Ciemnosc The Negotiator
It was now the 1st year, 5th month, and 1st week since the start of the war. Ciemnosc was now 12 years, 8 months, and 1 week old. It was a slightly cloudy day, like one rainy day that started slowly in the morning. On his way to the Grand Lecture Hall, Ciemnosc was greeted and praised without needing to do anything. His title as the Rocaloi Academy's Genius could have never been seen this much and evidently.
But, right now, Ciemnosc prepared himself to know more about this sudden and mysterious notice which, according to the academy, was so important and urgent that the Genius needed to be the focus of attention. Of course, all this attention had to come with a price.
As e entered the Grand Lecture Hall, Ciemnosc saw the eyes of the old and middle-aged cultivators looking at him in so many ways, but every single one was with fundamentally the same emotion; pity. It was as if they could see a rising star being shunned and dimming out. And Ciemnosc, who was more sensitive and sensorial than anything, caught up on that sentiment and sensations.
He walked through the lavish and wide hallways of the Grand Lecture Hall. There weren’t many. It was only that this humongous place had so many rooms one could barely imagine how extraordinarily oversized it was without seeing it in its entirety from all sides from the outside. When he stepped into the main hall, which was large enough to even hold more than 10,000 people and at the same time, he saw the reason for it all.
The main hall was enormous, it had to be, the headmaster and the like would give the best teachings and lessons here, even giving tests for some well-seen students was normal who would then become applicants to become leading students. Since it was so huge, Ciemnosc’s Spirit Sense was preferably mediocre compared to the diameter of just the center of this main hall, where a single different guest was seated.
In the center of the main hall, a variety of the academy’s staff were seated cordially and even one step below the guest. Beside this guest, and as if they were accompanying the guest, headmaster Clann, old headmaster Isol and vice headmaster Topi among a few others of similar age and status, were behind the guest sitting on their own chairs.
Murmur murmur~, murmur chatter…
“... …” The moment Ciemnosc stepped into the main hall, all eyes on him, the murmuring and chatting old fellows quieted down slowly to a deafening silence. Meanwhile, his eyes and the guest’s eyes met each other. Ciemnosc’s eyes glinted curiously.
The guest was a female, a Beast Race female member. She had long, bunny ears and had skin and fur of a blue color, slightly more towards the darker palette. Her feature was completely human, but her ears showed her fur’s color, and her skin was simply of that color. Ciemnosc could attribute that to her show of not being afraid to be seen as another race instead of taking her human form without unusual skin.
As Ciemnosc showed himself, she seemed captivated by the darkest of his eyes, she remained seated, but Ciemnosc could tell she wanted to stand up and meet him directly. And as he walked deeper into the main hall, her desire to stand up grew. But by then, she had already composed herself and became sober of his enchanting beauty. His slightly pale skin, in a sense, was even more beautiful than the other humans she had seen; ever.
Ciemnosc stepped all the way until he was just a few meters in front of this guest while 1 meter in front of the old and middle-aged fellows on their chairs, not caring about obstructing their view of the guest. The headmaster stood up, followed by the vice headmaster, but both remained in front of their seats until the headmaster gestured to the guest with a smile.
“Genius Ciemnosc, meet our esteemed guest Torme. She is one of the peak Obsidiafying realm cultivators of one of our neighboring Beast Race’s civilizations.” The headmaster had a big smile on his front, and he added with an even lighter, appeasing tone. “She has come to discuss matters of… collaborating with the Rocaloi Academy to develop together.”
“It is indeed so, Genius.” Torme, the esteemed guest said. Her voice was pleasant, and it made both Ciemnosc and the entire crowd within the main hall immensely appeased to hear once they did. Ciemnosc’s eyebrows danced a little, jolting once before his eyes were directly set on hers and her lips as she continued. “I have heard the academy’s revolt against the eastern forces and of their victories against them. Even if it’s not recently, hmm.”
Despite the content of her words, everyone here just wanted to hear more of her, listen to every word and syllable she had to speak, and treasure it somehow. “I find myself truly honored to meet the academy’s bravest warrior, soldier, and commander. I am Torme, and I come from the Beast Race’s union to invite Mr. Ciemnosc here to our home.”
“Ciemnosc, say something!” Without waiting for one mere second after she spoke, the headmaster exclaimed towards Ciemnosc to respond to Torme, who was about to stand up. Ciemnosc imaginarily smiled and went over to help her up, their bodies becoming close as she said, straight at her face from up close. “I was going to say and call you stupid, that you’re stupid. The academy has been losing nonstop in the past months against any force the enemy has sent to battle us.”
“Mn, we even lost a port a couple of times,” Ciemnosc’s words made eyes about to pop out of their sockets. He raised his head to gaze at the ceiling as if to contemplate before immediately setting his gaze back down at her, “But I see you are obviously not, since you, in the first place, came to me and not to them primarily.”
“O… oh…” Torme looked perplexed at first, even worried that Ciemnosc would not see her nor her Race as equals. But hearing his words until the end caused her mindset to change, and she immediately smiled at him sweetly, not coquettishly, but merely out of her heart.
“Mr. Ciemnosc, my union would like to have you visit us as soon as possible. Would it be alright if we go to my home to discuss further negotiations for a possible alliance between our forces?” Torme said with her eyes imploringly looking at him, while Ciemnosc’s left eyebrow was raised with how direct she was. Noticing this much, she added, “I know this is direct, but the academy has understood the Beast Race’s compromise to an alliance and the need to unite to face the eastern forces and protect our homes. It will be fine as long as you’re willing.”
“Mn, I’m willing.” Ciemnosc wasted no time and nodded. He took her wrists and raised them with his hands holding them both, like a sort of act to show his genuine ‘promise’. But it was more like acknowledgment in this case.
He then faced the headmaster and vice headmaster to say, his face neutral and his tone casual, “I received news that the troops returned to the academy at the same time as I did want to go to the base. Could the arrangements be done quickly, please?”
“Err…” The headmaster looked for some reason, hesitant as he heard Ciemnosc’s words. But after glancing around for a bit, and dragging his lips, he finally nodded slightly and spoke affirmatively. “Of course, Genius Ciemnosc. That would be of no problem.”
“Mn. Then, since I decided to go with Miss Torme back to her home, I will take a leave from the academy for a couple of months.” Ciemnosc added, not feeling any hot from his face or reddening on the other hand for the same. Headmaster pressed his lips together and nodded again, “Of course. The war doesn’t wait, but there will be time enough for even a year, haha! The academy will rely on you, boy. We trust you.”
“Mn.” Ciemnosc nodded, turning around, and as he had Torme follow his steps, they casually made their way out without talking to anybody else, not even the headmaster and the others. As they left, eyes and words were at their backs, some notorious and others more common, but every single one of them just wasn’t positive in the slightest.
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Once they made their way out of the main hall, Ciemnosc and her began doing some small and little talk. Beginning with Ciemnosc letting his right arm be locked by her left arm and held by her right hand, he spoke softly into her left ear. “How far is your home exactly?”
“It is 2 days away if we take Little Blueblack, my bat. It has the ability to jump at a great distance once every 3 days. I didn’t use it to arrive here, but we can use it back if that’s what you’d like.” Torme answered as her head was slightly lowered. Her face also blushed slightly, giving her slightly dark blue colored skin a touch of deepness.
“Mn, it would be good to do it.” Ciemnosc said as a pause was made into their talking, to which he then added as if it was a normal thing to do “I was referring to your bat’s ability to jump a large distance, eh.”
“Mm, oh.” After her slight blush became a bit more prominent, she nodded her already lowered head and agreed with her mouth. On the other hand, Ciemnosc continued to walk as he brought her out of the Grand Lecture Hall. After coming out of such, a feathered turtle lay there on one of the landing zones for rented Creatures, waiting for its master to come back. When it saw Ciemnosc, it became lively. And when it realized the being beside its master, it turned even more excited somehow.
“Mn, this one is so well behaved, aren’t they supposed to be like grumpy grandpas?” Torme approached the feathered turtle first, caressing its rocky skin on top of its head, and the turtle head that was the size of her torso trembled in even more excitement.
Ciemnosc looked at her and said one thing before asking another, “My Creatures are all longing for affection and are very docile. If you’re interested, I can sell the methods to your Beast Race. But how come they are so… affectionate towards you? They only behave more or less like this with me or my team.”
“Well, ah!” Torme let the turtle's head rest as Ciemnosc noncommittally grabbed her waist and pulled her atop its back. His hands were impossible to deny, and his strength was unmistakable to her. She was totally out of expectations despite being who knew how many hundreds or thousands years old and with her peak Obsidiafying realm cultivation.
“Ahem, well, oh.” Just as she was about to elaborate, Ciemnosc hopped on top of the feathered turtle’s back as well, but in front of her. And without saying a word, he pulled her hands to the front of his lower stomach, he began directing the feathered turtle down the mountain. Being at the very peak of it, the way black down was bound to be long… but not with Ciemnosc’s Creatures, of course.
Whoooosh… siiiiip!
The feathered turtle floated into the air, leaving the landing zone behind and moving forwards in an arch. Right away, the blue bunny felt something amiss, her bunny ears stiffened, and all she could do was grab tighter at Ciemnosc’s stomach!
Immediately, their mount became like a meteorite falling down the mountain, close to it but not touching even a single piece of rock, stone, or grass protruding from the ground. As it went down the mountain, a strange sound followed suit. Instead of a whistling noise, it was more like a held and contained sound of an object moving at a stupid speed. Of course, it was nowhere near the speed of a meteorite falling, but it appeared to be, and it felt that way.
“Bbwgyaaaaaaaah~!!” It wasn’t done once the feathered turtle reached the foot of the mountain, unlike anything she wished it could have been. As soon as she noticed the ground and her Power Energy was activating to protect the 3 of them, her field of vision suddenly switched to facing the sky’s light gray of the morning and not the floor below it.
Then, the feathered turtle arched upwards into the sky like a whale soaring from the deep ocean. Its body wasn’t that huge and was only about a medium sized garden when taking all of its dimensions into careful regard. But its image as it soared into the sky was the definition of a whale from the sky.
When she noticed the feathered turtle was flying in the air, thousands of meters above the academy grounds and still within the grand array, she recuperated her cool but still felt the need to push her head on Ciemnosc’s back.
“... It may be due to me and my people being the only Beast Race in this world.” Sometime after, Torme said with her lips quietly spitting the answer that had gone up and down as much as her heart was between staying in her body or leaping out of her throat for all this while.
“How come?” Ciemnosc was curious and asked as he felt her hands no longer puffy and turn back to some human’s hands. She plastered those fingers on his stomach, which was slim but somewhat muscled, and felt damn good before elaborating. “When our first peak Obsidiafying cultivator became a Beast Race member, who still lives, she gained revelations that are glorious even up until today.”
“For one, we know this is just one world of many, though we do not know anything about the exterior. For two, we are aware that the Creatures and ordinary animals of this world have been the weakest they have ever been, and our existence right now is like… god to the ordinary people.” Torme spoke softly, still with hushed words as her lips somewhat danced on the back of his modern uniform.
“When we come close to them, physically, they are invigorated as if we are their sacred devotion and their prayers were answered at last. There are some… and this is extreme, as unseen as it is with you, the Human Race. But if one of us mates with them, they have a great chance of mutation, though they won’t have any boost to evolve into a Beast Race member, that is… something unique and impossible through time. It was so with much luck that we managed to get there not too long ago.”
‘Not too long for your Race,’ Ciemnosc rolled his eyes as he thought. Torme, not caring about these antics he displayed, continued with the weirdness of her voice easing down quite a lot. “And if we take care of them like pets, but as a family as well… they can learn the language. Though we know they can do that on their own and at a time. All we know is that they can indeed learn the language at a sooner realm than they are supposed to.”
“That is all I know about the relationship between Creatures and us, the members of the Beast Race, and the only ones in the entire world.” Torme lifted her body at last. Letting her prominent yet small breasts against Ciemnosc’s back, her head poked from the left side of his neck and over his shoulder. “Do you have anything else you would like to ask?”
As she dangerously asked, Ciemnosc moved his eyes slightly to contemplate before shooting her with his doubts. His voice was neutral and a little flat. “How much lifespan does your first Obsidiafying realm cultivator has left before dying?”
“About a few hundred years, thousands if lucky, and if we find enough good medicine and resources to keep our array formations at bay,” Torme answered. Her words clearly demanded his help, and Ciemnosc was listening. But he, of course, had more to ask about her and the Beast Race. That was the exchange, after all.
“What if your people are overpowered by a stampede of Creatures?” The moment he asked this, he heard a ‘tsk’ and some giggles from his back. “Does it seem stupid that if we were to go so low as to mate with them, we would’ve all been raped already by Creatures out of their instinct to strengthen themselves? No, that doesn’t happen. Our Beast Race is truly like their god, something humans either fake or take advantage of. We have not lost that due to our cooperation.”
“No Creature would think of harming us unless we were to violently abuse them. As for the matter of them raping us, it is the same as ordinary humans thinking of flying without technology. It cannot happen, for that is absolute nature… Though I heard from some old elderly that there have been some kinky people among our race, but I’m sure it doesn’t compare to what humans are already used to though.”
“Ahem,” Ciemnosc felt the need to give some face to the race he has been accidentally badmouthing, Torme as his partner in crime. “Then, what about the things you need. Array formations and medicine? Also, what if I am no Human?”
“Mr. Ciemnosc, we have heard most things about you and your history with… humans. We want many things, but for now, I will allow you to know of some things we are in dire need of.” Torme pressed her chin against his left shoulder. Her intention to touch a soft spot to make him squirm just a little failed as she found herself incredibly comfortable pressing her chin against him.
“Before that,” she changed the tone of her voice as it became somewhat dazzled. “Why is it that when I smelled you for the first time, you indeed didn’t seem to be much of a human being, yet you are basically all that makes someone human. At least physically. I also find it odd that I feel… like I should follow you, keep quiet and learn from you, like… how I see my father?”
“Do not call me Daddy. I find that not amusing,” Ciemnosc said with a neutral tone, receiving silence in return and remembering back to Leen, Fatima, and Missa’s early attempts at searching for somewhere his kinks and finally getting him to fornicate them. Only to, of course, end up failing miserably. But it was good teamwork.
“I don’t know… it’s so odd…” Torme said one last time with the same tone before sitting straight. Her body up against his back, she placed her hands on his waist, and with her face 2 heads away from Ciemnosc’s nape, she demanded.
“We have given your academy gifts. You are its Genius. Now, as a greeting gift, we’d like to know if you are able to create some array formations for keeping a living, breathing body safe and secure. We will also need you to make pills that are tasty yet without any flavor in specific, ‘magical’ if you’d like. As long as you promise to do this, we will speak and listen to you with our open hearts. And you must know what that means.”
“...” Ciemnosc nodded. Their figures could be seen slowly flying through the high skies, higher than the already tall and fat mountain where the academy situated itself around. From where a few figures standing on the building at its peak looked up to watch them head towards one of the academy’s dormitory sections.
…