The study room they had been taken to was wide and spacious, equipped with dozens of wooden tables coupled with their chairs, it was of semi-circular shape reminding Nestor of an ancient amphitheater.
The white, pristine marble floor guided them down a long flight of stairs. It ended up on a small circular space, where was located a blackboard and an oval transparent glass table, one could think of it as the professor's desk.
Nestor found Teresa's mood to be exceptionally terrible today, concerned he asked her if something bad had happened to her.
"Don't worry about it Nestor, I'm just tired, yes, that's all. I'll get myself some rest."
Even if reassured by her words, Nestor was yet to change his opinion on the matter. There was definitely something going on that worried the lady.
But still, was too much for him to be distressed over a stranger's well-being to this point. He already made courtesy by asking, and he was not about to help a person that didn't want to receive it.
As Teresa was about to exit the room, having given the trainees free will about choosing their seats, her body suddenly froze in place.
"Hey, you! Where is my assistant going? Come back here, today's lesson shall be our lesson!"
Dominus Karl's raspy yet calm, polite tone echoed through the room, as Teresa's body made a complete turn and started to come down the stairs toward the professor.
Her stiff, rigid movements gave away that something strange, and disturbing was going on. Her cold, absent-minded expression fueled Nestor's doubts even more.
Suddenly Nestor's precognition gave him some feeble warnings, there was something dangerous in the air, but he could not quite put his fingers into it.
Whatever it was, was silent imperceptible, and invisible to the naked eye.
"How perceptive of you Mr.Nestor, your intuition is spot on! But you know what? It doesn't matter, indeed. Why? Because you can't do anything about it of course."
A small chuckle came out by mistake from Mr.Domino's rough lips, as he, in a composed manner, was trying to hold it all in. As the gentleman he was, he couldn't afford to break out in a burst of hysterical laughter.
Nestor on the other hand, was a bit shocked, as he had not assisted in Mr.Domino's previous performance, he couldn't know of his crazier side.
He still imagined him as the amicable elder that had helped him back then, when he still resembled more of a dullahan than a proper human. But the evidence was clear, and playing dumb about it was beyond stupid.
Teresa was being, somewhat, controlled by Mr.Domino's powers and could not retaliate in any way. It was now that he realized it, Dominus Karl was a dangerous person.
Yet was Nestor himself the first to start moving among the trainees, that was now much more than the group initially led by Teresa. With him had come Won, Marco, and Alais, and they found Alex standing at the entrance of the room.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Many other cadets had come in the span of minutes, probably from other squads, having their own instructors. Their mouths now agape, they didn't move an inch.
With wide strides, Nestor came down the flight of stairs, coming down to the first row of desks. There he sat right in front of the old professor.
Was it some kind of display of courage? To make himself stand in front of the others? It was not. Nestor had currently no need for fame, he didn't have the strength to back it up, to begin with.
But it had been his Teacher Lenard that suggested he'd attend this class, and Nestor trusted Lenard a lot. If he said it would be a valuable experience, he wouldn't want to miss such an opportunity then.
The crow of cadets then fell into a panic, some followed the route and found themselves a comfortable spot to sit on like Nestor, who had trusted their Teacher's advice. Others weren't even aware of what was truly going on and chose a seat among the furthest rows, like nothing strange, had happened in the first place.
Even more, they whispered among themself about the professor making favoritism, How could he speak to Nestor in such an amicable way before the lesson even started.
Yet, still about a quarter of the newly joined students began panicking, screaming, and throwing themselves towards the exit door. The outcome of the situation was very obvious, they cramped so much the entrance door they didn't manage to get out in time. Their body suddenly stiffened and walked on their own to the front rows of seats.
'Teresa, my dear canary see that trapdoor behind the blackboard, when I tell you to, you'll get there and take out the items we need for the lesson. That's your role for today's performance, don't disappoint me.'
Upon hearing her father's voice ringing in her head, Teresa's anger was boiling hot. At this point he was toying with her, completely disrespecting her.
'Why even tell me about it, just control my body for your stupid little show, so at least I can close my eyes. At this point what do you even use my opinion for? What if I don't agree, will you let me walk out of the room?'
Teresa's oozing sarcasm was filled with rancor, was it too much to ask for a simple life, a normal family?
Dominus Karl, wide, crazed smile washed away her fury, as a horrifying realization struck her on the spot. Did he hear her? How?
'Oh, my sweet, sweet canary. I'm so proud of you! You just learned soul connection, just by witnessing me doing it multiple times, you must be very talented. Not that I thought any different of my very own daughter.
What's even more exciting is that you were absolutely right, you're very perceptive. Yes! You are part of my show, and the script for your performance is for you, to be you!'
Overjoyed but the fact that she just learned her most desired soul art, she momentarily cast aside Mr.Domino's cruel words. Soul Connection was one of the five main soul arts, of course, it had various tears that required you to be exponentially more powerful to learn each of them.
In truth, for this exact reason, Teresa shouldn't be able to learn about it as she had yet to attain her first soul title. Yet she had chosen to cultivate the aspect of the reality of the soul, which was known to have a high affinity for this particular soul art.
On the first tier, soul connection enabled the use of telepathy, you could either convey thoughts or try to block the ones of others. She really liked this ability, it gave her a sense of freedom she only dreamed of til now.
' Alright dad, I'll play my part, but I want a reward for this. I think I'd deserve at least 1 Kg (2,2 lbs) worth of soul cages. Who knows what kind of absurd materials you've gotten for this lesson, I need some good compensation.
Also, any less than that and it wouldn't be the true me anymore. I know myself, and wouldn't accept such a dangerous assignment for any less, you wouldn't like my performance to be ruined because of you right?'
That was his daughter! Using the enemy's weakness right against them, Dominus Karl couldn't be any happier than this. He truly was a doting father.
'Little canary, that's too much. Avarice won't take you far, you know? I'll give you 0,8 (1,7 lbs) and you'll agree to it. I know you will.'
Saying so, Teresa's expression turned stiff for a moment, as her body moved on its own and extended its right hand, palm open, waiting to receive the payment.
On Mr. Dominos' hands appeared a cluster of bright green crystals, they were pulsating with energy. From it, one could hear eerie, muffled screams of agony.
'There you go my dear, the soul cages I promised, they are fresh from the mines check them for yourself.'
Her father wasn't an easy man to trick, that much she knew. Looking at the astounding reward in her arms, she imagined the crystals suddenly vaporizing and becoming a tox cloud of gas. But nothing happened, they were authentic. Then she understood, it must have been a means for him to congratulate her on the previous advancement.
Her dad may indeed be a crazy, very crazy, old monster. But he still loved her in his own way.
'Good, now that we're ready, get the first black box on the right. Let the show begin!'
A few meters in front of the pair, father and daughter, was Nestor, sitting on a wooden chair, he was baffled, absolutely flabbergasted by the situation.
They stood there facing each other, in silence, the focus in Teresa's eyes had flipped off and on multiple times, now Mr.domino had given her a strange crystal and she was gone behind the blackboard.
This didn't make any sense. It did not, indeed, but it was also true that in Ceres not many things did, at least from an earthling point of view, such as him.