《Infinite Finity》 -1 Important information The current year is 3,111,205 Month 16 Day 3. There are 43 days in a month and 16 months in a year. *BIRTHDAYS* Chao & Serenus -> Year 2 Day 2 Month 2 (Before Recalibration) Neutrum -> Year 2 Day 1 Month 1 (Before recalibration) Chao, Neutrum, Serenus -> Year 22 Day 2 Month 1 (After recalibration) Inrigo (12) -> Year 3,111,193 Day 21 Month 14 Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Ventus (14) -> Year 3,111,191 Day 39 Month 3 Tellus (14) -> Year 3,111,191 Day 30 Month 10 Noctis (12) -> Year 3,111,193 Day 40 Month 4 Luna(13) -> Year 3,111,192 Day 33 Month 1 Nubis (13) & Caligo (13) -> Year 3,111,192 Day 12 Month 8 Meteorum (15) & Cometes (15) -> Year 3,111,190 Day 6 Month 8 Solis (12) -> Year 3,111,193 Day 9 Month 9 Albus (22) -> Year 3,111,183 Day 16 Month 15 Furvus (19) -> Year 3,111,186 Day 14 Month 15 Bea (25) -> Year 3,111,180 Day 22 Month 13 Gladys (32) -> Year 3,111,173 Day 24 Month 13 Ignis (26) -> Year 3,111,179 Day 6 Month 11 *NICKNAMES* Serenus - Darling Chao - Sweetheart Neutrum - inamorato *Bond levels* vTv: vein to vein hTv: heart to vein hTh: heart to heart sTs: saliva to saliva 1 Pity? Incredulity? Both. On a lonely empty afternoon, the air was tense. A lady stood at the edge of a cliff with waves crashing against the steep, stone slope. The mist and air intertwined with the lady''s abrupt laughter. "Betrayal will always come with a price. The only reason why this principle is forgotten is because people never cash in full nor do the debtors pay in full. Mercy is a luxury for those who live in their ignorant fantasy world. I do not live in such a place nor do I ever want to visit. You say that God will spare those who are merciful and smite those who are not. Well, to that I say, ''Down with that pretentious being!'' If he wants me to spare pitiful, disgusting traitors like yourselves, then God will have to step down from his so-called "Mighty Kingdom" to attempt to convince me. Also, that''s if I even feel like meeting him.", the lady tilted her head and her voice changed from a sarcastic tone to a threatening malice. "God is a concept foolish humans came up with to explain their follies. I reject such excuses. Humans determine their own self worth and control the environment around them. Mutuality and tolerance are the key to the so-called ''Peace'' that is desired by many. My doctrine achieves peace through mutuality and tolerance while encouraging equality through merit and maintaining it through rewards and punishments. Everyone was informed of the rules to be followed when they joined me. What happened to the arrogant parasites who mocked those being punished in the past? I believed that the due punishment would be entertaining for you all since you very much enjoyed isolating and destroying those I punished. Those people were unlike you all. They did not beg for mercy! They welcomed their retribution with open arms! I respected them for they kept their pride and dignity unlike you all!", the lady''s tone changed once again into one of disgust as she created a fifth layer of a barrier with the wave of her left arm. "You all absolutely disgust me to no end. Perhaps when you were born you may have had potential, but now? You''ve wasted it all! There are no words for exactly how much I loathe you all at this very moment. There is nothing to label you with as calling you swine or insects would be insults to them. They at least have some use. You all can''t be called ''nothing'' because that would be an insult to dead space as well as myself and those who truly matter. As much as I would enjoy dismembering you to use you as fertilizer for my garden, I''m afraid I''m feeling a bit dark today." The lady lifted her right foot languidly before stomping it and causing cracks to form beneath her. The hairline cracks grew more defined going outward from her and caused half-meter deep crevices to form 3 meters away from her. People started collapsing one by one as their minds couldn''t handle the pressure from the shock wave that was released by the lady. The 9 traitors in front of the lady broke out into cold sweats before collapsing. The lady looked around her and her attendants motioned over towards the back of the crowd of spectators. A group of young children coldly looked on as adults and children alike fell into a deep slumber around them. The lady smirked and crooked her left index finger towards them bringing them over. While they were surprised they didn''t voice it out and just observed her. A few even showed excitement which earned a short chuckle from the lady. Then her eyes turned sharp as she looked at the traitors foaming at the mouth. "You weak things! Get your @sses up! I haven''t even allowed you to collapse have I?" She turned to the man on her left and asked "Have I allowed those d@mned traitors to sleep?" His mouth twitched as he held in his laughter. He had jet black hair and turquoise eyes that twinkled as he was entertained by her. "No my lady, you haven''t graced them with your decision." Those in the crowd who were awake and the children by her side felt their mouths twitch as well. The emotions they felt were difficult to describe. Pity? Towards the arrogant fools who walked into the mouth of a demon? Incredulity at how the personality of the enchanting lady changed from a regal empress with the aristocratic world under her feet to a gangster queen who ruled the underworld with the regular world in her back pocket? Ah, yes. It''s probably a combination of both. Just as they finished those thoughts the lady turned her head to them. "Tell me, did I give those disgusting scum permission to sleep? Have I graced them with my verbal verdict yet? Have I given them the honor of receiving their last verbal abuse from me?" The bystanders and children all unanimously answered "No". "So why the bloody heck are they so weak? When I wake them up, I''m going to hang them upside down and pour cola down their nose just like S0u60*." The crowd below looked at her in confusion while the man to her left and her two female attendants smiled and giggled respectively. "Alright! Shush! We have to look stoic and you all have to look nervous, fearful, etcetera. It''s the key to having them know that I don''t play these games! Come on! Poker face! Become award winning actors and actresses!" Everyone below sighed in resignation while the lady''s 3 people cleared their throats. The lady of the hour however brought out a snack from God-knows-where and finished it off before waving her arm. Nine men and women woke up looking filthy with their foam mixed with the dirt on the ground. One man actually urinated on himself. He immediately blushed when he looked at his pants before he turned pale. "Gutless, dirty thing. Even the twenty year old woman didn''t make such a mess of herself." The lady murmured this line before she projected her voice towards the man. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "I''m so disgusted by you right now that I just want to kill you by drowning you in bleach. Sadly, I don''t like the smell of bleach." The dark haired man''s eyes watered a bit as he held back his laughter. ''Lady Chao is ridiculous.'' When his eyes were regained their calm, he cleared his voice to get the lady''s attention and stepped forward when he saw the sign of acknowledgement. "My lady, if you would like, I may deal with this coward the way you want. If you''re still uneasy, you can instruct me step-by-step and I can record it for you." "Thank you Furvus. Let''s do that." Then she turned to the remaining eight, "As a reward for your ability to control your bodily functions, you all get one last request. As long as it doesn''t have anything with letting you live, I''ll grant it." Man 1: "I''d like a 4 course meal. I''m not asking for multiple types of cuisine. I just want an appetizer, a small entree, the actual meal, and a dessert. I''m not picky with food. The only thing I dare to add is that you cook it for me." Man 2: "I would like for my animals to be given to my family with their memories of me replaced with their new owners." Man 3: "Please call my name one last time. I''ll pray for your success in all your exploits in another place." Chao turned to him and gave him a gentle, genuine smile. "If I come across you again untainted, I''ll bring you under my wing once more, Abdo." He smiled back and closed his eyes. When he sensed her gaze move somewhere else, he allowed his tears to fall slowly, gently and silently. Man 4: "Please get my children registered in your schools." Woman 1: "Could I get a kiss on my hand from the attendant there." She tilted her head with a reddened nose as she pointed to one of the ladies. The attendant she pointed to covered her mouth and nodded her head at her. "If you want her, find her and marry her." The lady looked at her attendant''s eyes and then the woman''s. Woman 2: "I would like to listen to a collection of my favorite songs as I die" Woman 3: "Can my clothes be recycled into clothes for my family?" Woman 4: "I would like to eat with him." She tilted her chin towards man 1 and giggled when she saw his surprise. "Alright. Furvus, deal with the children''s registration. You give her the kiss however you want. You deal with the animals and clothes. The meals will be ready in an hour. After they''re finished eating, all of you are dying." "You stupid wench! Just try to get your dog of a lackey to kill me! I''ll pee in your mouth and force you to swallow it! Even better, I''ll impregnate you!" The pee man rushed towards the lady as he yelled hoarsely. His eyes strayed over her body, but before he could reach even 3 cm of her, he coughed up blood and slid down the previously invisible barrier. "You couldn''t wait for Furvus to finish his job? Rude." A playful and seductive voice filled his ears. When the man looked up, he saw Chao looking at him while pulling her clothes. "I''ll have to punish you mister." 2 W H A T A M I? The pee man''s vision was filled with pure white with a fraction of a second before a haven appeared before him. The dreary sky was replaced with the gentle blue sky. The dirt and sparse bushes were replaced with lush grass, beautiful flowers and noble, elegant trees. The people were gone and there was only a soft breeze. "Beautiful." "My loves and I decorated this place ourselves. This is my special place." Chao looked around somewhat absentmindedly in response to the man''s whisper. "This is the perfect place then." "Tell me, who are you? When did you join us? What is my name?" "I joined 3 weeks ago? No, that can''t be right. Well, whatever. Time moves differently when you''re miserable I guess. But my name is...I am¡­ I''m¡­ Who am I? You are the Devil. Right? No. You have a name just like me. What is my name though? Who am I? No. That''s not the right question." As the last question formed in his head and came out his mouth, his body heat steadily increased. "W h a t a m I?" Finally when the thought formed in his head, his body was aflame and when his voice disappeared after the sentence fell, an emblem surfaced upon his forehead. Pure white flames crackled in the air and quietly seeped out from the man''s orifices. The emblem was glowing brightly without spilling the golden light out into the light. "So they found me again. I should get the other two so we can deal with them. I really hope no one dies this time around." Chao sighed and closed her eyes. . . . "So who are your children?" "They''re right over there." The man talking to Furvus pointed over to the group of children that Chao had brought near her side. ''What a coincidence.'' Furvus mused to himself. "If this man is your Father, please step up so you can get registered." "Actually sir, none of them are my biological children. I''ve adopted them all since their parents are no longer around." The man smiled towards the children and waved at them. His pained smile caused the children''s eyes to water. The man was their father figure after all. Although they knew he did something bad, they couldn''t bear to abandon him. But what could they do? The lady would kill him no matter what and it was better if she did as well. If she didn''t kill him, the other people who hate him would torture and kill them to kill his soul. Furvus ignored his statement since their bond is what mattered and not their blood. A true family will have love as long as family exists. Furvus believed in this strongly. "Step forward if you are the child of this man." "Alright." He walked to them and continued when he was 2 steps away from them. "I need you all to step into this room. When you all get inside, press the button that will show up next to your dominant hand. Are any of you ambidextrous? No? Good. Otherwise you would have to pull the bar down." As he spoke, the children stepped inside the "room". The "room" was a box that was purple on the outside and plum inside. The seats were leather while the floor was 100% alpaca fleece. When all of them were seated, Furvus stepped in and pressed a button that showed up on an arm bar next to the door they stepped through. The spectators watched as the room seemed to have left a line of hundreds of copies overlapping one another while moving north over the cliff. . . . One of the attendants pulled out what looked like a remote car alarm and pressed a gray button with a blender on it. The gray light on the button blinked three times before it stopped. When it stopped, a man suddenly appeared. His gray hair was braided into a single 3 strand braid that stopped just below his shoulder blades. He was tall with broad shoulders and defined muscles. He had a grecian nose, hooded silver eyes, full lips and almond skin. His voice was unique in how it seems to always be in a low growl. The little attendant pointed over to the man with pets and in affirmation, the gruff man nodded his head. She in turn went over to the women who wanted their clothes recycled and playlist to be their requiem. "Good day sir. I''d like to know where exactly your pets are and where your relatives live." He tilted his head down slightly to respect the man and pulled up a globe. The man pointed to a small island where his pets were and two places on opposite coasts of the same continent. "The animals are all currently under the care of my hired caregivers. My nieces and nephews live on one side of the continent with their parents while my parents live on the other side." "If you''ll excuse me, may I know why they live on opposite sides." "Of course! The man who will care for and relocate the animals has the right to know the affairs of the future caretakers. My parents previously disowned my siblings and I because we refused to fund their indulgent, wasteful lifestyles. We didn''t like how they swindled the naive people who trusted them out of their money and property so we cut off their funds after we gained control over the supply. They tried to threaten the youngest twins who at that time were only 3 years old." As he retold his family fragmentation, he saw red and shook. "At that time, my brother was married to the police chief so he called him over as soon as he had the opportunity. When my brother-in-law arrived, my parents were about to inject the twins with a lethal drug. Even though our parents were such horrible people, we couldn''t bear to end them. There was a time where my mother was a kind yet stern woman who ran a tight household. Fights were to be resolved within a week, dinner was to be completely finished, homework was to be done as well as possible, gossip was to stay out of the house and our conversations." The man''s eyes slowly reverted back to their state of clarity before they grew misty. "Her favorite saying was ''A human is only human as long as they don''t lose sight of the principles that promote life.'' I always asked her if eating snacks before made me human and she would always smile while chopping the top of my head playfully. My father was a playful, reliable man. He always teased my mother to illicit a certain reaction out of her." At this point his tears were streaming down his face without any sign of stopping while the man had already taken him to a room for privacy. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Father always said ''A man isn''t a man if he doesn''t protect his happiness.'' I remember when I was 15 I asked him what his happiness was and he just smiled before looking towards the rest of the family. ''Honey, we should just go to space with the kids.'' ''Are you an airhead? Have you hit your head? Should I hang you upside down with an oxygen tank?'' My dad would laugh and slowly back away while hiding behind my sister and he would always respond with the cheesiest thing ever. ''First, I''m an airhead for you. Second, I hit my head when I fell head-over-heels for you. Lastly, I''d enjoy anything you do to me, but remember that we have children around so keep it PG outside a private space.'' Without fail, my mom would blush every time and stutter as he ran away with her in his arms laughing." The man''s voice then took a turn when he began after composing himself. "Everything changed after a car accident when someone crashed into their car. Before the ambulance got there, apparently the culprits injected them with drugs that would numb the brain and cause memory failure. As a result, my parents forgot who they were. When my siblings and I found out, we tried to rehabilitate them but they just wouldn''t listen. We never registered in their minds. Later on, they got into gambling, drugs, and human trafficking when the culprit approached them. Then that event happened and we didn''t have a choice but to leave them to their devices. Apparently though, the culprit is going against your lady and her forces. Additionally, they have to inject the drug every week so that my parents don''t suffer from a relapse." 3 Love makes you fall for something intangible inside someone. As the other attendant walked towards the woman, the blush on her face intensified from a carnation blush to a deep crimson. "If you would follow me, I would rather not do this in public." The woman snorted and followed her. "Close your eyes." "Can I not do that? I would very much like to gaze at the face of such a beauty while she kisses me." The attendant almost ran away in embarrassment. "How could you say such a thing with a straight face? I meant that you''ll get blinded by the light as we teleport if you don''t close your eyes!" "Ooooh. Okay. But I don''t want to close my eyes. Could you pretty please cover my eyes with your hands for me?" She looked like she had a revelation before innocently blinking her eyes and pouting. The attendant started trembling while she looked away with her hands covering her eyes. ''How is she so cute?'' "Alright. I''m taking you to a memory." She covered the woman''s eyes and almost yelped when she felt her delicate eyelashes flutter a bit. When she lowered her hand from the woman''s eyes, the woman quickly moved to kiss it. After landing a peck on her ring finger, she looked up and began crying. They were standing in a meadow with a quaint country cottage in front of them. There were wildflowers and mixed lupine flowers below the windows on either side of the front door. Within one of the windows, the woman saw fuchsias. She finally broke down and fell to her knees while the attendant sobbed gently. "Is the orange cat painting still up?", the woman finally asked. "Yes, and I put it in your favorite spot." The woman''s tears ceased and looked at her in horror. "Don''t tell me you put it up in the bathroom!" The attendant nodded at her and chuckled. "It is your favorite place for that particular painting." The woman finally stood up and hugged the attendant. "You''ve learned how to be naughty from the lady. You can''t tease me like this!" The attendant laughed and narrowed her eyes. "The Lady will take up to two hours cooking and dealing with that man. By now, we have an hour and 45 minutes left. She said I may kiss you however I like. I''m afraid since you''ll be eliminated, a simple kiss on the cheek just won''t do it." The woman sensed the heat from her eyes and ran towards the cottage. "That''s exactly where we''ll be for the next hour or so anyway. I''m glad you''re excited for this love session." The woman laughed nervously and shrunk a bit. "Wasn''t I the one who was the predator while you were prey? Aren''t I the cat while you''re the mouse?" "Yeah. That was the old arrangement. Now I''m an owl while you''re the mouse. Don''t worry, when you come back again, I''ll make sure to trap you in this house for a week as your punishment." "Thank you Fuchsia. I''ll tell Lady Chao. Now¡­" the attendant paused and crooked her finger at Fuchsia. "come and join me. The covers aren''t going to warm themselves up." Fuchsia threw her head back in laughter and tackled the attendant. "Little innocent Lupine is finally the bully. I''ll make sure to burn you into my soul little sheep. You also have to make sure to find me, okay?" As she stated her vow, she buried her head in the crook of Lupine''s neck. "I promise. Can we stay like this for a bit?" Lupines eyes turned pink as she whispered in Fuchsia''s ear. "Yes. Go ahead and cry if you want. My soul will soak up the tears as I wipe them away." As soon as the sentence ended, Lupine burst into tears. "This will be the first and last time I ever make you cry from sadness. Later on, I want to open a karaoke bar with you. It''ll have two floors and a basement. On the second floor I want private, soundproof rooms and I want the first one to be open." Lupine smiled and added, "We can have an open-mic comedy day every Thursday, a trivia night every Sunday and a sing-off every Saturday. We should also have music in every language and genre. I don''t want to play music from the top charts. And I want an arcade near it too!" "There she is." Fuchsia smiled as she cleaned up Lupine''s face. ''My beautiful future wife.'' "Do you remember Samuel from university?" "Yes! I remember how I dated him because of a dare!" "Remember Jina?" "Jina?" "She thought you liked Sam and tried to compete for his attention with you. When the trial for dating him ended and you told me to gather everyone who was there for the dare and Jina. His friend wanted you two to date hoping he would get a chance with me while you fell for Sam." "Oh yeah! In the end, I told Sam I didn''t like him even after dating him for 6 months. He was pretty calm and told me he didn''t like me either. Jina thought she had a chance and confessed to him." When the two thought about the love confession they laughed. "Lupine, not only did she confess, but his friend also confessed to me!" They both laughed out loud again. "Jina was rejected by Samuel and you rejected his friend at the same time. Everyone thought there wouldn''t be any couples coming out of it when I turned to you. I asked you if we could go back to dating, and you said ''Of course Love.'' Samuel paused before turning to his friend and telling him how he felt. Then you dared them to date for the same amount of time." Fuchsia blew on Lupine''s neck and concluded, "Everyone looked so surprised. And, when the 6 months were up, they fell in love with each other while Jina reunited with her childhood friend." Lupine pushed Fuchsia off her and sat up before pecking her cheek. "Love is a weird thing. Love makes you fall for something intangible inside someone. Sure the physical traits guide you towards someone, but the intangible is what cements the relationship. The soul, if you will." "Well, my future wife is actually a poet." mused Fuchsia. Lupine rolled her eyes before leaving the room to drink water. "I have an alarm for your time. Until then, I''m going to kiss you all over." When Lupine re-entered the room she pounced on Fuchsia and closed the door. . . . "I don''t think we''ve ever spoken before." As the man said this, the woman winced a bit. "How cruel shorty!" The lady quickly hid her pain and feigned injury on her heart by dramatically grabbing at her chest. "I joined for you and you don''t even remember me! Shame on you!" "Okay lady. First off, I''m actually taller than you by a centimeter or two. And I doubt I could ever forget someone as flamboyant as you. Are you sure it''s me you''re looking for?" "Maybe I''m mistaken, maybe I''m not. I do what I want. If I want to eat with you, then I''m eating at the same table as you." "Alright Lady! Jeez! Not only are you so freaking flashy, but you''re so freaking aggressive! Would it kill you to be more calm?" "Yes, it would. I would die from lack of energy. I would die from lack of messing with you. I have a condition called Jokester''s lament. If I don''t mess with you at least once a day, my face will distort into a permanent frown. Each hour that passes by, the frown will eat my brain. I WILL DIE!" As she yelled she jumped up onto the man''s shoulders and patted his head. "Get off!" The man blushed profusely as the woman''s thighs sandwiched his head. ''Luckily...wait. Is it unlucky? This flattie doesn''t have much of a bust.'' The woman felt heat on the sides of her thighs so she looked down and when she saw him blushing, came up with a fantastic idea. "Alright I''ll get off." She slid off him and when she stood on the ground she spread the fingers of her right hand. SMACK "WHY ON GOD''S GREEN EARTH WOULD YOU SLAP MY A-?" "Watch your profanity! I did what I did because it''s like Xiny1* said. Besides, you don''t have to be shy. I''ll find you later." The man ran away from the woman and almost gave himself up when Chao showed up with a kitchen trolley cart. At the same time, Lupine and the rest showed up. ''Thank God, Zeus, Buddah, or whoever is the highest power.'' When that thought ended, Chao and two other people rubbed their arms. ''Who''s talking about me? Those goosebumps were fatal.'' These two weren''t present at the moment, but Chao giggled when she felt them. "Alright everyone. Any last issues that need tying up? Furvus? Gladys? Lupine? Lara?" "The children have been left at the dorms. You can go meet them when everything is done." "The animals, employees, family have all found their closure. The playlist was also downloaded onto an 1Pod**." Lara, the attendant who called Gladys added, "We gave them an island and put it under their name. She''s also getting earbuds while the other is going to hold her fashion book. I know you didn''t say whether we could do that, but can we anyway?" She slightly fidgeted as she looked up with her downturned eyes. "Yes it was. You all don''t have to ask me for permission. You all are responsible enough." When Chao smiled, little Lara blushed while the crowd below had so many thoughts running through their heads. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. ''Why, oh why are none of them single? Lara seems single, but she also seems taken in how she acts like a loyal worshipper.'' ''Isn''t that cute though?'' ''Lady Chao is so pretty. Ahhh. Her dark, curly hair. Her pretty eyelashes covering black holes. Her chocolate skin.'' ''I know what you mean! I kinda want to bite her neck!'' ''You perv!'' ''You''re the other founding member of our pervy club!'' ''If this doesn''t finish soon, I''m going to miss the livestream.'' ''At least you just have to worry about the livestream! I''m pretty sure my baked brown sugar sweet potatoes are getting cold!'' Chao''s shoulders trembled with her head down. No one could see her face. "Lady Chao, are you alright?", Gladys asked as he summoned a table with a blender. "HOW ARE THEY COMMUNICATING TELEPATHICALLY?" 4 Enjoy the show. The two ate their dinner quietly while everyone else had interesting expressions on their faces. Chao was indifferently drinking rose hip and hibiscus tea infused with fresh pomegranate provided by Gladys. Gladys was waiting on her silently on the side with a castella. Furvis found a dog and was tickling it. Lara was playing hopscotch with an old blacksmith from the crowd. Lupine was kissing Fuchsia''s cheek, and the crowd was particularly varied. Some people were shocked, others were embarrassed, and one person got so bored they started a flash mob in the back of the crowd. The flash mob wore Bluetooth headphones listening to C@ntina 8and*. When the song ended, they paired up and did the Charl3ston**. "I don''t know why they''re dancing, but I''ll treat it as a commercial break. When they finish their song, we''re getting this show on the road." Chao looked up at Gladys from her teacup. At last, the song ended and Gladys'' voice boomed. "The time has come for the traitors. Furvus will come around with sunglasses so please wear them as soon as you get them." Furvus walked over with the dog in his arms. "Why wasn''t I told that I would have to do work?" Gladys ignored him and gave him a case filled with sunglasses. Furvus turned to Chao, "Lady Chao, can I keep this puppy? Pretty please with a glass of sugar?" Chao glanced at him before she finished off her tea and castella. "Yes, you can have the dog. Gladys, grab his dog and give him a bath while he''s handing out sunglasses." "Yes Lady Chao." "Now, Lupine, Lara, hand me the gloves and the Tear." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Lupine carried a small, seamless box. Intricate carvings covered the amethyst box. Depictions of Gods, Demons and humans silently rested on the box. Some people in the crowd noticed the buildup of perspiration on her face. Chao also noticed and closed the distance. "You need more training. You''re still at level 6. Don''t be flustered though. One more push will allow you to enter the next threshold." She grabbed the box from Lupine with her right hand while wiping her sweat with a handkerchief in her left hand. Lupine felt distressed when she noticed it was one of Chao''s handkerchiefs and instantaneously calmed down when she felt how gingerly Chao pat her head. "Don''t mind the handkerchief. You can keep it." She kissed her hand and turned to Lara. Alarmed, Lara quickly shook her head while gritting her teeth. "No my Lady." "Go walk to the manor with it then." Lara''s face immediately fell and she turned with resignation. "Yes, Lady Chao." Chao rolled her eyes and walked over to her snatching the heavy object from the shivering arms. Automatically, Lara fell forward into Chao. With her head on the bosom of Chao, she subconsciously inhaled a lovely scent of pomegranate and volcanic ash. "My dear, you can speak out and voice your true thoughts. I''ve already heard them in your mind anyway." Lara raised her head embarrassed. While she berated herself in her heart for making a fool of herself in front of her idol, Chao kissed her forehead. "You''ll have to forgive me for not doing anymore. As you can see, my hands are full." With that, she winked at her causing Lara to go weak at the knees. "The two of you can go to Albus for a check-up and treatment. Gladys and Furvus can stay here with me." They nodded, summoned a room and left the same way Furvus went earlier. "Now, everyone has their sunglasses on, yes? Enjoy the show." Chao curtseyed while the two men bowed. When their heads came up, the men wore blank expressions while Chao wore an expression of extreme focus. Gladys lifted the top of the box while Chao languidly put her hands out from her sides. The purple gloves that were once dead in the box roused themselves awake. The gloves then started to unravel and the quivering purple threads danced through the air. Upon making contact with Chao''s skin, the threads began wriggling and forming themselves back into gloves. When the final thread was tucked, scarlet rivers swirled around the surface of the gloves. Gladys shut the box backing away as Furvus stepped forward. He unwrapped the slate velvet revealing a pair of loud daggers. The ceremonial daggers weren''t made to look gaudy nor were they shabby-looking. They instead created a beautiful contrast to the velvet. From the hilt to the tip as well as the scabbards, they were black. They weren''t necessarily cold or threatening since down the blood groove there was a gentle symphony of colors much like the Aurora Borealis. The contrast within the blades created a curious feeling of comfort and expectation. The comfort that life cannot be without death; the comfort that the blood will not create a hideous mark, but a welcomed addition. The expectation of another chance; the expectation of finding a new life elsewhere. When Chao grabbed the two daggers, her hair changed to platinum, her eyes turned red and beneath her skin were blinding twinkling lights. Through the sunglasses, the lights weren''t as intense although everything in the surrounding area lost its color. It was strange. Everything was colorless. The people could see the distant mountains and ocean, but they did not see the buildings or most of the ground beneath their feet. ''Like having clear glass surrounded by mirrors on all sides.'' If they didn''t look too far beyond, that is what their surroundings were. They could see the people and energy, but they could not see any other large physical masses. Chao played with the daggers in her hands while mentally chanting in her head. After a couple seconds of playing, she thrust them forward and turned in opposite directions. Her left dagger turned clockwise while the right turned counterclockwise. A set of doors similar to the daggers appeared and opened. The eight below felt their consciousness ebb away into nothingness. The crowd saw eight sets of flesh turn into water, bones to earth, souls to fire and breaths to wind. The water was guided into the green part of the Borealis. The earth was guided to the orange part. The fire was guided into the yellow part and the wind was blown into the pink. After half an hour, the daggers were turned in opposite directions and the doors closed fading into nothing. Chao touched the scarlet on her gloves with the tips of the blades causing them to disappear along with the lights beneath her skin. Finally she exhaled and placed the daggers in their scabbards. Furvus came forward with the velvet and wrapped the daggers once more while Gladys came forward slowly lifting the top. If the top was lifted before daggers were fully enveloped, the two items would reactivate swallow the surrounding area. Furvus finished wrapping and The purple thread began unravelling once more. Chao''s hair and eyes slowly reverted back to their darkness. Closing her eyes before opening them once more, she smiled lazily. "Ta-da! They have all been "reset"! I hope you all enjoyed the show. Now I would like for everyone hear to spread the word that I will be hosting a banquet in a week!" The crowd removed the sunglasses and walked away conflicted. On one hand, the execution was so unique and breathtaking that calling it a simple show wouldn''t do it justice. On the other hand, they''re all dead! They won''t be on the continent! Not even in the form of fertilizer! No one besides her knows where exactly they''re going or what they''ll be doing in the meanwhile. Is 5oul 5ociety*** real?! "Gladys, Furvus, get a door ready. I need it to go straight to the front door of the manor." She smiled weakly. "Yes my lady. It shall be done." Furvus and Gladys both answered. Furvus crouched on the ground implanting crystals while Gladys gave her a revitalizing juice and massage. A minute later Furvus nodded to Gladys and the two switched places. Gladys would fine tune the teleportation sequence while Furvus would continue to comfort Chao. Every time she executed the traitors, it took a toll on her. She had to break them down into the purest elements and watch over their journey whilst also controlling her powers. Otherwise, she would pull the planet into a different plane of reality. An alternate universe if you would. Another minute later, Gladys patted Furvus'' shoulder. "My lady, we are ready to go." "Is Furvus'' dog ready as well?" "Yes, now would you like to stand during the trip or otherwise?" Chao eyed Furvus and Gladys before closing her eyes wearily. "I want to lay down for a bit." Furvus spoke with a voice as smooth as silk, "We don''t have a bed or a chaise lounge." "I don''t caaare! I just wanna layyy! I just want to lie down! Give me a piggyback ride if we don''t have a beddd! Please~" She whined and pouted softly hitting the two men. "Alright." Gladys bent down slightly while Furvus helped Chao on as she fell asleep. "Have a good rest my lady." Furvus brushed some of her curly mane behind her ear. "I''m hungry." She mumbled. "Hurry up." 5 The warmth of home and Contradiction A luxury mountain home stood in front of the three. The cobblestone path that led to the building from the gated entrance was skipped as Chao exhausted herself. Furvus whispered in a low voice, "Lady Chao, we''ve arrived. Are you sure you want to enter directly through the front door?" She didn''t give him any answer besides a hum and a wave of her hand. Furvus looked at Gladys with pity. Although Gladys didn''t have any immediate visible reaction on his face, Furvus still noticed that he tensed a bit with his protruding veins as evidence. Furvus audibly sighed as he silently prayed for the two of them. Normally the home was quite bright and warm but at the moment, it felt like they were walking into the F0rtress of S0litude*. Furvus went up the two steps with steps as heavy as his reluctance and finally pressed the doorbell. Cla1r de Lun3** played through gentle chimes echoing throughout the entire area. Listening to how the piece reverberated through the air, both Furvus and Gladys finally began showing signs of distress. The door swung open triggering a reaction across the property. The windows opened, doors were swung, gates were shoved and people poured out from everywhere. Men, women, and children of all ages appeared out in the open. The chilling aspect of it all was the fact that they had done so with little to no noise. The loudest noises that could be heard were pounding hearts. Chao, the cause of the silent ruckus, rested peacefully on Gladys'' back while the two men were glared at. Gladys finally broke and sighed. everyone present had at least the lowest bond allowing certain messages to be telepathically transmitted. His usual growling voice spoke, ''Lady Chao has temporarily exhausted herself. I would like for her room to be prepared as well as her food. If Albus has finished, tell her to wait outside until Lady Chao awakens to check her health. When the check-up is done, it should be linner*** time, therefore all work in the house best be done by then.'' ''Yes Sir Gladys.'', they replied unanimously. As usual though, Chao woke up rubbing her eyes sleepily before calling out. "Wait." Everyone halted uniformly and looked to her. "After linner, I''m going on a walk. Gladys, Furvus, Albus and Bea will join me. Everyone has to prep themselves for the night." They looked at her confusedly while Gladys and Furvus caught the trademark glint in her eyes. ''Why does she have to cause a ruckus? Is it too quiet? Is she just bored? I want my overtime to be compensated!'' "Tonight after dinner, we''re going to have a sleepover in my wing. You''re all going to have the privilege of using the energy there to upgrade. That''s all from me for now." She nonchalantly spoke before winking and saying "I look forward to our night together." Finally when the thoughts settled, the ground rumbled and the air trembled. They collectively formed a barrier to contain their thankful roars. "WOAH!!!" People jumped up and down, an old couple who were in their 100''s started dancing and laughing. . . . "I''ll probably only be able to sleep for an hour. Tell Albus that my eyes were going blind as I was reverting earlier. I want you tow to get my drinks ready for tonight." Gladys pursed his full lips before parting them, "Do I look stupid to you? I don''t have the highest bond to you, only the second highest, but that doesn''t mean my nerve receptors aren''t receiving any pain from you." Furvus nodded his head in agreement while frowning. "I didn''t feel what you did while sending them away, but I did feel the aftermath. Albus is probably feeling it too but unlike you, she can treat herself as soon as possible." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Chao immediately crumpled in regret as she thought of her four dears enduring the pain silently while still supporting her. "Get out and get your treatment. I''ll recover while I sleep. I want to walk a bit before I have some replenishing snacks." Her eyes were steely as they glowered at the two brooking no argument. Automatically, they bowed, saluted and closed her door behind them after leaving. Outside the room stood a young lady older than Furvus by a year or two. She was the same height as Furvus with fuchsia eyes and pure, white hair that reached her hips, warm ivory skin, thin pinkish lips, wide set eyes and tall nose. Her features made her look a bit arrogant if not lukewarm. At the moment though she had bright pink coral lips, marmalade colored overalls and two lazy, messy buns on either side of her head. When Furvus leaned forward and kissed her cheek, she rolled her eyes feigning indifference. "Where''s Bea?" asked Gladys without even the slightest reaction. Furvus, however, was busy ogling at Albus'' reddening face. "She said she would wait for you in the library." Gladys thanked her after grabbing the medication for himself and his little lady. When Gladys was out of sight, Albus prepared to lecture Furvus on his behavior before she was stopped by an attack by Furvus. Specifically, all he did was hug her, rest his head on her shoulder and asked, "Can I just listen to you play the kalimba[1]?" Her heart softened towards the man clinging to her. "You''re also taking the medicine. If you don''t complain, you can also have baklava for linner." His ears perked up causing Albus to chuckle. ''Ahhh, I''ll look dumb as long as she laughs for me.'' Furvus grabbed her hand, raised it to his heart and smiled to himself. "Let''s go to your lounge." They walked away hand in hand with hearts fluttering. . . . A man sat under a pergola with a woman. They heard footsteps and turned to the source. Before she could see their faces, everything melted like it was washed away with water. Chao laid in a bed inside a small chamber. People were shouting outside and her door was being unlocked. Dull, warm white light poured in exposing the dirt floor, mold and light frost. Someone''s voice echoed "Time to go." She turned her body over to get a look at the owner of the unidentifiable voice, but was only blinded by the yellow light. Similar to before, the scene changed once more. Over and over again, Chao saw many scenes around her. Sometimes she was a young child, at times she was an elderly man, other times she was a young woman, but in all her forms she never finished the story. She did not know if she finished the race for her life. She did not know if she saved the innocent children. She did not know if she was killed. She did not know if she ended her own life at any point. She watched as everything passed her fleetingly. Only once did she get close to A TRUTH. She sat on a cliff with two other people near her. The man sat under a willow tree while the other woman laid on her back. They all looked off into a distance they couldn''t reach in that time. "The sky is peaceful." said the man. "The ocean is restless." said the woman. "The air is still." said Chao. "We can''t die." said the woman. "We do die." said the man. "We live after death." said Chao. "That is how we live. The infinite cycle of the end and beginning." The three didn''t reply to the intruder. After all,they were right and there was nothing they could do about it. "You three are the paragon of parallel joy and sorrow. The three of you make up "contradiction". Three extremes that couldn''t be more similar and different." The surrounding air warmed up while the three cooled. "You three will exist this way even after time ends to begin anew. No matter where and when you run to, you cannot escape this. Let''s try to get along until then." The voice seemed to be laced with malevolent happiness. The voice wasn''t male or female nor was it young or old. Calling it "current" was fitting, but was difficult to describe otherwise. The intruder left after a short hum. Chao turned around and looked at the other two. "We''re one being yet we''re our own beings. I am myself and both of you at the same time." she paused and the man continued, "We are three parts made of different personalities that fit together perfectly." Finally, the other woman ended, "You both are my anchor. You keep my in place and also weigh me down. We maintain our sanity through each other and fracture each other causing harm to ourselves." ''What a fate to live.'' They smiled wryly as a small flame of trust and determination spawned in their soul. ''If we are to be like this, then we will learn to love this. Not to hurt each other, but to hurt them.'' 6 Dont give an attitude ''I hadn''t seen that in a while.'' She looked around her bedroom with a sigh. Walking over to her walk-in closet, she hummed a song that matched her mood. A quiet song that held pitiful hope in the midst of chaos. She finally picked a black outfit. When she opened her door, Lara and Lupine were waiting. "Lady Chao, it''s five minutes to linner time. If you don''t dawdle, maybe you''ll actually make it on time." Lupine remarked while Lara''s eyes went wide. Chao raised an eyebrow and laughed when Lupine puckered her lips and sent a heart shape with her hands. "You''re my favorite boss!" Lupine scampered ahead and Lara face palmed. "Alright. I got the message. I''m going. I''ll make the barrier as I walk too." Linner is the meal between lunch and dinner much like brunch. Chao made the rule that every meal, everyone must be present around the cafeteria. Otherwise, they would be punished with overtime. Chao ran her group much like a family-owned corporation. She was the head honcho while everyone else worked with her under different roles. ''People can''t live without food, sleep, exercise, and something to do! If I don''t have any of those things, I''m better off dead!'' That''s something Chao often said whenever someone asked if she and her subordinates were being lazy. Chao also eats a lot as she has a lot of power and since she''s shared some of her power with the others, they''ve gained a similar constitution to her. The meals fuel them, the exercise burns off some of the excess power, the sleep allows them to train in their dreams, and having something to do is just natural. But back to Chao. They arrived at the cafeteria and Chao sat at the back of the room in the middle seat. Gladys and Bea sat to her left while Furvus and Albus sat on her right. "Alright! Linner is served! Get the drinks out too!" Chao yelled and everyone cheated with the exception of those who knew and attended the execution. Fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, breads, rice, and assorted desserts and drinks floated from the kitchen to the tables. There were ten tables full of people laughing and eating with people still standing against the walls. ''I''ve got to expand a bit. They''re coming over and knowing them, they''ll have company with them.'' Chao rolled that fact around her brain for a bit before returning to reality and playing around with her dears. . . . After a couple hours, everyone finished eating and went to the sinks near the back kitchen to wash their utensils and plates. "Albus, Bea, you two can come with me for my walk." Chao looked over to the two ladies and strolled out of the cafeteria to the side entrance. "Keep an eye on her." Gladys and Furvus said simultaneously. The two ladies rolled their eyes. Seeing that the men reacted. Gladys picked up Bea, held her bottom with his left hand and whispered in her ear. "I know you''re capable, but be careful of your attitude. If this happens again, I won''t hesitate to ask Lady Chao for a month to play with you." Bea blushed heavily and her plump cheeks puffed up. Seeing this, Gladys tilted his body away from the other two and smirked at her. "Careful kitten, I might sneak into your bed tonight." As he said tonight he gently nibbled on her earlobe. "You dummy! You brute! You gorilla! Leave me alone!" Bea whispered harshly into his ear causing him to blush much to her satisfaction. ''I''ll mess with you until you bleed!'' Bea shrunk her head so Gladys lowered her a bit. When she was low enough, she kissed and bit the area on Gladys'' neck where his carotid artery would be. She smiled and jumped down before skipping to the cafeteria opening. Gladys stood frozen while his head turned following her. Seeing him acting so robotic, she blew a kiss at him. Furvus walked up to Albus and massaged the nape of her neck. "Don''t give me an attitude. It hurts my feelings." He made a sad face while watching her facial reactions. They were having a battle. It was basically the same as Hana-chan and Kabakura''s*. A battle of seduction. Albus'' mouth twitched a bit, but she didn''t give in. Instead, she moved her head so that Furvus had better access to her neck, moaned a bit as he massaged her neck, and smiled gently as she spoke. "If you looked this cute, I would always give you an attitude." Furvus had dealt 10 damage points with his first attack but Albus almost destroyed Furvus with 60 damage points. He pricked her finger while she stole his hand, but still, Furvus wanted to keep his pride and fight until one side had 0 hp left. "I promise to look this cute as long as you smile at me. No matter the reason behind the smile, I will willingly make way for you." Furvus stopped massaging her neck and instead held her hands and pressed his forehead against hers. 70 damage points! "Then I shall continue." "Continue what?" he asked confusedly. She kissed his lips lightly and said "Love you of course!" 100 damage points! Albus knew she won and whispered "You''re doing dinner and dishes tomorrow tonight!" She then cheekily smiled broadly and followed Bea out. . . . Chao was strolling through some woods behind the particular mountaintop that her house was built on. "Lady Chao! Wait!" Two voices shouted behind her. As if they''d rehearsed, their voices echoed one another. "What if you eat something again!" said Albus. "What if you get lost again!" said Bea. "AAHHH! I don''t want to hear it anymore. Just admire the beauty right now!" Chao''s voice rose to a yell, fell to a mumble, and finally rose back up to a call. The two shook their heads and picked up the pace walking on either side of Chao. The forest was full of old grand trees with its voice echoing. The different hues of green and brown, the various calls of the animals in the forest, the small murmuring of insects and the distant sounds of water flowing or dripping created an atmosphere of wonder and relaxation. ''Beautiful'' said all three. All of a sudden, Chao stopped in her tracks looking to the North-East. "What is it Lady Chao?" asked Albus while Bea pulled out a vial. "Something new, curious, and interesting." she replied. Albus sighed, "We are not experimenting, taste-testing, or even bringing back anything. The last time you found something "new" everyone got food poisoning and you turned into B00hbah**." "It isn''t anything edible this time, per se. It has a mind of its own." Bea chimed in, "Please don''t take out a boat*** to re-enact THAT again. That was the first and last time." Chao scoffed and sprinted in the direction. "Trust me. This time, its legitimate. I''ve been waiting for them for a while now. They''re like you all." With that, they were silenced and followed the scent of pomegranate and volcanic ashes through the crisp forest. . . . A beast lied underneath a weeping willow tree. It was similar to a lion except its legs had rich, brown crystalline scales and its fur was obsidian. As Chao walked up to it, its eyes remained closed until Bea and Albus arrived. At once, the three were captivated. Warm pineapple yellow and medium orchid eyes with black vertical pupils. The eyes were warm while the look was cold causing confusion. The eyes were beautiful but the owner was not welcoming. "Hey beautiful. A handsome thing like you and a devastating thing like me could cause a riot. Want to do it?" Bea and Albus lagged so hard that they were speechless. The creature responded nonetheless, "You''re insane." It had a smooth gender neutral tone and at that moment, was filled with disbelief. "Wow, you''re really sharp if you got that from one glance. I''d like to extend an invitation to you. What''s your name?" "I don''t have one." "Here''s the deal, if you join me, you can do whatever you want under the condition that I approve of those actions and you get free benefits." "What do you mean by benefits?" "Your health insurance will be covered, you''ll get paid, you get free food, vacation, and power. All you have to do to achieve all this is give me your consent. I''ll take it from there." "You won''t treat me as a lesser life?" "No dear. If I bothered with my superiority, my life would be boring." ''Although that last bit was irritating, I believe I can trust her for now, at least. I could use the protection at the moment.'' The beast finally stood and bowed its head, "I accept your invitation and would like to join you..." "Chao. My name is Chao." 7 Marianna and him "What do you think of this?" This human insectoid is trying to get me to talk. "Did you insult me in your mind again!" Yes, this grown man tried to coyly accuse me of insulting him. I already told him that stupidity is contagious. I am the top sorceress. I don''t need some drooling man-child trying to leech off my meals. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "You''re so cold to me Marianna. I just want to eat your food and casually tease you. What''s wrong with my ambition?" "A lot." "Explain." "You are in hiding. I am trying to work. Although I''m thankful to you, that doesn''t mean you can take advantage of me." I hate deceit. I hate what I can''t see. If I can''t see it, it''ll hurt me again. But, he knows that. Please don''t show your sincerity to me. It hurts. "I want to make you smile. I want to protect your smile. I want to look after your soul. I want you and I wish you would want me too. I don''t want you to crumble alone. If you crumble, then I''ll cover for you until you build yourself up again." His eyes, usually a gentle hazel, look harsh right now. Now, they''re sad. No, don''t be sad. You know I can''t bear it. "Ma petite mer. Je t''aime. You may be a Queen, but I want to be your King." That was the last thing he said to me before I went out the next day. I made a purely vegetarian dish that night. He ate it with a smile, chattered the entire time and gave me some dessert he got from the market. I didn''t speak much during dinner and I didn''t notice that I smiled. I didn''t notice how peaceful we looked together. The next morning, I was commissioned by someone to gather, purify and deliver some herbal medicines. I thought it would just be the usual. Me waking up when the sun rises, washing up, making breakfast and getting hit with a blown goodbye kiss from him. I should''ve known that it was a trick. Looking back at it now, all the signs were there. He didn''t get out of bed by the time I was finished making breakfast, there were mushroom stools missing from the paths, and the entourage waiting for me seemed too uniform. Her face twisted. She aged at least 10 years and looked like a brute. "Kill her." I blanked out when I saw her lips. Kill me? Why? I didn''t get much time to ask because they rushed at me. My leg was cut and shocked my brain. My subconscious saved me and forced me to run out. If I was at home, I could activate and summon all the defenses I had there. I''d only ran halfway there when I was ambushed by another group. Hahahaha¡­ "Our employer needs her body. Hand her over." "Sorry, our boss wants her to stop existing." "Outsiders have no right to deal with our employer''s property." I remember feeling aflamed. I wasn''t embarrassed; I was amused at their audacity. I am Marianna. I have been the top sorceress for more than a decade according to public knowledge. Those in the thick of the action know how formidable I am. I defeated both evil and heroic groups. I''ve advised kingdoms in their wars securing their victory. I''ve defeated demons and saints. They believe I, of all people, can be treated as property? Hilarious. I clapped my hands and when I pulled them apart, stretched out a red flame into a whip shape. "You''re all out of your minds." I don''t remember how long it took, but I do remember their cries and shouts. I remember how quiet it got once there were only two left. Stupid ringleaders vomited. Disgusting. Some of it got on my shoes too. Unforgivable. He made those shoes specially for me. I took them down too, but as they drew their last breath, I felt some magic power zooming towards my back. It was too late and when I turned around I saw a splash of red. I looked down and saw blue stab into my stomach region. I looked up and saw him coughing up red. I didn''t know what it was, but I saw how sad and frustrated he looked. I didn''t know that the arrow pierced us both and I didn''t know that we were both dying at that point. I didn''t like how he looked so I hugged him closer. I didn''t feel the pain from being skewered with him - I just felt how we both shivered. I liked how it felt. I liked the feeling of our bodies in our arms, and I wanted to feel more. So I pressed my lips against his with my hands holding him in place. He seemed surprised and looked so cute to me; like a puppy tilting their head to the side. So I opened up his mouth and drank his blood. It was metallic, salty, and complete. We met when I was 7. He''s younger than me by four years, but that day, he stood up for my sake without hesitation. That old woman, who raised me since I was a baby, wanted to sell off my body in pieces. Imagine the conversations I''d heard. ''Her liver is excellent for nursing one''s body to full health.'' ''Her legs have exquisite muscles, although they''re still in their infant stage, with enough work, they''ll be objects to envy.'' That day she told me to go into the slaughterhouse for pigs, I slapped her and ran. I tried to hide but they sold me out. But right when I was going to be taken, a little boy who wasn''t even to my waist, yelled out and grabbed my hand to run. I''ll always remember how everyday was such a marvel with him and his teacher. He grew from a soft, young boy, into a tough, handsome man. His teacher aged gracefully and died peacefully. "Let''s go to the marshes. Teacher left supplies there." So we lived there together for a decade before one day he was kidnapped. I traded myself in for him, but we both suffered. He was used as a sparring dummy. I was a drug tester. I finally escaped one day after destroying that facility and he disappeared for 3 years. I searched and searched, but I didn''t find him until he showed up at my door. At that point, I had already become numb from all the games people played. I asked him why he left and he just answered , "I left to untangle myself." Since that day, he would follow me around and flirt whenever he had the chance. I never reciprocated out loud, but I''d already accepted that the love of my life, my saviour, had returned to me. It''s so funny I could scream. Here we are showing off our love to our killer. Who by the way, is being a complete third-wheeler right now. Ah, I''m falling down and he''s not letting go. Hssss, that arrow hurts so much. Our breathing is getting slower and slower, like we''ve had an ocean of wine and are drifting to sleep. Hm? I see someone. Some lady is- oh! She pimp-smacked the guy! Oh lord, if I wasn''t busy kissing this fool to literal death, I would kiss her. What''d she say? 8 Lawrence and her I know she doesn''t like showing any vulnerability. Ever since I saw her that day, I could see her fear and reluctance towards opening herself up. I knew it, but I didn''t understand it until later. I grew up in a fortunate way. I had two mothers, a younger brother and a father. My mothers wanted children so they got one of their best friends to help them. I remember asking him if he ever wanted to be with either of my mothers. He turned to me with this really cheeky smile and said no. I thought he might be in love with someone else so I asked if his lover was okay with it and he burst into laughter. He curled up slamming his hand on the ground and laughing. "We made a deal. I help those two buffoons get children and they do the same for me." My biological father was together with a man. I didn''t think it was strange at all until later. But one day, I went into town to drop off some candied fruit and I saw a girl. Her hazel eyes were marred by the sadness, anger and desperation she felt. I wasn''t thinking about the consequences. At the time, I just saw something unpleasant that I didn''t like so I decided to help. I grabbed her wrist and ran away with her. We ran until we reached beyond the edge of town. I didn''t recognize the area but it felt sad. She unravelled by hand from her wrist depriving it of any warmth. I looked up at her and got lost - lost in her beautiful dark eyes. I saw confusion, relief, fear, and anger. "You dumb boy! Didn''t your parents ever tell you to stay away from strangers and mind your business!" Her eyes were a bit red towards the end. Why are her eyes red? Is she mad because of me? Why? She didn''t look willing. "You didn''t want to go. My moms taught me to help those who need it. No one else was going to help you so I did." Her mouth gaped and I smiled because of how silly this older girl looked. "Your eyes are too pretty to be sad!" Ahhh. She blushed so crazily I laughed out loud. She hit me on the head and said "Little brat! I''m older than you! Show some respect!" I stopped laughing, bowed and asked if the princess would like to seek shelter where no one may find her. She stomped her foot and huffed for some reason. She followed me back to my house in the mountains. My moms thought that I was trying to marry her until later that day. I didn''t know what they talked about until I knew later. Marianna and I lived with Teacher until I turned 15. He didn''t die from a disease or anything. He just died with a gentle smile. Teacher told us to go to his house in the marshes if he died, so we did. It was peaceful for an entire decade and by then I was head over heels for Marianna. It wasn''t for a superficial reason like her physical beauty. She was afraid of her own vulnerability, but she protected others. Whether it was animals, plants or I, she wanted to protect. "Lawrence, everything has a will. Everything is strong and weak. Humans decide which they want to be dominant. Animals choose which to show. There is nothing - NOTHING - in this world that is only one. Everything protects itself. Everyone protects themselves. This game called life is just incredibly imbalanced at times is all." One day, I was collecting food to make dinner for her while she went out to treat animals when a group of men ambushed me. I wanted to die. I wanted to live. I wanted to kill. I wanted to protect. It was an endless cycle of contradictory thoughts plaguing me every second. But the thought of escaping to get back to Marianna kept the demons at bay. When I saw her blank eyes as she layed on the dirt ground while they laughed heartily, I ended. Every hit became air to me. Her eyes became a flame that burned up that air scorching me. One day I turned over to look at her and she was back. Her eyes sparkled. I didn''t like it though. She didn''t need me. I didn''t even try to make an effort to convince myself that she does either. Absolutely pitiful. Disgusting. Self-loathing. How weak. Be her support instead. One day, you''ll walk beside her. These thoughts drove me to leave her. I didn''t want to but I made a bet to myself. If I could make a name for myself and gain resources amazing enough to topple the region, then I''d be enough to stay with her. If I could do those things, then I could save her as she had saved me. So for three years, I went around learning, killing, hurting, and shaking hands. I was startled when I came back to her though. Her eyes were dark and mysterious. They didn''t shine like before. But a promise is a promise even though she made me feel like a boy instead of a man sometimes. I always reminded her that I was a healthy man who''s loved her for more than ten years though. Every time I did that she would hiccup and every time that happened I would laugh and plant a kiss on her cheek. I never kissed her lips until that day. I slept in because I was busy hunting the night before. When I woke up I got a letter about a mission to assassinate her. Luckily I onced begged her to make a tracking device that would be linked to our heart rates. I wanted rings but she made matching "friendship bracelets". Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. I followed her signal and showed up too late. I saw the arrow. My brain turned off so my muscles would move on their own. My heart cried and shouted. My brain came back and sighed with relief. She was going to live. But she''ll be all alone. I lamented. My love, I won''t get that kiss. My love, I''ve given you my soul but I didn''t even have a chance to tell you that. My love, I''ve longed to share your soul since the day we met. My love, I wanted a forever with you, but it''s closed itself off from me. My love, I won''t say sorry otherwise it''ll hurt more. I''ll just say see you. All of a sudden I didn''t know if this was reality. She pulled me closer and before I had a chance to curse, she covered my lips. I shivered and so did she. I was lost in her. She dove deeper and into my soul. I dove into her soul and opened my arms freely before closing them as a hug. She swayed and we fell, but I kept her in my arms. My love, I didn''t anticipate this, but if this is how we die, I don''t mind. I''ll bare my naked soul and hug yours with it. Just as I was falling asleep with the warmth in my arms, she showed me a lady killing the third-wheeler and saying we''d be together forever. Yeah, we will be. She has me and I have her. I will never let go of her either. Thank you. Thank you for being witnessing our union. My love, let''s take a vacation next opportunity we get. I have so much to say and do. Even if there isn''t time, there''s no need to worry. Marianna, my love, your Lawrence will create time just for you. Marianna, I Lawrence, will hug your soul until even beyond the end. 9 Stinking Oaf "They''ve got quite the story." Chao murmured. "Oh, welcome back!" They turned their neck and hummed. "You''ve been sleeping for a couple hours. It''s a little past dinner time already, there''s still time until the slumber party. If you go to the cafeteria, you''ll get some meat and seafood. Make sure you clean up after yourself. I''m leaving now to get some stuff in order." "Wait, what?" They called out to Chao but she disappeared leaving only a trace of her scent behind. "Don''t worry about her. She never stays in a single place for longer than 5 minutes." Bea helped them sit upright. "May I know your name?" "Right now I''m¡­" they looked down and slowly recollected. "Marianna. Lawrence is here too. She killed them right?" "Yes and no. You''ll know what I mean tomorrow morning. Right now, you have to join the slumber party in her wing. Well, it''s in two hours, but you are joining. It''ll benefit you. You just woke up so you''ll be a bit unstable." She was confused, but nodded. "Good. Now, go wash up and eat a bit. Your hair''s a bit matted since you''re no longer in your beast form." Marianna looked down and saw that she was in a hospital gown. She then touched her hair and immediately retched. Her hair was greasy and slimy in some spots. "Is there a set clothing standard in place or can anyone just create their clothes to wear?" "You''re free to wear whatever you want as long as you aren''t bothered by it. One person walks around in plastic clothes and cardboard hats. They even made a tall tophat out of cardboard with a fake beard. They said ''Call me the Rail-Splitter''* after they had visited some place." "O-okay. I''ll go now." ''What is a rail?'' Marianna walked away. Bea snickered softly, "Confusion 100." . . . "Is she going to stop staring at us anytime soon?", one of the children whispered to another. "Maybe she wants to size us up?" "For what reason?" another chirped. "Maybe she''s a predator." whispered a child with reverse eyes. "What? No! You''re so weird Inrigo!" "Hey Caligo, Nubis! Walk up to her!" "You do it Noctis!" "1, 2, 3...Not it ¡Á6" "Not i- dang it!" "Good luck Luna!" "Ventus and I will mark your grave!" "I''ll burn sage for you!" "Inrigo, pray tell, what will that do?" "Noctis, your sister is quite...lacking upstairs. Are the lights on?" "There''s no electricity in the first place." The boy shrugged while his older sister Luna, took deep breaths. She looked into his light grey eyes that were just like hers, closed her eyes, and fixed her long slate-blue wavy hair before taking her first step. Chao listened to the entire thing making sure to not leek a hint of her enjoyment. ''They are truly lively.'' Luna walked over and yelped when Chao pinched her cheeks all of a sudden. "You''ll start tomorrow. Tonight is my slumber party and you''re all invited. Introduce yourselves to everyone." "Who''s everyone?" asked the boy who offered to mark Luna''s grave. "You''ll find out tomorrow when you start your learning. Since you asked, start first." "Alright." His eyes glimmered with various blues with a sky blue settling the majority. "My name is Tellus. I''m 14 years old and my eyes shift through blues based on my feelings. Your turn!" Tellus nudged the boy next to him as he in turn sighed. His red-orange eyes turned lighter as he smiled. "My name is Ventus. I''m also 14 and someday, Tellus and I will take over the world. He''s a bit hyper, but is pretty alright as a person." He snickered and continued, "Go ahead shorty!" "Don''t call me that you stinking oaf!" The boy with reverse eyes currently looked strange as he shouted. His irises went clear exposing the capillaries in her eyes. He huffed and turned to Chao. "My name is Inrigo. I''m 12 years old and my eyes go clear when I''m high strung. I''ll grow taller than that stupid guy there." pointing to Ventus. "It''s your turn little guy." "My name is Noctis. I''m Luna''s brother. I earn my keep even if I''m just 12 years old." "Noctis! I told you to stop swindling a long time ago!" Luna stormed over and flicked the top of his head. "I am his older sister Luna. I''m a year older than this sad excuse of a child. If he''s ever claiming that I abused him, it''s because he''s realized how stupid he is." She rolled her eyes when Noctis made the Aqua face**. "It''s your turn." "My name is Caligo. I''m 13, I have white gold hair and a twin sister." "I''m her twin sister Nubis. I have gold hair and if you ever make Caligo upset, I''ll laugh." "Please don''t ever test Nubis. Same goes for me though. The last thing you''ll ever see is our smiles." Chao looked them up and down as each did their introduction making them feel uncomfortable. "Do you want clothes associated with your features? You all need to clean yourselves up. The bathrooms are over there." she said pointing over to the right behind them. "Boys bath is to the right girls bath is to the left. Your old clothes will be washed and your new clothes will be just outside. When you''re done, go down to the left of the hall outside and have a snack." She rattled off a bit before realizing that they were still processing. She sighed in resignation and snapped her fingers. All of a sudden they were swept into the bathrooms and the hallways were labelled ''ladies'' and ''mens''. "Ring the bell if you forget where to go." With her voice lingering in their ears, she left. They finally comprehended the meaning of her look and made interesting faces. The boys looked at themselves and blushed while the twins were admitting their disgusting attire and Luna fumed in anger. "YOU OLD WOMAN! I''LL BITE YOU TO DEATH IF YOU INSULT ME AGAIN!" . . . Chao heard her shrieking and just shook her head continuing her walk. She walked into a library and climbed up the ladder at the very last floor of books, the 9th. If someone saw her, they might rub their eyes a bit before assuming they were seeing things. When she reached the top, she disappeared into darkness. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. On the other side, it was a dark space with 3 couches, a boudoir, a coffee table, and a telephone. Chao gently creeped over to the telephone and rung up a number. Her index finger inserted itself into the number 1, bringing it around the circle as the telephone was an old fashioned one with a round dial. The rest of the digits were just 1, but every time she got closer and closer to finishing the number, there would be more resistance. Finally, on the last 1, a gentle chime of laughter sounded. Chao''s face was one that her subordinates hadn''t seen. Her face was taut and her eyes hesitant. She picked up the phone with a quaking hand. "It''s me." A voice like Chao''s came over, but instead of sounding regal or rebellious, it was soft and meek. "Hello, Sweetheart. What''s your reason for calling? Ah, who''s getting killed this time? Is it you? Is it I? Is it him? Is it them? Are you calling for war?" Her voice was as gentle and sweet as she''d remembered, but it got more and more low as she continued to query. "Darling, it''s starting. I can''t stop it on my own this time. Look at the map in the pagoda. Things are changing this time around making it different than before. I''ll see you today tomorrow." She hung up with that. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She looked blankly at the telephone and walked over to the purple couch to the left. Plopping down, she put her arm over her eyes to block out the nonexistent light source. A single tear ran down her eyes before her mouth curled into a carnal smile. "You''ve made me wait too long." . . . It was finally time for the slumber party. Chao left the dark space and teleported to her bed. Not a trace of what occurred prior was on her face. "Come in my dears." Her maids, butlers, subordinates, and everyone else came shuffling in looking shy. From what they''d remembered, she had never done anything like this. Chao smiled brightly and motioned them over to sit around her bed. "There''s an arcade in the other room, a theater, and a training room. You''re all free to roam about. I hope you all visit me in bed at some point before the party ends." She winked at them sending them into an internal frenzy. ''Lady Chao! WHAT THE HECK!'' 10 Exhausted and lively Chao wasn''t normally this much of a flirt unless she was stressed. When she''s stressed she...played. She messed with people and made them flustered. Her teasing would last a while until...something. Whenever any one of them, even her main four subordinates try to remember a part of their past lives, they just end up with different visions. Albus and Furvus end up by a seaside with a small hut. The only sounds there are the occasional breeze and the ocean waves. Other than them, they''ve never seen another living thing there making it almost eerie like the calm before a storm. Gladys and Bea end up in some snowy mountains with a small cabin. Sometimes it snows gently, but other than that, it''s just a winter landscape. Like the other two, they''d never found any sign of living beings besides themselves. Chao has all the secrets. She''s the one who blocked them off after all. She didn''t choose the landscapes though. The only thing she did was make sure that they remain static. To prevent them from remembering. To prevent them from breaking. To allow them to grow first. To let them live without inevitable concern - to lessen the concern, she would put a facade to cover the internalization. "My dears keep my bed warm while I take care of something." Again she sent them into a helpless frenzy. Luna walked straight up to her, pointed and said, "Stop messing with us!" Giggling, Chao flicked her forehead. "No. Why should I?" Leaving them speechless once again, she sauntered out of the room to the next ones. "If I don''t hit her at least once, I''ll go bald!" declared Luna. Noctis glanced his sister over, nodded to the boys, and collectively shook their heads. ''Luna, we guarantee you will not look good bald.'' . . . Everyone was bustling in excitement. Everywhere they turned, it smelled just like her. Pomegranates and volcanic ash tickled their brain. Such an odd combination could still intoxicate them. "FURVUS! MORE DRINKS! I WANT MORE TO DRINK!" A drunkard by the name of Chao shouted into the air as she lay on her back. "Yes, Lady Chao." A flushed Furvus walked away from his flushed lover Albus and flushed friends Gladys and Bea. The moon was bright, the sky was clear, and the stars were twinkling as Lawrence came out to play with Chao. "Hey! Have a contest with me! If you win, you get anything. If I win, I get anything." "What do you think of them though? Ignoring all of that." Tellus turned to Luna expecting a spectacle after Noctis asked. "They''re stupid children in the bodies of adults! More childish than a 5 year old. I say we take their stuff, robbing them blind." It''s evident where Noctis got his habits from. Caligo chimed in ignoring Luna, "Rikki trusted them with us, so I think it''s worth staying with them. We can do more than we did before and we''ll be better off." Inrigo''s eyes went clear as he shouted, "Are you implying that Father couldn''t provide for us? Are you saying he wasn''t good enough?" Ventus hastily explained, "That''s not what any of us are thinking! Calm down! What will you do about your eyes if you get too far off?" Inrigo swept his eyes across everyone before taking a deep breath. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "I think we should stay with them for now. Let this just be a trial run. She still killed Father. If I feel that the benefits are running out, I''m leaving no matter what you all say." Everyone sighed when all of a sudden Inrigo was being pulled towards Chao. "Look at this cutie." "Lady Chao, please release the child. He never gave you permission to grab him." Gladys was stern as he lectured Chao, but Chao''s answer cracked his calm. "Do you want little Bea to take his place?" Bea had happened to walk toward Gladys to lean on him when she heard Chao. "Lady Chao! Don''t tease me!" "Aren''t I always serious?" "That''s enough! Bea, go take a nap over there! Lady Chao, if you keep this up, I''ll have to ground you. No alcohol. No meat. No fruit. Just grass. I''ll have you chewing like the old cow you are!" Luna looked at Gladys in surprise as this calm man turned frosty and harsh. Chao teared up and let go of both Inrigo and Bea looking at them longingly. "You''re so biased Gladys! Go away! Go cuddle your beloved! Leave this oldie alone! Furvus! Get me some carbon tablets! Albus, my dear, would you grab some crackers for me?" "Yes Lady Chao. Hurry up Furvus!" "So harsh to me, yet gentle to her. This isn''t fair. It''s not. I''m her love. Why should I be treated like this?" Furvus grumbled to himself until he beamed at Albus when she glared at him. Again though, as soon as she looked away, he sulked. When they returned, Chao was hugging herself moving them a bit. She looked a bit like the seductress who''d shed her disguise and exposed her vulnerability. But when Chao looked up, she was back to being a mischievous fox. "When I finish these I''ll sing a song for you all." Albus and Furvus looked at the frowning Gladys and discomforted, sleepy Bea. She felt immense emptiness while she was napping, waking her up, so she thought she would check up on Chao. But just like always, Chao cut them all off before they could even get a grasp. As they were lamenting, Chao finished her mini meal gaining a bit of sobriety. "AhEm! Gather around everyone! It''s time for a story in the form of a song." 11 Leveled up twice "Do you see? Because I can see. Those quiet eyes. That pensive face. Those silent tears. That melancholy. Those unchained laughs. That uncertainty. Who is that? Oh, it''s me. It''s all me. A mask. A veil. A barrier. A cover. The act is strong. It still goes on. Will it crack? Of course not. I will stand forever even if I''m alone. What is this? A brand new face? I see anger. I see indifference. Who are they? Why were they born? Ah, the tragic epic. The trilling lament. It was because of me. Because of me. A mask. A veil. A barrier. A cover. The act is strong. It still goes on. Will it crack? Of course not. I will stand forever even if I''m alone. A mask. A veil. A barrier. A cover. The act is up. It''s time to stop. It finally cracked. Retreat to advance. Here I stand as I curl up and laugh." Somehow, although her voice was a gentle lull, it still have a sense of urgency. Her voice and get words didn''t match up again. It felt like a self-destruct sequence. It sounded like you could see the world in front of you in tatters as you stroll through singing a bright song. The way Chao looked made everyone''s heart skip a beat subconsciously. The incredible woman in front of them seemed like a mirage that would disappear at any time without warning. "My dears, have you trained at all while you were here? Hmm? If you advance at least 2 levels, I''ll reward you handsomely for your hard work." No. She''ll never fade without at least telling us where she plans to go or telling us that she''s off to wander, right? Chao''s face darkened as no one responded to her. "AHEM! My room is quite literally saturated with my energy making it the perfect place to train and you won''t even take advantage of it! I don''t need people who won''t pull their own weight. In other words, weaklings who are weaklings on purpose can get the f#$$ out of my life." With her berating and warning, everyone snapped to attention. Lawrence looked at Chao before his eyes glazed and focused on her. His eyes would flash to a red as Marianna would take over, but then she''d also just blankly stare at Chao. After a short clash between Marianna and Lawrence to regain control of their body, in the end they both lost. Their eyes were red and green while they took up adrogynous features and stalked towards Chao. Chao was smugly laughing at her minions when she felt the disturbance towards her left. She turned her head and was face to face with Marianna and Lawrence''s beast form. ''I guess my singing had a bit of a mesmerizing hypnosis effect on the animalistic side.'' Smiling to herself, she turned to everyone. "They are Marianna and Lawrence. Red for Marianna, green for Lawrence. Right now, they''re training in their dream therefore they''re in the running for the reward. Are the rest of you just going to stand there dumbly?" Bea, Gladys, Furvus and Albus glared at Chao for a bit before sighing and floating up towards the ceiling of her room. All around the top, there was a balcony to look down on the rest of Chao''s room. When the seven children saw that, they were curious. Why would Chao have a viewing strip around the top of her room when only she lives there? It was really plaguing their thoughts, so once again they selected the victi- candidate to ask. This time it was Nubis with Inrigo as backup in case she said something out of line somehow. "Excuse us Lady Chao, why is there a balcony going all around the top of your room? You''re the only one who is in this room." Nubis pointed at the viewing strip above as she said this. Chao smiled and replied seriously, "You will know once you advance the two levels. I''m not keeping any secrets from any one of you." This time Inrigo queried, "How exactly do we train?" "It''s entirely up to you. You all could do image training, sparring, studying, or even meditation. It depends entirely on your personality and what your body is most comfortable with. For example, the four up there are doing visualization first before they spar. Marianna and Lawrence are technically doing all of the above." "What do you mean?" At this time, Noctis'' attention had been captured and couldn''t help but ask. "In their dream, they are in their human forms reliving their training." "That''s possible?" "Yes, it is. As long as the conditions are right. Now find a spot. You want to learn more right? Consider this your entrance examination for class." Nodding their heads, the seven children wandered off to the training room. Everyone else simply started with meditation to advance once before doing other stuff to finish up the quota. About two hours later, the four upstairs and Lawrence were finished. They slowly roused from their slumber and Lawrence was occupying the body at the moment while Marianna was still studying some spells that she''d created. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Bea was eager for Chao''s reward as was Albus as they both plopped down on either side of Chao. The bed swayed a little and Chao opened her eyes. "Good job my dears. Sit in front of me." They followed her directions obediently with a blush on their ears and cheeks. Furvus sulked again while Gladys pinched his glabella. Chao covered the two ladies eyes and leaned forward. From guys''s perspective, she was holding their hands. This was because what Chao was about to do would make Gladys and Furvus blow their tops. Chao placed her lips right in the middle of Albus'' collar bones and sucked. As she did this, she was absorbing any faulty energy Albus may have made subconsciously, but it would undeniably seem like she was just marking Albus as hers. When all the faulty energy was absorbed, her tongue moved to soothe the area a bit while distributing the purified energy to her body once more. Chao did the same to Bea and felt herself feeling lonely both times she did it. The two ladies were such teases! They were tantalizing! They whined and groaned throughout the entire process. ''I miss them. At least I''ll be visiting her tomorrow though.'' When it was over, the two collapsed onto her heaving and panting. She sent them to their rooms to rest and lifted the illusion as it was now Gladys and Furvus'' turn. She put up the veil again and Gladys interrogated her. "Where are they and why were they breathing so heavily?" "My dear, if you interrogate me once more, I''ll make sure you regret it." Chao made sure to give her most sunny smile when she said this sending chills down their spines. They stopped their mouths from opening once more making her nod her head in approval. Once more, she covered their eyes, but this time she lifted their shirts. They were confused, but didn''t ask. Chao had never asked for two levels at once nor did they ever utilize the energy in her room. This time, Chao planted her lips just below the sternum in the middle of Furvus'' ribcage. His skin felt warm while her lips were chilly. She sucked the faulty energy like she did with the other two and distributed the pure energy through her tongue again. She felt even more lonely when she did these two. ''I don''t know where he lives. He hangs around random places. I hope he comes himself.'' She thought the stoic Gladys wouldn''t have a reaction but she was wrong. Both Furvus and Gladys groaned growing a little stiff in their spines when she was sucking. When her tongue made contact with their skin, they exhaled from relief. What they also didn''t know was that the entire time she was doing it, she saw them imagining her as Albus or Bea doing it making them a bit aroused. She didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. ''This isn''t fair! My loves aren''t here! They can''t comfort me right now!'' She did snicker though when she remembered that they wouldn''t be able to get any sweetness from their loves since all four would be exhausted for a few hours. When she finished, they slumped forward and passed out in exhaustion. Once more, she sent them to their rooms to rest. Lifting the veil, she was surprised to see a green left eye and red right eye. "Come in and sit in front of me." They nodded and after putting up the veil, Chao asked that they remove their shirt. They felt confused but complied with their savior. They were perfectly in sync as somehow they managed to fuse Lawrence''s body with Marianna''s making a tempting fusion of male and female. Chao went to work and sent them to their new room after having to hold their hands behind their back. An hour had passed when Chao dealt with the five so no one was done training yet. Another one and a half hours passed before everyone else with the exception of the seven children made line. It took Chao fifteen minutes to deal with every pair since there would be a bit of chatter sometimes. But when she was 4 hours in, the children finished and went to the end of the line. Some time later it was their turn causing her to be hesitant. They were children mentally and physically. She didn''t want to do the standard process because of this so, instead she grabbed their hands and massaged it to get the faulty energy out. In order to get the pure energy back inside them, she decided to extract a drop of blood from the spot where she would have had her mouth, run it through her energy a few times and place it back inside. When she finished, she stretched her body and went to sleep. . . . "Helios, get my bath ready. I have to go somewhere." The woman the voice belonged to was the one whom Chao had spoken to. She had just returned from the pagoda. ''Damn that pretentious bastard and damn them! They can both go marry a rock!'' She sighed and ran her hand through her curly hair in frustration. Looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom, she went through her memories. An old man, her, was walking down a beach with two other old men. "This was one of the most long-lasting peaceful lives so far." "We were lucky this time." "We''ll probably die after this one." She spoke up in rebuttal, "Maybe the next will be as wonderful as this one." The second old man snorted, "Yeah, sure. It will be the same intensity as this one is in sorrow." The first old man interjected, "It isn''t up to us now is it?" This silenced all three of them, but it didn''t stop their walk. Even when the sun went down, they continued their walk under the starry sky. "Your bath is ready!" The boy named Helios yelled breaking the woman out of her reverie. ''We might have to end it this time.'' She got up and walked to her bathroom with this in mind as she steeled her resolve. . . . The next morning Chao woke up early and made breakfast for everyone. Some of them drank way too much so she would only allow them to drink lots more water and the rest of the servants would get more carbs as their load would increase when she got back. Satisfied with this in mind, she used her energy to rouse everyone from their sleep. "Rise and shine dears! We have a day in front of us and chaos ahead!" They all woke up from REM sleep, so they were still understandably muddled. Her last comment just drilled more bafflement into their vulnerable brains. One groundskeeper even commented aloud, "What did you eat to be spouting such nonsense?" Another followed up, "Smarties" "Impossible. It must have been - must have been. I don''t know! My hangover has a hangover!" Amused by her dears adorable confuzzlement, she simply used her energy to yank them out of bed sending them flying to the floor. What followed was a beautiful symphony of curses and scoldings of all sorts. Whether it was "Frick!", "Sugar Honey Iced Tea!", the actual thing, or "§ã§å§Ü§Ñ," everyone had their own word to shout. By the time everyone was finished getting ready and making their way to the cafeteria, Chao had gone back to her room to change her clothes. She stood in front of a large mirror that covered 90% of her wall in nothing but her undergarments. She toiled for a bit before settling on a flamboyant show. She parted her lips and exhaled crystals as she materialized her outfit. It was an electric-purple suit with a black blouse that had thin yellow vertical stripes matched with laced ankle boots. She styled her curly hair into a large afro and nodded to herself in approval. Chao then proceeded to the cafeteria to have a light fruit smoothie. After everyone finished eating, washing and cleaning up the cafeteria, Chao walked over to the entrance. "I''m going out for a short while! I''ll be back later!" Just as she opened the door, Luna''s furious voice cut off her actions. "Last time I checked, ''short while'' and ''later'' were basically opposites! Someone follow this woman! I don''t trust her!" Although Luna made everyone speechless, she wasn''t really wrong. One night with Chao and she had figured out that this woman was the worst kind. She was a free spirit, which wasn''t bad, but combined with her lust for disorder as well as her unwavering aggression, it made her very...unique. Chao rolled her eyes at the declaration, not taking it seriously because, come on. Who would actually have the audacity to step forward in front of her? No one. This isn''t her being completely arrogant either, even if it is about 60% of the reason. The reason Chao can say that with confidence is because no one in that house can stop her from doing whatever she wants. If she does what she''s told, it''s because she''s decided to do it for herself. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be having this conversation as she would be a corpse. To her surprise though, Lawrence stepped up. "I have questions to ask you." Her curiosity was peaked since she believed there was nothing for a honey couple to discuss with an old bag like her. He noticed her expression and briefly spoke. "She didn''t hear or see anything of value in her dream of the past. Why did you save us and will we share this singular body forever?" "You really want to Know why?" He gulped and nodded on feeling her change in disposition. "It''s a secret Ren! You''ll find out then. " "Alright. But can I know why you saved us?" "Yes sir. I''ll tell you all about it." So with that, the two shut the door behind them. "Lady Chao is certainly an interesting woman." said a maid. 12 Not the plo Hi? I''m pretty sure you all are silent readers which I can appreciate. But anyway, I wanted to tell you all that if any of you are artists or just decided to draw your interpretation of the characters, you can send them to me! I''d love to see what you visualize the characters as! I''d like to apologize for this. As a perfectionist and someone who''s "too serious" grammar mistakes and misspelled words hurt my soul. Not so much if it''s from someone else who''s first language isn''t English, but more so if someone grew up speaking and writing English as I did. Yeah I understand that no one''s perfect, but it still bothers me a lot when I mess up. I digress though. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. To go on another tangent that is half-canon to my purpose, don''t kill me if I take too long sometimes. If I don''t update, broaden your horizons. BUT YOU BETTER BE BACK WITHIN A WEEK WHEN I DO UPDATE. Seriously though, I don''t mean to torment anyone. I myself am tormented every time I realize that Code Adam will update in a week, or when I HAVE TO PAY SPIRIT STONES TO CATCH UP TO THE 2000S WHEN I''M ONLY AT 200. Once again, I digress. Thank you all for reading this messy story. Thank you all for existing. And I guess I''ll thank you all for not coming at me about the frequency of the updates. 13 Visiting her The two walked side by side. Chao was seemingly absent-minded as she hadn''t said a word since they left 10 minutes ago. Finally Marianna had lost her patience after Lawrence pestered her about Chao. "You said you would give us answers. Let''s hear it." Chao ignored the impatience in her voice and made a circle with her right hand in front of a tree. "Step through it. There''s a lake in front so don''t walk too far." Doubtful and curious, Lawrence walked through the portal. ''I don''t remember ever visiting a lake.'' Through the portal, they saw a black lake. The plants and trees were all sorts of unbelievable colors. Scrunching her nose, she turned to Chao only to see her stripping. Startled, Marianna turned around and continued questioning. "I don''t remember this place. What does this have to do with us? We''ve only led this life and the last. What is this place?" A subtle splash of the water garnered Lawrence''s attention as he turned and saw Chao walking straight into the abyss. Her proud back looked desolate and broken, but she continued on. "We get visions from here. From time to time it calls for us. I once saw a pair of children and watched them grow up. I saw their blossoming feelings and the scars from hardships. I saw that a trap had been laid and there was a terrible possibility." They felt overwhelming confusion. "Who else are you referring to? Why did you watch? Are you unable to control what the lake projects? What do you mean by possibility?" "We''ve existed for a torturous amount of times. This granted us insight into the Possibility. Every person has more than one possibility and we are able to see every single one of them. The possibility I saw was one where these two little babies I watched grow, were going to be devoured losing their sense of self completely. That''s how she felt anyway. He didn''t care at all about those two, but he did care about us. I didn''t like the possibility of those Things getting an advantage. We were losing at that point. So I decided to save the two children. I saved them for us because she got attached and they were winning." They were irritated when she ignored most of their questions and we''re about to interrogate her when her head disappeared beneath the lake. Moments later she reemerged with silver-tinged hair. "The two of you are the pieces that are going to be used in this war. You will work without question and you will succeed. Otherwise, you will die by my hands or theirs." Marianna''s eyes twitched before nodding yes. Once again, Chao made an arc in the air. This time, she sprinted through first leaving her behind. Speechless, Marianna switched with Lawrence before going to mull over the oracle. . . . "Quite the pretty place," Chao mumbled to herself. "Who does this place belong to?" "A beauty." Chao walked up to the Romanesque architecture in anticipation, but instead of using the bell, knocker, or even knocking she shouted up to the windows. "Darling! Come out and let me take a bite! ? I promise it won''t hurt!" At this rate, Lawrence would forget how to speak as he was speechless. ''Isn''t that obnoxious or shameless?'' Chao, however didn''t care and licked her lips in anticipation before dropping her head when she heard someone reply. "The Harlot''s here! Do something about it!" A childish boy''s voice shouted from a window as the doors opened granting the two access to the grand home. "Geez. I come to see my soulmate and I can''t even hug her yet. Stupid butthole getting in my way. I''ll show that stupid harlot." Grumbling under her breath, she maintained her composure and waited for the boy to arrive. Just as she finished complaining and cursing, a young boy appeared. His hair and eyes were striking as both were yellow. At the moment, he was wearing a rabbit onesie and tsk''d when he saw Chao. "Second floor, west wing, last master room in the bathroom." A blur of purple passed before the boy turned to Lawrence. "You look unwell. Would you like some medicine?" He wanted to decline, but thought of how Marianna would still be using the body as well, he agreed. "I don''t want any side effects. If I feel any, I don''t care if you know her or whoever ''they'' are or if she even kills me, I will personally accompany you to oblivion." "Calm down man! Geez. You should be a crash dummy with how testy you are!" Unamused, Lawrence signalled the boy to lead and disappointed, the boy marched. . . . "Dumb witch. Which witch would eat a sandwich? I like to eat pears while I''m walking up the stairs admiring the bears and hares doing dares in bare despair. It''s a bit difficult to speak, but I should be able to master it." The woman who Chao called Darling was currently in her bathtub. Her eyes didn''t match the benevolence of the voice however and neither did the voice sound the same. The woman had dark curly hair like Chao, and down turned dark eyes. The only difference in their faces were the lips and eyes. While Chao had full lips, the woman''s were more medium. These subtle differences however reflected her personality quite accurately. At the moment though, those lips were smirking quite harshly. "You stupid thing. Get out of my almairusk. Do you think you even have the privilege to look? Leave before I make you!" Chao burst into the bathtub and stared at the woman in disdain. "Oh mighty goddess! How would I have offended you? We''ve been together forever! I-" Chao tapped her foot, crossed her arms and counted "1, 2, 3¡­" up to ten before sighing. "I didn''t want to have to do this! Remember that this is your fault! I have nothing to do with it!" She breathed in and out repeatedly with her eyes closed. Then, all of a sudden she opened them and punched outward. Concentrating her power into one of her seven attributes, galactic, she travelled to the woman''s mind where the true Darling was trapped. Immediately, Chao was thrust into a world of cruelty. Superiority and progression through cannibalism. After a political party advocated for an equal playing ground for everyone, some radicals and media outlets showed too much enthusiasm. Long story short, the world became a literal dog eat dog world with its only philosophy being survival of the fittest. Chao spent a month in that world in dream time before it switched to yet another world. A young boy had forgotten his memories and woke up on an uninhabited island with 2 voices in his head. Chao was watching the boy tumble into an endless spiral of mystery as he journeyed to uncover the truth. 3 worlds and 15 years in dream time later, Chao finds herself in a nightmare. The woman and Chao are nowhere to be found, but a young girl kills a little boy with one strike to the neck. Chao is the young girl and whispers "I''m sorry" over and over again as the boy bleeds. The boy''s eyes widen and tears of blood and saltwater flow after. While Chao''s heart already lurched at the first attack, the memory seemed insistent on killing her as it would play over and over again. Finally, 100 years later, Chao walks away from the boy to find a greenhouse. When she arrives, the gentle beauty who looks so much like her emerges from a plot of golden kiwis and tulips. 14 Sassy Ignis With overwhelming care, Chao hugged her. "It''s okay. I''m here. I came to bring you with me to win." Trembling, the woman sobbed. "Sweetheart, can we win this time?" "We will." "Oh, how wonderful!" Another woman approached. She wore a flaming red mini dress matching her hair with a mask over her face. "I know, I know. ''How dare I interrupt!'' But if it weren''t for me, she would have lost her life. You all know that as long as I''m here, she has a fighting chance." "Just because you know that doesn''t exempt you from my anger you wall! Quit blocking me!" Chao yelled in exasperation. "I''ll thank you for protecting her. I''ll make you a temporary container for you so you can go prowl about." "Say my name Lady Chao. Otherwise, we''ll be chain-" "Yeah, yeah. I know. Zephyr, I permit your release and expect you to return when I call once more." Zephyr glowed in a red light before disappearing. "Darling." "Yes Sweetheart?" "Put your clothes on." "Oh." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. . . . Zephyr walked out of the room and headed towards Lawrence. "Brat, give me some goods." "I would never sell illegal drugs! How dare-" The young boy feigned shock and fury, but was cut off by her coquettish voice. "If you want to play dumb, then give yourself to me." A chill ran down the boy''s spine as he pointed to a chest atop a dresser. "Grab it and go. I don''t like you. You know who''s a dummy? You. Leave!" Smirking, Zephyr sauntered over and paused when she passed Lawrence. "Young man, you and your lady need to start documenting." Lawrence looked at her in confusion before Marianna looked at her in shock. "How could you tell?" "Don''t worry about that missy. If you want to keep your memories in order, write down all the important stuff." Zephyr turned around after getting a small black backpack and walked out. "Tell them that they owe me a bottle!" With her left arm raised and her languid walk, Zephyr looked like she was leaving to traverse the world. "Pedophile." "Thank you?" Marianna tilted her head in confusion and whipped her head to the door to see the two women. "It''s time to go Marianna," Chao informed. She then left the building with her right arm draped over the beauty''s shoulders. Disappearing from view, Marianna stomped her foot in anger. "How are we supposed to get home?" "Have you made a bond with Chao?" Marianna turned to the boy in confusion. "What do you mean by bond?" The boy looked at her incredulously and gave her a pendant. "Just follow the sense with the necklace." Fearing that dullness would be contagious, the boy led her outside the building and estate before returning once more. "Do you have any ideas Lawrence?" ''Don''t we have another body?'' Smacking her forehead, she cried, "How could I have forgotten that?" ''We haven''t spoken to it though.'' "You''re right. I think there''s a creek over there. I''ll head over there and we can use that as a hiding spot until we get this sorted to return home." ''Sounds good to me.'' Marianna sprinted through the field before coming to a stop in front of a creek. A huge willow tree acted as a tent on the other side of the creek while a lone boulder sat right beneath an empty spot where trees didn''t block the sky. She sat on the rock and closed her eyes to enter the inner mindscape. Inside was a forest similar to where Chao found the beast and the marshes where the two had lived. The lion-like beast laid under the willow tree while Lawrence was trying to converse with it. "Hey man or woman. Can we talk? I''d like to get to know you. Not in a weird way though, I''m not into such things." As he babbled on, the beast''s face grew more and more taut from irritation. Marianna approached the two, slapped the top of Lawrence''s head and spoke to the beast. "I apologize for his thoughtless remarks. As you might''ve realized, the three of us have to share this body. In order to make this work, we have to cooperate. Could you tell us your name?" The beast opened its enchanting warm pineapple yellow and orchid eyes and spoke. "My name is Ignis. I''ve no ''gender'' like you humans or other species. Why do you wish to cooperate?" "Lady Chao left us to our own devices, but her estate is quite far away. We wanted you to fly back." "Why should I comply? What incentive will any of you give me? My services aren''t cheap." The silent Lawrence chirped in, "I''ll make sure you eat the best meat!" Ignis was silent for a while before replying. "What incentive will any of you give me? I''m not cheap." "Didn''t even bother to acknowledge-!" Marianna kicked Lawrence and was about to grapple him when Ignis spoke. "I''ll return to that place. In return, when I converse with the lady on what shall be done from here, neither can listen. I have private matters to discuss with her." Before Lawrence could protest, Marianna punched his stomach making him fold over and nodded. "I leave it to you then. He and I will be training so feel free to just let us know later when you''re done or want to switch." Ignoring Lawrence''s groans of pain, she dragged him to their house by his collar. Watching this, Ignis felt amused and chuckled. Ignis then proceeded to transform the body into its own form and grew crystalline wings. "She probably knows." Muttering under its breath, Ignis flew. . . . "My dears! I''m back and I''m not alone!" Chao yelled once she entered the cafeteria. Gladys showed up in front of her with Inrigo, clearly irritated. "With all due respect Lady Chao, please shut your mouth. Bea is sleeping. I don''t need to hear the mooing of an old cow from so far away." "Sweetheart, who''s this adorable little slug?" The woman next to Chao grew icy as she smiled at him. "Brunch will be in an hour. I''ll explain then. We''re going to be in my room until then understand?" As Chao said this, she swept her eyes over both Gladys and Chao in warning. "Yes Sweetheart." "Yes Lady Chao." "Lady Chao, do we have to come too?" Inrigo interrupted the awkward winds with his innocent question. "Yes, all of you need to be here. Everyone is obligated to eat at every meal. You don''t have to eat anything to heavy if you''re not hungry, but you do have to invest something." "Alright, I''ll tell the others." Inrigo''s initially calm eyes turned inquisitive when he looked at the other woman. "Is she your twin?" Chuckling, Chao patted his head. "It''s a surprise. I don''t want to spoil it before brunch." Inrigo pouted, but relented and went back to his class with Gladys. Gladys, Furvus, Albus, Bea, and a couple others were teaching the children about how to use their powers as well as mathematics, sciences, literature, history, and the arts. Everyday classes ran from breakfast to dinner time. The only homework they got was attendance. Their quizzes would be at the end of every week while tests would be at the end of every month. The final exams would be at the end of the year. This teaching system was put in place by Chao long ago. She went to different dimensions and studied teachers from every walk of life compiling her observations into a series of books. The booked were classified by age groups, cultures, and outside influences. An example would be one book with information about how teachers taught children from ages 4-6 in different regions of their world. Some classrooms were in shambles from war while others were posh. Chao had made the series available in the large library since the occasional urge to be a teacher would sprout in her people. "If you''re going to do something that will affect other individuals, you might as well do it right!" That was the philosophy she pounded into them. A butler once decided to become an animal trainer, but the young man didn''t know enough about it. As a result, a pack of pet dogs chased him and ripped his clothes while an army of hamsters and guinea pigs stole the rest. He was absolutely humiliated. To this day, he still gets teased about how his clothes were stolen and shredded. 15 Almairusks In Chao''s room, there were strange noises coming from inside. One second it was quiet and the next there were roaring peels of laughter. "Look at it! It keeps wiggling its butt!" "Shh, shh. Wait for it. Dearie, you''re so cute!" A piano played J.S Bach - Prelude in C Major. "It''s time for brunch Darling." The woman nodded her head and both changed their outfits. Chao wore a purple jumper that reached her mid thigh. She also had light black and yellow silk wrapped around her waist. The woman wore a long yellow sundress and held black and purple gloves that reached her elbows. "I hope you don''t just introduce me as Darling. I''d like a proper introduction to the dears." "Would I ever do something like that?" The woman''s response was to cast a long side glance meaningfully. "Ahem. I won''t." "What are you planning Chao? I can only see it vaguely since you''ve filtered out certain details like always." Chao looked into the distance and smiled. "Come on," she grabbed the woman''s hand. "You must be hungry." What the woman didn''t see but felt was the mischievous smirk on Chao''s face. She glowed in psychotic happiness. "I''m going to play a little trick is all. All I''m going to do is play some games. Innocent, little games. That''s all." . . . "My dears, give me a smile on three! THREE!" Automatically, almost everyone started smiling. The people who made up the minority that didn''t smile were Gladys, Albus, Luna and Ignis. Gladys didn''t smile because it would mean that Chao was worth smiling for, (he was still being petty since Chao was loud earlier). Albus didn''t smile because before arriving, Furvus called her cute which made her embarrassed, and she didn''t usually smile much anyway. Luna didn''t smile because she was too busy being angry at Chao for no reason. Ignis didn''t smile because Marianna told him not to smile in her form and even if she did allow him, he was studying Chao and the woman beside her. The woman giggled and strolled over to Luna. "What''s your name dear?" Somehow, Luna couldn''t deny her so she answered absent-mindedly. "You yourself are quite pretty dear." Leaving behind a blushing Luna, she made her way back to Chao who had already sat down. "Take a seat everyone! I have someone to introduce!" With sparkling eyes, she started to speak. "This lovely woman is my Darling Serenus. She is my -" "Almairusk. One out of two of her loves. I am her other love." A man who looked similar to the two women appeared behind them and slung his arms over their shoulders. "My Inamorato!" shouted both women. Chao dragged his head over to her lips while Serenus clasped her hands over his. "What are you doing here? How long were you spying on us?" "From when Red occupied Darling''s body." Giddy with excitement, the three forgot about the others sitting at the table. Luckily, Furvus glanced at everyone''s faces before turning to Chao. "Lady Chao, who are these two?" Finally remembering everyone else, she smiled evilly and turned to the man. "You answer. We can catch up later in private." She suggestively winked at him causing Serenus to slap her arm. "Sweetheart! There are children here!" Chao simply shrugged and hugged Serenus tightly while wiggling her eyebrows at the man. "My name is Neutrum. Chao and Serenus are my soulmates. We share one spirit although we''re split into thirds. The word for it is almairusk. We share a split soul and share identical bodies as well. We aren''t related by blood since we technically weren''t made with DNA and we''re technically immortal." Nubis interrupted, "Hold on, what do you mean by "technically immortal"? You either are or you aren''t. I don''t believe there is an in-between." Everyone felt a shift in the air. Chao''s eyes became bloodthirsty, Serenus became sorrowful, and Neutrum switched from a lazy snake to an indifferent cat. Nonetheless, before anyone felt the full extent of their raging emotions, they returned to normal. This time, Serenus answered. "Our souls live forever while our bodies constantly perish. It''s unlike the rebirth that mortals experience. They forget the memories of their past lives and don''t have anything to bog them down or give an advantage. They restart with a clean slate. We, however, remember every single past. We remember whatever experiences we''ve gained whether they are pleasant or not. As a result of this -" Chao cut in sarcastically, "To prevent us from "overloading" we mostly die before we can reach our 40s." Ventus asked, "How long have you lived for then? How long have you known each other?" Chao replied, "Since the beginnings of the original world. That puts us at around 3 million years old since this world is relatively young. Serenus and I were made 2-3 years after Neutrum to replace him." Luna put up her right hand while the other held her forehead and signalled. "Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight." She then downed a glass of ice water and massaged her forehead. As she did this, Noctis shook his head as he knew what was to come. "So you''re telling us that you all are over billions and trillions of years old?" The three nodded. She continued on. "Well, no one can say that they need an adult when you''re around. But at the same time, you''ve all died young countless times. Does liking someone in this life make you pedophiles? But you''re also technically young as well. Right?" Noctis chimed in snickering at his older sister. "I don''t think you should think about this." "Why? These are legitimate concerns." "If you try to think anymore, I''ll explode with laughter, they''ll swell with pity, and your brain will collapse." She paused as if lagging. "...what?" 16 Creation of the Ten Tails "Get back here you little bastard!" Noctis laughed as Luna chased him around the cafeteria. "If I''m a bastard, then so are you!" "ARRGH! Get back here and let me beat you! I''ll steal everything you''ve collected ''till now!" Neutrum shrugged at this and sat between Serenus and Chao. "Do you have any sweets for me?" "Have some of this. It''s very good." Serenus served a caramel custard pudding while she lifted a spoon to his lips. "Thank you Darling." Just as he was about to cover the spoon with his mouth, Chao devoured it. "Mmm! So good! Inamorato, you don''t mind me stealing a bite of your pudding do you?" His eyes dimmed and he swept his frosty glance over her. "I do mind actually. Compensate me later." "Sir Neutrum you''re such a pervert!" A young man squealed. Luna turned to him and her eyes glowed. A pair of twins walked in. "Introduce me to the eye candy Inamorato." When Chao said this, both Serenus and Neutrum became calloused. "Chao, Sweetheart, if you talk like that again, I may really have to get mad." Ventus, Tellus, and Inrigo shivered when they saw how dead Serenus looked. Nubis and Caligo on the other hand, began to sparkle. "Don''t forget that you''re a part of me Chao. Don''t trigger the you in me," warned Neutrum as he rubbed Serenus'' back. "The one with shorter hair is Meteorum. The one with the longer hair is his brother Cometes." He didn''t speak any further and continued to eat. "That''s all you''re going to say?" Neutrum didn''t reply to Meteorum causing him to pout and come up with an ultimatum. "If you don''t introduce us properly, I''ll ban you from reading Cometes'' stories." No reaction besides a small shift. Cometes wrote some really nice books, but at the same time, it''s too much work to speak. "I won''t let you look at my art." Neutrum looked at him in disdain. The only art piece he truly admired were the paintings Meteorum made based on Neutrum''s stories of the past. "I didn''t want to use this, but you''ve left me no choice. I''ll tell the two of them about that incident." "You''re all bark and no bite. Why would I care about something I have no idea about? A rascal like you only knows how to hide behind your brother." Meteorum smiled evilly, ''I''ll remember what you''ve said. For now, let''s make you sweat a bit.'' "To jog your memory, we were supposed to be chasing a comet to get some materials when -" "ENOUGH! I get it. Give me your notes." Meteorum smirked triumphantly missing Neutrum''s lack of passion on his face. ''He did it on purpose to let him feel smug before he strikes him back down.'' thought Ignis. "Stahp itt!" whined the whiny child. "At least introduce my bro properly." "Just because I don''t take a rascal like you seriously doesn''t mean it will be the same for your brother. The young man to the right is Cometes. He''s much more scholarly than the toddler. He keeps his hair at collar length for this reason and also wears fake glasses. The two of them have been following me for a year. I brought them here so they can attend Darling''s school." "You had the same thought as well Inamorato?" asked Serenus. "What do you mean Sweetheart? Are you bringing him here too?" "Yes." "Where is he then?" "I had him make some preparations first. I''m going to merge my people with yours." Neutrum cut in, "Change the building design. We''re all going to be here after all." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Chao nodded and turned to Serenus. "When I give the signal, the building will be transported here." "I''ll take everyone to a seperate place." offered Neutrum. "I trust you two to pick the best building to suit our needs." They both nodded and with Serenus'' snap of her fingers, everything changed. . . . In Neutrum''s group, the boy who had given Zephyr her bag showed up. "Lady Serenus, I think we should have a 3 second grace period before actually moving. I was just making my sandwich." He mumbled and complained only to find Neutrum''s handsome face. "Ah heck! What the heck! Were you secretly a man all along?" "You must be the one who those two were referring to. I see you''ve made a bond with Darling. I''m Neutrum, Serenus'' other almairusk." The boy gave an enlightened look and straightened himself. "My name is Solis. Serenus named me after my appearance. She said I was like a little sun." Noctis walked up to Neutrum and asked for is group. "What are these bonds that you spoke of?" Ignis had turned to the group and notified Marianna about the q & a. She quickly abandoned Lawrence and gave him some work. Neutrum spoke despite the additional eyes on him. "A bond is a connection to the almairusks. There are five levels total. In order from weakest to strongest, there''s the vein to vein, heart to vein, heart to heart, saliva to saliva, and brain to brain. Those four over there have a sTs bond with Chao. Solis has a hTh bond with Serenus and my boys have a hTh bond with me. Chao started her school so that the bond holders could learn to control the powers granted to them. You babies will probably start with the vTv bond." "Why are there levels?" asked Ventus. "If we gave you too much at once, you''d explode." Neutrum replied lazily before waving his hand. "I answered you. Go away now. I want to nap." Meteorum stuck his tongue out at his retreating back before ushering the group of kids to an empty spot. "Those three are reckless in their own rights. We owe them our lives. How should we repay them?" "Easy," said Solis. "We just need to become their weapons." "That''s easier said than done." retorted Inrigo. "We''re going to school to gain control over our power, right?" asked Caligo. "Yes." answered Nubis. Cometes, who hadn''t spoken one word parted his lips. "It''s not a matter of difficulty. We just have to do it. I refuse to present myself as a child who''s incapable of helping at all." "Well said, bro. So, who''s becoming a tail?" "What are you talking about?" Luna cast a dumbfounded look at Meteorum. Her brother shook his head and turned her to face him. "Those three are like a literal beast and we''re their followers. We aren''t their grunts though. We''ll be deadly accessories. That''s why we''re their tails." "That''s right. Is there anyone who doesn''t agree with the plan?" Looking over the 9 other children, Solis nod his head in approval when he was met with determined eyes. "It''s unanimous then. Today is the birth of the Ten Tails." 17 Creation of the Five Claws Marianna walked over to Bea and her group. At the moment, they were being a bunch of weirdos to clear their heads. Albus was carrying Furvus piggyback style, Gladys had Albus standing on his shoulders and was carrying Bea bridal style. When Marianna finally arrived in front of them, they''d switched to a more comical position. All of them laid their heads on the thighs of the one in front of them without touching the ground with their hands They made a donut shape. Marianna paused a bit, but spoke in the end. "How do we get a bond with Lady Chao?" "Why do you want a bond with the Lady? Are you looking for power?" Furvus answered Bea, "Maybe they''re looking for revenge." Albus mumbled, "Although our Lady can never be damaged by the likes of you, it never hurts to be cautious." "So why do you want to know?" Gladys glared at them prompting them for an answer. "If we get a bond, can we repay her?" asked Lawrence. "Yes" said Furvus. "If we get a high enough bond, can we shoulder some of her burdens?" asked Marianna "Yes" said Bea. "If we get a bond with her, are we going to be prohibited from chasing debts?" asked Ignis. "No. If you are in the right, we''ll all join you in the chase" admitted Gladys. "We hereby pledge our loyalty to Lady Chao and the almairusks." Furvus'' legs got tired so he fell causing a domino effect with Gladys falling first. "We should have an official name. After all these years, we still haven''t established a name!" "Ugh, you man child." Albus groaned and looked to Gladys. "It would be 7 of us, but I think we should have an element of surprise." Suddenly, Ignis looked up after in deep thought. "Five Claws." Gladys also showed an expression of enlightenment. "Five Claws. It''s perfect. From today onwards, we are the Five Claws. We slaughter the enemies and feed the beast." "The first order of business is getting a uniform of sorts." "What are you thinking of Bea?" "We can all wear our own colors, but we should have a matching accessory. Like a mask, necklace, or even earrings of some sort. We should also make tokens so that on missions, anyone can identify us after we make our group name known." Albus clasped her hand over Bea''s. "I agree. We should also carry around a voice modulator or a display screen so we don''t reveal our voices. We''ll seem mysterious that way!" Gladys looked at her bewilderedly. "No matter how long I''ve known you, I still find it difficult to associate this childishness with your usual resting face." She stuck her tongue out and continued gushing. "Alright love. Calm down. We''ll wear masks with the trenchcoats. That way if it''s a mission for 2 out of the three we can mix and match." Furvus patted the hyper woman''s head, calming her down. "If it''s a mission involving all three, we could add some hats or gloves. Alright?" Embarrassed, she kept her head down and replied softly, "Yeah." "Well, I was never properly introduced was I?" Ignis saved the awkward atmosphere by interrupting. Albus felt he did anyway, Furvus thought otherwise as proven by the daggers daggers he was sending Ignis'' way. Ignoring him though, Ignis continued. "My name is Ignis. I''m the beast form and I share a body with 2 others and I don''t have a gender like you beings so feel free to refer to me as either pronoun." "My name is Marianna. I share this body with Ignis and the other one. I am a sorceress. I have red eyes. So that''s the symbol that I''m occupying the body." "Hey, my name is Lawrence. Marianna is my wife and Ignis is my best friend. I have the green eyes and I''m a close to mid-distance fighter. By the way, Ignis has the pretty medium orchid and pineapple yellow eyes. He also isn''t human, so he''ll just borrow one of our human forms. I am also the toughest man alive since I have to deal with ma petite mer''s tantrums." Inside his soul, he felt a chill as Marianna spoke, "Oh, so I throw tantrums?" "No, my Queen. You would never." He trembled as he scrambled to save himself. "Ignis, if you could be a dear and take over, that would be great. I have to throw a tantrum." She drawled the "great" and dragged Lawrence by his neck into the house. "Ahhhh!" It''s said that Lawrence''s last words before getting brutally thrashed were ''If I controlled rewind, I would rewind to ten minutes ago, and I''d beat the dirty mouth which landed me here.'' . . . "I just got word from Inamorato that the dears are starting." whispered Serenus. "The dears are going to grow so fast Sweetheart!" "Don''t cry yet. We still have to figure out what we want out lair - cough, cough - home to look like." "We do not use our home as a sight for social experimentation or planning world domination! We''ve discussed this. Neutrum said if he ever found another bomb under his mattress that he would shave you bald everyday for a century!" Wincing, Chao nodded sadly. "I understand." "Good girl. Now I think we should go for a grand neo-classical mansion." Serenus patted her head before turning to look at the land in front of them. "No, no no! I want a traditional Mediterranean style house!" "But if we take the laid-back approach, we''ll seem confident. We''ll seem so confident that we could crush them with a lift of our finger! Which is true anyway! And if someone can''t take the pressure, we can take it off for them!" "Sweetheart, we''re not provoking people into striking first just so that you can blow off some steam. Why don''t we ask Neutrum?" "No! He''ll just say to make an entire town for everyone else while we live in our pagoda space!" Serenus sighed, "How about we go for the second option Neutrum would suggest? Byzantine style." She nodded and the two went to work. They danced in synchronization starting off with graceful ballet movements, transitioning to the more explosive charleston and finishing off with a tango. Serenus looked down in deep thought. "Will we really be okay?" Chao clapped her hands over Serenus'' hands. "Yes we will. I''ll destroy any enemy for you and Inamorato. Anything you two need, I''ll do. As long as we''re together, nothing will keep us down. We''re almairusks after all." "If I told you I might forgive them, will you still hurt them?" 18 Perform like Trash When Neutrum opened his eyes, he yawned and stretched. Cometes stood by his side while Meteorum socialized with his newfound friends. "I assume the place is ready since you''re awake." Neutrum nodded and thought to himself silently. ''This silent kid has a knowing look on his face at all times. It''s like he knows everything that''s happening, and as long as he gets information and hints, he does. Complete opposite of his brother. The shadow and the light.'' Neutrum motioned Solis to walk over along with Gladys. "Uhm, I''m a bit tired so, everyone has to be touching. Normally I''d get you all out the same I got you in, but I want a nap. If someone isn''t connected, I won''t be held liable." Solis silently chided in his mind ''Such a lazy guy.'' Gladys simply relayed the information to everyone else. Holding a rope, they all were brought to the main lobby of their new home. "Welcome to la maison de los almairusks!" Gladys and Neutrum both looked with deadpanned faces at Chao. Ignoring her silliness, Gladys carried a sleepy Bea to their new room. Luna, being a loudmouth, walked up to Chao. "Do you have to be so obnoxious Lady Chao? Don''t answer that. We''ll be going to study with Solis, Cometes and the other one." Sauntering off, she dragged Noctis with her. "I love teasing that little girl." . . . In Chao, Serenus, and Neutrum''s new room, he was currently being coaxed by the two women. The two ladies were sitting on the bed while Neutrum was leaning on it while sitting on the floor. "We weren''t excluding you when we met up Inamorato," said Chao. She rubbed his shoulders while Serenus played with her curls. "You never tell us where you are, what you''re doing, or how you''re doing. Tell me, how do you think I felt every day for these past 3 million plus years thinking about you with no way of seeing you. Did you even stop to think about talking to me even once?!" Serenus started off soft and meek before growing more and more unstable. By the end she was sobbing. Her tears ran down her face falling onto her lap. Chao immediately stopped fussing over Neutrum and embraced her. Head laid atop Chao''s bosom, Serenus'' tears slowed and she hiccuped. Chao''s voice at this moment was nothing like yesterday. It was as soothing as a warm blanket in the fiercest cold. Neutrum''s pupils dilated as he sprang up, stole Serenus from Chao, and laid her head on his lap. Her sparse hiccuping turned into raging tears once again as he softly murmured and pat her head. "Sweetheart, I''m sorry. You''re right. I was wrong. I really did forget. I only remembered when I felt you two go into the pagoda one after the other. I was chasing some resources." When Serenus stopped crying and hiccupping, Neutrum fell backwards bringing Chao down with him. The most cherished words accompanied the most beautiful painting. A delicate beauty laid across his stomach with red eyes, a fierce beauty laid over his shoulder possessively, and the two beauties linked their pinkies with the icy man''s pinky. "My love, my soul, my life, they''re yours. Whatever you do, I''ll stand by you. Whatever you want, I''ll retrieve. Whatever you need, I''ll provide. In this life, in the last life, and every life to come." . . . Noctis looked at his sister in bafflement as did the rest of them with the exception of Cometes. "Hello? Are you really my sister? Has she been replaced by a more respectful young lady?" Luna''s eyebrow twitched as a vein slightly pulsed in her forehead displaying how much pent up aggression she had. "Are you a much more womanly lady than my boorish sister?" Finally exhaling, she turned to him. She pet his head and slapped it. "I agreed to be a tail." She turned away to hide her mild blush. "It''s only right that I address her by the proper title right?" Nubis and Caligo giggle while Noctis ran around with the boys. Cometes and Solis starting writing down some pointers and information about the powers gained from the bonds. When the two called the rowdy boys over, they decided to pretend to be a professional Acapella group. "Hello new friends! We''re here to say we''re here! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Let''s be friends to the end!" "You sound terrible. You''re completely out of sync with one another. There''s no harmony here. Don''t ever perform like trash in front of me or within my earshot ever again." All of a sudden Cometes, the silent, indifferent, young man, went off on a tirade. His eyes were colder and sharper than an execution blade. The entire room became gloomy as Meteorum swooped in to lift the air. "Calm down little artist. We''re just playing around." "Watch me play with this hammer." Luna walked up to Solis and gushed, "Cometes, you''re so cool!" "Alright children." Inrigo diffused the stalemate. "We''re here to help ourselves, are we not? Otherwise, you all can turn into shriveled up dehydrated onions." Meteorum''s face became twisted as he imagined a dried onion with his hair and clothes on it. "Kid, are you trying to curse us to become mummified corpses?" Noctis chimed in not letting his chance slip away, "Maybe if your brain and my sister''s brains are re-hydrated, you''ll end up with an influx of brain cells! You might become smarter!" Before another argument exploded, Solis stepped in. "Are the Ten Tails going to disband as of today because of petty arguments preventing any growth?" At that, all was silent. "That''s what I thought. Sit down and let me tell a short story. Now I''ve been with Serenus for 8 years. I made my first bond with her when I was 7. Like what Lord Neutrum said, when you make a bond with any of the almairusks, you get a fragment of their powers as well." He turned to Cometes, seeing that he didn''t want to continue for him, Solis could only explain further. "The almairusks have seven attributes - Heavenly, Hellish, Godly, Humane, Light, Dark, and Spatial or Galactic. The attributes come in pairs with the exception of the Galactic. It''s purpose is to basically assist or make the other attributes happen." He grabbed a set of color pencils and started drawing different symbols. He pointed to the pair of clouds, one yellow, the other red. "These are the Heavenly and Hellish attributes. They allow the almairusks to pass judgments on people''s souls. Rewards or punishment." Next he pointed to a pair of human figures, one had a Spectra of lights coming off of it while the other had a cacophony of colors within the body. "These are the Godly and Humane attributes. Like the names suggest, they allow them to accomplish tasks with the ability of either one. So, either the power of the mind, or the power of abilities." The next pair of pictures featured two light bulbs - one lit, the other unlit. "These are light and dark. They allow the almairusks to manipulate any light and any shadow. Light is particle wave right? Using the light attribute, they can actually isolate specific characteristics of light to best sit their needs. Darkness is an absence of light therefore making it an absent space." The last picture was indescribable. It''s shape was random with a ripple effect that was supposed to be around it. It looked like messy spiral art. "This is the oddball. It doesn''t have a defined shape. It takes on whatever shape the almairusks borrow from it. It allows for spatial manipulation. Basically, warp travel as well as teleporting are possible along with a lot of other things. Depending on the universe, they might not be allowed. Someone could theoretically use this power to erase an entire galaxy since it exists within a space. They wouldn''t do that, but it is possible for them to do so." Getting a cup of water and a pat on the back by Cometes, Solis whet his throat. "Any questions?" Tellus raised his hand, "Is there a bond that would give us full access to the full extent of their powers?" "No. No matter how many bond they create and we inherit, we will never have the chance to be on complete equal grounds with them in terms of raw power." Caligo raised her hand, "I heard some people say here and there that there are announcements made through telepathy." Meteorum cut in, "Oh yeah. Almairusks can broadcast their thoughts telepathically to whomever they please and as soon as you make a bond, you''ll be able to do the same. The only thing is, the lower your bond, the shorter your messages are. To put it in simpler terms, it''s kinda like having a data limit with an emergency supply, too. Your messages can''t go to as many people because the size would be too much and they can''t be too long or else they''ll be choppy or cut off entirely." Caligo nodded her head and Nubis continued. "How do we know what the limit is?" Solis answered as Meteorum had forgotten. "You''ll have a small number on the wrist opposite your dominant hand. That''s why entire families follow them and it''s also the reason why there''s a minimum age for getting a bond. The numbers look like tattoos and in some of the more extreme cases, according to Serenus, a great grandmother saw the "tattoo" and threatened to flay the skin off with a flaming hot machete." They all stopped thinking about the almairusks and their responsibilities at that moment to appreciate the insanity of humanity. Some time later, the ever silent Cometes opened his mouth. "If there aren''t any more questions, it''s about time we started with the studying." Sighing, moaning, and groaning, the children all began to meticulously rewrite their professor''s notes. . . . Ignis was currently in the middle of a group of chimpanzees dueling for a refrigerator. "Furvus, be a good boy and hand over the box and plug." ''Scratch that idea. They''re animals and trainers.'' Furvus almost handed it over before shaking his head vigorously and pouting. "Gladys, my biggest bro, it''s not fair to use that voice of yours and your eyes to cheat me out of the fridge." Albus complained, "Furvus, just give it over. Why do you even need the refrigerator anyway? You get easily cold." "I don''t want him to have it." Sighing and shortly struggling to recompose herself, Albus questioned him. "Why do you not want our friends, Gladys and Bea to have the refrigerator?" "I want to keep booze in our room." Speechless, Albus stalked over to him. She yanked the things out of his hands, kissed him, kicked his shin, and whispered in his ear. "I need a bed coolant. If you don''t want to fill that role anymore, I''d be happy to ask Ignis." "Love, he literally uses fire in every single one of his forms. If I keep the fridge, I can give you the box." With that offer, she hesitated. "If you let us have the box, I''ll help you build a house out of boxes and you can have Bea in three days to play around." 19 hey, hey! @@ 20 Itll be a ball Hours later, at lunch, everyone arrived at sat in the cliques. The tails, the claws, maids and butlers, outdoor servants, and the almairusks. "Now, if I remember correctly, there''s 6 days until the ball." Chao groaned and put her hands over her ears. Serenus glanced at Neutrum and following that, he uncovered Chao''s ears. "We have to come up with a theme today to send it out by linner time." Chao groaned again but since her hands were imprisoned by Neutrum''s, she resorted to closing her eyes and looking up at the ceiling. Serenus was amused and went up to her ear. "Sweetheart, this is the first step to beginning the plan." Neutrum continued in her other ear making her heart race even more since both of them were teasing her ears with their breath. "Don''t you dare back out before the show''s even started. We have an entire world to conquer." As if a switch had been flipped, Chao''s eyes flashed open and her lips curved into a dangerous sneer. "You don''t need to remind me. Why don''t we do a masquerade ball? It''ll allow us to justifiably hide our appearances and forces from the outsiders. This will be the foundation of our organization. We''ll use this as a start. When we''re well-known, our signature looks will be enough to scare people to death." Neutrum had let go of her hands as the manic energy built up. When she was finished, he kissed her, bringing her back to a controlled state. Serenus pouted and stole a kiss from Chao. She cheekily smiled before grabbing a bell that was on their table and ringing it, "May I have everyone''s attention?" As expected, heads turned to the eye-catching table of three. Smiling kindly, Serenus spoke, "As some of you may know, a ball has been planned to take place in 6 days. It''s been determined that theme will be a masquerade ball. This is the time to straighten out your uniforms. This is the time to make us proud and present your most powerful selves to the guests. I trust you all will not let us down." Everyone''s hearts were racing and the adrenaline began rising as they listened. Making them proud! They would be representatives of their Masters, teachers, and idols! They all understood the underlying messages. ''Crush them to death! Show our superiority!'' ''We can''t allow them to think that we can be pushed around. Don''t be rude to them. Welcome them cordially.'' ''Don''t give them a reason to mock us. Don''t embarrass us.'' They could hear all three encouraging them according to their personality. The last statement, of course, was spoken by all three of them as motherly and fatherly figures. At the tails'' table, they began their discussion. Inrigo began, "I think we should have actual tails." Spitting out his orange juice, Ventus whisper-shouted "You''re still too young to have that kind of fetish!" Smacking him on the back of his head, Tellus admonished him "You''re a thousand years too young to be lecturing a child as a child yourself. Now shut up fool." Rolling his eyes, Inrigo continued, "I don''t mean any fluffy or cutsey tails. I''m referring to a scaley, devilish one. Those three aren''t exactly categorizable. It should be in their colors." Solis nodded in agreement and Meteorum spoke up, "What about the masks?" This time, Caligo spoke, "Why don''t we theme them after our names?" Nubis followed up, "It would be a lot easier and it gives us more names than we could count, meaning more identities to hide behind." Noctis and the rest hummed in agreeance and decided to start the masks as a class project assignment. Cometes would go to Gladys and get permission for them to be graded. Luna put up her right hand, "Now that that''s done, can I request that the day before the ball we all go to Mister and Missus Centi to get the rest of our outfits for the ball? I refuse to wear anything short of the best." Cometes answered succinctly and satisfied the table. So, as young children do, they began gossiping about how the finals for their education would be hard and how they need sources of income etc. . . . At the claws'' table, Albus was glaring at Gladys. His mouth opened once more, "I refuse to join." She slammed the table with just enough strength to die her displeasure, yet not disturb lunchtime "You would look amazing though. You''ve got a bulky physique. Don''t you want to see it cute little Bea wearing it too?" He briefly hesitated, but steeled himself once more. ''I am not going to indulge in her fantasies, nor will I let her use Bea to do so.'' He frowned once more thing about it. ''She wants us to wear bodysuits. Bodysuits! Like c@twoman! I''ll eat a rock before I ever let that happen!'' Lawrence came to the rescue, or at least tried to before the other two stepped in, "I think we can all agree that only you two couples want to see each other wearing that type of stuff. After all, you''re so into each other that you act like high school kids, childish, immature and cringe." Marianna shoved Lawrence out the mind, "Since we''re not doing that, what if we have the trenchcoats Albus mentioned before." Ignis added, "We could also wear some sort of glove that also has claws." Furvus heard "wear" and "claws" in the same sentence and immediately shouted, "Like the claws K0ga had in In^yasha*!" Albus immediately slapped his head, "It''s color won''t match you simpleton!" Rubbing his head he mumbled, "That''s why I said "like," okay? Don''t hit me for no reason. It hurts." Gladys interrupted the two with a nod, "Good. We can have five claws with their colors and trenchcoats in ours. The masks can be animal ones." Seeing that all parties seemed to be satisfied, Inrigo and the other two shared their body to devour the food in front of them. . . . When everyone finished, the claws educated the tails and the almairusks went up to the library. "You want a thingamabob**?" asked Chao. 21 Stars burn so brightly "You guys are no fun!" "I just want to read." "I''m going to go admire the sky." "..." Chao stared at the other two before she pouted. "Fine, I''ll get the preliminary paperwork done." Neutrum''s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise while Serenus had already gone out to the rooftop. "That will take you a while with how jumpy your mind is. I''ll get a maid to bring us dinner later?" "What? I thought you''d say something cute like "I''ll bring dinner for the two of you later." What the heck! Act according to my script!" Raising his nose in slight disdain he spoke with impatience, "I''m not putting this book down, in fact, I''m done putting any book from this series down until I''ve finished it." "What a bookworm." She muttered under her breath and went to the 2nd floor where there were study desks. Piling papers, water, and puzzles around her, she sat down and buried herself in logistics. While Chao''s head was swimming in words, Neutrum shook his head and whispered, "Says the other bibliophile." He then walked over to the entrance of the library and pressed a button on the panel next to the left door. . . . "Twinkle, twinkle, little stars. You are just a ball of burning gas. Up above the stratosphere. Like the pretty spectra you are. Twinkle, twinkle, little stars. How I want to be with you." Serenus sighed as she gazed at the sky above her. It wasn''t dark enough for all the stars to come out yet, but there were certainly more and more coming into view. The sky was like the three of them. Once more she sighed and made a fleece blanket to cover herself. "A star burns so brightly that it must get exhausting and that''s why it dies. It''s neighbors must feel the weight too and that''s why they all fall together. But if there''s too many, they just reset everything entirely to redo it all again, right?" Looking down, she could see the pages of Neutrum''s book and Chao''s math puzzle. Looking back up, she saw an endless streak of blues, violets, and soft, pink clouds. A while later, a maid came up with a smoothie and salad. "You know me best." As she said this to herself, Chao was already tearing into her meat and Neutrum calmly ate his fish. . . . "Lady Chao is pretty, that I''ll admit, but I refuse to say that she''s mature! She''s not!" A girl with long slate-blue wavy hair and enraged eyes glared at another boy. "Luna, we know you''re angry that you''re the only female in this group who is not a girl but a gorilla, but you shouldn''t be so ru-" Meteorum pretended to speak in a caring tone, but was interrupted by Luna''s screech. "I will twist your cervical vertebrae and dislocate your humorous from your shoulder blade!" "Ah, she''s quite violent isn''t she?" "Yes she is sister." "I''m so sorry you children have to live and learn with her! So sorry!" Luna was about to go crazy when Cometes stepped forward and pet her head. Luna was only 150 centimeters (~5ft) tall so when the 180cm (~6ft) Cometes stood before her, she became a little girl. "Everyone is just teasing you. You don''t have to get caught up in their place every time you know." Luna was busy blushing profusely and couldn''t answer properly except with an "mm!" and nodded her head. When he noticed her silence, he patted her twice before sitting back down in his wing chair. Furvus spoke, "It looks like school is up for today. You just have to review and practice what we went over today. Tomorrow Bea will be checking up on your progress." Gladys spoke up as Furvus had been inching his way out of the classroom before making eye contact with Gladys and bolting. "Class dismissed! In 2-3 hours, Chao will be having a slumber party. Attendance is optional, although I''d recommend going. Good evening." He walked out the class after giving the proper parting. When he left, Meteorum slinked over to Cometes. "Do we have our first coupling in the tails? Oh, I think we do! Too bad though, it would be a bit strange for a 15 year old to chase after a girl two years younger than him right now. Especially since you look at least 3 years older while she look a year younger." Cometes tosses him a long side eye in disgust, "Who told you I would start immediately? I can patiently wait until we''re both older and more mature enough. For now, we can be mutual crushes." He hissed and jumped back, "You''re pretty slick bro! It''s almost shady!" Cometes just shrugged, removed his face glasses and shifted his body a bit. His left hand ran through his collar- length hair bringing it up and behind his ear. Meteorum was puzzles at first before he stole a quick glance at Luna. ''Ah this fool is quick though isn''t he?'' Meanwhile Luna was drawing. Whenever she felt distressed or nervous she would draw, so when Noctis saw this, he winked at Cometes and just let her be. When he saw Tellus wearing his signature smile, he ran over to him and asked him to play concentration. "If you win, you can do it. If you lose, you have to stay out of the way and I''ll help you out with Nubis." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Caught by Noctis, he just laughed. Inrigo joined in, "I bet five that without us, you wouldn''t have a chance in this lifetime or the next!" As he was fanning the flames, Tellus didn''t notice that the two were pinky swearing underneath the table across from him. "I definitely could!" This time, Ventus goaded him, "Do you really want to take that bet?" "Urgh." "I guarantee that we could make Solis the champion instead of you." continued Noctis. While Tellus wasn''t looking, Ventus motioned Solis over, whispered in his ear and the two pinky swore. "She would never be into a kid like him!" "We don''t know that do we? Besides, she''s really interesting. I would love to get to know her more and if that led to something more, I''d be on board." Solis chimed in and Inrigo dealt the finishing blow. "Solis and Nubis sittin'' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G First comes love, then comes the marriage, And after the marriage comes the baby in a carriage!" "I''ll do it." The four of them pinky swore after Tellus held his head in his hands. "Somehow I had a headache." "Don''t worry, we''re experts." assures Noctis. 22 Bad Kids, Playing One* at the Ball The next few days were peaceful until the day before the ball when tragedy struck. "Oh noooooooo!" Bea screeched and jumped on Albus. "What hap- oh noooooooo!" Furvus walked in plugging his ears with his fingers, "What are you two screaming abo- no! No! No! No! This can''t be happening!" They were all squirming and squealing when they heard a low growl. "What did you lot do this time?" As if they were all linked, they turned slowly only to turn pale when they saw Gladys standing in the doorway. "What did you break?" His seemingly justified question and low rumble sounded like their death sentence. All three broke out into a cold sweat and exchanged eye contact in the short time that they could. In agreeance, Bea was kept back while Furvus was sent forth as a martyr with Albus for support. "Big bro! How''s your mask coming along?" "I told you I finished it yesterday. Are you dumb? Have you still not finished yours?" Gladys looked at him in disbelief and disdain before switching to suspicion. "You told me you stayed up last night and managed to finish a couple hours ago." While Furvus was busy lamenting as he bit his tongue, Albus tagged in, "We just wanted to make sure you chose an animal that matches you y''know? It''d be pretty bad if your face didn''t match your methods y''know? It would be bad. Really bad." "Why are you so nervous Albus? Forget it, you probably think I chose the wrong animal or you think I''m mad that you got Furvus of all people to ask me." He sighed slightly and answered her arbitrary and suspicious activity, "I chose a bear and made it so that it changes type depending on the circumstances." As the three spoke, Bea his something behind her back and in her pockets while slowly backing away towards the window. "Bea!" She jumped and looked at Gladys, "Yes love?" "Come here. All of you are acting suspicious." She gulped and tried to deflect. "I can''t go over to you! You''ll display some PDA in front of the other two while playing with me?" She even tried pouting to boost her attack. Sadly, she was up against a boss who was immune at that moment. "If you don''t come here, I''m going over there. If you still insist on dodging me, I''m locking all three of you in here and you''ll miss your precious ball." Gasping at his super effective threat, she resigned. "I''ll go over there. You two can die with me as well." She didn''t let him react before exposing what was in her hands. Her slightly chubby face had tears streaming down and blood flushed cheeks. "I''m sorry I broke it! I didn''t mean to!" He was puzzled until her saw one of his precious blenders broken. His grey eyes became flat as he looked at her. "If sorry and not meaning it were defensible, then we wouldn''t need punishments." "AHHHHHHHHH!" x3 ¡­Please hold¡­ Gladys exited the room looking only slightly appeased while the broken blender lay in his hands sadly. Inside the room, all three were shaking. Furvus was sweating blood, Albus was massaging her slightly swollen wrists, and Bea was repeating "I will not use others things in reckless experiments without supervision." It was quite tragic and comedic at the same time. It was humorous since all three had "Bad kid" written on their foreheads and a sign in front of them saying, "We can only eat bitter cucumber today." When Neutrum asked Gladys why he chose cucumbers, he told him about how a woman with freckles told a young girl that her attitude was so abysmal that she should marry a cucumber since her beauty will fade as she gets older leading her husband to abandon her for someone more beautiful**. He laughed heartily and continued eating his deep sea demon fish. The three who were suffering could only cry silently as Gladys ate in front of them. . . . Finally, the day of the ball came. The morning and afternoon were spent decorating and getting dressed. After linner, guests started arriving in front of the Byzantine style estate. They evidently wanted to show off their power so when they arrived, they anticipated the chance to be snobbish to their hosts. Unexpectedly though, only the maids, butlers, and other subordinates greeted them. Seeing all the ogres, horses, and stymphalian birds, they just shrugged. ''Those three have miraculous objects that they''ve made themselves that don''t require any helpers. They can even open holes in reality to other dimensions. What''s this peacocking compared to them?'' When the guests stepped into the ballroom they were speechless and flabbergasted. The decor was not delicate, flattering, or elegant. It was gunmetal grey with bloodred undertones and golden embroidery where needed. It felt overbearing, dangerous, and teasing. The tables did not have any specific assignments but three tables in particular had cards with names on them. They further confused the guests, but some still decidedly ignored all that to wait for the chance to shut down the upstart they called Lady Chao. Snacks, desserts, and refreshments decorated the long tables on either side of the room. Seeing that their host was not present yet, the small powers began conversing and sitting themselves. About an hour later, a group entered the room. Automatically, eyes were on them. A group of what seemed to be children silently walked to the table labelled "Ten Tails." They wore suits and dresses. The girls all wore dresses with waist bands that had a kind tail hanging behind them. The girls with masks of clouds and mist both wore soft, flowy grey 1-shoulder dresses. The last girl with a moon mask wore a pale yellow pouf dress. A boy with a night mask wore a midnight blue suit with a yellow tie matching the moon girl. Another boy with a comet mask wore a black suit with a pale yellow pocket square and a tie with moons on it. The boy next to him with a meteor mask wore a suit without a tie opting for a navy blue bowtie. A young boy wore a sun mask and wore a yellow suit. Another boy with a mask of wind wore a crisp white suit while the boy next to him wore an earth mask and a rich brown suit. The last young boy wore a water mask and a seagreen suit. All the masks allowed people to see their eyes making them seem otherworldly. Cometes sat next to Luna and complimented her in a low voice, "You look beautiful." She snorted, thankful that he couldn''t see her face, "My face is covered so you can''t even tell if it''s pretty or not." He smiled a little and dropped an atomic bomb on her, "It''s traditional to only say that when a woman''s style is changed, otherwise I would''ve told you that everytime I see you and you''d get tired of hearing my voice then, right?" He further leaned towards her but looked straight into her eyes. Watching her eyes flutter and widen, he chuckled before turning to Solis, "Do you have the cards?" "Of course! These things are tiring until everyone is on the same page!" He then turned to Noctis, "You made sure to bring the machine too right?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. He nodded in confirmation. Seeing this, Solis pulled out One cards and handed them to Meteorum to shuffle. The guests nearly fell over seeing them leisurely play a game that they didn''t even recognize. Inrigo won the first round after cheating with Noctis and Solis, so they decided to play on teams. Solis + Noctis, Ventus + Caligo, Nubis + Tellus, Luna + Cometes, and Inrigo + Meteorum. Inrigo smirked at the pairs making Meteorum smile as well. "We''re going to win this round again right lil bro?" "Of course." Caligo looked at Nubis and provoked her, "We''ve been split up this time, so there''s no holding back. I doubt you''d even have a chance, though." As expected, Nubis began emanating a cool chill as she lightly spoke, "That remains to be seen." 23 Little Cat and Lowly bear The guests looked at the new smaller group in interest. Unlike the previous one, they simply wore gloves and animal masks along with their suits and dresses. A woman with a snake mask had her arm looped through the arm of a man with a fox mask. The other woman was wearing a cat mask and walked with a man wearing a bear mask. His arm was around her waist possessively as his silver eyes pierced the guests. The last person was ambiguous as they simply wore a mask with a lion and wore a red gender neutral suit and green gloves. "Gladys, you really are like a bear." Albus spoke to him playfully and hearing that, Gladys sensed that she wanted to tease their partners. "I''m pretty great aren''t I? I''m at the top of the food chain like you." Her fuschia eyes shined as he went along with her. "Not to mention you have a good reputation unlike foxes. Sigh." Gladys continued admiring Bea''s growing anger. "Well, snakes are much more interesting than meek little kittens. They''re much more decisive as well." Furvus'' turquoise eyes had cooled considerably as he pulled Albus'' arm out of his. He knew what she was doing, and he knew just how to punish her. When he saw how she was shocked and panicked slightly, he turned to her and removed their masks. Gladys sighed and cast a shadow barrier over their faces. Furvus'' eyes were smoldering as he whispered into her lips. "Wanting to play around this early hmmm? I''m a fox for a reason you know?" Not wanting to lose, she hissed back, "Who said anything about playing? I''m just stating the facts!" Enjoying her squinting eyes, he covered her lips with his own. Just as she started to respond back, he pulled his lips back and kissed her cheek. "I win." Frustrated, she pulled out a booklet and put down a tally. "Just wait until the guests are gone. I''ll bring you to the lake for a day out." "You better!" Gladys chuckled as he saw the couple whom he saw as his younger siblings. But when he felt his arm being detached from a certain cat''s waist as well as her nails digging into said arm, he gulped. "So I''m fickle? My dear Gladys, since when? Why was I not made aware?" Bea''s brown eyes were as sharp as her voice was cheery. He began sweating slightly as he began ruminating how to soothe his little cat. "Little Bea, you know we were joking." "Are you implying that I''m being unreasonable?" Gladys wanted to punch himself while the other two looked at him in pity. The one who''s the scariest when angry wasn''t Gladys, although he could be ruthless. When Bea got angry, if she wasn''t appeased, the entire house would suffer. The only exception was Lady Chao as she would always be gentle to her. Gladys was relieved while also being conflicted at the same time. It would be at least another hour before they finally came out to greet their guests. But, Bea would terrorize everyone there indiscriminately if they even breathe incorrectly. "Alright." Luckily Gladys knew Bea''s weakness. So the five finally arrived at the table labelled Claws. Gladys had been silently communicating with Marianna to figure out how to calm Bea down. The verdict? Have her sit on his lap, massage her, and serve her fruit, like an obedient husband. Once again, the guests were dumbfounded as three of them played T@nk Tr0uble. The guests only saw a mysterious black plate displaying some colorful shapes and strange effects. During the one and a half hours that they sat there, Ignis was taught how to play G^n M@yhem and G-5witch. At the end of the one and a half hours, it was 5 minutes to dinner time. The lights dimmed and three people stepped into a single spotlight. A man wore a pinstripe suit that alternated between purple and yellow with a black background and wing tip shoes. He covered his eyes with a reflective eye mask that also covered his eyebrows. One of the women wore a purple asymmetrical dress, black bondage boots with yellow buckles and a mask that covered the lower half of her face. Her mask was chaotic as the colors were streaked messes across the entire thing. Oddly though, there was an order to the chaos making it look chic instead of childish. The other woman wore a yellow maxi dress with matching stilettos that had purple flowers. Unlike the other two, her entire face was covered with a purple veil attached to a black wide brimmed sun hat. The contrasts and similarities between the three were unsettling. The guests had been quite frightened at this point, so when they saw all the maids, butlers, and two other groups bow and curtsey, they wanted to get the introductions out of the way. Chao smirked as she sensed the hesitation and malicious intent mingling in the air of her guests. Opening her mouth, she spoke. "Good evening my guests!" As she spoke, she scared them by activating the decor so it turned into a scene reminiscent of a bloody battlefield. "My name is Chao. I am one of the new rulers of this region. The two lovely individuals by my side are the other rulers I''ve invited to Lord over this territory with myself. Nice to meet my competitors." She stepped to the side and allowed Serenus to speak next. "Greetings to our weary guests!" This time, when she spoke, the room became a peaceful meadow. "My name is Serenus second ruler of this region. I hope to get along with our new neighbors." When the men heard the last part, they started imagining many things that weren''t family-friendly. Comparing the two women, they pictured "fun times." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Knowing what they were all thinking, Neutrum didn''t even begin speaking before the room turned into an empty black hole. "Can our servants please turn down the heat? There are animals in heat." Hearing that dangerously flat and magnetic voice, the men began fuming whole the women began lamenting and scheming their escape from their lives. The man was loyal to his women and all three were eyecandy! He continued when he got everyone''s attention. "My name is Nuetrum. I am the third ruler of this country. This ball is to introduce each other so," "Don''t even think of scheming anything dangerous to our little home!" continued Chao. "If we''re on good terms, then make sure to keep it that way. I''ll be ruling over the military as well as citizenship." Serenus spoke next, "I will be in charge of foreign relations and the economy." "I will be in charge of public works, the law, and enforcement." Mentioned Neutrum. "As you have all noticed we have specialized groups here. They will be in charge of anything else having to do with the country as well as possible assassination missions if necessary." Chao giggled and urged her guests who were either struck with admiration, fear, or anger. "Please eat as much as you''d like. You may leave after mingling with us as well. If you find us to your fancy or you''re concerned, you may stay the night here to discuss any matters further." 24 Hello humannsssss So, everything is shut down. I don''t know if you all know this, but I''m a senior in high school. Am I mad about school being online? Yeah. But I have time to review everything from September to now along with regular lessons. With this though, I can spend time thinking about my babies, Chao, Serenus, Neutrum, and the rest. Wake up Clean Cook Wash dishes and put them away Eat Clean up Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Classwork Leisurely activities Infinite Finity Cook Etc. I don''t want to be sappy or anything so I''ll just say, Keep boredom at Bay while remaining safe. Make sure you don''t worry anyone if you know what you''re doing wouldn''t be considered safe, and keep calm. Panic will NOT solve anything. Help people out if you can. I''ll update sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. 25 Obliterated by Cuteness A Queen approached Chao in earnest while the King beside her scowled. "Lady Chao, I am Queen Anna from the Kingdom of Rains in the East. You may call me Nana. This is my useless husband Benny. He doesn''t wish for us to associate with you, but I disagree. So I ask if you could assist me in sending him off to bed." When King George heard her call him useless, he got ready to cause a ruckus when he was silenced by his wife. Her eyes closed, she smiled at him, daring him to oppose her. Fearful of his wife, he drooped his head. Watching the two of them, Chao silently giggled before answering. "If that''s what you desire my dear, then it shall be so." She gently clapped her hands and the maids showed up to guide the King to a guestroom. "If you wish for refreshments or nourishment, you only need to knock twice on the door or your bedside nightstand." Nodding his head, he followed while making puppy eyes at his wife. ''Please come to bed soon.'' Nana blushed a bit before trying to clear her throat and turn her attention back to Chao. "I wish to ally our two kingdoms. Based on the fact that you three were so easily able to change the scenery and appearance of this ballroom, it''s to be concluded that you have technology surpassing any of the Kingdoms on this continent." ''Smart girl,'' mused Chao. "That''s right. But how would our place benefit from being allied with you?" "Well to begin, we have cultivated various crops that your common people don''t seem to have. Additionally, we have a great boat crafting empire that could challenge nations based on islands. Not to mention that it would increase your human capital and territory size." Chao showed indifference on her face, but internally she was screaming, ''You''re such a smart, charming girl. Please ditch your husband and live with meeee!'' "I see, and for you all you would gain our technology and protection is that right?" Nana''s face which had calmed down became blood-red as she stuttered a bit. "Y-yes. Bu-but, I wou-would al-al-also get the ch-chance to see you, Lady Serenus, and Lord Neutrum mor-more of-of-often." Hearing that, Chao''s face twitched, not that Nana could see it all, but irregardless, her eyes twitched causing her to cover them. She then turned to Neutrum, tagged his arm, pointed to Nana and said, "I need a moment, tag in." Nana was confused since the beautiful woman ran away and sent a handsome man. "Oh, no. Is she alright? Did I say something wrong Lord Neutrum?" As soon as she looked up to his eyes and asked, he knew why Darling ran away. Her eyes were wet and shiny with admiration, concern, and shyness at that moment. From what Chao had been transferring earlier as well, this Nana was a dedicated, strong little woman who could do whatever it took to protect her people. ''Just our favorite.'' She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "But why would she need to do that? It seems out of place considering the time." The gap between her tone of speech and her actions was intriguing. "You know that we are more technologically advanced, yes?" she nodded her head. "In order to best utilize our power, she needs to know what the distance is between the borders of our kingdoms in order to ascertain which mode of transportation is best to use." With that, she opened her mouth into a small "o" shape and twinkled more in admiration. "You all are quite kind and dedicated. I am looking forward to our future interactions." Nana curtsied and went off to find her little husband. After she left, Neutrum exhaled greatly, covered his mouth with his hand, and looked up at the ceiling. ''It seems there''s plenty of interesting and worthy people here. Hopefully we won''t get obliterated by cuteness.'' He uncovered his mouth and looked down as he sighed once more. Perking himself back up when he saw another man attempting to flirt with Serenus for the nth time, he strutted across the ballroom floor. . . . The tails were currently engaging in a conversation with the princes and princesses of other lands. "You goat-headed bean sprout! Who do you think you are!" Inrigo rolled his eyes at this guy. ''Mad just because I told him his pants were a bit too long for his legs.'' The "him" Inrigo was referring to was the 18 year old prince of Sands, June. His honey skin and light brown wavy hair would make him quite a sight if not for his enraged hazel eyes. "Ah, uhm, sorry? I didn''t mean to embarrass you." June could clearly see Noctis giving him signals for what to say. "Please forgive me Prince of the Sands. I was foolish and could not hold my tongue?" The prince was incredulous as he glared at Inrigo and Noctis. "Do you two think I''m stupid? Bull-headed? Dull? I''m the prince who was allowed to come to this ball for a reason." Tellus stepped in, "Excuse us Prince. we really don''t know what to do in events such as these. We''re of lowly birth and were saved by Lady Chao." No one knew why, but his anger was immediately squashed and he was silent. A princess of an island spoke to dissipate the strange atmosphere. "Well, as future allies and partners, we can all teach you slowly." The various princes and princesses nodded while June was frozen. Seeing this, his friend Evan, prince of the Oasis, nudged him. Snapping back into reality, June looked at Inrigo once more before leaving to visit the gardens. Evan gave a helpless smile before jogging after him. When Inrigo met those eyes, he felt something strange bubbling up. In that pair of hazel eyes be saw an apology, longing, and resignation. They were both for him and someone whom he saw past Inrigo at the same time. He started off feeling smug when he saw the apology, but the other emotions made his heart tight. ''Pretty hazel eyes like his shouldn''t look so sad. They should be fiery instead.'' Solis and Meteorum saw the complicated emotions fly past his eyes. ''I wonder what''ll happen.'' While both of the mused and pondered the movement of things, Solis clapped and drew everyone''s attention. "You all probably saw the game we were playing earlier, there are too many people to play one on one, so we can teach you how to play it and do so in teams while the adults tussle about." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Everyone agreed and so they left to go to the fountain some distance away from the gardens by coincidence, or not. . . . "Did you get a vision?" June paused in his admiration of the perennials, and absentmindedly "hmm''d" in confirmation. Evan met June when they were 6 and had been by his side ever since. 12 years of friendship and sometimes they would be stuck as to what to do with the other. Evan could see into the future while June could get glimpses of the past. Although they were stuck with similar prowesses, they didn''t even have power over themselves much less any power to assist the other. When June heard Tellus, he got a jumbled mess of images. Boys playing under a bridge in water, girls laughing and shouting. Some kids getting lashes and rocks thrown at them. Toothless smiles and bruised faces. Blood flowing endlessly. Tears dripping sporadically. He could even feel the grief and hatred through the images, the roars towards the heavens and seemingly endless loathing towards the world. Remembering it all caused tears to fall. Evan panicked as he''d never seen this happen to June before. "What''s wrong with the Prince?" June cringed and Evan jumped as the voice startled them. Standing behind them, a boy in a seagreen suit with a water mask tapped his foot. Inrigo had shown up while June was in memory lane. Trying to compose himself, he replied, "Nothing is wrong. I''m fine. The foliage here is beautiful." June still had his back to him so he didn''t see it, but Evan saw the disdain and anger burning in the young boy''s eyes. "The difference between you and I isn''t just out pant-leg length, height, or age evidently." Infuriated, he turned to Inrigo disregarding that he''d just cried. "Are you trying to piss me off goat-headed bean sprout?" June was once again stunned into silence, but not by a vision, but by the boy who was right in front of him. He flinched when he felt that smaller hand touch his cheek bone. "Another difference between the two of us is that you''re a terrible liar, and you look ugly when you cry." Inrigo softly sighed as he brought his hand back down. "I won''t ask you why you cried and I won''t ask why you lied either. We aren''t that close. But if you keep crying like that, you''ll worry your friend." June turned to look at the panicky Evan whose eyes were also slightly glazed with tears. "Are you alright June?" Inrigo spoke up before he could answer, "You two have 5 minutes to calm down and collect your thoughts before going to the fountain area. We''re teaching you all how to play One. Don''t be late or nosy people will start prodding you for weaknesses." At that, he walked away with his head tall, shoulders relaxed, and lips whistling a tune. "He''s amazing." Evan concluded as such before turning to the infatuated June. Alarmed he tapped his shoulder, "June?" He slowly turned to his friend and whispered, "He''s so cool. I wanna be cool like that too." When he said that, Evan got a vision. Two men standing side by side. One bowing to the other, and several fights. ''Oh boy. Well, you''re going to get cool alright. But it doesn''t seem you''ll ever reach his level.'' The two talked about what they saw, deliberated on whether they should drown themselves in the fountain to cool off, and walked over to the group. From a distance one would see a group of youths playing a card game when two men saunter over and dunk each other''s heads under the water. "Can we borrow some towels to dry off?" The children laughed as they dried each other''s heads off. Some girls whooped, "Look at the power couple!" 26 So scary At the moment, Bea finally returned some dignity to Gladys so he could fend off some admirers. Well, it went more like this- Gladys: Get up. Bea: Disobedient husbands don''t get to speak. Gladys: If you do not get up by the time I count to 3 be prepared to leave the ball early because we''ll be taking a trip to make children. Bea: You wouldn''t- Gladys: 1, 2- Bea: Okay! Jeez, what''s gotten into you? You''re being quite a ferocious bear. Gladys: (glaring at a king who''d been eyeing Bea''s legs) I''m going to have some business conversations. Bea: What? Gladys: I''m going for a walk.* Furvus: (finding the phrase familiar) Albus: Oh poppycocks! Furvus: Damn it. Bea! Coddle your teddy bear! Albus: Too Late! So, Gladys overbearingly patted the man''s shoulder, and with the "friendliest" mask, took him for a little stroll. He''s quite violent you know? It''s not like Bea could do anything either. She''s blind to her charms and spoils that man rotten. So to keep the peace, Albus got Chao to reign him in. But she didn''t do it well, so Serenus stepped in. Basically, it went something like- Chao: Hey, Gladys! I see your paws are all over my guest. Are you planning on stripping yourselves down to cheat on your wives? Yeah, maybe it wasn''t such a great idea to remind him of what that man might''ve been thinking of when he was watching Bea. So before the man was almost castrated after getting beaten thoroughly, Serenus stopped him by reminding him that he could use that man to teach Bea a lesson on how beautiful she is. No he didn''t let the man get his way. He simply made him kneel in front of her and confess all the thoughts he had. Ah, Bea matches Gladys and then some in terms of anger. With the brightest smile, sharpest knife, and a summoning, they had a great time. First they summoned his wife. Then they had him tell her all the women he''d fantasized about and ended up bedding. Livid and unafraid, the two women began toying with the man while Gladys kept people out. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "What''s one thing you''ll remember about that ball?" asked one king to another later. . . . At the Almairusks territory, there was a standoff. Neutrum glared at a group of men while behind him was all the women at the ball and some men. "Diana! Get over here!" "No! I will not!" "John, didn''t you say we would be allies?" "We still are." "So why are you on his side?" "I''m smart and have excellent foresight." "Are you on their side because of "excellent foresight," Lianne?" "No. They''re beautiful, handsome, smart, and sweet. I like them more than you." "I''m your husband!" "Doesn''t seem like you''re as smart as King John then." Chao''s smile grew increasingly wider as the kings and queens disputed with one another. As she did so, a breeze began picking up around her. Turning to her, Serenus didn''t feel the breeze, but sensed the volcano below and saw scratches appearing on people''s cheeks. "Inamorato, you have to solve this soon or she''ll erupt. We don''t want her to blame herself later for messing up the plans, right?" He nodded as he grabbed Chao''s waist. Pulling her to his side, he spoke to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen. I ask that you calm yourselves, otherwise I will not be held responsible for what would come next." He ran his hand up and down her waist while Serenus stood in front of her with her hands on either side of Chao''s face. "Darling, you have to calm down. You can''t do this yet." ''Wow, let''s look at their shameless affection! Maybe they''ll even hold their wedding right this very moment!'' ''Wait is she not trembling?'' ''It would appear to be so.'' ''Her eyes are flickering as well. Between purple and ... black?'' ''Lady Serenus'' voice is a bit strained as well.'' ''Lord Neutrum''s cheeks are flushed.'' ''Do arguments make them unwell?'' "Yes they do. Now would you all stop speculating and actually do as I said? Also, before you ask, yes. We can listen to your inner thoughts." ''AHHH-'' "If someone screams like that again, I will personally take care of them." Unfortunately for King John''s ally, the skin of his middle finger was sliced in half while Neutrum spoke. "Good, now we can move on." He moved his hand away from Chao''s waist, brought a chaise lounge chair for the three of them to lay on. "Our Kingdom will be called Immisceo. We will be open to trade with other kingdoms, groups, and other affiliates as long as the innocent are not exploited. Citizens are free to live here if they so desire, and other leaders are free to converse with us to implement any new systems they''d like in their places." Chao suddenly spoke up while squeezing the hands of the other two, "We come here not to brutalize and kill, but to cause a revolution of rebirth. We will have two militaries, one belongs to the people of Immisceo, while the other is our personal army. I solemnly swear that our personal army will never get involved with matters involving other places. I can promise that we will never start a war unless you provoke us first, but that is why Serenus is in charge of diplomacy." "Yes, and if you need to reach either of us, feel free to do so. If we are preoccupied, then refer to our task groups." A queen raised her hand, (she doesn''t know why she did herself), and asked "What task groups?" "The two you saw today. The group of young children are called the Tails, while the other calls themselves the Claws." answered Serenus. "They''re under our direct command, so don''t even think of trying to somehow take their loyalty." Sensing the greed, Neutrum automatically shut them down. "If you wish to discuss out alliance further, please raise your hand. Those who wish to dissociate themselves may do so. We will not interfere in any way whatsoever with your internal affairs. However, if your people do come here, we are not to be held liable as we allow anyone and everyone to come to Immisceo." The Kings, Queens, and Rulers looked in various directions to think. "Take your time. We wouldn''t want any rash decisions." Chao smirked and stroked Serenus'' hair while Neutrum fed grapes. As expected, only 60 out of the 99 kingdoms present, (Nana''s in bed remember?), we''re able to decide easily. "We don''t want to wait around forever, and the author is in the mood for Ting and Ning** so we''ll have a trial." "Wha-" "Those who need more time to warm up their brains can have 6 months to make a decision. By then, we''ll have the basics done, so it should be enough proof to convince you whether to join or not." Serenus had finished all the grapes and was yawning, so Neutrum had Chao carry her up to bed while he wrapped things up. "When you''ve decided that you absolutely want to be a part of us, then stamp your kindgom''s insignia on the wax plaque you saw earlier when coming in. We the hosts will be retiring now, so feel free to socialize for another hour before heading to the guest rooms." Serenus'' yawning infected everyone, so they all just decided to sleep and hopefully dream about the pros and cons. The children had long gone to bed with team Noctis and Inrigo racking in 2,000 in cash and more in goods like coupons for free meals in palaces. . . . 27 Morning 1 of the Next 6 Months The next morning everyone was baffled. The Lord and Ladies of Immisceo were covering their faces like they did yesterday. The children and the Claws were also hiding their appearances. ''Is there a requirement to see their faces?'' They were all sitting in the cafeteria for breakfast. The Leaders who automatically agreed to collaborate with the three sat at the same table as them, so the cliques were larger this morning. "Ahem!" Chao cleared her throat and rang a bell from who-knows-where. "If 6 months is too long for any of you to spy on us, you are more than welcome to temporarily live with us until the offer expires. All our subordinates are open books so feel free to ask questions unless you''re broaching on private topics. That''s all. Enjoy." After speaking so politely so early in the morning, she gestured at her almairusks. Their allies tilted their heads before spitting air/saliva/juice etc. Chao sat on Neutrum''s lap while Serenus fed her. Afterwards, she was sleepy so Neutrum carried her off to the library to nap before getting her work done for the day. Serenus continued to eat her food and smiled ever so faintly at her guests when she noticed their bug-eyed looks. "They are exactly the type of couple I hated seeing when I was younger. Clingy and unapologetic." "You''re just upset that your husband has never carried you like that." "Shut up! I''m not!" The Queen would have been convincing if she wasn''t tearful, pouty, and red-faced. . . . At the kid''s table, everyone was in arms. "Pancakes are better!" "I''m sorry did you say something? I thought I heard you say woh wah woh wah*!" "What does that even mean? Are you stupid? Did your waffles poison your brain?" "Don''t talk about my waffles like that!" June and Evan were just introduced to pancakes and waffles. So what does that have anything to do with the arguing? Well, everything. You see, pancakes and waffles are extremely similar with the difference being in the shape. Arguably, depending on how they''re made, one can taste better than the other. So here we have the prince of pancakes, AKA the prince of the Sands June, and the prince of waffles AKA, the prince of the Oasis Evan. Their argument runs pretty much the same as Mordecai and Rocky''s** except no one went on a syrup trip to the cosmos. That would cause the plot to accelerate more than necessary. She gasped and whipped her head towards Noctis. "Stop being an instigator you cheeky little thief!" He jumped in startelement before turning to her, "What are you talking about? I was just telling Inrigo and Ventus about how we need to move to phase 2." "What?" She turned her head only to find Cometes eating her crepe. He looked up and met her eyes. Sheepishly, he laughed before taking her whipped coffee and caramel crepe and replacing it with his cinnamon coffee cake. "Coffee will make you shorter. Haven''t you heard about that?" He tried distracting her, but to no avail. Her lips parted, mouth widening, "You just- but I- hic!" She covered her mouth while a blush spread across her face at a visible rate. Some princes and princesses began staring at her, some unblinkingly, some blushing along with her. Seeing that, Cometes scowled and nudged Caligo. "Help me put out the forest fire." Caligo and Meteorum snickered at his jealousy. "Luna~ if I can turn your mask into a frisbee, don''t say anything and Noctis, Solis, and I will go hunting for some treasure." When she heard treasure, Luna snapped back to reality. "Who''s treasure? How much? If you need help with your frisbee, I''ll be more than welcome to assist!" As she dreamed about the potential riches, she began drooling. Meteorum had to stifle his laughter and bring Luna back. "Hey, riches are great, but do you need to use your saliva to break down your food before eating it?" Looking down she finally noticed that she was drooling, so in order to freely daydream about money, she inhaled her breakfast and finished her fruit juice. "Ahhh! Now where were we?" Meteorum looked at his twin with pity as Luna didn''t even notice anything related to him after hearing the word "treasure". ''My poor little brother! Ah! So heartbreaking! I may have said you worked fast and were sly in the past, but you''re still going to have difficulties aren''t you? Wahhh! It''s okay! I''ll help you whenever I can!'' Cometes looked over at his brother in confusion before it turned into irritation. ''Why is he crying? Oh. Stupid kid. Don''t pity me! You''ll probably have an even harder time than me with that personality of yours.'' People often said Meteorum was an open book while Cometes was closed off from others. Like the clich¨¦ of clich¨¦s, Meteorum hid himself as deeply as his brother did albeit in a different way. Throughout all of that, Solis was ending the war since it was going to be time for classes soon and they all had to get ready. . . . It should be said that the property was like a small city already. 100 leaders from kingdoms and 10 princes and princesses were living in the estate. There were 2 libraries, 2 swimming pools, a shooting gallery, a great meadow, a forest, several storages, stables, garages for vehicles, 3 dorms, a lake, several greenhouses, and little huts where some of the older retired folks lived. They were free to roam and do whatever they wanted as long as they had one person from the estate with them. "What the cyka was that?!" "One day Lady Chao was feeling upset because someone had tried to steal her treasured boots from her while she was showering. So she demonstrated why everyone should avoid angering her." "I might regret asking, but how did she do that?" "Well, she created a small star, cut it, ate it, and infused some of the heat into the ground. As a result, she caused the space in this area to collapse on itself with the cutting of the star, and melted the area as well." "How does collapsing work? Shouldn''t this be obliterated if that''s what happened?" "She made a barrier to prevent the damage from spreading for both the temperature and collapse. When she finished, she was terrifyingly calm. Like the silence before the apocalypse." "... I''ll be going to eat some of the heavenly ice pear that Lianne won''t stop talking about." "I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. Please be sure to get a guide next time like they had instructed and be more careful." He thought he had left with his pride intact, but the little maid ruthlessly ripped him to shreds. ''Inconvenience? Clearly I inconvenienced you! Like they had instructed? Are you calling me stubborn and thick-headed? Be more careful? OKAY! I KNOW! It was reckless of me. Even if you did show hostility, I shouldn''t leave my guard down in a foreign environment. Aahhh! I''m a lowly imbecil! Lianne, you were right!'' "Thank you for the advice. I shall listen to it strictly. Have a good day Miss." Although he said it with a friendly smile, the twitching of his eyelid said otherwise. "No problem King Bo. This is simply the task given to me by my Ladies and Lord. Thank them instead." ''YOU CLEVER LITTLE - AHHHHH!'' This noble king was now screeching internally, and he remained this way until he reached his room and watched his wife in front of the vanity mirrors. "Lianne." "Yes dear. Please don''t leave me for Lady Chao, Lady Serenus, or Lord Neutrum even though they are much smarter than I." "Well, you certainly aren''t smart, you silly man. I would have long left our Kingdom behind if I did not want to be there, and you wouldn''t have found even a single clue as to where I''d gone either." "I know everything there is to know about you." "Only the "me" that you met dear. Before that, I was quite wild." He imagined his Lianne wearing pants meant for men with her hair up in a ponytail out-drinking men in pubs. "She sounds interesting. I wish I could''ve met the young and reckless Lianne at least once." He smirked at her while she just sighed exasperatedly. "You seek out pain don''t you?" "No." "Well, you pursued me and married me." A Butler arrived with a platter of assorted cheeses and crackers, "The word for that is masochist." "Mas-uh-kitst?" asked Bo. "Someone who finds pleasure in pain." "I already said I don''t!" He groaned in protest but Lianne just grabbed the platter and snickered, "Well, it''s not like it doesn''t describe you. There are different types of pain you know?" "Urgh." Embarrassed and irritated, Bo asked the Butler to take him to the library. "We can visit the green house later. Perhaps making a house green makes it a novelty." . . . "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Inrigo was having a day right now. Only an hour has passed since breakfast. When he stepped into the main foyer on his way to class, he was greeted by a hyperactive June. "Good morning! I just remembered during breakfast that I never got your name!" "Inrigo." "That''s a pretty name! Does your mask have anything to do with your name?" "Yes." June snapped his finger, "I figured that was the case. Hey, spend the day with me." Inrigo stared at him before walking away. This is why June is now haranguing Inrigo. Solis has jogged up to Inrigo''s side whilst June was still wagging his tail for his owner''s attention. "Are we still doing that today?" "Of course we will." A huge face popped into Solis'' view. "What are you guys talking about? Can I join you two? I can just watch." Before Inrigo could reject, Solis answered, "Of course you can join us!" Inrigo''s eyes widened as he whipped his head to look at the plotting Solis and cheerful June. "Yay!" "What do you think you''re doing?" He whispered harshly to Solis. "Nothing. I have to go see Ignis and Marianna. Go to the classroom first and tell Albus for me, okay? Thanks, you''re the best Inrigo!" Like a whirlwind, he ran off leaving Inrigo frustrated. "What did he mean by classroom? You guys go to school?" "Follow me. Someone will explain for you when we arrive." While Inrigo answered tersely, June blushed furiously in happiness as Evan said he wouldn''t be able to spend the day with him. ''I can study how to be a cool guy up close now!'' ''This is going to be a long 6 months.'' . . . "So you want me to help you in your drug manufacturing?" Marianna stared at the short child in front of her in suspicion. "Why do you need to mass produce drugs now? Ignis doesn''t need that many." "Lady Serenus told me that we''re going to have another slumber party. So the noble people are also coming, but as you know, they clearly aren''t used to this." Marianna blinked in realization. Ignis spoke, "So why did you call for myself if Marianna is the one who creates the potions?" "Well," said Solis, "you can detect any irregularities in the medicine and control the flames while Marianna and I make the premade drugs." Lawrence interrupted before Ignis could speak, "Why would there be any irregularities? Are you doubting Mari''s skill? Do you want to die? Hmm? OW!" Inside their mindscape, Marianna kicked him into the sky. "Shut up fool. The adults were speaking." "Do you mean Ignis and Solis? GAH!" "Understood." Ignis nodded after deciding to start production as soon as Marianna was finished beating up her man.