Alright, so some things happen in this chapter that i need to address, so please stick around and hold any/all questions until the end.
That said, i hope you like it!
Enjoy!
The next day was bright and sunny, an oddity for the fall season.
"So… have you noticed it then…?" Touma asked absentmindedly.
"Yeah… definitely…" Shirou replied.
"So… you're not going to do anything about it?" Touma questioned.
"I'm not sure if I should do anything about it… I've never seen her like this." Shirou seemed conflicted.
The thing they were questioning was how Rin was acting. Shirou and Rin decided to stay the night, much to Touma's displeasure due to space issues, and in the morning and since, Rin had been abnormally hyper. She was practically bouncing all around Touma's apartment, doing little things here and there gleefully. No matter what it was she never lost her sudden surge of spunk.
"You seem to be in very high spirits today, Rin." Saber commented as she ate.
"Do you really think so?" Rin asked. "I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to stop moving today! I can't sit still at all! I feel like I can do anything!" She continued cheerfully.
"You did get out of a fight against a lightning god… perhaps you are elated that you were able to do well against such an opponent." Othinus commented. "Being able to fight a god, even if he wasn't a proper Magic God, might have instilled a feeling of power; your mood might just be your mind reacting to such."
"Maybe? I don't know. I haven't felt this good in so long! It's amazing!" Rin rubbed her neck.
"…So Thor is behind Tohsaka-san's mood." Shirou commented, seeming a little bit irritated. In a moment Rin was in his face.
"What's wrong, Shirou-kun? Jealous, are we?" Rin mocked with a smile, causing Shirou to blush, much to his frustration. "Wanting to be the one to put me in a good mood yourself, huh?"
"What? No, that's no-" Before he could properly answer Rin suddenly kissed him, making him blush deeper.
"So… does that make it any better?" Rin asked with a notable giggle in her voice.
"…Like I said, I'm not jea-"Shirou was interrupted as Rin kissed him once more, this time much more passionately.
"Now now… don't worry… let me handle all those negative emotions…" Rin coyly stated as she moved to kiss him again.
"PG 13. You guys can be lovey-dovey but keep the frisky stuff in places where I can't see it." Touma ordered in an annoyed tone, getting a feeling that he knew where their romantic session would lead if he didn't step in.
"…In that case, we're going to borrow your bathroom for a while, no peeking." Rin stated, causing those in the room to turn red themselves at the thought.
"A-absolutely not!" Touma shouted. Rin only giggled in response. After a moment laughter rose out of some of Touma's current guests, making him blush in embarrassment.
"I believe she was just messing with you." Othinus commented.
"…I can see that now. How did I house guests like this…? Such misfortune…" Touma lamented.
"Rin… seriously, are you ok?" Shirou asked in a concerned tone.
"I'm fine, Shirou… I'm just… really happy I guess." Rin commented, taking a seat right next to her lover. "Recently… aside from a few things here and there… I've been feeling a tad useless recently."
"Useless?" Shirou asked, sounding confused. Rin wrapped her arms around him lovingly.
"It's just that… I haven't been able to do too much. When we first met Touma, I was outclassed because of his Imagine Breaker, when it came to our first fight with Thor, I could barely even hurt him, and… I lost myself more than a little of my composure when Fiamma of the Right appeared…" She took a deep breath, letting out a positive sigh. "But last night; I felt like I did something! I managed to drive off Fiamma, and with Index's help I was able to keep up with Thor. I even managed to logic it out to force him to retreat… I feel like I finally contributed something to this effort; it felt amazing!"
"I… know how you feel. I've been getting the same vibe… though fighting Gilgamesh and Berserker kind of helped alleviate it…" Shirou admitted. "This is a really odd vacation, isn't it?"
"More than a little… and it's not the one I wanted but… you have to make the best of what you have, right?" She replied, kissing Shirou's cheek.
"…I'm starting to reconsider letting you two be lovey-dovey now." Touma commented.
"You hush! Mr. Oblivious Playboy!" Rin shot back.
"What the hell are you accusing me of now!?" Touma shouted. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh I know; thus the oblivious part… I knew you couldn't read a girl's feelings, but I didn't know you were stupid too…" Rin insulted.
"…Oh so now we're doing this, are we!?" Touma looked irritated.
"I guess we are…!" Rin shot back.
"…She went from hyper-ly helpful, to lovey-dovey, to arguing with Touma…" Index sighed.
"I can tell… the world has changed a lot since my time…" Caster commented, taking a drink of tea. The argument did not cease until suddenly Touma's doorbell rang.
"…Huh? A visitor?" Touma commented. "But… your bounded field should stop people… right?"
"Yeah… who do you think it is?" Rin asked.
"Could be Tsuchimikado…" Touma replied. "People with mana can pass through, right?"
"Yeah… but they shouldn't be able to do so without me noticing…" Rin answered, narrowing her eyes as she thought. "…I'll check it out, stay here." Rin walked towards the front door. She opened the door and promptly jumped back with a scream of fear as the door swung open.
"Tohsaka! What's wrong!?" Shirou immediately jumped to action, blades appearing his hands, but he stopped when he saw who was waiting at the door.
Fiamma of the Right, standing casually with a confused expression and his one hand in his pocket.
"…Did I come at a bad time?" Fiamma questioned.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Touma questioned.
"D-don't treat this as a casual occurrence, you bonehead!" Rin shouted.
"It… honestly kind of is for me…" Touma sighed. Fiamma casually walked inside shutting the door behind him.
"Look… you can stop freaking out; I'm not here to fight." Fiamma started. "Sorry for the way I acted, but fear and intimidation is how you get your job done as an international criminal."
"Then… why were you after us to begin with? On that night a few days ago?" Shirou questioned.
"I believe that's what he's here to tell us, right?" Suddenly Assassin materialized in the room, leaning against a wall.
"I was trying to hound for information… and trying to keep unwanted people from snooping into my business… but it seems impossible for me to keep people out of it now that I'm officially known as a contender in this Illegal Grail War you're all having so much fun with." Fiamma explained.
"…What's your angle then?" Rin asked, seemingly calmed down from her outburst from before. "You don't seem like the kind of person who'd give visitations just to chat." Fiamma eyed her for a moment, before chucking lightly.
"You are quite right, Tohsaka Rin." Fiamma spoke, subtly letting it be known that he more than likely already has information on everyone in the room. "As I told you before… I am currently hunting down a certain Magic God who seems to be intent on interfering with this Grail War."
"What would a Magic God want with the Holy Grail?" Othinus questioned, flying up to land on Touma's shoulder. "Most Magic Gods can already apply phases to alter the world as they see fit; something like this wish granting chalice is in essence useless to them in comparison."
"But remember; you were the only Magic God capable of reviving the dead." Fiamma spoke, silencing the room.
"Revive… the dead…?" Shirou questioned openly. Fiamma nodded.
"Yes… it would seem that a Servant has tracked down a Magic God and persuaded him to join the Grail War in hopes that he'd be revived." Fiamma explained.
"A Servant…? But… that's not possible." Saber commented. "The war only started recently, but it sounds like you've been tracking this Magic God for quite some time."
"Apparently, this mischievous servant somehow summoned himself from the throne of heroes without need of a master. He refers to himself as a Grand Caster, calling himself Solomon, the King of Magic. The man in question summoned himself to meet the Magic God about a week before this war started." Fiamma leaned his left shoulder against a wall.
"Solomon…? He's… the one who fathered the current system of magecraft and magic… what does he want so badly that he feels the need to revive himself…?" Rin spoke up, putting her hand to her chin as she thought.
"Apparently he set his sights on going from king to god, but found it kind of hard to ascend to godhood as a heroic spirit, it would seem." Fiamma replied.
"So whoever he is, he's going after an upgrade to his title… wanting to become a Magic God himself and he went after one to help him do it." Touma thought out-loud, crossing his arms.
"More over; Solomon has never been summoned as a Heroic Spirit properly prior to this, so we have no idea what exactly he can do." Fiamma explained. "But that's not all; how many of you know of Shinto?"
"The old Japanese religion…? What's that got to do with anything?" Rin questioned.
"Because, someone claiming to be Susanoo himself has decided to grace Academy City with his presence; that's the Magic God who Solomon is working with." Fiamma explained.
"Takehaya Susanoo; Japanese god of the sea and storms." Index spoke as if she were reading it out of a book. "So… the Shinto gods have returned to the world once more…?"
"No; just the one. Susanoo is trying to awaken his siblings from their slumber, it would seem. As to why Susanoo can't do it himself is beyond me, but apparently Solomon has the key somewhere in that magic-obsessed brain of his." Fiamma explained.
"So that's his bargaining chip… the idea of, "bring me back to life and I'll awaken your sleeping brother and sister," that's definitely a dirty tactic to convince someone." Touma commented.
"That's all the information I have. I almost caught Susanoo, but that idiot Thor attacked me. I sent Lancer to tail him but that was a complete failure…" Fiamma rubbed the back of his head.
"Hey, be careful who you give shit to. I don't care if you are some all-powerful mage; I'll run you through if you keep badmouthing my efforts like that." A voice spoke from behind Fiamma. Lancer faded into view; apparently following Fiamma in, disguised in his spirit form. However, he appeared much more casual at the moment, only being dressed in black pants and a green Hawaiian shirt.
"Keep better track of your targets and I won't bad mouth you." Fiamma replied.
"…Do you guys see what I mean when I say I don't like being paired up with him!?" Lancer shouted. "Seriously…! Talk about bad luck…!"
"…I feel like me and you would get along really well." Touma suddenly commented. Index herself suddenly ran to the front of the gathering in a rush.
"Oh my! Cú Chulainn! Ireland's Child of Light!" Index happily called out.
"…Ok, and why does she know me instantly!?" Lancer shouted.
"I read all about you during my time in Europe a few months ago! I really liked the stories! S-sorry for giving your identity away… I saw a lot of pictures and I have a perfect memory so…" Index gently poked her fingers together, hanging her head in embarrassment. Lancer sighed.
"…I guess if she's a fan, I can't be too angry." He said, rubbing his neck. "She's a little too young for me, though… maybe in a few years…" he continued to think to himself on the prospect of what Index would look like as a full grown adult.
"What happened while you were trying to chase down Susanoo?" Shirou asked.
"I was following his mana trail; the guy can fly by expending his magical power into the air. I'm guessing he caught on to me and sent out a bunch of different trails with some kind of wind manipulation to throw me off… I had no choice but to pick one and roll with it; ended up being a wrong choice…" Lancer admitted.
"That's all the information I have." Fiamma commented. "If you truly wish to continue your efforts in this Grail War, you will undoubtedly face Susanoo and Solomon at some point."
"…Would you be our opponent as well?" Rin asked. "You said you don't really care about it all, but you are still a master… if your goal were to be completed, would you seek out the Grail?"
"I have little interest in such an archaic and barbaric system of wars for wishes. Though… if someone I despise were to claim its power they could potentially become a problem…" Fiamma thought openly. "…Stay on my good side as you go on, and we will not quarrel further."
"I don't really care for it myself either." Lancer added. "I'm more or less into it to try and enjoy myself a bit. My master has a lot of work to do, and as long as that's the case I'm satisfied." Lancer then walked closer to Rin personally, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm not the kind of person to give up on a good fight; if you expect me to just roll over and die for you, I'm sorry to say it's not going to be that easy. I hope you're ready to put a little work into it, lil' lady." Lancer joked lightly near the end, but his words seemed to irk Rin a bit.
"We're more than ready, Lancer. But to be clear…" Shirou walked forward and grabbed Lancer's hand and pulled hit off of Rin and held it in his grip. "…I believe I told you a long time ago to stay away from Rin." He spoke sternly. Lancer chuckled lightly as Rin turned bright red in embarrassment.
"That right! We did have that agreement, didn't we? Sorry boss, it slipped my mind!" Lancer laughed.
"Y-you… i-idiot…!" Rin stuttered out.
"…Shirou is the possessive type. Learn something new every day… explains why he got jealous of Thor earlier…" Touma commented. Shirou seemingly overheard this comment and turned red himself, appearing irritated.
"With that all said and done… isn't it time to go?" Lancer asked.
"Yeah; we've done our task for the day." Fiamma responded. Lancer turned into his spirit form in acknowledgement.
"Are you sure you have to leave? I was going to prepare some more tea." Caster asked. Rin suddenly looked frightened once more, but Fiamma shook his head, causing her to let out a relieved sigh.
"I'm the kind of person with a target on their back… it would be best for me to leave." Fiamma stated as he turned for the door. "Good luck with your Illegal Grail War; may your victories be savory and many in number." With that Fiamma vanished without a trace.
"…Facing off against another Magic God huh…?" Touma thought out loud, standing idly as he processed what he was just told.
"Don't worry about it; we have your back. You won't face this one alone." Shirou stated.
"Agreed. Magic is still magic, so a Saber-Class like me will be more than prepared to fight against a deity like this. Do not fear, for I shall land you my blade in this dark time. Be it a thunder god like Thor, or a Magic God like Susanoo, I will not allow them to harm you." Saber added. Looking around, it appeared that everyone shared a smiler sentiment. Despite this, Touma still felt uneasy.
"You'll be fine." Othinus interrupted Touma's thoughts instantly, seemingly sensing doubt. She looked up at him from his shoulder and spoke once more.
"Don't worry… you'll be fine… I swear it."
-Switchyard, 9:47 PM-
Tracking an almighty Magic God was difficult, but not impossible. Their mana signature is special; it sticks out like a sore thumb when they aren't suppressing it, especially when using their abilities.
And oddly, that signature was erupting like an active volcano in the switchyard in district 17.
"So… they are going really out of their way for this, nya!" Tsuchimikado commented over the phone. "Any clues as to what he's doing all the way out there?"
"Excalibur's power was used there just last week. Residual mana from the affair may still linger there; the Grand Caster may have led him there to absorb it to strengthen himself." Fiamma spoke on the other side of the line.
"I gotcha… what's the game plan?" Tsuchimikado questioned.
"Confirm that Susanoo is indeed there, and engage him. I'll know when you do, and make my way over while you're distracting him. I'll be waiting." Fiamma then hung up on his side and Tsuchimikado sighed. A voice rang in his head a short time later as Tsuchimikado traveled.
"I am in position; I can clearly see you." Archer spoke, his words appearing in Tsuchimikado's mind. "Are you sure this is a wise course of action…?"
"Wise or not, we don't have much of a choice… if we went all-in on our little war, this guy would step in… best to take out the biggest threats first, right?" Tsuchimikado answered.
"Just don't take on more than you can handle…" Archer replied. Tsuchimikado smirked and kept his pace.
A short time later, a massive gust of wind blew; the rocks and dirt flying into the air, forcing Tsuchimikado to shield his eyes despite his sunglasses. When the gust died down, Tsuchimikado looked ahead.
He saw a single man standing before him, giving off an angered impression. He stood six feet and three inches tall, staring Tsuchimikado down. His eyes were dark grey in color, and his black hair was long and unruly, seemingly going in all directions with the slightest movement of the wind. He wore a somewhat elaborate white and dark red kimono, and a black under suit that extended to his wrists, ankles, and neck, and seemed to walk around on his bare feet. He had two swords on his waistband, one much longer than the other.
"Well… what do we have here?" Tsuchimikado asked. "May I take a guess…? Takehaya Susanoo? Am I right, Mr. god of sea and storms?"
"Do not speak; I do not care for the words of an ignorant and disrespectful child." The man spoke, somewhat confirming his identity. "You will have only once chance; this ground is forbidden until I have said otherwise. Leave, or my blade will taste your blood."
"Oh come on… I'm just looking around a little bit! I'm searching for something… you know?" Tsuchimikado responded. Susanoo's only response was to generate another gust of wind, hard enough that it nearly knocked Tsuchimikado off his feet. He could feel the anger in the air as he reached for one of his blades; the longer of the two.
"Ame-no-Habakiri." Susanoo spoke simply, before suddenly rushing forward, bringing the blade down on top of Tsuchimikado. An attack, invisible to the eye, fired off from a great distance away, hitting the blade and forcing it to miss and slam into the ground, a loud impact triggering at the same time. Angry, Susanoo turned towards the direction of the attack to only to witness the effects of a second one; sonic vacuum blade fired from Archer just barely missing his head. The attack cut open a section of Susanoo's cheek. He slowly wiped the blood away with his thumb, the wound already closed as he finished, and became visibly furious that he had been struck.
"Bad luck, my friend!" Tsuchimikado dropped a black origami figure out of his hand, a magic circle appearing mid-drop. "The color black is the symbol of water. Open a path similar to that violence! Black Spell!" A large sphere of water, about a meter across, appeared from the circle. Tsuchimikado thrust an open palm into the sphere and it fired off like a cannonball, slamming into Susanoo's body and propelling him a fair distance away. After a short time, the sphere shattered and vanished, Susanoo standing tall.
"Do you really think that a paltry attack such as that would damage me…!?" Susanoo spat.
"No, but it got you away from me!" Tsuchimikado shouted, grinning as he took out four red origami figurines. "Alright Archer! Let him have it! Give him a show that he'll never forget!"
"As you request." Archer, about a mile away on a rooftop took aim with his bow. "I hope he doesn't mind, but it will be quick. Failnaught: Fantasia of Lamentation!" Archer pulled back on the numerous strings on his bow and let go each pull unleashing a vacuum blade, repeating this motion rapidly to fire of a massive barrage of attacks upon the unsuspecting Susanoo. He moved forward to attempt to strike down Tsuchimikado, but was stopped when the barrage landed, and he was forced to defend himself.
Susanoo quickly deflected each attack with his Ame-no-Habakiri, noticing the changes in wind flow to tell each vacuum blade's position. In spite of that, his defense was not perfect as several vacuum blades seemed to arc around at an angle and hit him from behind; piercing his body. He quickly healed after each blow however, and each attack only made the Magic God angrier.
"The last shot; this is my arrow!" Archer pulled back all the strings at once and let them go simultaneously, unleashing a much larger vacuum blade attack.
"You underestimate the power of a god!" Susanoo struck the attack with his blade and sliced it in half perfectly; the split attack hitting the ground a fair distance behind him.
This wasn't the direct assault, however.
It was a distraction for the real one.
"I hope you like it, this is the finale!" Tsuchimikado shouted, catching Susanoo's attention. The god turned in anger, but this quickly turned to shock as he looked upon Tsuchimikado; glowing origami pieces all around him with his fist aimed at the Magic God. His entire body was bleed profusely; form the ears, eyes, mouth, even certain sections of his body seemed to burst and leak blood.
What confused Susanoo was not the boy's state, but the fact that he never landed a single wound upon his body to cause such damage.
"Here it goes!" Tsuchimikado shouted, having prepared the chant during Archer's onslaught. "Red Spell: Shikigami Pistol!" All of the accumulated mana suddenly surged forth in the form of a massive blast of blue energy. It tore the ground apart as it traveled toward Susanoo, who stood ready to face the attack head-on.
Just as it would hit, someone else appeared in the blast's path.
The man raised one hand, and the Shikigami Pistol dispersed into pure mana on the spot, surrounding the person and swirling around him.
"Onmyodou Arts. Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. Pulling the power of the world itself to use as magecraft with destructive results… how interesting." The man spoke as if he had seen it a thousand times. He was tan, and he stood only a few inches shorter than Susanoo, and wore an elaborate red, white, and black garb that covered him all the way down to his feet. His arms were exposed, and covered in tattoos and golden rings, and each of his fingers and thumbs had a golden ring with various inscriptions on them as well. His hair was white and unkempt, except for a single large braid that traveled down from the left side of his head to his chest, which was covered in red jewels. His eyes were a sharp yellow, as he glared at Tsuchimikado. "It is unfortunate that all magecraft, regardless of name or power, is an insignificant event to the King of Magic." The mana that was swirling around then flowed into the man's body, seemingly being absorbed.
"How the…?" Tsuchimikado stuttered out, just barely able to stand due to his wounds.
"You face Solomon; King of Magic. If you insist to use the craft that I created against me, I insist that you will find yourself quite disappointed with the results." The man spoke once more.
"I don't need your help, magician." Susanoo stated.
"I am fully aware; such an attack would have done little against you… but I saw such a huge influx of mana and I simply couldn't help myself. I meant no disrespect." Solomon responded. Susanoo narrowed his eyes, but seemed to accept the answer.
'So… this guy can just cancel out and absorb magic, huh…? Shit… I don't think buying time for Fiamma is an option anymore…!' Tsuchimikado thought. Solomon raised one hand into the air as a variety of magic circles formed, channeling a large amount of mana. Archer reacted to this by firing his bow at the Grand Caster, but Solomon's circles turned as if he could see the assault coming, and they unleashed a barrage of beams of energy. They blasted right through Archer's vacuum blades and Archer was forced to retreat from his position. The magic attack hit the building and each beam exploded on contact; completely destroying the rooftop Archer was maintaining as a sniper's nest.
"Such impudent fools… thinking that a simple Archer can even hope to lay a finger upon me." Solomon spat, his eyes showing anger.
"Stand aside, magician. I will kill the boy myself." Susanoo started to move forward, dragging his blade along the ground.
"As you wish." Solomon moved to his right, permitting access.
"Shit…! I can't get away like this…!" Tsuchimikado thought out loud.
"Correct; you can't. Be thankful that your death will be swift." Susanoo raised his blade into the air, in preparation to slam it down upon the boy just barely standing before him.
"Susanoo; jump backward in two seconds." Solomon called out. In a moment, Lancer suddenly appeared with Gáe Bolg, attempting to impale Susanoo on his spear. Susanoo took the recommendation to heart however, as he leapt backward just in time to dodge a fatal strike to the heart.
"Damn… close…!" Lancer cursed.
"A blow to the heart with that lance is fatal; possibly even to you." Solomon spoke.
"Is it now…? Then I'll just have to take that twig and break it in half!" Susanoo spat.
"Sorry, no can do!" Lancer smirked as he jumped back, moving to heave Tsuchimikado over his shoulder.
"Retreat to save that boy is what you've been ordered, am I wrong?" Solomon spoke. Lancer clicked his teeth. "Please inform Fiamma of the Right that if he wishes to stand against us, that he should come himself next time. I wonder if his Holy Right can bypass my archetype as King of Magic."
"Oh… you do now?" Lancer replied. "…Well, turns out he has a response!" Lancer leaped into the sky, and aimed his lance downward at the two. Gáe Bolg began to shine brightly, erupting in a bright red light.
"Magician…?" Susanoo questioned.
"Take two steps back and you shall be unharmed." Solomon replied.
"Eat this! Gáe Bolg: Soaring Strike!" Lancer thrust his spear as Solomon raised his hand. The spear unleashed a powerful explosion upon impact, blanketing the entire area in a sea of flames as it rippled outward. The shockwave blasted Lancer through the air, which was his main intention it would seem. After a short time Gáe Bolg returned to his hand and he turned to run, using the cover of the attack to mask his escape.
Time passed slowly as the smoke form the attack cleared. Caster was revealed holding up his hand, forming a barrier around the two. The event now over, the barrier faded and Solomon lowered his arm once more.
"Letting them escape?" Susanoo asked.
"No; as long as they exist they truly cannot escape me… or you for that matter." Solomon stated. "It would just be unwise to make too big of a ruckus now to chase after them…"
"And why is that? I grow tired of these games, magician!" Susanoo shouted.
"You are not the only one whose actions exist outside of fate and destiny, and can alter such with your actions, Susanoo. Two others who reside in this city can do the same… and both of them would be dangerous to deal with unprepared." Solomon explained.
"…So they can alter the time stream change the events you predict as well, just as I can." Susanoo commented, sheathing his blade.
"Yes… so we must tread carefully. The moment that the Holy Grail is in our hands, however, we can do as we please with impunity." Solomon explained.
"…If we are finished here, let us go. I grow weary of this place." Susanoo spoke.
"As you wish." Solomon replied. He raised his hand into the air and with sleight of hand, a magic circle appeared below the two and they vanished into it.
But this was just their first appearance in this tale, of course.
The God of the sea and storms and the King of Magic would not be very far behind those who seek out the Holy Grail.
Alright, so... some things about Solomon here. Some people may be confused, some may not be.
When I was first doing research for characters I wanted to use here, I stumbled upon ol' Grand Caster Solomon here, read up on him at the time and the information on him and what he wanted, and felt that with some additional options open to him, he could end up being a good cohort to Susanoo, because the Magic God on his own seemed a little dull. I knew Solomon was from Grand Order but decided he would fit anyway.
But then some new information came out about him via translations.
Turns out the evil Grand Caster Solomon is actually just Solomon's body possessed by King of Demon Gods Goetia, which is basically an amalgamation of all 72 Demon God's from a Grimoire known as, "The Lesser Key of Solomon," and that the actual Solomon was actually someone else entirely.
And all this information dropped when Solomon was already an integral part of the story and couldn't be changed very easily. Needless to say, I was frustrated when I learned of this.
So I only really had two options; leave the story as is despite the flaws, or take large amounts of time and possibly delay chapter releases so I could re-plan the later-chapters of the story, because significant changes would have been needed.
As you can see, I decided to leave it as is, because I feel that despite the flaws with Solomon, with how things were set-up, it ended up being the Stronger Story.
I just wanted to take some time to clear that up, just in case some people were confused.
Please, tell me what you think! Thank you!
I hope you all enjoyed it!