Chapter 142: Ra

Ciaran spent two whole days doing nothing but catching up with his family and friends. Then he went back to the Academy expecting his Master to send him off.

"Nah, take a few weeks to chill and unwind." That was all the man said. And Ciaran took that to heart. He had nothing better to do, so he went back to class. He wanted to see what he could learn.

Aside from weird looks, however, he got nothing useful. The kids in his class were mostly still in Rank One, Mille being the sole exception, other than his friends of course. She briefed him on all of their activities and how they were going as a group.

"How about you? Are you still worthy enough to call me your subordinate?" She asked him, to which he decided to pick a fight with one of the graduates of the Academy.

He picked a boy who had just turned twenty. He was one of the top students in the whole school, and the biggest bully one could find.

At first, the Rank Four boy found his challenge a joke. After ten minutes of straight-up torture, however, the Earth user begged for mercy, of which Ciaran had none. He didn't even fight him, he just took away his control over the Earth and told some of the elements to beat him until he bled.

Ciaran thought he was going easy on the poor boy, but to the onlookers, it looked like this fight was personal. After it was over, the Earth boy begged and swore he would never bully anyone ever again.

After that, Elizabeth dragged Ciaran away.

"What, I was fighting bullying. No one wants these degenerates in our school." He said and earned himself a pinch.

"I don't care, now talk. Tell me everything. You left here an Apprentice, and you are almost halfway to my rank now. There is no way you got so strong while taking it easy." She said and pestered him until he showed her his magical training.

She thought it was a cheat, but she didn't chastise him for it.

"Good, you are learning real magic. Now go to the Library and read up on the theoretical part of things. Oh, don't give me that look, you think you discovered something new, but we have known about the sentience of elements for centuries. The problem isn't that they talk Ciaran, it's why they talk to you, and not to anyone else."

Elizabeth gave him a topic to research, and send him off. Usually, people had to go through trials to go to the Library, but Ciaran was on vacation from his trial, so he just went in for free.

He directly wanted to go to the third floor, but the elevator simply got rid of its controls.

[Years go by, and you don't visit, you don't write, you found some other Library didn't you? Some new Bookshop maybe, young and inexperienced? I thought we had something special Ciaran.] He ones again heard the voice.

"Enough with your games Ra, I know you are really here." He said and shocked the Sun God.

Then he decided to appear.

Ra was a tall, slender man with a straight nose, high cheekbones, and full lips. His eyes were almond-shaped and slightly slanted and his skin was a deep golden-brown color, symbolizing the power and radiance of the sun. His hair was black and worn in a short, cropped style, with a full bushy beard.

He wore a long, flowing robe made of fine linen or silk, which was adorned with intricate gold embroidery and symbols of the sun, such as the solar disk and cobra. He also wore a necklace made of precious stones and metals, symbolizing his wealth and power.

In his hands, Ra carried a scepter topped with the ankh symbol, which represented his power over life and death, as well as a flail, symbolizing his role as a divine ruler. He radiated an aura of warmth and light, representing the life-giving power of the sun, and exuded a sense of calm and benevolence, as befitting a god who was seen as the creator and sustainer of all life in the Empire.

"Well… you look fancier than Nature that's for sure. Not even close to the level of scary she is though." Ciaran said, making the man chuckle.

"She is a primordial Ciaran; I ascended less than a thousand years ago. If I was as powerful as she was, the balance of this world would be broken." He said, intriguing the boy.

No one wanted to tell him about the peak of this world, not even Nature, which had a natural tendency for chaos.

"I brought you here to apologize, I wanted to thwart her plans sooner, but it took me a few more years than expected," Ra said, with genuine pain in his voice.

He then showed Ciaran what he meant. He showed him how Nature pushed the merfolk tribes, just enough so they could clash with the Imperial Navy. She gifted a fake epiphany to Alaric Greyhound, showing him how to hide the boy.

She did all she could so his life would naturally be pushed in the direction that she wanted. But he also showed him, that just like her, other Gods played with mortal lives as well. He showed him the cruelty they were capable of, and he showed him the apathy of his kind.

Then he showed him his own way of dealing with it all. It turned out, the Empire started its hate toward magic because it was the one thing that allowed the Gods more freedom in how they could play around. He also showed him how it had backfired, by no fault of the Gods, just pure human ignorance.

He showed Ciaran, how his children, Emperor after Emperor waged war on the non-humans. He also showed him the fact that both Silver and Eleftherios had studied under him.

"Take your time and digest all of that. When you are ready I am here for your questions." Ra said and sat on a chair.

Ciaran was more than a little overwhelmed. He also sat down and thought.

"Does she have a use for me, or does she just want to mess around?" He asked, and Ra smiled.

Ciaran was clever enough to know that even this conversation had its rules. He couldn't directly ask what to do, and he could not be given any information about her plans. But what he asked was on the limit of acceptable.

"She needs you," Ra said and felt that he was edging a line.

Ciaran thought again.

"Can anyone become a God?"

Ra looked at him, more pleased than ever.

"No!"

Ciaran was certain now.

"You can't answer this so answer my follow-up question rudely if I am wrong. Does she want Verdania to kill me so she could ascend? What do you think of my relationship with Diana?"

Ra was over the moon.

"I think you are the sweetest couple. I did organize your meeting, but even I didn't foresee you becoming so involved. I know you will treat each other well, and I wish you all the happiness in the world." The Sun God said, and Ciaran's heart fell.

He wanted to ask a few more things, but Ra raised his hand.

"Only about magic, we are already pushing it. You originally had five questions, your cleverness dropped them down to four." He said, the pride in his voice intensifying.

Ciaran really wanted to ask him more questions about either Nature, or the Gods in general, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't understand why he couldn't, but he felt it.

"Will I evolve past the Storm, or will I just grow with it?" He asked and Ra opened a door and kicked him out.

"Don't be too clever for your own sake kid. And visit your parents more, you really hurt them this time." Ra said and left the boy on the third floor.

He was now surrounded by books filled with precious knowledge, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he was just told. He was about to leave, but then he bumped into another familiar face.

Fia Silverwing was reading up on Water magic when her gaze met his. She like most of everyone else didn't recognize him, but unlike the rest, she held no hostility, in fact, she even put on a friendly smile.

"Hey there handsome, here to steal something? I can't let you take any books, but if you want you can give me a ride." She said and winked.

Ciaran knew she was strong, so he accepted.

"Sure, let's get out of this dusty old place and go somewhere with fewer people. I want to test out my new techniques and I think you can handle me being a bit rough." He said as he pulled her to the exit.

It wasn't how she imagined things would play out, but she hadn't had much 'action' lately so she just went along with it.

When they were out Ciaran was about to suggest they spar behind the Academy when she grabbed his ass.

"Where are you taking me now Sweetcheeks?" She asked with a playful smile. A moment later, a fully armored silver knight smashed her teeth in.

"TO HELL," Diana said.