***
-Unknown Planet within the Gartia Galaxy-
"Hand over the phoenix flame..." A man with piercing golden eyes ordered as he slowly descended toward the ground. He had pale blonde hair that matched the soullessness within his eyes and an unchanging facial expression no matter the situation.
It had always been like that for him... It was as if nothing could surprise him anymore, and in a way, that was true.
He wore a beautiful set of black and gold armor that would put most armor in the galaxy to shame. The sheer forge mastery needed to create the armor he was wearing would have required the best former masters in the galaxy several weeks to create it.
While his power seemed to be sealed behind the cloaking runes of the armor he was wearing, the sheer quality and power within the armor had already sent waves of fear within the crowd. Very few were capable of standing up to the man. However, there was one man who did.
"You would be a fanatical fool to think that we would surrender our sacred treasure just because you ordered us!" One of the men scoffed while hiding his wife behind him.
On the other hand, his wife could not help but stare blankly at the golden-eyed man, as if she had seen an angel for the first time and had become completely incapable of averting her eyes from him.
The man stood over a cliff, looking at the city below with an eerie calmness.
He knew their answer to his order, yet he ordered them anyway. Everything had to go according to a set principle, so while his order was not strictly necessary, he felt like it was an obligation nonetheless.
"Your wife doesn't seem to think so..." The golden-eyed man smirked wryly, yet this only further angered the husband into unsheathing his blade.
"Do not dare come any closer! I am not afraid to kill you." The husband pointed his blade at the golden-eyed blonde man.
"And you should be well aware that such a pathetic blade would not even leave a scratch on my immaculate body, let alone my armor. Don't you think so, Mrs. Dina?" The blonde man taunted, yet despite seeming to have referred to someone, he did not turn to them.
"We are also aware that the King of fates does not kill." Another man interjected, making the King of Fates let out a defeated sigh.
"You are correct. I do not kill people. I don't even kill animals. You know what, since we have the time, how about I let you in on a little secret?" The King of Fates grinned slightly, making a shudder go down everyone's spines.
"I am actually cursed. I usually tell no one but those closest to me, but I guess I can make an exception this time." The King of fates chuckled.
"And you must be asking the question, 'Why are you telling us this in the first place?', am I right?" He asked, his hand slowly going into his pocket before taking out a pair of sunglasses and wearing them.
"Because you guys won't be surviving for much longer, or am I wrong?" The King of Fates asked, making many confused while others questioned his use of words. No one understood why, but when the King of Fates spoke, his words felt awkwardly placed, making his sentences sound worse the more he spoke.
"Enough of your tricks! Guards! Kill him-" However, right before the man could finish his sentence, his words got stuck in his throat before his head slowly turned to the sky; a sky that was gradually turning into a deeper shade of orange as the seconds passed.
"What have you done?" The man asked before falling onto his backside, fear taking over his body and causing his legs to buckle.
"Me? Why accuse me? I have done nothing. It's just simply nature taking its course. You may never understand in this life, but maybe in the next?" The King of fates replied, yet now he was watching from a mountain cliff several hundred meters away.
There was a reason that man was named the King of fates. It wasn't because of his heavenly looks that would throw most women into a trance, nor was it his superior intellect or majestic strength.
He got that name because he was the King of fates... A man capable of bending uncertainties and destinies to his favor. A man capable of dooming an entire civilization before its rise.
He would never take a life with his own hands, yet fate would find a way to reap those lives for him, as if he had a grim reaper sitting on his shoulders, waiting to do his bidding.
And in that very moment, the King of Fates stood at a cliffside and watched as a meteor shower rained upon a city that was once known for its scenery, people, and bustling atmosphere.
"To be fair, this is the best the city has looked ever since its creation." The King of Fates retorted before his companion, Mrs. Dina, could even come up with a thought related to their situation. However, she was used to that already.
Explosions rang out while the people's blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the mountain range.
They could be heard for miles, yet those who heard it and remained alive thought of it as nothing more but the roars of a dying beast as the screams of terror seemed to merge together into a single undying symphony of terror and pain.
"Master, I believe that the meteor shower shall be ending soon. Would you like us to search for the flame?" A woman in a maid's outfit appeared right beside the King of Fates and looked at the destruction before her with the same apathetic eyes as her master.
"I don't believe that would be necessary." The King of Fates chuckled and stepped forward, disappearing instantly and appearing elsewhere.
His robe fluttered as he stood before a furnace brandishing a never-ending flame that burnt with extreme heat.
"So, this is where you've been hiding." The King of Fates let out a silent chuckle before disappearing into the palm of his hand and disappearing once again just to appear next to his maid.
"Is that the Phoenix flame, master?" The maid asked.
"Yes... Yes it is." He replied.
"Then what is the point of the meteor shower?" She asked with a raised brow.
"My maid..." The King of Fates seemed slightly disappointed, but after shaking his head momentarily, he walked up to her and cupped her right cheek with his free hand.
"Do you not know?" He asked.
"Know what, master?" She asked with a tilt of her head, yet she did not show even the smallest spark of emotion while saying those words
"That even destruction can be beautiful." The King of Fates smiled and continued to stare at the flame in the palm of his hand; however, within that moment of peace, he felt something that shattered it.
Looking up into the sky, the King of Fates made a worried expression. It caught his maid off guard since it was the first time she had seen her master create such an expression in the last thousand years in which she had devoted herself to serving him.
"W-What's wrong, master?!" She asked.
"The lines of fate are shifting... The abyss is getting stronger. This isn't supposed to happen... Not now." He thought, his expression becoming deadly serious.
"I felt it... For just a moment, I felt Eris." He muttered.
"Is she returning?" The maid asked, slightly panicked as well by the revelation.
"Not yet... But when she does, fate tells me the universe might get a little darker."
***
"Are you sure you want to go to the military academy? I can ask the Hope academy to reconsider giving you a place in their academy. With my family's recommendation, they will take you in." Benjamin tried to reason with Lloyd, sitting in the dining room's main chair and talking to Lloyd, who was sitting a few chairs down.
"I think I'm good. I think I'd rather go to the military academy. Yes, I probably won't have as many resources as the Hope academy, but I feel like its better if I earn those resources rather than get them through connections." Lloyd explained, yet that wasn't the real reason.
There were many perks that made the military academy a much better choice for Lloyd than the Hope academy.
While the Hope academy is considered to be the number 1 academy in their galaxy, it limited Lloyd's freedom the most, keeping all their first years inside the academy until their finals.
The Hope academy was also a prestigious one. While it may have not been on the same level as the Royal Elizabeth Academy in the level of prestigiousness, only the best of the best could go to such an academy and succeed.
After going through the autumn dungeon, Lloyd quickly realizes that he is getting far too much attention, especially when certain people know about his identity as Null, the adventurer. Going into the Hope academy would constantly put attention onto him.
The very fact that he could even enter the academy meant that he had to be the best of the best. Even the top-of-the-line connections could not get you into the Hope academy if one didn't have the talent or strength to prove their worth.
Going to the military academy would take both the pressure and the constant fear of being caught off him.
Of course, being the child of two generals would bring a lot of attention to him, yet he could make sure that only the instructors and professors knew about his identity by having his father pull a few strings.
The final reason to why Lloyd chose to go with the military academy was because of his fallen comrades. He knew he probably shouldn't feel that way, but he felt indebted to them to at least go to the military academy and serve humanity the same way they did.
