Having chosen the sword, Solaris swung the sword slightly to get a feel for the weapon.
"That the one?"
ember asked in an indifferent tone.
After the first meeting, Ember and Solaris had reached an understanding that they didn't really get along; it was hard to put into words, but something about the two simply didn't mesh.
It wasn't ideal to have a trainer that he didn't get along with, but the other one was off hunting for the time being.
So he was stuck with Ember.
With a quick nod, Solaris resheathed the blade, and they left the room.
walking out of the room, Ember stood behind, locking the door, and then motioned Solaris to go down the stairs once more.
Walking down, they dropped all the way to the ground floor once more, seeing the old man at the desk typing away.
Yet they didn't stop there; they continued down and out the door, shifting from Solaris leading to Ember rather swiftly. Solaris followed Ember down the street until they reached an alleyway, pushing Solaris slightly, and they walked through it.
Reaching what looked like a wall to a building, Solaris instinctively stopped his movement so as not to hit the wall, yet Ember continued, and somehow he walked directly through it.
This caught Solaris off guard; he'd seen some exramicy in the building and had thought he had gotten used to it, yet this was very odd. It was in the middle of the alleyway and out in the open. He had originally assumed that abilities like Cedric's had to be used in a building, yet this was clearly not true.
momentarily stunned, Solaris eventually took a hesitant step towards the wall just before Ember popped back out and grabbed him, dragging him into the wall.
Solaris wasn't sure what was on the other side of the wall; all he had hoped was that it wasn't a demon.
But luckily, this wasn't the case. Instead, he saw something he had believed to be impossible his whole life. This sight shocked and amazed him all at once, completely forgetting about the wall.
With a dizzying disorientation, the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and shift, and in the blink of an eye, Solaris found himself confronted by a scene so breathtakingly alive and untamed that it was as if he had unknowingly traversed the threshold into the most vivid, enchanting dream imaginable. Before him unfolded a panorama of unparalleled natural splendor: a vast and verdant forest, its dense foliage a tapestry of countless shades of emerald green, stretched out endlessly, its interwoven canopy acting as a living, breathing roof against the serene, cerulean canvas of the sky above.
Towering above this emerald expanse were majestic mountains, their rugged peaks adorned with glistening caps of pristine snow, creating a magnificent, awe-inspiring backdrop that whispered tales of ages long past, their imposing silhouettes hinting at secrets guarded by time itself.
Winding its way through the heart of this vibrant wilderness was a river, its waters as clear and pure as a gemstone, reflecting the radiant sunlight with a shimmer.
Taking in the sight for a few moments, Solaris eventually turned his head to look up at Ember, noticing his gaze. Ember gave him a side eye and sighed.
"as you know the world lost all of the true greenery many years ago and as you may have guessed by the amount of it now this was a lie the world had lost a lot of it but a few places not used by humans still reside and this one in specfic is a really good area for training which is why we had a Singulus create a gateway between the two."
ember spouted out while lighting up another cigarette.
Solaris was shocked, yet this was at the same time something that made sense after all he'd seen so far.
What interested him the most was two things: number one, Singulus had heard about him from Sami before, and apparently, he had brought Selen to the hunters a few months prior; he was also the one who was the initial trainer for her before he had to leave to hunt a rather strong demon, leaving the task to Ember. Yet this was the first he had heard or seen, for that matter, of the abilities of the man, and second, he wondered how far they were from the alleyway.
With a slight push from Ember, Solaris began to walk forward before turning to ask, "What are we going to do here exactly?"
Without a word, Ember pointed behind him. Solaris turned and was stunned by the scenery he had completely failed to notice earlier.
Just beyond where Ember stood, a vast set of ruins stretched into the distance, seemingly untouched for ages. Stone pillars jutted upward from the crumbling structure, remnants of some ancient architecture. Solaris thought back to what Sami had told him about the demons' skin—how incredibly tough it was.
His attention snapped to a movement deep within the ruins. A tall woman stood at one of the pillars, a clawed right hand glinting in the light, radiating a cold, unwelcoming aura.
In a flash, five slashes tore across the pillar. Heavy stone shifted and crashed to the ground, sending a cloud of smoke billowing into the air.
Selen straightened from her attack, wiping sweat from her brow with her free hand.
Noticing Solaris and Ember, a distasteful, almost fake smile flickered across her face before it smoothed into a normal grin. She waved casually. Solaris, unaware of her first expression, simply returned the gesture with a carefree smile, then glanced back at Ember.
With that, the training began.
After a full day of cardio and reflex drills, Solaris felt remarkably better than when he had started. He was placed on a training course that stretched for miles through the forest beyond, filled with both natural and unnatural obstacles.
He and Selen ran the course repeatedly. At first, she easily outpaced him. But by the end, Solaris was at her heels. And it wasn't just speed that had improved—his reflexes had sharpened, his timing and reactions to obstacles refined. Early attempts had left him hit more often than not, unable to predict attacks. Now, he could not only react but also anticipate and dodge even new threats with ease.
As a bonus, his stamina had skyrocketed. Solaris could run the course continuously without fatigue—a stark contrast to the first few runs that left him breathless.
The rapid progress shocked Selen and Ember, but it was even more astonishing to Solaris himself.
He had never been particularly athletic. Lean from lack of money and thus food, with a small amount of muscle for self-defense, Solaris had always been average, even below average, physically. Yet here he was, nearly matching a seasoned demon hunter after just a few hours.
It was unprecedented.
He had never truly excelled at anything in life, not in school, and certainly not in sports. And yet, within days, he found himself training to hunt demons, creatures he hadn't even believed existed until recently.
The magnitude of it all hit Solaris with full force. The disbelief, the excitement, the sheer impossibility of it—it all resonated deep within him.
They had decided that since Solaris was learning at an incredible rate, they would call it a day and pick it back up tomorrow.
So they had all left the beautiful, lush forest and headed back to the quiet night of the city.
Just before opening the door to his room, Solaris felt a hand grasp his shoulder, turning his head to see the source of the hand, he saw Ember.
Both Solaris and Ember left the hallway and ended up in a room similar to the one that they had first talked in that unfateful day, yet this one was a bit different, as instead of a mirror on the wall similar to an interrogation room, this one had a large screen and a table with two chairs side by side.
Taking a seat, Solaris looked up at the screen, not really knowing what to expect, but what he saw was something that was beyond that, something he couldn't expect.
On the large screen, he saw an alleyway, a very familiar alleyway, one that was just outside of a school, the alleyway with the demon.
The video played showed the three Solaris, Selen, and the demon.
The events played out as Solais remembered he set Selen down and started to walk back before the demon dashed forward, slamming into her and charging him, of course; however, he had passed out after this and had no idea what killed that demon.
Yet he now knew.
The video proceeded to show Solaris the part directly after he passed out.
The demon was mere inches away from Solaris when all of a sudden, the falling boy shot forward, his arm turning dark black with a faint orange glow emanating from the depths of the arm. He stuck the demon in the chest, sending it flying back before dashing to the monster. In response, the demon put the sword up as an attempt to block the next strike, yet instead Solaris stuck the sword, shattering it and sending the shards flying into the body. As soon as the blade shattered, Solaris shifted and, turning his body, grabbed the demon's arm, ripping it from the socket before throwing it into the gut of the creature.
dropping to the ground, Solaris swept the leg from the demon with his own leg, sending it flying into the wall. With the loss of a leg, the massive creature dropped its back as soon as it did. Solaris jumped onto the chest of the demon and began ripping the flesh off of the creature before inverting the ribcage bone by bone and grabbing the blood crystal from the inside and instantly crushing it with his bare hand.
After realizing it was still alive, Solaris began pummeling the face of the creature until it caved in, and the second and last crystal revealed itself as soon as it did; he tore it from the remains and crushed it.
After this, the body went limp, and Solaris stood from his hunched-over position with a cruel smile across his face, leaning his back to look at the sky. He laughed horrifyingly before shifting back to a normal stance and closing his eyes as soon as he did...
At this point, Solaris was pushed back in the chair, covering his mouth.
"Now you see. This is why you had to join."
ember said with a sincere smirk on his face