Within The Wind Door

"Alright, let's continue. How far are we from your thing? Best to hurry before one of those speedy groups catches up to us." Elena said after a moment. Heian Ciemnosc nodded and looked around. His darkest eyes weren't too serious anymore as he looked back at her and innocently said, "I don't know."

Pop. Elena lifted her right fist and bumped the right side of his forehead. Heian Ciemnosc grinned and took her right hand with his left. He advanced towards a direction and spoke to her while they hurried their pace a little more. “I can’t find it myself. Remember the dragon? He brought me to a door. This door was in the middle of nowhere, but even with my Spirit Sense, I couldn’t see any living organism nearby.”

“Then I went to a Water door, where a few participants going there were returning with some of their people dying. After I finished ‘stuff’ within that door, I was kicked millions of kilometers away, possibly going at a speed you can’t imagine…” Heian Ciemnosc began telling her of his many little stories. He couldn’t use his medallion to contact anyone, and his Universal Conveyance was limited to within the Semi-Dimension. He only had 1 wife here.

He could speak about them to his people later on. He had already given them a few hundred tons of crab meat, mysterious crab meat. They couldn’t ask anymore. He wanted his stories to be first heard by his child-bearers, then came those who followed him, loyally and committed. Elena listened as he mentioned a detail here and left one for her imagination there.

When he got to the merfolk Small City, she grinned slightly from the left corners of her lips, opposite where Heian Ciemnosc walked. But he noticed, even if it was momentarily before relaxing. Who was he, If not the perfect peeper? Heian Ciemnosc didn’t let it go and immediately enhanced his history’s details until he left the Small City. When he talked about how he banged young girls, about 15 to 17 years old, Elena bumped the murderer of thousands of lives on the chest for his unforgivable crimes.

“... You are something, husband.” Elena sighed after hearing how he was kindly treated by the Earth door to a homely meal and then to a pool. She leaned her left arm on his right shoulder as they changed positions after walking around a lot. Heian Ciemnosc murmured in consent as Elena slowly thought of something and decided. She said, “For once, you’re not a good person. Ruthless, vindictive, not restrained in your sexual morals… although you do not have a bizarre taste, which is at least something to praise, unlike other individuals in the world.”

“For twice, you are not the type of person I despise and loathe. Greedy, cowardly, without ambition, discouraged, and insecure. Whenever I think of those, I think of my parents and other situations I’ve been in. Even if we talk about conquering the world, we are also ready to be conquered by it instead. Killed. But, this brings me to the last point,” Elena said, lifting her ‘teacher’s’ left index finger before his face. Heian Ciemnosc looked on calmly and listened as she continued.

“For thrice, you are… somehow, good towards those around you. Not the Academy. You would betray and run away from it if it ever threatened you. However, others, even my Master and your Master might not do that despite their prowess and status. Their reputation in the world means nothing to them compared to the Academy. Not because they’ve been part of it for a long time or have a high status and desire to maintain that power.”

“One of the reasons is they have truly integrated themselves into it and feel thankful for even joining it. Another would be their losses and gains during their stay in the Academy. They have either been hurt or welcomed a new life into theirs.” Elena looked with bright, brown eyes at Heian Ciemnosc. “And the last reason is… They have that place as their heart. And even if they are to leave it in the future, before any of that come close to them, they want to help.”

Elena calmly sat on the ground. Heian Ciemnosc followed as Elena looked up as if she could see the trajectory back home. Her voice trailed softly, “It’s not the Blackotia Kingdom that matters, but the people that form part of the Academy from now on. The Blackotia Kingdom might be destroyed, but our will might resist and live through time. The long, long gone time.”

“If the Academy is destroyed, it will resurface in the future. Even if the world has to wait for another Change to happen. But if it raises, amidst the Change, and grows as it should have since time immemorial… We might be able to do things nobody else has done.” Elena looked at Heian Ciemnosc, looking so mature and charming. He slightly tilted his head in any direction as he continued to look and listen to her nonstop.

“Traverse through Universal Lands, reunite with the long-forgotten rest of all that exists and there is, and form part of the true world!” Elena lowered her head. The excitement her words could bring to anyone’s heart didn’t emboldened or caused her to turn hot-blooded. Her voice became tiny and like a little girl’s, but carried her own maturity. “Learn what’s next after the final Step, and lunge the world at it… Who knows what that future might entail, what it could change within our world and the others.”

“One day.” In declaration, Elena looked at Heian Ciemnosc, who spoke those 2 words effortlessly under this atmosphere. She kept looking at him nonstop, so Heian Ciemnosc woke her up with his next set of words. “You didn’t finish the last point about me. Tell me, what is it that you adore so much about me you even changed from cultivating to working as a detective?”

“...” Elena rolled her eyes, bit her lips, and cleared her throat before beginning her elaboration. “There’s no need for me to say how you treat me, Big Sisters, and even Sakura and Arla. How you treat your team members and your ‘soldiers’ makes you quite unique among others who are partly similar to you. Like the Great Sage, for example. His subordinates are known for being cold and merciless, without emotion and not caring about any sort of affairs.”

“Nonetheless, I can see you are not only teaching your people how to fight, ‘see’ amidst battlefields, fights, duels, and cultivation. And you’re too silly if you think your own people won’t notice that after training under you for so long.” Elena said. Frankly speaking, these words made Heian Ciemnosc feel roundly praised like never before. Alyona and Hong Mei never told him how good he was, not wanting to spoil him, and that was simply not their way.

“During your sleep, sometimes, you mention a sister. But most of the time, there’s a word you often say and speak a lot with. As if you are actually talking with somebody in that wonderful head of yours.” Elena looked at him, twisting her neck, wanting to see his reaction. Heian Ciemnosc was still, like a statue, but his mind went, ‘Uh oh.’

“For example: ‘Mommy, I’ve done this, I’ve done that..’ and ‘Mommy, I got another one. Mm? Mhm, I will show them to you around the world in vacations after I own everything, yes, yes… whatever you want, Mom-’”

“Okay, enough. Let’s find that fucking door,” Heian Ciemnosc stopped her, placing hands on her mouth, which she smiled, and he could only follow the notion with his lips. Her lips weren’t too luscious or meaty, but feeling them form a smile on his palms was stupidly attractive somehow. He grabbed her right hand again with his left hand and hurried them forwards. Elena lightly smiled before following after him. However, she didn’t let things slip so easily.

“Now you know why your team members are so open to you despite your barbaric talent. Or do you think it’s easy to be ‘fine’ with a monstrous being like you beside them and as their leader? Their pressure is strong. Especially that little Gloria, who only wants your acknowledgment as her fatherly figure and her man’s praises, become his pride.”

“...” Things fell silent after Elena spoke through his heart and stabbed his mindset. Slowly, he felt like many things he was slightly purposely ignoring couldn’t be anymore. The sensations he gained were growing, and with the Second Step at his side, he would continue to have those senses, sensations, and concepts in his mind and nature… evolving. In a sense, cultivators were like flora, evolving through Steps. But the bizarre, impossible number of cultivators in the Second Step was vastly lesser than in the First Step, even for Existential Sixth Step organizations. That was Mother Nature’s doing, nothing else but the world itself.

… Just half a minute after they resumed their walking, Heian Ciemnosc stopped in his tracks. Suddenly noticing something within her 1-kilometer radius Spirit Sense, Elena didn’t question him as her eyebrows sank. Before them, a couple teams showed up, led by mighty… Neutrality realm cultivators!

“Wohh~, but if it isn’t this Heian Ciemnosc? And his adorable, sweet wife, Ele-”

“What the fuck is this?” Heian Ciemnosc interrupted in a calm, frosty tone. The man floating before anyone else felt his momentum broken. But besides a few nasty feelings, he kept lightly smiling as he looked down at Heian Ciemnosc. Suddenly, Heian Ciemnosc found a little someone he had noticed before. It was a young man whose appearance reminded him of a snobby fucker trying to steal his Lil’ Jing away.

“You recognize him? Heian Ciemnosc, I will have to tell you something first. Don’t easily take things from strangers. Besides knowing you now own 2 Spores, many more have accidentally loudly talked about exchanging flora, materials, and even cultivation resources with you for other items. Those things you seem to want, they do not give a big impression at first, but only for those peasant organizations.” The leading young man spoke, his tone becoming more ‘decent’ as he went on.

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“You actually used the word peasant, huh? I thought, as a superior organization member, you wouldn’t be this embarrassing. My… bad?” Heian Ciemnosc spoke again, but only after the leading young man stopped talking. This young man had goldish white skin, exotic, short blonde hair, and a long and wide saber attached to his back. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t wait for half a second before looking up at last and asked the young man. “You are Gora?”

“Mm! You’ve heard of me?” Gora’s pleasant exclamation wasn’t lowkey, as it was almost as if he had moaned a little. His following words were just ‘dainty’ and lightly spoken, gaining even more unwelcome sensations in one’s mind. He looked down at Heian Ciemnosc with a pleasant glare and pointed down, ignoring Elena, who was standing beside his left. Heian Ciemnosc opened his mouth and narrowed his eyes a little. “Of you? Kinda. But mostly about the scary young woman behind you.”

“Ah…” Gora’s face relaxed, but his mind was in disorder. He concealed by looking back at a young woman. She had pale skin and black hair picked up, making her look enchanting, wearing a stubborn, tough countenance with her arms crossed. She floated behind the young man with her team behind her. Looking at Gora as he turned his head, she offered no words or expression.

“Ah yeah, she’s Kilah. I bet you have heard of her then.” Gora quickly looked back to his front before looking down as if remembering something, finally finding Heian Ciemnosc’s body. Heian Ciemnosc nodded slightly with a calm expression as his eyes left Kilah’s body and returned to Gora’s handsome face. Then, Heian Ciemnosc calmly spoke, “How come there are Neutrality realm cultivators around the mountain? I’m sure you know this move won’t be unnoticed by others, and the hosts wouldn’t allow one of their fellow organizations to cheat.”

“Besides… I would much rather speak to Kilah than to-” Heian Ciemnosc added as he tried changing to whom he was speaking to. But at that moment, Gora clapped his hands. It was a regular action, but its sound strangely spread everywhere around both parties, leaving Heian Ciemnosc momentarily dazed and Elena slightly bleeding from her ears.

‘Sound waves?!’ Heian Ciemnosc’s mind calmly thought. Just like one’s body falling on the ground, in the water, or abruptly stopping midair, it would cause a sound that for cultivators was nothing, but for ordinary people, it was a new permanent injury, perhaps. It was the same in the difference with Steps. One’s simple soundwaves were only remnants of an action, not even an indirect confrontation. They could have just covered their ears or face with a bit of Spirit Sense, and they would’ve been fine since it wasn’t backed by Neutral Energy, but they didn’t.

“Heian Ciemnosc! Give me all the Spores you’ve got and all the items you wanted! If you don’t, see what kind of harmless studies we take your wife with us to help us realize!” Gora shouted. At this moment, all the dozens and dozens of cultivators behind them took their weapons out. Even Gora let his long, wide saber bask in the dark night sky as its Earth grade undulations surrounded its edges. Kilah remained with crossed arms, but powerful energy undulation formed a whitish, translucent, transparent aura around her. Each person had the Interchanging Dust Dynasty emblem on their torso or shoulders, even beside their clothing’s collars or sleeves.

“It seems you were itching to make it obvious you are young.” Heian Ciemnosc commented without any reaction on his face or emotion in his words. Gora’s eyes slowly narrowed, and just as he was about to name his order to capture both, Heian Ciemnosc lowered his head, cracked his neck, and lifted it before spilling his words out of his mouth. “Motherfucker.”

Dash, peeeeew~... WHOOOSH- whoo- whoo- whoo- - PSHIIIIIIFFFT.

Heian Ciemnosc lightly spoke as if he was meekly responding to a job after a long, arduous day. This caused the others to react too late. And when they were just bursting with Neutral and Power Energy, Heian Ciemnosc had already sent something flashy, with a golden light, to streak towards them!

“Stop him and get him for me! I want to have all of his wife’s body spread around the mountain after we’re done with her puny life!!” Gora shouted before the golden flashing object arrived before them. Just then, the flashing light showed itself to be a simple cube. It had golden, translucent walls and appeared as small as an adult’s palm. Before anyone could get to do anything, and only Kiblah's eyes widened upon its body being revealed, it expanded at an impossible speed, nearly instantly, and covered everyone from their organization, including Kilah and Gora.

On the other hand, all they could see was Heian Ciemnosc suddenly gaining a shadow of a trial with Elena in his arms, turned into a cocoon with copious amounts of dark Power Energy covering her. He simply dissipated into the distance, slightly down the mountain, and towards the direction they more or less showed themselves. Gora couldn’t believe it, however, and shot an energy punch into the golden barrier around them.

Bam! Craaaaack… The golden barrier cracked, leaving countless webs that obstructed the sight. But before Gora’s satisfied face in reaction to his strength being all-mighty still, darkness covered the golden around the walls from the outside before slowly seeping into the barrier to form part of it. The Interchanging Dust Dynasty cultivators fell apprehensive of their situation, wanting to figure out what was happening before rashly hurting themselves. That was when a tough, female’s words reached their ears like thunder and buttons.

“What are you waiting for? Our Dynasty can never see itself entrapped or at a disadvantage to the enemy. Break apart this barrier and find those two!” Kilah’s words put everyone to work quickly. Their bodies could be seen becoming blurry and passing through left and right, up and down, diagonally and back and forth endlessly. Meanwhile, the Golden Snakes Array, augmented by its owner’s dark Power Energy, couldn’t resist even after its addition.

Several lumps appeared around the barrier, large enough to contain these people but not formidable enough. Every few seconds, a gigantic, lengthy lump would appear instead, taking more time to start receding. But before one could fully heal, another would appear, and so on. Slowly, the Golden Array Snakes augmented walls lose effectiveness…

BAM!!~! The barrier suddenly broke, freeing everyone from within. Just then, Kilah was in a position to attack when it was ‘seemingly’ destroyed by the last hit of another cultivator randomly attacking. She was just 3 seconds away from, according to her calculations, exploding this tiny barrier into smithereens. She was left baffled for a few moments before recuperating herself, joining the other to chase after Heian Ciemnosc and Elena. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

… Tak, tap tap, pshift pshift pshift pshift.

… On the other hand, Heian Ciemnosc and Elena arrived at a strange place. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes were slightly unfocused as he eventually halted, and Elena got off his arms. She moved within the dark cocoon he made for her and smoothly exited it as if its walls were imaginary. Her hair and clothes were slightly pulled by the cocoon, but she effortlessly came out of it. It seemed to have a passive state of protecting whoever could be attached to it. Or according to Heian Ciemnosc’s wishes or intentions.

“Is it here? What do we do?!” Elena asked, worried sick for their situation but calm and setting Power Energy barriers around them, taking out tons of items. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes rapidly returned to normal and he retrieved those items back to her Covert Space bag without her consent, amazing her. But knowing this was not the time to praise and elevate his ego, she just looked at him, waiting for an answer.

“It’s here,” Heian Ciemnosc said. Giving her a light smile, he walked to the front. Behind them, Heian Ciemnosc had to go through a long pathway on the side of the mountain, free from any boulders and only with tiny rocks on its ground. Elena looked at the path they took and noticed she couldn’t even tell where they left, nor see their pursuers. She remembered about his Artifact and didn’t ask any further. At the same time, Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Soul clicked at something as he felt his Golden Array Snakes return to him, quickly flying to where he was without being detected.

“Elena!” Heian Ciemnosc shouted as Elena’s head turned towards him. He waved at her to come with his hand facing the ground, and when she arrived, he grabbed her left shoulder before calmly saying as if teaching her something. “Keep your eyes open and call that little feeling when we dual cultivate.”

“Mn,” Elena slightly blushed and slowly blinked before focusing on the sensation. A cultivator always keeps their eyes closed when studying or meditating. It would be weird and awkward if they didn’t. As she recalled those sensations, a wind sensation, seemingly innate, reacted from her inner self. At the same time, she felt that calling sensation to the mountain she has had these past few days.

She noticed her eyes were unfocused, but before they appeared a trace of Wind. All she could think of was the sensation within her inner self!

“Now, open your eyes.” Heian Ciemnosc mysteriously whispered into her ears. She followed his instructions, not bothering to ask. This was far too engrossing. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and the brown of her eyes shrunk to the size of an ant. An instant later, cloudly winds and an ephemeral grayish, transparent yellow energy swept before her in waves and coiled to reveal a door!

“We must hurry,” Heian Ciemnosc suddenly said, helping Elena out of her stupor as she looked at him. He placed his hands on the door and elaborated, “You can’t see it unless you enhance your sight, nature reading.”

“!” Elena was amazed, that was nature reading?! She just did what?! But Heian Ciemnosc continued, his eyes closed as she heard strange wind sounds from behind their path.

“Just a second, I need to do this first…” Heian Ciemnosc said, placing his hand on the light, glass-like whitey door. The grayish, transparent yellow energy from before no longer appeared, but Heian Ciemnosc didn’t feel strange about it, knowing it had become visible after she visualized it. Even as she heard their chasers scream behind them, she didn’t look at them nor hurried Heian Ciemnosc or felt panicked.

“... What’s that?! What the f- You! Go to the front and analyze that shit!” Gora threw another cultivator to the front after feeling a weird sensation from the door. Among them… rejection. But how could there be something like that that causes him to feel like this? He’s from a mighty peak Fourth Step organization! This can’t be!

“... Come on!” Heian Ciemnosc suddenly said. Before his words arrived in her head, Elena felt her nape grasped as Heian Ciemnosc lunged his body into the opened door. His body brought her along with him, even penetrating her with his dark Power Energy just in case, without harming her. In their pursuers’ eyes, they suddenly disappeared from a door that had just the other side of the path and not another world as they imagined.

“Hurry, take that door!” - “Come on, it’s something new! We have to steal it before anyone else sees it!” - “...” Meanwhile, the Interchanging Dust Dynasty cultivators, including Gora, became incensed. Only Kilah frowned at seeing this door. ‘We swept everything before coming down. How come there’s something else?’

…