Olivier stood before the grounds of the academy. The stone walkway had its weeds trimmed to perfection, and the buildings had every brick laid perfectly atop one another. The other students were all walking to the same place as him. The air was bursting with their excitement.
While they had been given the option to enter the academy early, in reality, there was no such option. Those who didn't come early would be seen as slackers in the eyes of the teachers and elders. They'd be those who'd hardly be able to present themselves as candidates for future positions.
A single day truly wasn't enough to determine an entire future, but it allowed the instructors to discover potential troublemakers and layabouts earlier. Those with any heightened standing within the Familia would have sent their children as soon as day broke. It didn't just affect the child's reputation, but also the reputation of their blood family.
As Olivier's feet calmly pressed against the cobble towards his classes, he found that nobody looked his way. In his past life, he, his brother, and Romeo had all been hailed as the future leaders of the Familia. Now it was only Romeo garnering the attention. It didn't bother Olivier – his plans would fall into place in time.
Olivier had long since planned to rob the city for all it was worth before it got burned to the ground. To do that, he'd have to get the attention of those at the top. It wouldn't be particularly hard, but his brother would undoubtedly try to stop him, and most likely by discrediting him. Then, if the Familia's elders discovered anything seriously out of place, they might suspect some sort of taboo alchemy being involved. That would be the end of them both.
He stopped his thoughts and made his way into the building in no rush. He walked past the students talking with their friends and entered the classroom to find the instructor calmly looking out a window. Olivier sat down in the middle of the room on the floor and waited. There weren't any chairs or desks, only mats.
Even by the standards of the current age, Olivier found the room – and by extension, the academy – dated compared to the city.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a week!" A voice called out to him from the door. In his past life, the voice belonged to his closest friend. He latched onto that friendship despite his father's stealing of his time into alchemy. The two of them would often bounce ideas off each other, and he helped Olivier out of many mental ruts.
Remy, the source of the voice, frowned when Olivier stared blankly ahead.
"So what? You didn't get the outcome you were looking for, but you can still run circles around the others around here in alchemy. Nobody can deny that, even if they're delusional enough to try!" His barely contained whispers reached the ears of those entering the room, eliciting mild looks of disdain.
Olivier's eyes remained focused on the back of his instructor as his lips stayed sealed like an ancient statue. A moment later, Victor walked through the doorway as well and quickly sat. Without waiting, Remy appeared by his side, giving him the same earful he gave Olivier. As if he took notes, Victor also remained silent and still.
"You'd do best to follow in their stead, Remy." The instructor spoke without turning, as he watched the sun begin to peek over the city walls. "Their calm should be commended."
The academy was located on the city's outskirts, and a massive swath of land within the walls was dedicated to it. It was towards both the cliffs and the mountains, but in its own secluded section. It wasn't often that alchemists moved to different Familia's – in fact, for most, the only way they could was through marriage. That meant that most of the alchemists in the city had graduated from those very halls.
Once the ruckus behind him reached an acceptable level of agitation, the instructor finally turned towards the children. His eyes darted from student to student, each time lingering for one second, and not a second longer.
"I'd like to applaud your timeliness. We start our first class today; those who have decided to stay home for another day will simply have to catch up. It's time for you all to step into the world of adulthood. Lesser children, those without the will of alchemy on their side, become adults when they're much older. Becoming an alchemist means you're entering an upper level of respect and expectations alike. Those who fail to meet either of those standards cannot be treated as human. As such, they'll be discarded."
It took not even a second for the student's mouths to shut, their expressions mimicking the dead. The instructor's tone was chilling, as if they were nothing but meat to be butchered. It wasn't far from the truth.
They could be likened to a chicken: a diseased hen would be chopped across the neck to save the rest.
Their instructor inched forward as the room's light began to dim, the window shutters being closed from the outside by assistants.
"Those here from prestigious families will already know this, but for those who weren't taught basic alchemy, I'll start here. Alchemy is fueled by four things. Equations, the Law of Mutual Exchange, Maintenance, and your Alchemical Heart. Today, we'll focus on your heart. Like your real heart, your Alchemical Heart is a muscle; you will tear it apart and give it time to regrow to gain strength."
Quickly, a looming shadow appeared in front of Romeo – the boy who ranked highest in the grade of students, as well as the patriarch's second son. Romeo swallowed a ball of saliva caught in his throat while a cold chill crept down his back.
"Elaborate for your classmates." The towering instructor spoke.
Despite the training Romeo's father put him through, his hesitation hung on his lips. There was a great possibility that he could become the next patriarch, and as such, he'd been taught how to deal with the presence of others. Reality was a different story, however, and the instructor's brutal image instilled a strange fear in him.
'Authority,' he realized. 'It's true authority that isn't bound by my blood. He can decide my entire future, this one man in front of me.'
His tongue darted across his lips while he soothed his thoughts. He could easily answer the question; the man's authority held no blade over his neck if he gave an appropriate response.
"An alchemical heart is the defining trait of an alchemist. Before an alchemist creates theirs, they're nothing but a human. However, an alchemist can upgrade the heart, and this forces the alchemist's body to adapt. Afterward, it'll far outgrow that of a regular human body."
The butcher would not chop him. But now the butcher craned his neck towards another.
"You were the first to arrive, Olivier. Besides your lackluster results from the ritual, you seem to have a solid grasp of alchemy from your father and an eagerness to prove yourself. Elaborate further."
'If left unchecked, it won't take long for Victor to speak through the elders as the real leader of the village,' Olivier thought with a heart as calm as still water. 'They will be his mouthpieces unless I can stand out and give them pause. I have lived for far too long to believe that a locked door is a wall. This will be the first of many opportunities to stop them from forgetting me.'
Olivier's plans were for the long run, and as such, he'd almost certainly be weaker than his brother. It was unfortunate, especially considering his brother was an expert at honeyed words. That honey will be drunk greedily by those with unchecked desire, so Olivier would have to poison the hive.
His response to his instructor flowed elegantly from his mouth, almost making a mockery of Victor's time in the courts.
"By creating an alchemical heart, one can engage in the other sectors of alchemy: the aforementioned Equations, Law of Mutual Exchange, and Maintenance. In exchange for power, it allows one to reprogram their soul to follow specific protocols using certain materials." A brush appeared in his hand from beneath his robe.
He quickly began writing a basic equation on a sheet of parchment he took with him.
"Someone will craft an equation that follows the Law of Mutual Exchange, using ingredients for a reaction, themselves as a conduit, and the external world – or sometimes internal physicality – will be the product. To maintain one's Alchemical Heart, you'd need to actively replenish their reservoirs for any equations they have. Almost like feeding a pet. To grow an Alchemical Heart, you'd need to feed it your corresponding Third Prime."
"Long-winded, but it covers the bases sufficiently. Well done." The instructor eyed Olivier with a thinly veiled curiosity. Thoughts danced in his head, but mostly of one topic: the sanity of the boy's father. His mind kept lingering on the boy, and he kept wondering about things for longer than usual. A creeping desire began to arise in his heart. He wanted to test the boy's father's teaching level.
He wanted to know how well it'd stack against his own academics.
"Olivier, I think you'll be the first to develop your alchemical heart. This is usually reserved for the highest-ranked student from the ritual, but traditions be damned. He'll get his opportunity next, then everybody else."
Hughes, Olivier's instructor, was a man of curiosity at the cost of the Patriarch's and Rector's mental health. The structure of society existed for a reason, and oftentimes, they found him circumventing it for "research." As long as no harm came to the Familia in the long term, the elders didn't ultimately care what he did. His place in the hierarchy had long been determined. Both of those things meant that Olivier could manipulate him easily enough with results, but there would be times when he was utterly unpredictable.
'Times like now… Although it works in my favor, he'll be intrigued by both my brother and me because of our father – but because I was the first to take advantage, in the recesses of his mind, I'll be the first of us he thinks of. At least, as long as I can maintain that interest in our father or myself.'
"Seal away the light." The instructor commanded, then walked towards Olivier with a tray. On the tray were a few tools and ingredients for a student of alchemy to create their alchemical heart. At Hugh's command, the shutters were fully closed from outside, and the candles inside the classroom were extinguished.
Without words, Olivier accepted the tray. The contentment on his face revealed his inner thoughts only to his brother.