard and unwavering. "The boys friends are buried here and i would think he considers this school the last line of defense for the land they died on. I don't think he would leave to another school knowing he would leave his friends behind, even if those friends are nothing but ghosts in the wind. You have nothing to offer a man who only wants to stand guard over the dead."
Varick remained silent, the golden luster of his skin dimming as the weight of Kaine's words settled in the room. Suddenly, the heavy reinforced doors of the observation deck were kicked open with a violent bang.
Kaine watched as five people barged into the room. It was two generals and three lieutenants, their presence radiating the cold authority of the upper echelons. Leading the group was General Vesper of Zenith Academy, the school ranked second. Her tungsten skin reflected the overhead lights like a mirror, and her presence felt like a sharpened razor. Beside her was a man whose skin was the dull, resilient brown of the Bronze Shields, General Silas of the Iron Spire. Behind the two generals followed the three lieutenants in a tight formation, their faces set in grim masks of duty.
Kaine did not move, but his voice turned into a low growl. "Barging into a room uninvited is a sin."
General Vesper moved with a speed that defied her rank. She closed the gap instantly, her hand a blur as she raised a diamond forged knife to Kaine's throat. The edge of the blade hummed with a suppressed Spark.
"Speaking to me out of turn is also a sin," Vesper whispered, her eyes burning with a fierce, cold light. "You rank below me in all things of this world, Kaine. Mind your tongue."
She held the blade there for a heartbeat longer, letting the cold metal bite into his skin, before she pulled back and sheathed the knife with a practiced flick of her wrist. She turned her attention immediately to the other man in the room.
"Varick," she said, her voice sharp and demanding. "What did I miss? We were occupied with the southern border, but the sensors at the Spire nearly melted from the discharge coming from this pit."
Varick looked at the newcomers, his jaw tightening as he gestured toward the empty arena. "You missed the emergence of a Monolith, Vesper. You missed a first year cadet dismantling a Carbonite elite without even activating his Kith."
A man with a sharp jaw and eyes like polished slate stepped forward to check his tablet. "The data doesn't lie. The Spark density was off the charts. If this boy is what you say he is, the recruitment protocols for the other schools are irrelevant. We aren't looking at a student. We are looking at a weapon."
Vesper turned sharply, her eyes snapping toward him. "Be quiet," she commanded, her voice cutting through his sentence. She then looked back at Kaine and Varick, her expression shifting into a mask of professional courtesy. "Sorry. I forgot to give introductions. General Kaine. General Varick. This is my lieutenant, Kaelo. He has a habit of speaking before he is spoken to."
Kaelo bowed his head slightly, his expression tightening as he stepped back with the others. A tall woman with golden hair and a regal bearing, standing among the trio of officers, gave a slight nod toward Varick. "I am Lieutenant Selene of Aethelgard," she said, her voice smooth and refined. The third officer in their group, a rugged man with a scar running across his nose, gave a curt nod of his own. " Lieutenant Jax of the Iron Spire," he grunted.
Vesper scanned the room, her gaze returning to Kaine. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, tell me something, Kaine. Where is your lieutenant? I see three here, but the Valis representative is missing."
Kaine looked at her, his face as still as stone. "I don't have one."
Vesper raised an eyebrow, a small, mocking smile playing on her lips. "A general without a lieutenant? No wonder this school stays in the middle of the pack. You have no one to carry your will when your own hands are tied."
Silas stepped forward, his eyes scanning the empty arena below. "A Monolith? I thought the Monoliths ceased to exist. Weren't they wiped out a little over a hundred years ago?"
Kaine watched the other generals, his mind racing. Wiped out? he thought to himself. "He didn't just survive," Kaine said aloud, rubbing the faint red mark on his neck. "He thrived in the middle of the slaughter. And now he is here, at Valis."
Kaelo cleared his throat, stepping forward again despite the earlier warning. "If you don't mind, General, I am currently looking into this Monolith. The blood sample you gathered, Kaine, matches that of King Valen."
Vesper didn't wait for Kaelo to finish. She reached out and snatched the tablet from his hands with a predatory swiftness. "Let me take a look," she muttered, her eyes darting across the scrolling genetic code. She went quiet for a moment, her mirrored skin reflecting the blue glare of the screen. "Kaine, look. The system says it is a 100% match."
Kaine shook his head, his voice filled with a heavy, skeptical weight. "What do you mean his blood sample matches King Valen? According to old tales or history, King Valen died 100 years ago. That lineage was scrubbed. It is an impossibility."
Vesper shoved the tablet back at Kaelo and pointed toward the main terminal. "Get on the computer," she commanded. "I want more information regarding this Vane. Check every record we have."
As Kaelo interfaced with the terminal, the computer system chimed, its artificial voice speaking aloud through the observation deck. "Multiple biological signatures detected for Subject: Vane. Analysis confirms receipt of blood, hair, and urine samples."
Vesper leaned over the console, her intensity sharpening. "Pull up all traits that tie to King Valen. I want his characteristics, his known abilities, and his personality profiles. Everything in the system from the history books and the old tales. Now."
Kaelo's fingers blurred over the keys, but the main screen began to flash a jagged, crimson light. "Access denied," the computer spoke aloud. "You are not authorized to view this information."
Vesper slammed her fist onto the console. "What do you mean access denied? I am a general. I have access to everything!"
Varick stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on the console. "Calm down, Vesper," he said, before turning to his own officer. "Selene, call the higher ups. We need an override."
"Don't call anyone!" Vesper, Silas, and Kaine all shouted in unison.
Vesper glared at Varick, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "We don't want to cause a ruckus just yet. If we do or say anything out of line before we know what we are dealing with, it will cost us our lives."
The room fell into a tense, suffocating silence. Vesper turned her gaze back to Kaine. "Tell your lieutenant to go get Vane. We need to speak to him directly."
Kaine scoffed, crossing his arms. "I don't have a lieutenant, Vesper. Remember?"
Vesper rolled her eyes, her patience snapping. "You are useless. Kaelo, go find Vane. Varick, send Selene as well."