Silent Crown

Six days later on Friday, the hot afternoon sun shone down from the sky blindingly. Brian and Dominic stood in the shade of the ancient building’s entrance, quietly watching the students that had gathered at the square.

“There are quite a few new students this year.” Dominic looked into the eyes of the boys and girls. “It’s clear that they’re more troublesome too.”

Brian smiled and went along with Dominic’s words, “Maybe they want to hurry and see how the real musician world is. That would all depend on Mr. Dominic’s guidance.”

Dominic stayed silent, raising a hand to feel the scar under his mottled white hair. Maybe it was the hot weather, but he felt pain stretching from his forehead to the scar on the back of his head. But hearing “real musician world” made him want to laugh.

“If they really want to see how the musician world really is, why don’t they go to the battlefield?” His mouth cracked open and his hoarse laughter was like a wheeze, full of unhappiness. “See some blood, see some corpses, learn the color of bone and organs, get used to the smell of blood, and then you can say you’ve seen the world. These weak challenges and fights only give you the right to talk at banquets.”

In the silence, Brian felt a chill down his spine. He did not know if it was the eerie coldness from the ancient building behind him, or because of the old man’s laughter. He leaned back in fear and suddenly became angry, wrinkling his nose in disgust. It was brash on his part to talk to an old guy from the battlefield. Other than killing people, he could only guard the door like a dog.

Suddenly, Dominic turned his head and stared at Brian with an eye covered with white substance like a nebula. A faint smile ghosted his wrinkled face. “Are you angry? I smell anger…”

Under the gaze of an eye that had witnessed the underworld, Brian’s face paled and he stepped back subconsciously. He forced out a smile. “It must be a misunderstanding.””This d*mned battle dog has such sharp senses even when he’s this old…” Brian thought to himself.

“Ha, really?” Dominic laughed and decided to stop playing with this frightened ‘child.’ He said in his hoarse voice, “The school board has nothing to do with me. I’m just a guard, and I don’t care about anything else. Since they know that I’m stubborn and sent me an assistant, you can take care of everything else.”

“Including class?” Brian’s face changed, mixed between uncontrollable happiness and shock. He thought it would have taken some time to take the power from that guy who did not even care about the school board. But he had never imagined that his dream would come true on his first day.

Was it really that easy?

It seemed that even this stubborn man knew to watch the wind. Seeing the principal fall out of favor, Dominics had cleverly decided to give in.

Brian tried to keep a stern expression and asked humbly, “Is that okay?”

“Why not?” Dominic murmured. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?” He looked back at the teacher’s assistant under the blinding sun. With his back to the sun, Brian couldn’t see his face clearly. But the eye covered in with the white nebula emanated a corpse’s coldness. It was like a tide that crashed over Brian’s joy. “Work well since you’re here.” He raised a scrawny finger. Hooked on it was a rusted old key. “It’s time. Open the door.”

It was clearly a command, but Brian, who had never followed any commands, took the key without hesitation. He was in awe of the might in that voice. His emotions battled. For the first time, he felt that his mission from the school board would not be so easy.

The rough key, at least two finger’s width wide, scraped in the keyhole. The sharp sound pierced Brian’s ears. He used all his energy, twisting it bit by bit.

The towering bronze door opened with a shudder, as if woken up by the turning wheels inside. Powerful shaking came from the bar and keyhole. Every shudder made Brian feel as if his bones were rubbing against each other. Finally, the ancient door cracked open. Behind the door, the world was pitch black. An eerie breeze blew out of the darkness, bringing with it the smell of something rotting.

Brian stepped back, as if shaken by something in the darkness.

“Don’t just stand there. Bring the students in.” Behind him, Dominic leaned on a cane and passed him. “It’s almost time for class.”

—

All students let out a breath when they finally made it to the end of the long tunnel. The entire time, the darkness all around them almost suffocated them. The hidden underground palace emanated an ominous feeling from every corner, at every second.

Very few people knew that there would be such ancient architecture hidden under the verdure of the academy. It looked like a church, about to collapse any second. But the Church would have never built something so sinister. They always had sharp turrets, like swords pointing up to the sky.

Like in an abandoned building built from scraps and metal, there was a long tunnel behind the bronze door. Silence weighed down on everyone’s whispering. There was only the sound of heavy panting and footsteps, and the sound of Dominic’s cane hitting the ground.

“Stop here.”

They were on a vast square, at the entrance of a different palace.

Dominic’s footsteps halted, and he looked at the crowd behind him. “All public practice classes will be held here. Remember your location. This is still within the proximity of the entrance. If you keep going forward, you will stray.” He paused and laughed hoarsely. “If you get lost here, no one will be able to find you, or find the pieces of your body and put you back together.” He raised a hand and grasped the rope of an alarm. He pulled, and the alarm went off instantly. The sharp ringing pierced everyone’s eardrums.

But then, some people yelped in shock. The aether in the air suddenly woke up and became active. As if freed from its shackles, it started accepting its sense and control again.

Following that, light appeared in the darkness. Silver flames ignited above the dome, and the ancient candles glowed. The growing light chased away the darkness, and also illuminated the menacing statues and faded art.

When these half-human, half-snake, or otherwise mutated statues became visible, everyone gasped. They were not in an underground palace.

They were in a tomb!

—

It was a tomb—a tomb that had buried a legend.

Brian stared at the darker places and his breathing quickened. The legends were true.

Legend said that after King Arthur died, his famous Sword in the Stone—the one that killed the catastrophe Red Dragon and created Anglo—and the armor and weapons of the Round Table Knights were sealed in the deepest parts of the academy. Apparently, the sword was still active every night, even after losing its owner. The soul of the Red Dragon sealed in its blade still howled during the dark nights.

It was a weapon that had combined the skill of all Eastern and Western alchemists at the time. After losing its owner, it became a ‘creature’ that preyed on men.

The Royalty could not bear to destroy King Arthur’s only relic, and could only seal it in the deepest part of a tomb-like underground palace. It was guarded by the armor of the Round Table Knights. Someday, a new king would be born and take control of it.

There were more legends than one could count. But this was the only legend that was a secret every major family passed down. Brian had worked hard to win this position, just so he could add something bold to his resume. This was also why he had been so upset with Dominic. The resource that could help him win the world had always been taken by an old thing that needed a cane to walk? Such blasphemy!

“What are you still waiting for?” Dominic’s hoarse voice sounded behind him like a ghost that could read minds. “Start the class.” The old man hobbled away into the dark shadows. Only his eerie laugh remained. “I heard that the kids have prepared something. I’m so excited. Can the gentlemanly elites learn to fight like dogs too?”

Seeing his backside, Brian’s expression turned dark. He was starting to find this old dog an eyesore.

—

Brian stood before the crowd, starting to lecture the rules and important points of musician battles. But in the crowd, Bai Xi hopped around in impatience. Everyone around them had an idea of what was going to happen that day. They sent over troubled and pitiful gazes. The more they did so, the worse Bai Xi’s temper got.

“What are you looking at? I’m going to gouge out your eyes!” Bai Xi stuck her middle finger up at everyone. “What? Not happy? Then fight me. I’ll teach you a lesson!”

They looked away, but Bai Xi was still pissed. “How long has it been? Why isn’t he here yet?” she asked, stepping on Charles’ feet. “Why did you sneak out this morning? How come only you came back?”

“Maybe because there are a lot of scrolls,” Charles said mysteriously. “Don’t worry, he promised to come back in time. It hasn’t started yet.”

“Music History?” A dramatic voice sounded from the crowd. Bart gazed mockingly at the emblem before Charles and Bai Xi’s chest and asked his friend, “What department is that? Do we even have that in our school?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of it before.” His friend giggled. “It used to be part of Revelations, but it was too much of a failure, so we kicked them out. They host our academy’s infamous failure too. How have they not been eliminated yet?”

“Say one more thing!” Without waiting for Charles, Bai Xi walked over to the student. She looked up at him, her eyes full of anger and coldness, like a frosted dagger.

Her eyes were different from Ye Qingxuan who always looked at others with pity in his eyes, as if he was looking at an idiot, and would not react no matter what. But Bai Xi did not care about getting on the same low level as those idiots. Once she was angry, she was willing to fight no matter what.

When she stood in front of the boy, a full head taller than her, and looked up, he actually stumbled back. No one could believe that such a fierce glare came from that little girl.

“A failure? Even if he is one, he’s a failure I’m protecting.” She reached out, jabbing at the boy’s chest, forcing him to stagger back. “Say one more word and I’ll rip your lips off. Just try…”