But They Were Deaf

In the Rocaloi Academy, at the workshop. Tini's soft building in her bedroom.

Tini was seated on her bed, her eyes closed and a carnivorous plant behind her left leg's knee as she sat cross-legged with her legs somewhat open. With her eyes closed, her hands were placed against one another facing the ceiling, while around her neck had a kind of necklace hanging from it. Every time her eyes moved under her eyelids, the necklace would shine, and her eyes would stop moving as if too focused.

Within her mind…

“... but, are you sure you aren’t thinking this too fast?! There’s too much change happening out of nowhere! It surely can’t be because of what he said…”

Tini was witnessing a scene, a strange scene, in the academy at these moments. They consisted of the current headmaster of the Rocaloi Academy and the old headmaster. They were in a hidden room with notorious array formations to keep everything happening inside - inside. And not letting anything or anyone from outside get a hint of it.

Except for… Tini and the grand array’s strange qualities. It went right through the array formations like nothing, allowing Tini to look at their sudden meeting with such urgency and with the headmaster himself appearing so anxious and troubled. While the old headmaster was calm and collected, in a good mood even.

After the headmaster questioned the old headmaster, some silence ensued. She looked at the headmaster with such tranquility and didn’t change the expression on her face even just once. Instead, she looked directly into his eyes and said, her voice quite casual and feeling at ease. “Clann, it has been so long. So long, but you still hesitate to do the right thing now?”

The old headmaster got close to the headmaster, pronouncing each word and convincing the headmaster. The headmaster responded by lowering his head to a tilt and said while shaking his head, “No, Isol, it isn’t right for us to do the same. They had done the same, and it ended up becoming the worse situation they had faced in so long! Not only were they bested by our Rocaloi academy, but they are even losing tens of thousands each month to his base!!”

“Then is the evidence shown to us fake? Not real? Do you really think that boy is powerful like this for no reason? It’s been millions of years in this world, but why is there no one like him before? He is a de-”

“Enough, enough…” The headmaster, who was currently frowning at the old headmaster’s words, interrupted and shook his head with some acquiescence attitude. He looked back up at the old headmaster and said in a low volume, his tone somewhat in defeat and giving in. “No matter what, it can’t be done like that. He’ll be given a lot of time. If it’s the truth, then he won’t have any time holding it in because he wouldn’t even be like that.”

“This does better be your instincts and not anything else. Because Isol, if this isn’t done for the sake of the academy; look, everyone respects you, but even those things are not admissible.” The headmaster said, whereas the old headmaster had a small change in her expression but was still smiling slightly at the headmaster, albeit with her head and chin somewhat lifted.

“Only if he happens to show anything will we do anything, not before or just ‘by accident’. Understood?” The headmaster said, reclining on a table and looking at the old headmaster without giving in this time, showcasing his might and attitude, just like that of a headmaster who had the highest power in the Academy.

“... Just don’t forget, everyone that is not decided yet can still choose a side, their band.” The old headmaster didn’t respond to the headmaster’s words, but she nodded and stepped out of the room, but not before leaving her words at the last moment. Somehow, she just had to win; somehow…

“Hmm,” Tini lightly exclaimed in her bedroom. The carnivorous plant behind her left knee looked up slightly to look at her as she opened her eyes slowly. Standing up from her bed, she placed the carnivorous plant near the window on top of a small table and then proceeded to go out. Her path was that of walking down the stairs, coming out of her soft building and directly entering her hard building with her mind already working in pill formulas.

. . .

Rocaloi Academy, Ciemnosc and his team’s bedroom in the dormitories.

After only 10 hours of travel, the armored cars that exited the base had made their way through the snow from there all the way to the Rocaloi Academy’s grand array entrance. When they did, they incredibly surprised everyone and even shocked some. They usually took a long time to travel back and forth between the 2 places. And it was even more so when more students, or so, were sent to the base. Their pace as cultivators wasn’t slow like ordinary people, but still.

Only when the academy sent someone there with either a letter or with the intention to learn of the base would the trip take less than a day, back and forth. But now, the base’s Ciemnosc, Chief in Command, and… some hundred thousand troops from the base had returned not even 1 day after the letter of the Chief in Command being replaced!

What did this mean?! The Chief in Command, ex-Chief in Command, had surely been so obedient and corresponding with his duty that he didn’t even delay time to return at all! What’s more, from the total of students sent there, about half of the entire base’s manpower was gone? They were all willing to return to the academy after all?!

While the people in the academy were thinking of how actually good and devoted those in the base were to the academy, contrary to what they were spoken of, chatter and secret gossip raged on and on around the academy grounds. Ciemnosc and his team were directly into their bedroom. While the rest that came with him went to their respective bedroom without making any contact whatsoever as if they were a big group of friends with big drama going on.

On the other hand, the first thing that the girls and the handsome fella did was bury their bodies into their own separate beds. Unlike Ciemnosc, they had to stay in the base, or around it, for almost a year, needing only a bite more than a month to reach that 12th month of snow and coldness without the warmth of their old beds that have been theirs for years.

Even so, as it was nice to be back, back home and back to where they began their cultivation life, the sense of duty to return to command their troops and follow Ciemnosc’s commands was still there and now itched and prodded at their minds every minute they spent in comfort within the warmth.

Though the warmth itself and the sensation of being around their own people in a peaceful environment was something that couldn’t be wrong, erroneous, or bad. Compared to what they were now capable of doing… it was a total waste to simply stay here instead of starting to… to start conquering the world!

Their beds were big, not as much as Ciemnosc’s bed back at the base, but more than enough for 3 or 4 people to relaxedly sleep while touching each others’ bodies with their hands or arms extended sideways. Everyone was taking their own little break. They did deserve that, at least so. Ciemnosc looked at them with his own eyes after also checking his private bedroom. He appeared at their doors and looked before closing them.

Slowly after he did, they all stupidly fell asleep. Meanwhile, with his private bedroom showing a letter, he went out of the bedroom and dormitories… towards a certain, very important building around the middle and center of the mountain.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

… Ciemnosc first left the dormitories and then took his time slowly strolling forward. The people around him were different, no longer pointing at him with ‘oh, look, it’s him!’ faces nor little chats, hoping he wouldn’t accidentally hear them, or something. Instead, they were now directly waving at him, greeting him, and even smiling at him. Ciemnosc could tell their point of view was drastically… improved and changed after he left the academy to create those little forces of his.

Maybe they were glad to have had such a capable, formidable ‘general’ on their side, protecting them and bringing their forces to a much greater standing point, even gaining quite a few major victories against the always trying, seemingly endless, and tireless east that wanted to gobble the west up.

The students were naturally feeling proud of their academy becoming so capable, showing how mighty they can be! Teachers and the like felt even more proud and exhibited a much more cordial attitude towards him and became so warm to just receive him back into the academy.

The west was theirs, and for so long, there was just no way they would let those war-addicted spawns have it or even continue to steal it from their hands. And Ciemnosc did just that. He didn’t let them continue using their mines nor did he let them even think they could stay within their west. Even if slowly, and without meaning it, there was a heart of a warrior or warrioress growing inside themselves, slowly turning into what the academy needs to face off their first and hugest complication since showing themselves.

After making his way, walking through the new streets of the academy, he saw from below how they already had new and better roads and pathways up around the mountain. As soon as he came to the foot of the mountain, with some Inferior Powerful Stones being paid, he took a small but very stable and comfortable mount from a Creature-renting service and then continued to take his time as he moved up the mountain this time.

Looking all around while the cute slug-goat made its way up, Ciemnosc saw the streets they ignored and didn’t go through and the new, larger amount of students and even assistant teachers that were around. Not only were there more of those, there were even fewer Creature-renting services, signaling that some merges had occurred.

Yet, instead of appearing to be less profitable, every Creature-renting service had a huge crowd outside their buildings and a very ordered but anxious line formed by the crowd inside. Though they were afraid of having their desired mounts taken, they still had the opportunity to ride those they wanted to bring around and get to their destination with them.

In truth, though it seemed like a necessary merge, which was barely allowed within the rules of the academy, these merging Creature-renting services weren’t in a shortage of the most popular mounts. In fact, they hid the real, actual number of mounts they had, for they had more than enough for basically everyone surrounding their side and little section of the mountain.

They got their clients anxious and feeling powerless but were instead in for a pleasant surprise, and the prices couldn’t suddenly rise up, or they were done to be reported to the academy. After all, the taller a tree stands, the more attention they receive. They would of course be monitored more closely by the academy. And since they were fewer now and much more separated from each other, it was even easier to notice any unbecoming situation.

Kinda dirty on their part to make their clients anxious for nothing, but Ciemnosc learned a tiny bit more with his Spirit Sense naughtily spying all around while his slug-goat took some time to eat its rocks, tasty and crunchy, before continuing.

At the end of their road, Ciemnosc patted the slimy eyes, hung tongue, and drowsy eyes of the slug-goat before letting the ugly-cute thing slide down fast as fuck down the mountain… he had to try that someday, perhaps.

Then, Ciemnosc faced the building, larger than most in the entirety of the academy grounds and not just the mountain or below the mountain. It had huge words written on it with some new-found technology having to do with electricity glowing them, as they read: ‘Discipline & Punishment’.

“...” Ciemnosc wore a humble stylized long-sleeved sweater with a turtle neck that reached up to his glabella if he buried his own neck into it. It was of course black, and with the sights of snow in the far distance, his slightly pale as well as his innocent, cute darkest lifeless eyes, he buried his chin and tip of his nose in his turtle neck before stepping into the Discipline & Punishment building with his head low like this.

As he passed through the students and some staff within the building, they either looked at him, their eyes opening wide when seeing him come in from the students. Or cold and relatively scornful from some other staff that seemed to act as guards here, momentarily. Soon, news would be flowing about— ex —Chief in Command’s appearance in this building on his first day of returning.

Step step step step step step… step, step.

Ciemnosc made a few last steps as he made his way from the main hall of the building to its main courtroom in not only the building but the entire academy as a whole.

When he entered the main courtroom, Ciemnosc was adorned in his retinas by the lavish lights and well-designed furniture all around. Even the structures, decoration, or foundational as support, had their own beauty mixing into the rest of the room and making it look like a simply sacred yet not stupidly rich room made for the most honorable of matters.

A group of people were already there, including the vice headmaster, the headmaster, and the old headmaster. Though only the headmaster was the one who wasn’t among the crowd and seemed to be going to talk, unlike the other 2. He seemed to be situated in a place between the crowd behind where Ciemnosc was to be and in front of the elongated ‘U’ shaped seats where the jury would be.

Ciemnosc took a few seconds to look around. He didn’t have the slightest bit of urgency or even feel like he was wasting anyone’s time. This behavior made the headmaster feel like he was the one being awkward in the whole room while everyone was watching him. But at last, Ciemnosc moved and stepped right into where he was supposed to stand.

When he stood where he was supposed to, the doors in front of him at the sides were opened, and from them, a few dozen people came out and began walking orderly to their respective seats. They seemed somewhat impatient and annoyed, irked too. As they sat down on their normal-looking seats, whose lavish origin and the incredible process didn’t escape Ciemnosc’s naked eyesight, and knew they were incredibly difficult to make but also incredibly good to sit and relax on.

“The session has commenced,” they said. One of them did, right before sitting at the extreme to Ciemnosc’s right. Whom Ciemnosc looked at as he seated, he was a baldie with black skin, and his voice commanded the authority that his only peak Obsidiafying realm within the jury most naturally had.

“Ciemnosc,” some time passed, chatter and a few more words spoken among the crowd and with the headmaster looking at his back securely, one of the jury said while all of them looked at him. Ciemnosc looked back but said nothing in return. And the jury in charge of this session with him didn’t try to pull out the ‘discipline card’ within the courtroom, simply patiently continuing to speak without being ‘greeted back’.

“Today, though I’d like to welcome you and thank you for the great service you provided for almost a whole year, we must do this with you to ensure the safety of the students outside of this academy’s grand array and the validity of the base you built and its components.” That one jury spoke, continuing his words alone while the rest continued to look at Ciemnosc. Nobody was being disrespectful to him, except for a few ‘sneaky’ Spirit Senses that lunged at him right away, some others thinking they weren’t noticed even if he had a ‘great’ Spirit Sense.

“Go ahead.” Ciemnosc said with casualness, his face impassive and half his face hidden from his chin to the bridge of his nose, but nobody called him out for that. The jury nodded and began to move some papers. Then, after looking at each other, another from the jury stood up and spoke out.

“We're all supervisors of the Rocaloi Academy, and as you must know, only the most critical and important matters to be resolved by the Discipline & Punishment needs all of the jury to be filled up by such. Ciemnosc, the first question you will receive today is: did you or did you not kill students of the Rocaloi Academy when in the base for simply breaking the rules you set?”

“I did, many times.” Ciemnosc responded, adding at the end but without a ‘bragging’ or so tone, simply complementing his answer and perhaps avoiding having to be asked another one, one by one, and so dully.

“Well, uh- how much is that ‘many’ for you?” The jury who stood up and spoke collected himself with Ciemnosc’s dialect, not realizing how the boy is and continued. Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes traveled to the right corners of his eye sockets, his lips moving behind his turtle neck, “One is too many, but that’s how it naturally is most of the time. Especially with those who do not understand.”

“What could not be understood?” The jury asked again, his facial expressions curious and… nervous too. Ciemnosc placed his hands in his pockets and was about to answer once more when he looked directly at the jury and then said his already thought-out answer, “Discipline.”

“...” The jury lowered his head and grinned ruefully, he felt like sitting down but he couldn’t. So he continued on, “What did you do with these bodies, Ciemnosc?”

Clatter, chatter, clamor…

“...” This time, Ciemnosc didn’t even think of the answer as he directly looked at the jury, and even the other juries around him looked at that jury somewhat perplexed, while only some of the jury remained impassive instead.

“...?” The headmaster frowned, and with his eyes bitterly glowing, he twisted his torso to look back at the vice headmaster, then at the old headmaster. Who smiled while setting her eyes on him and then looked back at Ciemnosc and the jury. The same was for the headmaster, but his face was slightly pale and nervous as he returned to face his front.

“Those who died because of indiscipline were cremated on the spot in the base, while those who died in battle are all sent to raft into the Little Lake, and their remains are burnt. When there aren’t any remains of them, an object of their belonging is burnt to ash instead.” Ciemnosc responded, highly attracting many ‘to his side’ and leaving the jury who asked… incredibly, a bit - awkward.

…