It had been a few weeks since the incident with Amelia Lionheart in kalon's dorm room. She had explained what happened — or rather, what she saw in Kalon. While he didn't understand much of it, he suspected that what Amy saw could have simply been his shadow panther — which he had still yet to name — or that it was just related to his abilities, one he couldn't control deciding to push it to the back of his mind.
Time passed quickly as the trio grew closer, learning about each other and talking about their past experiences — excluding Dick, who ironically seemed to be shrouded in more mysteries than a spawn of the god of mysteries, which Kalon had only learned of recently.
The academy's lessons had started and were now fully organised. Kalon, heeding the advice from the gang of Ascenders he had met prior to his arrival at the academy, chose only two courses: Melee Enhancement Training and Tower Survival Course — both, of course, having serious disadvantages.
On the first day of lessons at the academy, Kalon had already started to regret his options. Firstly, everyone who chose the Melee Enhancement class had to sign a document stating that, in the case of their death, neither the academy nor the instructors would be held accountable. If that wasn't enough to scare a sixteen-year-old, then Kalon didn't know anything mundane which could.
The Tower Survival Course wasn't exactly much of an issue — if anything, it was calm. Far too calm, because Kalon was the only student who chose the course. Even the instructor was dumbfounded when Kalon stepped into his classroom, thinking he was lost.
The instructor, Dr. Obel, was a man with gunpowder-grey hair tied in a ponytail that fell below his waist. He had wrinkles on his face and arms, looking frail and weak — but that man was by no means weak. He was an Ascender, after all, and even the weakest of Ascenders were monsters to the mundane man.
Kalon explained everything — why he had chosen the course he did — to his teacher, who beamed with excitement.
"Now that is what real advice is!" he said.
Kalon only had three months to be at the academy before the [First Ascent]. However small this seemed, he was actually lucky. Other than the descendants of powerful clans, the average cadet only had about three to five weeks to prepare for their Ascent. The academies weren't even at fault, since people attained enlightenment at random times. A truly unlucky person could only spend a single day in the academy before being sent into the Tower.
Kalon had learned about topics like these from his teacher, Dr. Obel — though that was not all he learned. His teacher had insisted, or rather forced, Kalon to learn all manner of things: from those which seemed important to those he didn't think he would ever use in life.
He was taught how to swim, hunt wild animals, and start a fire in different regions with different materials. Dr. Obel had planned to teach him how to identify poisons, but after a few tests, it became evident that Kalon had an innate poison resistance — so he took that off the course in the interest of time.
The Doctor had also taught Kalon about the Tower, its history, and human history — or at the very least, whatever remained of either.
Out of curiosity — a blatant flaw of his being, now it seemed — Kalon asked the Doctor,
"Sir, what are the gods…" he paused, seeming to deeply consider something before continuing, "and who is the Shadow God?"
The Doctor stared at Kalon for a while before a wide smile split his elderly face with unsuppressed happiness.
"Yes, boy!! Curiosity is good — knowledge is the foundation of true power."
Then, sitting down in his chair, the old man seemed to collect his thoughts before he let out a sigh and started:
"Kalon, do you want to live?"
"Yes!!" Kalon blurted out without thinking.
"Then are you able to kill a man?"
"Yes," this time Kalon spoke with no sign of enthusiasm but without faltering. It wasn't like he hadn't killed before — in fact, no kid survived to his age in the outskirts without a life or two on their hands, and Kalon had six.
Staring at him — a bit stunned and filled with empathy — the old man knew in his heart that the little boy sitting in front of him now would not understand the purpose of these questions, and he even hoped he never would. The old man wasted no more time and started:
"Before the start of the world — not Earth, but the divine and primordial worlds which birthed every other — the Seven Primordial Gods were born from nothingness."
The old man let out a sigh before continuing:
"First came Life, the first born from nothing — the god of [Fire], [Life], and the [Sun].
But there is no creation without destruction, so then came the second: god of [Ruin], [Chaos], and [Destruction].
Following their birth, the other gods started to rise from nothing: the [God of War, Machinery, Humanity, and Development]; the [Goddess of the Earth, Water, Seas, Storms, Moons, and Travel/Guidance]; the [God of Hope, Dreams, and Imagination]; and perhaps the most harrowing of all — the [God of Fate and Oblivion], the one who sees all and ends all."
"Then… What about the Shadow God?"
The Doctor let out a raspy chuckle. "He was the most mysterious of them all, truly living up to his title. No one knew where or when he came from — they knew not if he was the first-born or the last-born. His arrival signified the end of the gods' aloofness, as he brought with him a new weapon that could kill the gods."
"A new weapon?" Kalon thought to himself as he considered its meaning.
"Yes. You see, the god of [Destruction] wielded the Void itself like a blade — wielding the power to destroy any and everything — but he was always under the control and influence of [Life]. The spontaneous new god, however, was free from the influence of [Life] and wielded an entirely new concept: [Death] — a tool that destroyed the very concept of immortality wherever it saw fit.
That being was, of course, the god of [Shadows], [Mystery], and [Death] — the being born not solely from nothing, but from the will to live."