Doku took care of informing the group of recruits about Ambassador Yeza's decision to hold a meeting. The Niqols couldn't explain much since those matters involved areas of Nitis that the aliens had never shown to the humans. Still, he didn't fail to give a few general warnings, especially when he found himself alone with Khan.
"You must be the luckiest boy on Nitis," Doku commented before drinking from his cup. "Play it well, and you'll have something to brag about for the rest of your life."
Doku winked at Khan multiple times, but the latter couldn't fake his reactions completely with Azni staring coldly at him.
It was the night of the fifth day of the week, and the Niqols had thrown the usual party meant to celebrate the end of the lessons. The recruits had already heard the few instructions that they would have to apply during the actual meeting, but they had dispersed among the other groups of aliens by then.
Only Khan, Doku, and Azni had remained on the trunk-bench they often used as their drinking spot. It was already quite late, so the couple would leave soon to spend some time alone. Yet, the two had insisted on having that conversation now that the recruits had left since it would cover more personal topics.
"I told you already," Khan smirked at Doku's gesture. "You need to blink only once. Don't repeat it, don't make it obvious, and definitely don't alternate your eyes only because it feels cool."
"What if the other doesn't notice it?" Doku asked.
"The gesture loses its purpose if you make it noticeable," Khan repeated in an exasperated tone. "It's like a secret code. You wink, and your previous words or actions gain a meaning that only your companion and you understand."
"What about the other meanings that you've mentioned the other time?" Doku questioned while scratching his cheek and showing a face that was far from promising. "Also, won't it become more secretive if I wink multiple times?"
"That was my bad," Khan sighed while shaking his head as he recalled his past mistake. "I didn't think that telling you about all the possible applications would confuse you so much. Focus on the secret code thing, and no. It doesn't become more secretive. It only turns into a joke because everyone can see that."
Trying to teach how to wink to Doku had turned out to be harder than predicted. Khan didn't expect that a simple gesture would confuse the Niqols so much. The issue was with the multiple meanings that the same movement could gain depending on the context. The alien could follow when it involved secret codes, but he lost himself once he reached lies, jokes, and flirting.
Khan had spent the last day trying to make Doku forget about the meanings he had listed in the past, but the project wasn't going well. Still, his current exasperation wasn't completely real. Faint gratefulness accompanied that feeling since the two had managed to disperse the awkwardness that the politics between their species had created.
"Do you plan on winking at Ambassador Yeza often?" Azni asked with clear annoyance in her voice. "Is that why you want to learn?"
"[Azni]," Doku said in a dramatic tone while taking the girl's shoulders between his hands. "[You know what I feel for you better than me]."
Azni's annoyed face started to relax in front of those honest words. Her mouth even began to curve into a smile, but her irritation came back stronger than ever when Doku spoke again. "[But you have seen Ambassador Yeza. Better men than me have failed to resist her, and I can understand the reason behind that quite clearly]."
"[You must have really grown tired of sex and booze]," Azni announced in a chilling tone.
"[Why would I ever grow tired of them]?" Doku asked in confusion.
"[Because you won't have either for the next two weeks]," Azni explained as an emotionless smile appeared on her face, and Doku's eyes widened when he understood the nature of his punishment.
Doku wanted to beg for forgiveness, but Khan's laughs interrupted his attempt. The alien boy also started to chuckle with him, hoping that everything would turn into a joke. Still, Azni's expression continued to radiate a chilling feeling that slowly made him accept his punishment.
Doku glanced at Azni again before rolling his eyes and throwing away the cup in his hands. The boy appeared truly depressed about the action, but Azni finally dropped her cold attitude and hugged him. Doku caressed her back as evident affection seeped out of his glowing eyes, but his girlfriend's next comment made him desperate again. "[You'll add tonight to the two weeks]."
Khan laughed to no end, and his voice rose when Doku begged him for help with his eyes. Still, Khan only shook his head. He knew the Niqols well enough to avoid mixing himself with the private matters of another couple. Also, Azni knew about his secret relationship, and he feared what she could say to Liiza.
"Come on," Khan eventually stated. "I've fought monsters and seen much worse. How hard can it be to resist her?"
The couple shot sorry glances at Khan. Their heads shook as they tried to make him understand how little he knew about the matter.
"Even I would fall for her," Azni commented at some point, and both boys fixed their surprised eyes on her.
"[What]?" Azni giggled as she closed her eyes and snuggled on Doku's chest. "[You have seen her. She is stunning]."
Doku and Khan stared at the girl resting on the former's chest before exchanging a meaningful glance. They didn't speak nor show any expression, but they both understood what was happening in their minds.
"[I can hear your dirty thoughts]," Azni commented without raising her head, and the two boys ended up revealing a silent knowing smile before all three of them exploded into a happy laugh.
.
.
.
Khan's ability with the mental barrier had increased so much that he cleared the twelfth mental exercise in the days that separated him from the meeting with Ambassador Yeza.
The new intensity that his feelings could reach didn't affect the mental exercise at all. They actually made it smoother since Khan could suppress far stronger emotions now. Maintaining access to the entirety of his abilities while the mental barrier was up turned out to be extremely easy during the calm moments spent training.
The deepening of his ability in the three fields taught by the Niqols had also helped him clear the last mental exercise in the training for the chaos element in no time. Only the Wave spell remained at that point, but Khan didn't have time to start studying it since the day of the meeting arrived.
Professor Supyan ended up being the one to pick up the recruits from their underground habitation early in the morning. The presence of a professor highlighted how different the event was from the other missions and tasks, so a tense aura quickly fell on the group as the Niqols led them toward the short structure where they had drunk their first potion.
It turned out that Khan and the others needed another potion before leaving the academy. The Niqols were extremely careful about revealing areas they had kept hidden from the humans for seventy years, and the incoming crisis only intensified that approach.Â
Getting a new restriction made of mana obviously didn't please the recruits, but they didn't have any choice in the matter. Of course, they could refuse to attend the meeting, but none of them dared to miss that chance.
Professor Supyan didn't let the recruits summon their Aduns. The eagles could memorize locations with a simple glance of their three eyes. They also had an incredible sense of direction that could help them find their way back home in unknown lands. The Niqols couldn't risk having loose ends, so they opted for a different ride.
"This is a Lysixi," Professor Supyan explained to the astonished recruits. "Our species has dug under Nitis' surface for a long time. These structures are one of the main reasons why humans struggle to figure out our actual power, but we rely on Lysixi to cross them."
Professor Supyan had led the recruits through a secret passage hidden inside one of the seven mountains that encircled the academy. The rocky path led under the surface and into a large tunnel that featured a tall ceiling. Azure symbols shone throughout its walls filled with cracks, but their glow didn't manage to illuminate the depths of the structure.
The tunnel was seven meters tall and seven meters large. It had a smooth square shape disrupted only by the many cracks that had opened due to the passage of time. The azure symbols improved the texture of those dark rocky surfaces, but that apparent unstable structure still alerted the recruits' survival instincts.
However, their lingering worries about the tunnel's stability vanished when a huge Tainted animal came out from one of the rare branches connected to the structure.
The Lysixi had an odd shape. It resembled a lizard for most of its features. The creature had dark-green scales, cold yellow eyes, and a forked dark-pink tongue that often came out of its triangular mouth. Yet, it had two strange characteristics that made the recruits open their mouths in surprise.
The first surprising feature was its size. The Lysixi wasn't tall. It barely reached the recruits' waists. However, its back was so vast that it could almost fill the large surfaces of the tunnel.
Moreover, its body was basically flat. The Lysixi was five meters long, but its belly didn't even come close to touching the floor. The eight legs growing out of its sides allowed it to stand, but its overall stability appeared relatively poor.
"Don't be afraid," Professor Supyan announced while jumping on the upper part of the lizard's back. "They don't like meat too much, so their nature is rather peaceful."
The recruits noticed how the Lysixi didn't budge at all when the Niqols landed on its back. That scene didn't seem to fit that seemingly frail structure, but it became evident that the creature was stronger than it looked.
Khan jumped on the lizard after confirming that the creature had barely noticed the additional weight caused by the professor. Still, he relied on his expertise with the Lightning-demon style to perform a soft landing that didn't release any sound.
His improved sensitivity to mana gave him a general idea of the creature's strength after he sat behind Professor Supyan and placed his palms on the dark-green scales. Khan almost felt the Lysixi's back to be firmer than the rocky floor. He soon found himself wondering if his kicks would affect it at all.
The other recruits had a more careful approach to the climb. They followed George as he avoided the creature's legs and bent forward before slowly crawling behind Khan. It didn't take much before all the humans sat on the Lysixi, but the Tainted animal remained still throughout the entire process.
"Don't fall," Professor Supyan warned before patting the back of the lizard's neck.
The recruits didn't have the time to question the Niqols about the warning since a force landed on their bodies and made them bend backward. The Lysixi had started to run, but its acceleration had been so sudden Gabriela and Rodney almost fell off. Luckily for them, the dark-green scales were rough enough to cling on them.
Khan quickly managed to stabilize his position. He had an advantage in the task since his martial art already forced his skin and mind to endure such speed. The Lysixi wasn't going as fast as his top acceleration, but its fast movements weren't something that unprepared recruits could learn to handle immediately.
The straight structure of the tunnel allowed the Lysixi to keep moving at the same speed for two entire hours. The lizard never slowed down nor showed signs of tiredness. It resembled a vehicle with endless fuel that quickly led the group toward their destination.
"Don't be so tense," Professor Supyan advised once the Lysixi stopped in front of a cavity that featured a narrow staircase. "Ambassador Yeza only wants to see you. You will help us face the daylight, so she requested to get a glimpse of your character."
Shocked faces appeared on the recruits again. The Professor had openly spoken about the daylight. That was the first time a Niqols didn't try to hide that news. It seemed that the higher-ups of both species had sealed a deal in the days after the briefing.
The professor led the recruits through the staircase that opened in a snowy area surrounded by mountains. The temperatures were low, and a tremor ran through some recruits once winds blew in their faces. Still, their gazes soon converged toward a vague structure in the distance.
The building carried the same shades of the mountains, so it was hard to see it clearly among Nitis' darkness and the falling snow. The group had to walk for a while before they could gaze at the tall palace that the remote area hid.
The palace filled the narrow area that separated two mountains. Its dark-grey surfaces mixed with the rocky structures and allowed it to reach heights that even mana would struggle to keep stable.
Many azure symbols filled the ground around the palace, the mountains, and the actual surfaces of the structure. A few small windows appeared every few meters and marked the spots where each floor stood. A black glass-like material covered those openings and hid the areas behind them.
The palace didn't have any entrance door, and its summit seemed to end in a bridge that connected the two mountains. A few towers came out of the top's sides and featured flat roofs with the same black windows as the rest of the structure.
The structure would almost resemble a simple wall or a dam if it weren't for those windows, but everything changed when the group got close enough. The palace revealed how its surfaces had many layers by making a few of them slide open to show a rectangular metal entrance hidden behind them.
The two tall sides of the entrance slid open, and a series of Niqols dressed in luxurious robes became visible. The woman standing at their center completed the majestic scene with her striking beauty.
Ambassador Yeza wore the brightest smile that the recruits had ever seen, and her revealing dress immediately attracted everyone's attention. She was wearing a simple long gown that used only two narrow lines of fabric to cover her torso. Her ample chest was basically in the open, and the same went for her sensual waist and back.
Khan saw a piercing cold gaze filling the corners of his vision, but he did his best to appear captivated by Yeza's beauty. Liiza was also beautiful with her tight dress that adhered perfectly to her skin and revealed her flawless silhouette. Only her back was in the open, but that didn't diminish how tempting she appeared.
Liiza wasn't expressing more coldness than usual. She was wearing the normal aloof face showed during those political and social events, but Khan could feel her true feelings anyway.
Khan couldn't enjoy Liiza's appearance since it could make her mother suspicious, so he wore a captivated smile that satisfied Yeza's need for attention. Silent and cold warnings converged toward his mind and almost made him beg to go where Liiza couldn't glare at him, but he could only endure for now. His sole consolation was that his girlfriend wouldn't change before going to the cave that night.
****
Author's notes: 3-4 hours for the second chapter.
