Going Through A Stable Portal

"It is one thing for other small fry to attempt stealing possible new students. But if it's done by a higher Step organization..." Antonio slowly muttered. Heian Ciemnosc maintained silence, and Antonia took a breather before continuing. "I want to search a place they've temporarily occupied to bring those talents with them. Once enough proof has been gathered, we can return and present our complaint to the other Overlords. If they're successful and we don't have solid evidence… others might surface."

"And it will be too late to stop it once the Overlords recognize it and do something about it. The Wrath Nihility Academy won't be hurt too much, but it will be enough to stall the Third Step transition," Heian Ciemnosc interjected. Antonio nodded, "Yes. We must act carefully and quickly. We'll discuss things once you've come. It will be a matter of… a day at best and weeks at worst."

“Oh, my Frigate will dock in 30 minutes. Meet me at the dock I’ve sent you. We can talk about it after drinking and… reminiscing if we can.” Heian Ciemnosc said. The other side went silent. This mission could prove more difficult than Antonio imagined, and he had no idea Heian Ciemnosc’s Team would be sent here, but he was glad and worried at the same time.

“Alright. Heian Ciemnosc, I’m excited to see you. I’d like to see what kind of young man you’ve become in person. I’ll make you fall drunk, you hear me?” Antonio said, speaking as if they had a long history together. However, Heian Ciemnosc could understand. The kid Antonio brought in one day not only became a rising star in the world, but he also remembered him!

“That’ll be a feat you can boast about… Are you alone?” Heian Ciemnosc smiled before asking. Antonio nodded, replying, “Yes, I was just checking a place here. News of people trying to reach the Blackotia Kingdom going missing worried the Academy. Although they weren’t kidnapped, the Academy became even more anxious after knowing the truth.”

“Alright, I’ll cut off now. Good chatting, but let’s talk once I get there… By the way, would you be too badly hurt if I had a higher cultivation base than you?” Heian Ciemnosc stood up from his side chair as it moved back to near the commander’s empty spot. He spoke to the communication channel and closed it when Antonio exclaimed in confusion. “Huh?”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc grinned from the left corner of his mouth and shook his head. He supported his body on the desk before standing straight and turning. He walked to stand beside his side chair and ordered, “Continue with the same speed. Confirm the base this Frigate is taking that mission before joining a hunting zone.”

“Yessir,” a piloting expert responded. Heian Ciemnosc kept his hands behind his back and looked at the different holograms only he could see as the co-leading Team Leader. After a few minutes, Heian Ciemnosc silently left the central command with the previous piloting expert who received him.

… Heian Ciemnosc was dropped at a training module in the Frigate. It was usually filled from 30% to 80%, depending on the time needed to reach their destination and if any event was happening in between. Today, they would reach the Space Station and couldn’t remain in the Frigate other than to protect the piloting experts who would stay. Although they could come out, it could only be half their team at most, and they had to turn between days to remain outside.

Either way, as Heian Ciemnosc arrived, he entered the training module for several hundred people to train without obstructions before smiling. Ruo Wei stood in her new black boiler suit before the other Team members. She took a mighty pose, and everyone looked at her with praising nods and respect.

Ruo Wei and Loma were the only, but first, Third Step cultivators in the Eternal Return Team. They weren’t the ones to do the best, as Sandra advanced from the Dark realm 6th stage to the 10th stage. Only Cara, facing complications in breaking into the Third Step because of her extra-large Neutral Energy storage, and Clanton, who took things slow, remained at the Light realm 10th stage. Sandra had the most outstanding boost without counting a realm-step breakthrough.

The trip to a Dimension was just that spectacular. Everyone received an immense increase in cultivation base, not just Heian Ciemnosc, his Team, and Riquel and Yun Tang’s Team. Although they benefited the most due to Heian Ciemnosc’s nature reading ‘seeing through’ the Motherblood Expiritus’s blooming cycle rushing earlier than anticipated, the coalition soldier units received ample gains throughout the time there.

“Harrumph~! That’s how I like it! Now, where is that Heian Ciemnosc? I feel like a pilot- is he behind me?” Ruo Wei’s rough voice echoed in the training module. She suddenly stopped and turned around, only to see the young black monster walk towards her. She dropped her head and received Heian Ciemnosc’s pale right hand… which caressed her slender, short black hair.

“Tsk, not so brave any-” Clanton crossed his arms and disdainfully acted as Ruo Wei lowered her head to meet her and Heian Ciemnosc’s black and dark shoes with her cheeks flushing from their upper sections. But Cara was there to save him and half-slapped his dirty, un-soaped mouth. “Do you want to die again? Our ‘Disciplinary Elder’ here wasn’t lenient towards the future Crimson gem, myself. What’s it gonna end like for you, huh?”

“Ah…” Clanton sweated bullets, but thankfully, Heian Ciemnosc’s pats kept Ruo Wei engrossed. Heian Ciemnosc smiled and ruffled her hair one last time before grinning hard. “Want me to lend you my baby?”

“... moou~!” Ruo Wei slowly lifted her head. It proved a fatal mistake, as Heian Ciemnosc’s devious, charming face made her pout until she smelled her own philtrum. She harmlessly slapped his wrist away and looked up defiantly, but like a doting elder sister. “Cara is too spoiled! Loma and Sandra don’t need that. They have their man with them and can spend all the time they want beating them up. But it’s not the same for us- me!”

“I want complete owning rights to your Ornament outside of space flight or any combat!” Ruo Wei said, crossing her arms and stomping her left foot. Her thick, black shoes were pretty attractive and eye-catching, too. Heian Ciemnosc squeezed Ruo Wei’s cheek and said nothing before looking above her head and to the side, leaving Ruo Wei helpless to force him to look at her.

“Okay,” Heian Ciemnosc suddenly calmly and softly said. He looked at Ruo Wei and threw her a keycard. “It has a semi-talisman inside. Drop your blood essence on it and form a bond. Link it. I already prepared it for you before Cara bothered me.”

Cara: џ(ºДºџ)... | 　 ´ω｀|φ

“No! Wait!! Please~! Team Leadeeeeer~! The most handsome one, bigger phallused one, almighty pale skin!” Cara suddenly launched herself at Heian Ciemnosc’s thighs, hugging them with all her strength. Heian Ciemnosc, a measly Breaking Point realm 3rd stage cultivator, couldn’t escape from her grasp!

“Ahem, alright…” Heian Ciemnosc rolled his eyes and lowered his hands. When Cara felt his comfortably cold but warm hands on her head, rubbing her hair, she stopped wetting his knees and smiled. “Hehee, can I also have it whenever I want?”

“It’ll depend on your performance in this mission.” Heian Ciemnosc soullessly said. Even Ruo Wei made a cute, effeminate expression with her little mouth gaping. Cara felt pressured, but she was also encouraged! She stood up and made a vow, looking upwards, to Heian Ciemnosc that she would not fail him!

“If I don’t convince you to grant me full permission to your Ornament whenever I want in this mission… I’ll use all I have, even my body! That’s right, I’ll become your cook, manage your Ornament’s documents, prepare you, Milyy, and your other ‘secret’ wives warm baths, and even let you kiss my cheek once every week!” Cara’s face became ambitious towards the end of her declaration. But when she looked around, she found Heian Ciemnosc walking away with Ruo Wei, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“Gwaah!” Cara jumped on the spot, feeling her chance at owning the Ornament escape through her fingers. “Wait! I have more! I can bring Evans out for a flight in the park! I found a few chicks he’ll love to secure in the future! Ah! I remember hearing about a sad mommy octopus that lost all her babies and is looking for a mutated…”

. . .

Sometime later, at one of the Space Station’s ports installed near a Minor Kingdom.

Heian Ciemnosc exited the Frigate last. His Eternal Return Team left with the rest of the crew members to settle down and relax before taking a mission that could very likely become high-risk. However, that meant only a few select would be chosen to carry on. Still, that was an amount of pressure not even Crimsons could be fine just having.

When Heian Ciemnosc walked out and left the port behind, he was still in the passageway to the Space Station’s streets when he saw Antonio wave at the multitude of Crimsonbreaking Faction’s people. Heian Ciemnosc walked before him, smiled, and sneakily said when he arrived just 1 meter before Antonio. “Is my Team that friendly? Huh, all of them are taken and are… a bit too out of your league. No offense, Senior Antonio.”

“Huh?!” Antonio turned around swiftly. He was astounded to not have noticed Heian Ciemnosc near him. A quick glimpse at the pale young man gave Antonio all the information he needed. Antonio blinked his eyes with exaggerated strength and said, “How come this is… like this?! You weren’t even a Second Step punk back then. How can your cultivation base not appear before my senses? Huahahaha!”

Antonio uproariously laughed. The half-Titan, half-Human, held his belly and showered Heian Ciemnosc with slight warmth. The Wrath Nihility Academy was really good at drawing great people. Heian Ciemnosc softly smirked from the left corner of his mouth and spoke, “Not bad, Senior. Heaven-Breaking realm 5th stage. These years have done you good. How’s the Academy going?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What?! If you are this sure… err… You know… I could even discern that tall fella from your Team in the Light realm 1st stage, but I can’t with you. How? You… you must be beyond that, right? Do you still have battle prowess above your cultivation base?” Antonio couldn’t help it. This was… his first time knowing and befriending an enormous talent like Heian Ciemnosc.

“That’s not important,” Heian Ciemnosc shook his pale right hand and his lowered chin. He gestured with a nudge from his head to walk away somewhere and explained. “My cultivation base is at the Breaking Point realm 3rd stage, Senior. Now, about the Academy…”

Antonio nodded his head. He passed the direction of a bar to Heian Ciemnosc’s mid via Soul messaging and started chatting while walking to a transporting vessel.

“Ah… You know, that Teacher Puru, your adoptive uncle. He’ll become a father!” Antonio spoke of several interesting miscellaneous matters from the Academy before dropping that bomb. They were at least interesting to Antonio and Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc lifted his eyebrows and exclaimed, “Really?”

“Mhm,” Antonio looked slightly disgruntled as he side-eyed Heian Ciemnosc and continued. “I’ll spare you the intricate details. But your uncle basically competed in a race against himself to have miss Sharina confirm offspring forming in her body. It has been deduced it might take a decade or more for her belly to open up. But it is secure…”

Antonio nodded his head. He passed the direction of a bar to Heian Ciemnosc’s mid via Soul messaging and started chatting while walking to a transporting vessel.

“I see…” Heian Ciemnosc slightly lowered his head as they flew in the transporting vessel. Antonio remained silent before continuing with a lightly uplifting tone. “Right! Puru has become as influential as a Supervisor. And guess what? He has deliberately exposed his allegiance to Elena! Hahaha, your family is shameless, Heian Ciemnosc.”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc grinned, content and proud, and he could already imagine those images in his head. It must’ve been a monumental event for the Academy to cover it up if he didn’t see it anywhere else, and Elena only begged him to beat the shit out of her in Mini Warlord.

“Teacher Conde and Vice headmaster Sonora have become an official couple… Your adoptive father, Conde, has become a Dean, actually… Many wanted him to take a Vice dean position to learn the process, but Dean Conde’s experience and… relationships were something they couldn’t go against. In the end, he became the Academy’s newest Dean!”

“Elena reached the Heaven-Broken realm a couple months after you left. Her cultivation base was stable and… too solid. Really, you should’ve seen everyone’s faces. Even the Vice headmaster looked at the Headmaster as if he had done something awful to the Academy’s treasury… Ah! Evans’s family went under the Headmaster’s wing… hahaha, you can’t imagine how many silent jokes are traded everywhere. Hahaha!”

“Ah… Last year, I went to one of the newly built Small Cities in the Blackotia Kingdom… The first baby born in the Small City was a… beautiful boy, ah… Sometimes, lonely paths do take the last brick that holds some cultivators. Heian Ciemnosc, you’re lucky to not have gone through that.”

“Although the Headmaster appreciates people like me, if I don’t find a natural treasure or some untold lucky opportunity… I’ll die of age… The Changes are always dangerous. If you need help, you need a force to back you up… Or to destroy life and matter anywhere you want, even if just to show your hand. That’s how Chairwoman Alyona lived through the 10 year war, and I and others assume that is how she’ll survive the start of the new Change.”

“I have many books of great authors about her and her work through the world during the war and other battles. I can lend them to you!”

… Gradually, they made their way to the bar. Heian Ciemnosc entered it with Antonio leading the way. They didn’t receive any glares other than surprise and intrigue. Heian Ciemnosc’s face wasn’t everyone’s concern and thought at all times, but they did know of the pale, young black monster and his past with the Wrath Nihility Academy.

Still, the bar became more comfortable instead of awkward or tense as they sat before the counter. Heian Ciemnosc and Antonio had already spoken enough of each other’s little stories. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have much to say, so he mostly listened. He slightly missed the Academy, but knowing it was where Elena would emerge, along the Wrath Nihility Academy, and grow in the Change, he didn’t bother.

All Heian Ciemnosc felt was pressure. He had to work harder to prepare beforehand… and perhaps… do even more.

“The place is reachable by a portal. It’s short-distance, but it is enough. It even brings you to the small floating island. I could only stay there for a couple minutes before my instincts warned me. Now, I’m here,” Antonio smiled before drinking water from a glass nearby. Heian Ciemnosc crossed his arms and rested his chin on them before asking, “How long since then?”

“Just 6 weeks. I can take you there anytime. If you’d like to consider who to pick, don’t take more than a day. We can’t waste more time in case they want to change it. I doubt it since they’re already this shameless and petty, but one can never overestimate others…” Antonio said, drinking from the liquor the bartender brought them.

Heian Ciemnosc kept the same posture but lowered his eyebrows and quietly said, “It is complicated, but no need. I already have chosen those who’ll follow us to the floating island.”

Heian Ciemnosc sat up and drank from his drink. He looked at Antonio side-eyed and continued, “But what evidence are you looking for? If they have Third or Fourth Step cultivators… it would be meaningless.”

“Yes, but don’t worry. That floating island is too small. If any Fourth Step cultivator hides in it, the Overlords would’ve sent someone already. Such petty tricks aren’t allowed, and while our ‘leader’ is corrupt, its minions aren’t.” Antonio said while gesturing with his face looking at the ceiling. Then, his eyes fell on Heian Ciemnosc and ended his words. Heian Ciemnosc slightly grimaced from the right corner of his mouth and silently toasted before downing his drink with Antonio.

“Third Step cultivators?” Heian Ciemnosc asked, cleaning his mouth. He fancied some blood, but this was like any person desiring a snack. Antonio didn’t notice, of course, he wouldn’t, and nodded before elaborating. “I can detect Mythical, Central Formation, and Life-Long realm cultivators with an Artifact. It shares a tiny vestige of the Wrath Nihility Academy’s grand array formation… As for any higher than that… we’ll have to take the risk if you’re willing.”

“With our backgrounds, we’ll have a chance to talk. That’ll be enough to call for reinforcements… And you have a Frigate, right?” Antonio said. Heian Ciemnosc looked at him with casual, calm eyes. Heian Ciemnosc waited until the bartender filled his drink and downed it before facing Antonio and saying with a hint of murder, “So, we can bombard them and flee. When their reinforcements arrive, our would have already been notified of who to strike.”

Antonio smiled, not saying anything. Heian Ciemnosc was a Wrath Nihility Academy student. He knew the stuff that was needed to be understood. Heian Ciemnosc lifted his drink, which the bartender readily filled, and looked at Antonio’s blushed countenance as he hesitatingly raised his. “Deal.”

Antonio breathed deeply in and repeated after Heian Ciemnosc, “Deal!”

“Glu… glu… glu… hm?!” Antonio had trouble drinking. He didn’t bother looking at Heian Ciemnosc anymore and focused on finishing his third drink without passing out. Suddenly, as Heian Ciemnosc drove his darkest eyes towards Antonio, Antonio took his medallion out with a frown and cheeks filled with liquor. Antonio looked petrified as the news he didn’t want to come true arrived.

“... Aah~! The floating island… It has started a slow evacuation. It will be emptied in 3 hours.” Antonio finished his drink and cleaned his mouth before saying those words to Heian Ciemnosc. He continued as Heian Ciemnosc stared at him solemnly. “We need to move now. I apologize, Heian Ciemnosc. If you don’t follow me, it’ll be for the best. But I’ll do my best to ensure you and your people’s safety if you do.”

Sluuurp~... tac! “No need, let’s go.” Heian Ciemnosc downed his 7th drink and slammed its butt against the counter, leaving 20 Inferior Neutral Stones behind before walking towards the bar’s gates. Antonio’s eyes widened. He stared at Heian Ciemnosc’s back in silence before hurriedly following after.

… Antonio guided Heian Ciemnosc through the Space Station. The portal was only 12 minutes away. It seemed like Antonio had prepared for any situation, almost like a spy. If this was the Wrath Nihility Academy’s intention, Heian Ciemnosc could learn something from it. If not, Heian Ciemnosc could still gain insight from this.

“... Is this the one?” Heian Ciemnosc looked at the sky from the ground as Antonio brought him here. Antonio became somber. Heian Ciemnosc felt his energy fluctuations solidify from within. A sign of preparing for the worst. The moment something went awry, Antonio would act, even if he was weaker than Heian Ciemnosc, and do his best to protect the prodigy.

“Relax, I can see through many things. My ‘special’ nature reading and everything, you know?” Heian Ciemnosc said as he stared at Antonio. Antonio seemed to drop a few tension levels and looked at Heian Ciemnosc. “Yes… Ah! It is this one. We’ll set the coordinates and arrive there in an instant. Don’t worry. I’ll be counting on you to move when we get there.”

“Oh,” Heian Ciemnosc nodded. He knew that Antonio wanted to ask but didn’t dare since he didn’t bring it up. Heian Ciemnosc wanted to do the mission without the others, and while the Frigate wouldn’t be ready immediately, his Team would know what to do if he ‘suddenly went missing’ before a mission started. His emblem wasn’t just for show.

Time passed, and 50 minutes later, with Antonio recomposing himself, Heian Ciemnosc stepped into the smallish teleportation platform with Antonio. Antonio walked to the portal’s guards and engineers. He paid the toll, and Heian Ciemnosc joined him to see the coordinates. After Heian Ciemnosc confirmed it was just 2.5 million kilometers away. He relaxed. That was enough for the Frigate to reach in under 10 minutes if using a transportation array formation. And this Space Station had many.

“Done,” Antonio finished setting the coordinates and stepped back into the smallish platform. He looked at Heian Ciemnosc, who nodded at him and softly breathed out. “Let’s get going. It has to be quick.”

“...” The mission was vital. But Antonio was more so worried about Heian Ciemnosc’s safety. Yet, he also wanted to accomplish a complicated objective with a prodigy like Heian Ciemnosc. They waited a couple of seconds before the dark-violet smoke rose around them in a small square. It slowly turned into a circle and encompassed them before making them feel like their feet were gone and their legs slid upwards through their bodies.

WVOMP~~~!!

The activation of the platform started taking effect, and Heian Ciemnosc felt like his senses were flamboyantly drifting everywhere. His surroundings became dull gray with ethereal traces of pink. A few seconds went by, with Heian Ciemnosc scanning everything. Antonio was also looking around constantly.

“Heian Ciemnosc!!” Suddenly, Sara shouted in his mind. Heian Ciemnosc became alert. His head jolted, and his lowered eyes blinked. When they reopened, they were looking a little upwards and ahead of themselves. Sara’s voice became strangely hysterical, and her words constricted Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes’ contents. “You have to get out already! It has been altered by Space Disaster!!!”

“!!!!” Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes shrunk below a dot’s consistency. Before he could even detect a millisecond occur, a flash cut like a small, dull gray energy wave horizontally towards him, and his vision turned wholly pitch-black when it looked it would crash against his nose's bridge.

…