The apprenticeship itself went smoothly.
Salomon was genuinely grateful that Master Ye hadn't turned him away just because he looked like an outsider. After that, his life settled into a brutal, unchanging rhythm.
Kamar-Taj → Hong Kong Sanctum → training hall → Hong Kong Sanctum → Kamar-Taj.
Every day started before sunrise.
Every day ended the same way.
Oddly enough, he got along best with the guardians of the Hong Kong Sanctum.
The reason?
Food.
They had assumed he wouldn't touch things like beef offal. Salomon proved them wrong by demolishing entire bowls without hesitation.
That alone earned him instant approval.
Somewhere along the way, he realized something else.
He had adapted back to a student's schedule.
Back in his old life, work had drained him to the point where he'd close his eyes after getting home and wake up to morning. No middle ground.
Now?
He actually had energy again.
…Well.
Relatively.
Even so, this routine would have crushed a normal kid.
Salomon wasn't normal.
The influence of the stigmata was starting to show. His body developed faster than others his age. Taller. Stronger. Faster reflexes.
Still—
The workload didn't stop at physical training.
The Sorcerer Supreme personally oversaw his academic education.
Languages, mostly.
Hebrew. Sanskrit. Greek. Old English. Celtic.
Every one of them tied to magical texts he would eventually need to read.
For a ten-year-old—
It was excessive.
Salomon had seen the memories inside the stigmata.
Those archmages?
Their apprentice years were spent copying scrolls and sitting through lectures.
Not—
Training in close combat like some kind of battlemage.
What am I, a sword-and-spell hybrid?
He had no intention of going down that path.
Then there was the paperwork.
Thanks to Baron Mordo, Salomon technically had a legal identity now.
Which created a new problem.
Child welfare services.
They had started looking for a foster home for him. Apparently, an elderly woman had already expressed interest. School enrollment was next on the list.
Salomon wanted no part of that.
I finally get into a world with actual magic… and you want to send me to elementary school?
Absolutely not.
Thankfully, the Sorcerer Supreme didn't push things too far.
Five years of physical training was enough.
By the time Salomon turned ten, even older students at the training hall couldn't beat him anymore.
That's when things finally shifted.
"I'm not sure you should go through with this."
They sat in a quiet chamber.
The Sorcerer Supreme studied him carefully.
"You understand how Kamar-Taj draws power," she said. "Contracts. Borrowed strength."
She paused.
"But you're different. You were born with magic."
She didn't want him bound the way she was.
The system worked. It made sorcerers stronger, faster.
But it came with a cost.
Dependence.
The Vishanti provided power, and in return, they expected influence.
Control.
They feared what might happen if a truly powerful sorcerer slipped beyond their reach. So they limited growth at the source.
The Sorcerer Supreme had avoided that fate only because she had been the first to form a contract. The terms had been… flexible.
That loophole wouldn't exist for anyone else.
Which was why she prepared something different.
She placed a ring on the table.
Silver. Set with a sapphire.
Salomon's gaze locked onto it immediately.
Not because of how it looked—
But because of what it felt like.
The magic inside it pulsed like a living thing.
"Your own power isn't enough to match the Vishanti's reserves," she said. "This will help."
She slid it toward him.
"The first backlash, I can handle. After that… it's on you."
A brief pause.
"There are two more rings. You'll need all three to fully control their power."
Salomon bowed his head.
"I understand."
For a split second—
As he lowered his gaze—
A faint mark appeared on the Sorcerer Supreme's forehead.
Then vanished.
"Go ahead," she said. "Put it on."
Salomon picked up the ring carefully, holding it between thumb and forefinger.
No heat.
No resistance.
Nothing unusual.
He slid it onto his right index finger.
The moment it settled—
It shrank.
Perfect fit.
The Sorcerer Supreme didn't relax.
She moved instantly.
Her hand traced a pattern in the air—
And the Mirror Dimension unfolded, swallowing Kamar-Taj whole.
A roar tore through the sky.
"Thief!"
The voice hit like a physical force.
A massive tiger's head emerged in the void above, eyes blazing with unbearable light.
Hoggoth.
Under that pressure, even the Mirror Dimension began to fracture.
"Thief! Where are you?!"
The mark on the Sorcerer Supreme's forehead flared into visibility.
Only Salomon could see it.
Every other sorcerer remained unaware.
Shielded.
Contained.
"Master—"
Salomon's voice tightened.
He didn't know what price she was paying for this.
Didn't know what she was holding back.
But he could see the strain.
Sweat ran down her face.
She didn't answer.
So he stopped talking.
And sat down.
Cross-legged.
Just like he'd been taught.
Focus.
In his mind—
Darkness.
Then—
Ten rings.
Different colors. Different positions. Layered one above the other.
He didn't force their arrangement. They settled into place on their own.
He reached for the lowest one.
The first.
Light it up.
The ring responded.
Color bloomed.
Orange-yellow. Olive. Rust-red. Black.
Black… or the absence of color.
In the real world—
Magic surged out of him.
Rising. Condensing.
Flowing straight into the ring.
The Sorcerer Supreme felt it immediately.
The pressure eased.
Not because Hoggoth had calmed down—
But because Salomon was stabilizing the ring.
Taming it.
The stigmata reacted.
His magic clashed with the heat pouring from the Vishanti's power. Without it, the energy alone would have burned him alive.
Above—
Hoggoth searched.
Rage simmering.
No target.
No trace.
Slowly—
The disturbance faded.
The tiger's gaze swept across the void one last time.
Then withdrew.
There are two more rings.
The thought lingered.
I'll find you eventually.
Silence returned.
The Sorcerer Supreme opened her eyes, exhaustion lining her expression.
Salomon exhaled and came out of meditation.
"Well?" she asked.
He frowned slightly.
"I… don't fully get it. But when I activated the first stigmata, the ring just… settled down."
That was the best way to describe it.
No violent backlash.
No overwhelming surge.
Just—
Control.
The Sorcerer Supreme watched him for a moment.
Then nodded.
"I was right."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"You really do have all ten."