The Grand Order - Solomon

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or Fate.

Note: This is an AU story, so don't expect things to be the same as in the anime or manga.

'Thinking'

"Talking"

"The Time of Crowning has Come; He is the One who Begins All."

…

Chapter 2

- Meredith PoV -

Information was power to Magicians.

It was the lifeblood upon which everyone who joined the Golden Dawn lived and breathed. It allowed those who wielded it the power to control and adapt in the face of the unknown. It was information that told Magicians how to navigate magic and it's intricacies, as well as how to change and cast spells to suit their needs.

It was information that taught Magicians how to survive in the supernatural world, where beasts and gods roamed the lands.

…that is to say, Magicians were gossips.

Rumors were bad enough in regular schools, but in a magical institution where they all lived together 24/7 for most of their teenage years? Those same rumors spread like wildfire, and the way in which they were told became increasingly more ridiculous the longer they went on.

Meredith hated rumors.

As a bastard child of the British Royal Family, the news that she hadn't been acknowledged by them as a member of the royal bloodline had been the bane of her existence for the first few months she'd joined the Golden Dawn.

Everywhere she went, other Magicians whispered behind her back. Taunting and mocking her for having been cast aside; belittling her achievements in the beginning - until she began proving herself to be a genius in magic that was only rivaled by one other in their generation, and could single-handedly take on any and every bully with ease.

After that, the whispered taunts became whispers of awe.

It sickened her to see how quickly people changed their tunes, how they could so easily go from belittling someone one moment to praising them within the same breath.

…it felt like she was back at home, before the Royal Family tossed her out the moment her parents passed away.

And then came LeFay Pendragon. An equally gifted genius whose talents with magic matched, and sometimes exceeded, her own on nearly every occasion.

The small blonde with the silly wizards hat just walked up to her one day and started talking as if the two of them had been friends forever.

It had stunned Meredith at the time, but then that was exactly how everyone felt the first time they got to experience the bubbly blonde's personality firsthand.

At first she had been standoffish, wondering what LeFay's angle was and why she had sudden began talking to her. But the small girl just kept on talking about this and that, never once trying to pry into Meredith's life, and suddenly she found herself responding to LeFay's questions.

From that moment on, the two had stuck together for the better part of their time at the Golden Dawn.

Until Solomon came.

A young, white-haired boy with no talent for any branch of magic at all, and a rather lonely disposition that seemed to radiate off of him as the other Magicians either made fun of him, or outright ignored his existence.

As someone who had dealt with similar experiences before, it had annoyed Meredith greatly to see someone else suffering the same way she had. And unlike her, Solomon didn't have a genius level talent to pull himself up with.

In fact, she was pretty sure he had the least potential with magic of anyone she'd ever met in her whole life!

It would have actually been impressive, if it wasn't so heartbreaking to watch him fail time and again in front of the whole class as they laughed at him.

When the taunting had gotten bad enough, Meredith planned to strike up a conversation with the boy and see if she could offer at least some sort of advice or help with his studies. But LeFay had beaten her to it.

And then out of nowhere, the boy had somehow gathered the courage to ask LeFay out on a date of all things!

She didn't know whether be impressed by the boy's audacity, or floored at LeFay's enthusiastic agreement. Ultimately, she settled for a wait and see approach to the whole thing, figuring that the two would simply go on a boring date that would have them realize they were such polar opposites of each other, that any type of relationship between the two would be destined to fail.

Or so she thought.

As shocking as it was to comprehend, the two had not only enjoyed themselves immensely on their date, they had even agreed to become boyfriend and girlfriend!

It was like watching a trainwreck happen right in front of her eyes, and nothing Meredith could do seemed to stop it. She had repeatedly tried to get LeFay to see reason, and when that failed she had thought Solomon would come to see sense.

But the two were so oblivious, that they just kept on dating for over a year and a half.

At which point she had given up on trying to get either of them to see things her way, and decided that there were just some things which defied logic. That the two weren't, in fact, destined to end in heartbreak like she thought; but would have one of those fairytale relationships that would last forever.

Meredith wished that were true.

"…I heard he caught her sleeping with a teacher, and that they threatened to expel him if he said anything." A voice one row behind her whispered to someone next to them.

Looking over her shoulder, she was barely able to make out the slumped over form of Solomon in the far back corner of the classroom; blearily staring off into the distance with bloodshot eyes that had noticeable bags underneath, which spoke of an unhealthy amount of sleepless nights.

Typically, the three of them sat in the middle of the classroom and would chat with each other about the day's upcoming lessons with a friendly air about them that was only intermittently broken by LeFay and Solomon being incredibly mushy to each other.

But not any more.

It'd been almost two weeks since the rumors started, and no one had seen hide-or-tail of Solomon until today.

After it came out that he and LeFay had broken up, the boy Magician had all but locked himself away in his apartment and hadn't come out no matter who knocked on his door, or how many classes he missed.

It was rather lucky for him that the Golden Dawn didn't care about money - or grades for that matter - and were more focused on gaining reputation than anything else; otherwise he'd have been kicked out by now.

With the vast amount of alumni who'd gone to the institution providing obscene amounts of donations every year - including prestigious families like the Pendragons and the British Royal Family; the Golden Dawn could easily afford to let their members come and go as they pleased from classes.

"…I heard that she was pretending to be his girlfriend the whole time, and had secretly been cuckolding him all along for her own amusement."

Sighing at his dreadful appearance, and trying to tune out what everyone was whispering to each other as they waited for the lesson to start, Meredith turned back around in her seat before glancing at the small blonde on her left.

Instead of the typical smile she usually wore on her face while doodling, LeFay had tilted the brim of her wide blue hat far enough to cover her eyes, and sat slumped over in her chair while staring down at her lap ashamedly.

Normally, in situations like this, she'd be inclined to believe that it was Solomon who'd done something wrong. More as a show of support to LeFay than out of any real dislike towards the boy. But it only took a single look at the guilt written all over LeFay's face and the way she kept trying to peek underneath her hat's brim in Solomon's direction, to know whose fault it was.

"What happened?" Meredith finally asked quietly, keeping her voice low so that no one else overheard them.

For a moment, it looked like her friend wasn't going to answer. But then LeFay finally spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "…I don't know." Tilting her hat down lower, she seemed to shrink in on herself as she continued. "I hadn't planned on doing anything with Daniel, I was just helping tutor him on a spell he was having trouble with…"

Seeing her friend pause, she pressed further. "…And?"

"And…" LeFay's voice cracked, "and then there was something about him that just drew me to him. Something that excited me… made me feel things in a way I hadn't ever felt before."

Meredith's mind jumped to thoughts of a possible spell, or some type of aphrodisiac that this 'Daniel' might have slipped her. But she kept quiet as LeFay went on.

"I never meant to betray Solomon like that!" She whispered heatedly, finally looking up at Meredith with watery sapphire-blue eyes. "I checked myself over repeatedly to see if it was a charm or a drug, but everything I tried came back negative…and the pull was still there."

Shrugging helplessly, she rubbed furiously at her eyes as Meredith laid a hand on her shoulder in support. "And then when he finally got the spell right, we started celebrating."

"And that's when you slept with him?"

Meredith tried to keep her question as unaccusingly as possible, but LeFay still flinched violently as if she'd been struck.

"…I swear I didn't mean to." She replied, her voice filled with pain as she glanced in Solomon's direction again before turning her attention back on her lap. "But in the middle of celebrating, we suddenly just started kissing... And then we were in my bedroom taking each others clothes off."

At that point, LeFay's voice died out as she began sniffling.

It didn't take a genius like her to figure out the rest. Solomon had come looking for LeFay for one reason or another, and had found his girlfriend in bed with this 'Daniel'.

'Poor guy.' She wouldn't go so far as to say she and Solomon were friends, their only real connection was that they both were close with LeFay; but that didn't mean she wasn't sympathetic. '-sigh- could this get situation any worse?'

"Alright class!" The day's lecturer finally arrived, interrupting Meredith's thoughts as he began walking to the front of the room. "Today's lesson is going to be about Sacred Gears!"

At his words, everyone around her started to perk up. Even LeFay stopped sniffling in order to listen better.

Hopefully this would take her friend's mind off of her relationship problems, and give everyone some time to think.

… …

- The Same Time -

- Solomon PoV -

It hurt… It hurt to sit in the same classroom as her, knowing what I know now.

It hurt to even look in her direction and see that damned blue hat, and remember the last time that I'd seen it was strewn on the floor of her bedroom with the rest of their clothing.

And to make matters worse, someone had seen me fleeing from LeFay's room and gotten a glimpse of her and her partner saying goodbye to each other. As if my life here couldn't get any worse, now I had everyone whispering that I was a cuck who'd gotten what I'd deserved for trying to date someone so far above me.

And that was some of the nicer things people were saying!

'Just a little longer…a little more time to make it work, and you'll never have to see any of them every again!' I reminded myself, thinking back on the last two weeks since it happened.

After crying myself to sleep, I'd decided that the best thing for me would be to continue my work on the Key and it's abilities. Figuring that a distracted mind would keep me from remembering LeFay in her bed, pale skin glistening with sweat, and her head thrown back in- 'STOP!'

Shaking my head rather violently, I glared at the person next to me who looked at me weirdly for doing so. 'Mind your own fucking business, asshole.'

…I'd grown rather aggressive in my solitude.

With the only thing to keep me occupied being my recent creation, there were more than a few times where I'd suddenly find my mind wandering. What-if's and How-Come's flittering in and out of my thoughts as I'd tried to stay on task, only to think of something that would inevitably draw my thoughts back to her.

Feeling two pairs of eyes on me, I tried not to scowl as I watched from the corner of my eye as LeFay and Meredith whispered to each other.

'Just a little longer…' Now there was very little that kept me here at Golden Dawn. My inability to wield magic like the rest meant that most of these lectures were pointless to attend; only their resources and the abundant magical energy within the institute were all that held me back from just up and leaving right now. 'But once I get the dimensional portal to work, I'm gone.'

It was a recent creation of mine that was based off the small pocket dimension I'd created not long ago with my new Creation Magic, but to a significantly larger degree. Which meant I needed to draw more power from the area in order to create it than I used previously; and that took time.

"Alright class!"

Hearing the lecturer begin today's lesson, I turned my thoughts away from the two blondes and onto the man as he started speaking. "Today's lesson is going to be about Sacred Gears…"

Perfect. Something new that we haven't covered yet, which should hopefully keep my thoughts from taking a darker turn… for the moment.

'Just a little longer.'

- Timeskip -

"Now then," The lecturer clapped his hands, turning his attention away from the chalkboard that listed the different types of Sacred Gears, and focused on us as he continued. "As is customary, I will now have you all come to the front of the room one at a time, and we'll see if any of you carry a dormant Sacred Gear."

Hearing the students around me as they began to whisper excitedly, I frowned at the thought of what will likely be another thing that some of the other students will have, which I'm sure I won't. '…it wouldn't be the first time.'

As everyone began walking to the front one-by-one, I quickly felt the mood of the class take a turn as every single one of the students in the first row failed to show any signs of having a Sacred Gear.

"Next… Daniel Matthews!"

Seeing him get called up to the front, I almost wished I could use my Key to lash out at him - once I figured out how to use it - but that was just my wounded soul talking. Even knowing that he probably wasn't at fault for that night, the very sight of him angered me more than I was comfortable with.

Watching as he went through the motions with the lecturer, I had to withhold my scream of frustration as a flash of light appeared on his arm.

Where once there was just an ordinary hand, now there was a metal gauntlet covering it that suddenly doubled the amount of power he was giving off. The sight drawing gasps from the other students as they marveled at it.

"Congratulations, Daniel!" The lecturer cheered along with most of the class, "it looks like what you have there is a Twice Critical. It's a rather common one, but it will certainly come in handy with its ability to double your power."

Of.

Fucking.

Course he'd get a Sacred Gear.

It wasn't bad enough that he got LeFay, now he got an artifact created by the Biblical God himself.

'I fucking hate my life.'

… …

- Meredith PoV -

Watching Daniel and the rest of the class chatter excitedly at his shiny new Sacred Gear, Meredith's mind was working overtime as the pieces began to fall into place.

Why LeFay felt a sudden pull to him.

Why she'd been willing to betray her boyfriend, and lose her virginity to a guy that she barely knew.

Why none of the tests she'd done on herself came back with any sort of confirmation as to the use of a charm or aphrodisiac that might have messed with her mind.

It's because it wasn't a drug or spell that'd affected her…it was his Sacred Gear!

Even though it was one of the weakest and most common, the Twice Critical - also known as the Hand of the Dragon - was a Sacred Gear that housed the soul of a once-living breathing Dragon; before it had been killed by the Biblical God and stuffed into the artifact.

And dragons, no matter how weak they were, had an aura about them that supernaturally attracted women.

More specifically, it'd attracted LeFay to him.

Sparing a quick glance to her left showed that LeFay had come to the same conclusion; her wide eyes staring in shock at the new development as waves of disbelief and self-loathing began to almost physically manifest around her.

'…this isn't good.'

… …

- Solomon PoV -

"Next… LeFay Pendragon!"

As she was called up, I felt a wave of bile rise to my throat as I watched her walk up to the front. Horrible flashbacks of that night caused me to flinch violently at the sight of her sapphire-blue eyes turning in my direction. 'Don't look at them…don't look at them…don't look at them.'

There was something in her eyes… as if she was trying to convey some kind of message to me. But I refused to give her the chance as I stared anywhere but at her.

It was a struggle, but I managed to keep my attention squarely on the lecturer as he recited the instructions to LeFay on how to try and awaken any possible dormant Sacred Gears within her.

"…it looks like you don't have one, Miss Pendragon." The man replied after a few moments. "Please have a seat with the others."

As LeFay walked back to her chair, I could feel her eyes trying to make contact with my own, desperately trying to get across something that she wanted me to know.

But she'd lost the right to tell me anything after what she did.

I no longer cared what she thought; and since I wasn't her boyfriend anymore, it wasn't my job to go along with her wishes.

If she wanted to make eyes with someone, she could fucking go make eyes with Mr. Twice Critical for all I cared.

'Calm. Down.'

Was I being a bit petty? Absolutely. But dealing with my first ever heartbreak after having been betrayed by the only woman I ever loved wasn't exactly a recipe for making good judgement calls.

"Next… Meredith Ordinton!"

Watching the auburn-haired girl walk up to the front of the class with purposeful, poised strides that only royalty could pull off, I felt rather conflicted as to my thoughts about her.

On the on hand, she and I had never been friends. Our entire relationship was based off of LeFay being my former girlfriend, and the two of them being best friends. As such, for the sake of keeping our mutual friend/partner happy, the two of us kept up a civil relationship between each other that consisted of making mostly small talk whenever LeFay wasn't around to fill the conversation.

But on the other… while I completely expected her to side with LeFay no matter what she'd done, I still felt a small twinge of loss at the thought of not speaking with her again.

Even if we didn't really talk a lot, the few times our conversations ran longer than our typical greetings proved she had a unique and gifted mind that allowed her to see the world and express her opinions in a variety of interesting ways.

"MARVELOUS!" The lecturer cried out in amazement, followed by the sound of shocked gasps as the rest of the students and I gazed at the floating nails hovering above her upturned palm. "Simply spectacular! It seems you've been blessed with a truly special Sacred Gear Miss Ordinton. One of the legendary Longinus, in fact… Alphecca Tyrant!"

…say what now?

Peering a bit closer at the nails as best as I could from the back of the classroom, I felt the waves of Holy Aura pouring off their metal surface as a whisper drifted into my ears the longer I stared at them.

A subtle, seductive noise that made something tingle uncomfortably in the back of my mind; only to die out suddenly as soon as the nails disappeared from Meredith's hand.

'…holy shit, that's terrifying.'

Watching as all of the other Magicians in the front row seemed to finally get some sort of life back in their suddenly dull, zombie-like gazes, I realized that the students closest to Meredith had actually gotten out of their seats and begun moving towards her while they stared fixated at the nails.

Only the lecturer was able to resist, and judging by the beads of sweat on his forehead it was a struggle even for him to do so. Which showed just how dangerous Meredith's new Sacred Gear was.

Alphecca Tyrant, known also as the Unparalleled Crown of the Abyss, was one of the original Holy Relics which had nailed the Biblical God's son to the cross. But more importantly than that, it was perhaps the greatest mind controlling weapon in the known world. With the ability to dominate all but the strongest of minds - besides gods - by simply piercing someone with a nail.

And considering it could make countless nails, that meant Meredith could turn an entire city into her own personal playground if she was so inclined.

Or more importantly, every single Magician within Golden Dawn.

Already, whispered conversations began to spring up around me as people either basked in awe of seeing a God-Killing artifact in real life, or trembled in fear at the thought of what she could do with it. 'Either way, most of these assholes will get what's coming to them.'

As if I'd forgotten how they treated me these last few years, or how they treated Meredith before she revealed her talent as a Magician.

If she wanted to take control of the entire institution, I'd say let her have it. My currently sour disposition thought it would be a fitting way for this whole place to end; the once bullied becoming the one who was in charge.

Waiting for a stunned Meredith to finally take her seat, the rest of the class continued going up to the front and got tested for their own potential Sacred Gear. Many of them now hoping to awaken their own Longinus - or equally special tier - now that one had shown itself.

Only one other Sacred Gear was revealed by the time I was meant to go up, and that was another common one named Flame Shake - or the Hands of White Flame - that engulfed the wielder's hands in… you guessed it, white flames.

"And finally… Solomon!" The lecturer called out with a relieved sigh, pleased to have reached the end of the list of students. "If you'll please make your way to the front."

Frowning at the sudden attention put on me by a good half of the class - the others too busy staring at Meredith or whispering excitedly to the other two who awoke theirs - I trudged up to the front with a deeply set scowl on my face. Intently keeping my attention as far away from the center of the room as possible, and focusing all of my attention on the man in front of me.

Trying not to let my rather unfriendly appearance bother him, the lecturer began directing me in a tone that spoke of tired repetition on how to awaken a Sacred Gear. "Now…picture something power, something that invokes a feeling of strength inside of your mind… Let that feeling flow through your body, and release it in a way that comes natural."

As I listened to his instructions, I closed my eyes in concentration as I tried to think of something powerful.

Obviously, the first things that came to mind were LeFay and Meredith, whose power with magic was rumored to exceed even that of the lecturers the Golden Dawn brought in for our classes.

After violently shoving those images away, I tried thinking of what the Biblical God and the other gods might look like, before giving that up as a failure.

Eventually… my mind began to drift as if guided by a gentle hand, leading me towards a dark corner in the back of my mind mere moments before everything went black.

- Somewhere -

Coming too moments later, I realized that I was no longer standing in front of the classroom, but within a blank void that stretched as far as the eye could see.

And in the center of it, was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Her long light-blue hair fanned out behind her like a cape, and two sets of massive curved horns jutted out from her temples before they curled behind her. Her eyes were a uniquely pink color, with the most curious of x-shaped pupils. And her utterly gorgeous pale face was set in a look of casual indifference.

The only other thing of note, was the fact that she currently wore what looked to be a very skimpy black thong, while her arms and legs were bound by golden chains with her arms covering her bountiful naked chest.

"…hello?" I asked with a rapidly blushing face, trying and failing to keep my eyes from straying away from her face and down towards her extremely shapely body that was on full display. "Who-Who are you?"

Tilting her head slightly, the woman stared at me for a moment as if judging me…before her indifferent face blossomed into a beautiful smile.

"Hello, Solomon." Her mouth never moved, but her voice - a soft, melodic sound - resounded within my mind. "I've been waiting for you."

"Y-Your voice!" I gasped out in surprise. "How are you speaking in my head?"

The melodic voice giggled at the look on my face. The sound was almost like music, and strangely started to make me feel better - as if the heavy weight that had settled within my heart after LeFay's betrayal was slowly beginning to lift.

Not that it was actually healing me per se - I still had a long way to go for that - but the pain felt not as heavy a burden to bear.

"Forgive the strange manner of conversation." She apologized, "But my currently bound state has left me with very little control over my own body… my voice included. It is only through my presence within your soul that allows us to communicate at all."

Glancing down at her bound limbs, I felt an unpleasant sensation stir within me at the thought of being trapped in such a state. A part of me wanted nothing more than to free her, or at the very least provide some measure of support, but another part hesitantly wondered what she'd done to deserve such treatment.

As if sensing my thoughts, she graced me with another beautiful smile as she began moving closer to me. And it was only after a moment of staring at her oddly that I realized she was actually floating. Her bound legs unable to move even an inch. "Your thoughts are kind…and I thank you for them. But as you are now, it would be impossible for you to remove these restraints."

There was a certain ease with which she brushed off her current state. But in the back of my mind, I stored away the knowledge that it was only impossible for me to remove them right now.

"As for my name…many have taken to calling me Telos Karma; but that is not my true name. My true name was forgotten long ago. Cast from the pages of history by my children, who no longer cared to remember their Mother." She explained, her voice - that continued to resonate within my head - taking on a melancholic tone as her eyelids drooped sadly. "My name… is Tiamat."

Hadn't I heard that name before?

"Tiamat? Isn't that the name of one of the Dragon Kings?" I wondered, thinking back on previous lessons regarding the multitude of races living within the supernatural world. In response, the newly revealed 'Tiamat' nodded.

"My daughter…the last of my children, and the only one who rebelled against my sealing." Tiamat revealed, a bittersweet smile on her face as she recalled what happened so long ago. "When the others began to erase my existence from history, she fled their presence in a rage and withdrew into the depths of the Familiar Forest."

A tear began to gather in the corner of her eye as she continued. "She was the only one to do so… Even my firstborns, the Dream and the Infinite, watched on indifferently as their mother was sealed by the Biblical God into one of his creations…and so, in the final moments before my sealing, I gifted her my name."

It was incredibly difficult to come up with the right words to say in response to that.

The sheer level of betrayal that this woman had gone through eclipsed what I'd felt with LeFay entirely. And yet despite it all, there was not a single note of hatred towards them for what they'd done; only a sense of loss at being eternally separated from her children.

It made my current attitude and demeanor seem childish when compared to her; someone who had suffered an even greater betrayal, and yet was able to continue on without seeming to hate the world and those that hurt her.

Watching as the tears gathered up and were about to fall, I took a risk. Slowly, I brought up my hand and gently wiped away the first teardrop to fall; the thankful smile I received told me I'd made the right decision.

"How…?" I asked, allowing my hand to rest against her cheek for a moment, cupping her soft skin as she leaned into my touch. Perhaps the first time she'd felt someone's touch since before she was sealed. "How are you not angry at them?"

Sighing, she nuzzled my hand as she replied. "Because I love them… Even in spite of what they'd done, I continue to love them still… Because that is what a mother does."

That…that made sense. Even though I held more than a bit of hatred towards LeFay for what she'd done, there was still a part of me that loved her in spite of it all. A part that remembered all of the happiness and joy she'd brought me when I was surrounded by loneliness and despair in those first few month.

"Sometimes… it's the ones we love the most, who end up hurting us the deepest." Tiamat heard my thoughts once again as her voice turned comforting, "What you've gone through is no less meaningful than my own, it sits just as heavily in the heart for you as mine does for me."

The way her odd eyes stared at me as my thumb began wiping the few tears that continued to fall, conveyed a sense of companionship and reassurance that I hadn't felt in a long time; not even when I was together with LeFay. "…And it is because of it, that your soul was able to awaken me; where others before you hadn't."

"What do you mean?"

Hadn't there been records of Telos Karma being used by other wielders before?

Once again, she responded to my unspoken thoughts by shaking her head slightly; not wanting to remove my hand as it continued to rest against her cheek. Which by now I'd almost completely forgotten that I was still doing, with how oddly natural it felt. And since she seemed to not mind - and in fact looked to enjoy it - I saw no need to stop.

"All of my previous wielders were only able to access the most basic of abilities…" She explained. "Their souls could not reach out and awaken me from my millennia of slumber, because theirs' did not resonate with mine in the way that yours does."

"All souls are unique… and it is very rare that two should ever resonate the way ours do." The way she said it, made me think that this was one of those 'destined' things that are so often happened in stories. "But the fact that they do… that there is another out there who can feel as one feels, who understands in ways no one else can… Is one of the great gifts and mysteries of our world."

Yep. Definitely a 'destiny' thing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small darkness gathering at the edges of what I thought was an endless white void. Something which Tiamat noticed as well if her sad sigh was anything to go by.

"Our time is limited." My attention shifted away from the slowly approaching darkness and back towards her beautiful face as she smiled. "We will speak again soon, but for now you must prepare yourself."

Her voice turned serious as the smile disappeared, causing me to finally let go of her cheek as my hand dropped down to my side. "As my wielder, the wielder of the Telos Karma, there will be many who will seek you out in order to gain access to my power…"

That was rather obvious. Telos Karma was a Sacred Gear unlike any other. It's power allowed the wielder to forcibly create and enforce changes to things that were normally deemed impossible, thereby creating a phenomena that made those choices and events possible.

"And they will do anything in order to make it theirs…Anything." The warning in her statement was obvious, but the severity of what was to come made it necessary to say it anyways. "Which is why as soon as you return to your body, you need to be ready. It won't take long for knowledge to spread throughout the supernatural world that another Longinus has awakened, and that you are within Golden Dawn."

That's true, and not just for myself either, but for Meredith as well. Magicians were terrible gossips who spread information wherever and whenever they could, so the two of us would soon become known to a large portion of the supernatural world before the week was over.

And with an additional two other common-type Sacred Gear wielders being discovered, that meant a lot of eyes were suddenly going to be on the Golden Dawn.

"I'm in danger, aren't I?" I mused more to state the obvious than asking as a question.

"You are… and unlike the wielder of Alphecca Tyrant, you do not currently have the magical skill necessary to defend yourself against them." She responded, glancing down at my right hand where the Key laid. "But now that I have awakened, I will be able to provide you with more assistance than I have in the past."

Scrunching my eyebrows in confusion, I followed the direction of her gaze before I blinked as my mind put the pieces together.

"You…?" I asked. "You're the reason why I was able to make the Key work?"

Creating the Key with an entirely new type of magic should have been impossible; even if my equations and theory for the magic circle were correct, the reality of it actually working was practically laughable. There were so many ways in which it could have gone wrong, from doing nothing at all to causing a horribly violent explosion that likely would have ended in my death… but it never did.

It had actually worked. Perfectly.

"Yes, I was…" Tiamat nodded. "In the moments leading to my awakening, I felt even within my slumber the necessity of its fruition. And so I added my own power, the power of Telos Karma - which can make the impossible possible - in the hopes that it would one day prove useful."

"Th-Thank you."

I couldn't think of any other way to express how much it meant to me to have finally gotten the Key to work, so I tried to convey as much emotion as I could into those two words.

"Of course…" She smiled. "We are bound together, you and I. What happens from this moment forward will be the start of a lasting companionship between us. One which I hope will bring us both the happiness we seek."

Happiness, huh? That's something that was is short supply right now.

In the last two weeks, happiness had been the furthest thing from my mind; only the routine of working on my Key was what's kept me going.

"…do you have a plan?"

"I do… but it requires that you take a leap of faith and trust me."

At this point, with nowhere else to go and lack of any other options, I'd been willing to give anything a try if it kept me from ending up in some cage somewhere or dead with my newly-awakened Sacred Gear taken from me.

Even in a secured place like the Golden Dawn, the rumors of the Grigori's attempts to remove Sacred Gears - on the orders of their Sacred Gear obsessed leader; Azazel - had resulted in the deaths of every last wielder.

Like hell I was going to end up like that.

"Alright, Tiamat…I'll trust you." I nodded with a renewed sense of determination. For once not even thinking about LeFay as I felt that small weight in my heart get the slightest bit lighter. "What's your plan?"

… …

- Lecture Room -

Suddenly having everything in the blank void fade to black as the lecture room reappears with a blink, it took me a few moments to reorient myself as everyone in the room gasped in surprise.

"Outstanding…" The lecturer proclaimed in an awed tone, turning my attention away from taking in my surroundings and towards him as he stared transfixed at my hands. "Another Longinus… to have two awaken at the same time. If I had not seen it myself, I might not have believed it… Telos Karma!"

Following his gaze, I lifted up my hands to see that each finger was now decorated with a ring on each. The ten rings themselves were nothing more than a golden band, but there was a subtle power that lied within it which felt familiar. And the longer I stared at them, the more I felt the Key begin to respond it their presence.

Clenching my hands into fists, I noticed that the entire class had begun to whisper amongst themselves and many pointed at me with either calculating or jealous looks.

In the center of them all, two pairs of eyes stared wide-eyed at me.

"Focus…" Tiamat's voice whispered within my mind. "The time for studying Telos Karma will come later. For now, you must follow the plan if you wish to survive… Are you ready?"

Nodding my head, I ignored the looks being sent my way as I turned to walk back to my seat. The sound of the lecturer's voice droned in the background as I focused instead on the path ahead of me. 'I'm ready.'

"Then let us begin."

- END -

Author's Notes:

And that's Chapter 2!

Some of you are going to complain about the whole 'destined to be together' thing. And I'm going to only say this once in the hopes of preventing the numerous reviews I'm sure I'll get in response to it…

It's just a story, and it's how I want to write it. I hope you all can respect that.

This story isn't meant to be very long anyways, maybe 15-20 chapters at most, and it'll be broken up into three parts: The Time of Crowning, The Time of Birth, and the Time of Parting.

Hope you all are still liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story!