Breaking Into the Hana-Saga Realm

2 weeks later. In Little Ish's bedroom. Her bedsheets hugged her bum as she lazily slept with her head sinking into the pillow.

Ka-chaaa~! Boom boom boom, boom boom boom, boom boom...! "Hm?" Little Ish rolled in her bed, facing the ceiling for a couple seconds as one lightning strike after another exploded in the sky, seemingly landing on their Palace. Her eyes were snapped open but immediately closed half a second later, with heaviness and drowsy. She leaned her left ear back into her pillow and continued to listen to a few more lightning strikes before they went away. She felt as if she was forgetting something that was bad, but her head continued to sink…

2 hours passed before the door to her residence was opened. However, she was too deep in sleep and tired from previous training under her teacher’s strict trips in the jungle. Pou joins them a few days a week, and her teacher puts her through challenges, making her steal other Fauna’s babies and their precious, treasured flora. Although those babies were stolen and turned into pets by her teacher, their parents would be allowed into the Empire shortly after.

After giving the parents some benefits and helpful resources, the pets, or mounts, could return with them or share their lives in the Empire. The first time this happened, Little Ish pouted for half a month, but when she realized what it was all about, she felt encouraged to steal some more babies from their parents, at birth or several months old. It did not matter to her. Yesterday, they stole from a Hana-Saga realm ruling Fauna, so she became exhausted after escaping for hundreds of kilometers. Of course, only Heian Ciemnosc knew the Fauna went easy on her. Otherwise, even Pou would’ve turned into minced meat.

Heian Ciemnosc wanted to see something, and it seemed like he was right. The Fauna in the eastern side of the jungle started hearing about what he was doing and knew about the insane resources the Blauw Empire was providing for them. They didn’t have to worry about stupidly putting their most talented but weak little shits in danger and could send them to a more or less safe environment to grow, although not entirely deathless.

However, that one wanted to take your child away, or various, wasn’t something to leave someone feeling good. Especially if that someone, or some, managed to do so by outsmarting you despite being so weak. Thus, the Fauna gave the little girl taking its babies away a good workout running through the jungle before letting the tiny shit go. Needless to say, Little Ish was terrified the entire time, as she wasn’t used to running from Fauna as big as the tallest structure in the Small City. It was a little scary, alright.

Slide. Little Ish’s bedroom door slid open. She was unsuspecting, deep asleep, when an evil, pale man entered her room and made no noise while getting close to her bed. When the man was just a few steps from her bed, he lunged, threw his arms forward, and directly caught a pair of legs. Little Ish was still deep asleep, barely feeling her body flying downwards in her dream when her eyes finally opened and saw her lower half already hanging from her bed, dragged by a nasty monster. She could only mutter, still in her sleepy state. “Huhhh?”

“Get up, little girl. It’s time to breakthrough for you too!” Heian Ciemnosc said before janking her body away from the bed. Little Ish finally snapped her eyes open as her little mind went through the memories of what she ignored, wanting to sleep and rest more, already envisioning the next victims- no, the new puppies and crybabies she would steal. However, she felt her body all bare, swiftly covered by familiar energy, as her dull red training clothes reappeared to conceal her skin.

“Gywaah!” She wasn’t shy since her teacher had seen her bare skin many times already, but she was startled, to say the least. When Little Ish fell on her bed again, she could’ve struck the floor with her little bum. It was a hard floor, definitely above what the Second Step could deal with, but it was made by the hands of Second Step cultivators at best. So, although it was exceptionally harsh and impenetrable, Heian Ciemnosc could send a tiny wisp of his Spirit Sense through the walls. Similarly, Little Ish had confirmed, several times, how painful it was to fall on it.

Pouting, Little Ish was about to say something when Heian Ciemnosc looked back at her with her back facing her and warned her. “You already missed my breakthrough. I should be spanking you right now, but I’m giving you the chance to breakthrough first before doing so. Won’t you take it?”

“Ah!” Little Ish went through a rollercoaster of emotions with these words. Her brightest, cutest aquamarine, azure eyes intensely shined before he clarified he would still spank her bottom. However, this compromise was new, and she had never been given this ultimatum. Although she would get his heavy hand to discipline her still, she could reduce the pain after breaking through! This was such a loophole in her teacher’s punishing methods! How could she not have thought of this before? She is the little royal princess! Gosh!

“Okay! Let’s go ahead, when, where? I’m ready!!” Little Ish shouted, sat on the edge of her bed, and looked up at Heian Ciemnosc. He walked to her, grinned, and picked her by the arms. Little Ish narrowed her eyes, knowing this might be a dangerous path, but she chose to decisively course through it despite the danger! She was small, cute, and strong!

“Can you please tell me?” She cutely said after putting on a cutesy expression and blinking her eyes. Heian Ciemnosc nodded and blinked simultaneously before taking her away, her face at his own level, and walked outside her bedroom. Then, he started elaborating, “Look at you, I’m sure you’ve felt it already. Your cultivation base must’ve been over the peak for some days now. Why haven’t you broken through yet?”

“Mnnah! I just don’t want to,” Little Ish tilted her head to the right and let her personal carrier carry her through her enormous residence. Her bright eyes diverted sideways while Heian Ciemnosc continued, “Don’t you know your mother is closing into breaking through the next realm? Yet, you’re here wasting your damn time putting your ass in a warm blanket. Aren’t you super ashamed?”

“Gaaaaaasp…” Little Ish returned her neck and head to the position they belonged to naturally and looked at Heian Ciemnosc without really looking at him. Her face was terrified, anxious, and disappointed, as if she was afraid of her mother showcasing what speedy cultivation is and would spank her for being too slow, as if she was lagging behind already and as if she had just realized how slow she had been before. “No!!”

She screamed, throwing her right fist upwards. Her eyes became determined, and she furrowed her brows. Her little lips moved to declare as if vowing to the heavens, but only Heian Ciemnosc was there to listen to her. “I will surpass Mother! I will help her bring the Empire outside the Blackotia Kingdom and will reign wherever we go~~!!”

“Mhm, are you done? I’m gonna show you something good.” Heian Ciemnosc disinterestedly looked at his little apprentice and said. Little Ish pouted sadly and looked at him with her brightest eyes half-narrowed, also slightly. She nodded, and Heian Ciemnosc suddenly embraced her small, lithe body into his chest. Then, with his soft voice, he lightly called out, warning her. “Don’t get scared now. This is something I was born with. Let me show you. Oh. If it’s of any use, I have never used it on your mother before. You’ll be the first to experience it, and this will be the first time I use it since coming here.”

“... Hmn,” Little Ish murmured an acquiescing answer, still trying to steer from her sleepy state, and rubbed her right cheek on his chest. It was slightly more muscular and felt really pleasant… Little Ish grappled his dark coat like hooks as she suddenly felt as if she was floating in an endless sea. It was cold, fresh, and exhaustively empty, even from the void.

But when Little Ish sensed around, she found nothing, and when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing. Only pure darkness. Her eyes expanded when she realized she was in a wholly different, new world, but it only lasted a moment. The next thing she knew, she was back at the Palace, in Heian Ciemnosc’s residence, where a setup was ready and running. She looked up at the body she was still holding onto and became completely confused. She didn’t look up in time to see the darkness leave Heian Ciemnosc’s sclera, but she felt something profound deep inside her, but couldn’t tell what it was. Fear, respect, apprehension… she was clueless.

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“...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...” - “...?” The rest of the Palace felt strange. Some thought they had blinked already, but then… everything went dark as if they had closed their eyes. Others blinked just in time as it happened, not noticing something other than a few strange sensations after the fact. Lastly, the Empress sat cross-legged in her meditation room, shaking her head at those two’s antics. She didn’t notice anything outside the ordinary but could tell something had happened… just couldn’t tell what exactly.

“... Now sit, start cultivating inside this. It will be vastly helpful. I’ll stay here and notify your mother if your breakthrough needs more time.” Heian Ciemnosc said as he placed Little Ish inside the vitality array formation. She looked around within it, perplexed and amazed at this thing’s appearance and how it felt to be inside it. She felt the blood in her veins excitedly tremble and her skin numbing while her instincts told her to spare no effort in cultivation!

“Ah! Imperial Teacher, congratulations on breaking through!” Little Ish said after repassing his words in her little head. She had indeed felt bloated for a couple weeks, but she wanted this little step to be significant, more than it already was. Little Ish looked up at her teacher and congratulated him cutely from the bottom of her heart. Her eyes squinted when she looked up. Heian Ciemnosc looked down as she added, “Though I can’t sense or read it, I can feel your cultivation base improved, even when you have no destabilization. As expected from my teacher, hehe!”

“Hm… get to it, kid,” Heian Ciemnosc responded and patted her head. His pale wrist left the vitality array formation and her face with a large, girly smile. But then, she jolted her neck backwards and felt insulted. “Kiiiid?! Nooo! I’m not a kid! I’m a little royal princess and very big!”

“Mhm,” Heian Ciemnosc totally agreed with her and turned around. Little Ish kept defending her age, lying through her innocent expression. “You’ve even hit me so many times that my rump is starting to swell! Look!! It hasn’t gone back to normal for a few months already! What am I gonna do??! If you keep hitting it, it will become fat! I’m not fat! I work my poor little body every day in the jungle. How can I mistreat my health? Haa, huff, haa, huff… I’m breathing well!”

“Snortle,” Heian Ciemnosc looked back at the thing, only to see her demonstrate she was healthy and the thinnest girl in the world. Heian Ciemnosc ignored her and walked away a few meters before stopping, turning around, and sitting cross-legged before her. Little Ish grinned slightly and started behaving. She calmed down quickly and entered into a meditative state, searching for her breakthrough opportunity.

After what felt like an eternity for Little Ish, she finally lost her sense of time and felt as if membranes from her Power Energy were starting to form around her. They created an egg-like shaped figure around her sitting, lotus preposition. It was mostly gray and whitish, like pure energy. Strangely, this was just her breaking into the Spirit Rebirth realm, but she was already causing an image to hover with her at the center.

‘Her breakthrough into the Second Step should be interesting.’ Heian Ciemnosc crossed his arms and began meditating while putting her condition in his primary focus. Only a few seconds passed since she closed hers, and as he closed his darkest eyes, too, Little Ish’s body started slurping pure energy in a strange pattern. Slowly, little by little, Heian Ciemnosc felt Little Ish’s inner self creating something… and her Spirit Image, a tiny azure egg, became more consistent.

Time passed as Little Ish’s situation improved every minute. Heian Ciemnosc calculated a couple days of breakthrough before this little girl could finally step into the Spirit Rebirth realm and start stabilizing her cultivation base. She would be in time for a good test in the jungle, and Pou could watch but not help her. It was well-planned. However, in the end, this astounding breakthrough would be delayed for several days…

. . .

2 months later. Atop the Palace. A peaceful, solitary, and long midnight.

“I’d like to ask, Sir, why do you take so much time just to break into one realm from another?” Empress Shuna asked as she stood in the center where the mini-tower where she gave her Empire the previous announcement was once erected, now hidden. The area they were standing on was huge, immense. Nearly 80% of the entire island, which the Empire left so an ecosystem could exist together with the civilians and citizens working in the Palace.

After asking, she turned around to face Heian Ciemnosc, standing behind her. But when she looked at him, he was taking his shirt off and starting to take rest off as well. Her strongly determined eyes examined his sternum and pecs, not feeling embarrassed about ogling him, but she looked at his pale face while he took his uniform’s top off, and his dark coat was nowhere to be seen. Throwing his uniform on the floor, he directly dropped his pants, and the beautiful lady before him looked down at the dangling, pale behemoth with undisguised curiosity.

“Hm,” she lightly exclaimed with her mouth closed. Heian Ciemnosc’s face remained composed as he finally spoke, throwing the rest of his uniform away and storing his black jacket. “I can’t help it. There’s some kind of balance between me and the world. While I have many advantages and can fight more than a realm above my level, it isn’t something I can just do because I want to. I also didn’t become this strong without pain or… experiences.”

Plop- pap. Heian Ciemnosc sat on the ground. When his donger fell on it and crossed his legs, it made a squeaky sound, turning the strangely somber atmosphere into a silly yet slightly hot one. The Empress looked at it, and when she heard it slap against the ground, she smirked slightly. Her face became negligibly blue from the inside as if an azure flashlight aimed at the outside from within, and she lowered her smiling eyes and lips to hide her brutally honest emotions, lest they were seen by this monstrously comprehensive big boy.

“Are the protective array formations ready? This might be too much if your Palace isn’t ready.” Heian Ciemnosc added after seeing what she didn’t want him to see. The Empress returned her strongly determined aquamarine, azure eyes to him and answered with a slow blink of her eyes. “Everything’s ready. We aren’t taking this lightly. After your previous small breakthrough, I dare not. Even if you break into a higher realm and are targeted by a heavenly tribulation, I’m sure you won’t endanger the Palace or the people inside it.”

“Unless I break into another Step or in the Third Step’s realms, I suppose.” Heian Ciemnosc added in 2 parts rueful, 6 parts playfully, and 2 parts self-derisively. Empress Shuna soundlessly sighed and looked at the sky, feeling nostalgic and longing. She said while still looking up, and Heian Ciemnosc looked in the same direction she was looking. A spaceship was rapidly traveling by. “We can go through that road together, the Third Step. Even more now than ever, with the Wrath Nihility Academy preparing for more than 1 transition, and at the same time.”

“Oh,” Heian Ciemnosc acquiesced, still looking in the same direction. Empress Shuna lowered her head and slowly darted her eyes towards his sitting cross-legged position. “But that’s too slow for you, and you already have a path towards greatness without needing to wait, don’t you?”

“Oh.” Heian Ciemnosc slightly nodded. Empress Shuna felt like walking towards him, but she wasn’t willing to step up at this moment. Maintaining her distance, a soft voice escaped her throat and went outside her lips with a weakening smoothness. “Then… just so you know… and don’t think I’m stupidly thinking things over from the years to come and am hesitating… I wish you grow strong enough for your needs quickly, and we will be waiting for you here. We will.”

“Oh.” Heian Ciemnosc suddenly smiled. His darkest eyes narrowed a tiny percentage and saw Empress Shuna smile back. Her eyes squinted, but he saw her, still unwilling to hold him back. This caused a thought and dangerous idea in his head, ‘This woman… I have to teach her a thing or two, and soon.’

Rumbleeeeee~~... Like an unprecedented but expected visitor, the skies of the Blauw Empire, black and obscure from the lacking suns, turned even unspeakably darker. Heian Ciemnosc’s body suddenly surged with more than the usual power sources. Empress Shuna felt an immediate pressure as his cultivation base, Spirit Sense, Soul, and bodily strength increased. But between all of this, deep inside him, and especially where one could see another’s Spirit Bosom and their Spirit Image, she could feel something that caused her Bloodline to react.

Step, step, step, step… Rapidly stepping backwards, Empress Shuna felt a negligible emotion from her Bloodline, but it was far too quick and ephemeral for someone in the Second Step like her to notice anything other than a sensation from the deepest of her inner being. She looked at Heian Ciemnosc once more before looking up, and what she saw terrified her somehow. Looking back down again, she felt gladdened to even effectuate a portion of the Empire’s grand array formation, just in case.

The dark sky was rumbling with endless raging thunder, equal to the waves below in the Empire’s ocean. They moved disorderly, moving left and right without any rhythm or circulation. It was as if his thunder created itself just existing to explode and destroy anything they touched. But for now, they were kept in the skies. Empress Shuna gave the darkness above a last glance before giving the darkness below her full attention.

Ka-... … … … … … … … cha! The first bolt of heavenly tribulation descended. Everything seemed to turn into a slowed motion as the Empress looked up and barely felt a sensation from above. It reminded her of her previous breakthroughs in the Neutral Encephalon realm and Dantreulity realm… but many times stronger, even more than the 18 heavenly lightning bolts. Yet, Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes opened and looked up. They were calm and unfazed.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! Ka-cha! KA- CHAAAA!

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