Surrounded by flames, a strange gentle warmth accompanied his left, while the fierce fire of warfare raged on his right, Mus Ongaku opened his glowing green eyes, the blessed pair of jewels within his eye-socket glowing in the night.
The room felt chillingly cool, as the light of the early dawn of the Infinite Academy slowly rolled through the darkness that ruled over the night. The slow gentle breathes of his partner halted as she sensed the turmoil within him an instant after he acknowledged its effects.
"Mus?" Mila Nekova, his long-time girlfriend said as she slowly placed her warm hands over his cold fingers, "Another nightmare?"
"The songs of the future played ever louder..." Mus said, turning and staring into Mila's eyes that are as blue and pure as the ocean, "Our plans must proceed as intended, or else..."
"It will." Mila said quietly, whispering into his air as she slowly sent waves of Warmth into his body, seemingly awakening something in him as the wind brushed past the most sensitive parts of his ear, "Because we made sure it will. That's why we are here."
"Well...one of the reasons, yes." Mus nodded, looking over at Mila and noting her look of concern. He leaned in, kissing her warm lips and allowing himself to be melted within her embrace, "You are always the more worried one, yet you always comforted me."
"What can I say? I am just that much of a wife material." Mila joked, rubbing Mus in the stomach.
"Not just a wife, but a Queen." Mus said, laying back down, "You will be a Queen."
"I know, because we made sure it will." Mila said, flipping over with a smirk on her face before she reached her hand downwards, the long smooth fingers wrapping around the little Mus, "Now, get hard already."
When they first did it all those years ago, it was near the balcony of the same Union building, as the fireworks brilliantly decorated the canvas of the night sky. That was when he approached her, knowing that she has waited for too long. And now, years later, they returned to the Academy, and are doing it again in the same building.
"I grade your performance today...a five out of-" Mila said, dropping to the bed again with her body covered in sweat.
"A five?!" Mus shot his head up in protest.
"-out of six." Mila giggled, slapping him in the chest before yawning, "I am sleepy again."
"Hey, I can't finish on an imperfect score." Mus said, turning over with newfound motivation as his fingertips glowed gold, and he gently tapped Mila in the stomach, a small and gentle wave of light originating from it before tiny vibrations started palpating within Mila's body, then, the light buzz slowly started to travel downwards...
"Hey, that's not fair...ah...ah~" Mila said, her hands grabbing onto Mus's thick wrist before putting up a soft defense as Mus leaned in, his tongue at the ready and soon entering her sacred temple.
The morning was already upon them when Mila finally gave Mus a perfect score. Despite the action-packed night they have spent together in the Union building, they were even more energetic in the morning as Mila swung the curtains open while Mus was changing into a normal set of Union clothing provided to him by John King. His long white hair flowing in the air before he slowly turned around and observed the curvature of his partner.
Heading out from their room and entering the dining area of the Union, John King was enjoying a breakfast soup all by himself when Mus and Mila casually strolled in. His eyes widened before he quickly stood up and half bowed towards him.
"Your vibrations today seemed less...vibrant than usual." Mus noticed a green glow flashed in his eyes before he turned his attention towards the food. Hiding away her casual demeanor when alone with Mus, Mila simply nodded towards John King and Shaila with a critical glare before going ahead and grabbing food.
The dining room is scarce with people this early in the morning, though John King made sure that all those here are his firm supporters within the PORA, just in case Mus felt like doing some home-cleaning today. Not that the addition of them is going to help him in confronting the Grand Commander, but having them there is, at the very least, mentally calming.
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"Did you enjoy your stay?" John asked, his head lowered as Mus sat down right across from him, his distinctive godly aura clearly felt by the number one ranked Wave user in the Infinite Academy, "Grand Commander?"
"It was nostalgic." Mus commented, his fingernails glowing before he sent a small jolt of vibrations through the boiled egg, the shells cracking outward before raining them onto the plate. To the outside world, it was a strange demonstration of his abilities, though, to John King, it served more like a demonstration of the level of delicate control that Mus has over the Wave.
John wasn't here when Mus Ongaku ruled over the Infinite Academy, and as his successor years down the line before he joined the PORA, John simply remembered Mus as a local legend, a man with an entirely otherworldly and unique perspective when it comes to the Wave, a shining genius whose light is too great to be hidden within the floating island. However, once he departed from the Academy, he vanished from the world, until John was recruited by the PORA after becoming the number one ranked Wave user in the Academy.
That was the first time John King confronted Mus Ongaku in person, and that was also the day the pecking order was established within PORA.
"...I am truly glad, Grand Commander." John said, nodding as he slowed down the rate of consumption of the soup, the looming worry about his work accumulating more and more in his head. Clearly sensing his pounding heart, Shaila reached over and placed her hand lightly over his leg, hoping to calm him down.
However, it appeared that Mus was not interested in talking business, and neither was Mila, who simply beelined between the table and the buffet setup, filling up her stomach with an impressive appetite.
"I am sure you are waiting for the start of the recital. The song that told the stories of the Winter Wars, of Xing, and of the Ghost." Mus said, finally putting down his fork as he retracted all of the naturally emitting Wave aura back into his body.
"Yes, Grand Commander." John said, lowering his head and waiting, his body tensed up and fist clenched.
"I am also sure you have built up an image in your head of how this is going to go?" Mus asked, "Look at me."
John looked up, and sweat covered his red-skinned face even despite his best attempt to maintain a cool hairstyle before coming here.
"The truth of the matter is, I am not interested in the inter-branch dissonance of PORA." Mus said, his voice slow and calm as Mila stood up and went for another plate, "I care about finishing the piece, and so long as the piece is completed, I do not care for how."
"...Yes, Grand Master." John said, his heart pounding as his breathes started to feel more and more difficult.
"I understand that the continued recruitment of the PORA had been successful, mostly, though there are some setbacks?" Mus asked.
"Yes, a band of resistance appeared to have been formed around the Winner of the Winter Wars, Fatera." John King said, "And I deemed it unnecessary to move against...them..."
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
John cursed underneath his breathe at being so careless as to let that over-confident part of him come out, especially when sitting right across from one of the strongest individuals he had ever met, and that included Principal Khan who is one of the Ten Heavenly Pillars.
However, the water was already out of the bucket, and there was nothing he could do. He muttered words of apology and regret to Shaila inside, the stories of the Grand Commander's rampage ringing true within his head at this moment.
He felt the presence of the Wave within Mus starting to surge, and the cutlery on the table starting to shake as the air thickened within the dining room. John swallowed, and prepared to activate King's Palace at any moment.
"That, was a correct assessment." Mus said, shocking both Shaila and John, "Though a single instrument that's out of tune may ruin a performance, an orchestra that is incapable of recovering from that is not one worthy of existing at all. Our plans are ready, and it will be enacted on during the Summer Selections, so before then, there is absolutely no problem of us being silent for a little while."
"Yes, Grand Commander." John King said in a hurry, thanking every god he had ever known inside.
"Now, please, continue your valiant work as if I am not here." Mus continued, a smile floating on his face and mesmerizing even John King himself, "I shall accompany my lady in the Academy, as we await the start of the Cultural Festival. No discussions related to work shall be performed before then, as it is a special occasion for us."
"Please, enjoy your stay." John said, standing up alongside Shaila, and they made a run for it.
"You didn't have to scare him like that..." Right after John and his staunch supporters exited from the dining hall, Mila spoke up immediately.
"It never hurts to replay some of the old tunes as a reminder." Mus smiled, "Plus, since when was a parent truly worried about a children's antics during a game?"
"You trying to talk about kids before marrying me?" Mila stuck her tongue out at Mus before crossing her arms, "Not interested~"
Unbeknownst to the rest of the Academy, with the arrival of Mus and Mila back to where they started everything, the beginning of the end for the Infinite Academy had officially arrived.