Khan remained in a daze even after Snow dropped him near the same mountain where he had departed eight hours ago. It was still ten am. He had an entire hour to return to the academy and attend his first lesson with a Niqols professor.


    He would normally look forward to the lesson. He would have the chance to learn apletely different approach to mana, something humans wholly ignored out of arrogance and confidence in their methods.


    ??


    Khan didn''t feel able to underestimate those subjects after witnessing how intense and urate they could be. He had seen Liiza''s body suffering after she failed to experience his warmth for a single night, and she even continued to understand his feelings with mere nces or touches.


    In his opinion, the Niqols'' way had immense potential, but the conversation experienced in the past hours made him unable to focus on the imminent lessons. Khan knew that he should feel excited, but he could only think about the words he had exchanged with his girlfriend.


    Sex had brought them closer, but that was a mere physical connection. The Niqols experienced it on many levels that could even bepletely emotional, but it still couldn''tpare to what they had gone through that night.


    Liiza and Khan had spent their two hours describing their whole lives without hiding anything. They both knew that normal couples wouldn''t go over those topics so soon in their rtionship. Some would evenpletely ignore them and leave them in the past. Yet, they had felt the need to grow closer, so they spoke without putting any filter to their words.


    Khan went through jealousy, annoyance, anger, and pain as he heard Liiza''s story. She had always been a rebellious kid, and her boyfriends had been a simple expression of her nature. She didn''t like to have a privileged status, so she had always picked Niqols that would make her mother angry.


    Her father''s story turned out to be rather sad. Liiza had always been close to him since they shared the same unruly character, but Yeza had eventually led to their separation.


    Deni, Liiza''s father, truly loved Yeza. He was one of the few men on Nitis who could look past her striking beauty and appreciate her for her dedication toward the Niqols'' species. Yeza also loved him for that, but their different priorities eventually led to harsh fights.


    Yeza was an ambassador, and her beauty could be a weapon that she didn''t hesitate to use for the greater good of her species. She had also ended up cheating on Deni to get her hands on important information.


    Her dedication made her be a hero for her species, but it only worsened Deni''s situation. He felt forced to leave to maintain his sanity, and he even ended up cutting ties with his daughter due to the intensity of his feeling. Thinking about his family simply made him suffer too much.


    Liiza put all the me on her mother. Her rebellious character even worsened after that event, which led her to refuse a good partner like Ilman just because Yeza had picked him.


    Liiza spent the years after that event mostly in solitude. Her peers ignored her, Zalpa and Deni had left, and her rtionship with her mother was so bad that she struggled to remain inside her home. She still helped with specific social events or tasks because she cared about her species, but the rest of her time belonged to her Aduns and Nitis'' wild regions. Her life didn''t have anything else.


    Khan had been a surprise in her life. When Liiza thought about it, it made sense that only someone belonging to a different species could awaken her feelings. He even met all her requirements and had the mana on his side. It almost felt like a fated encounter in her mind.


    In theory, the Niqols wouldn''t mind if a member of their species were to end with a human. They might even push that rtionship toward an official union. However, the situation would be different with Liiza due to her peculiar social status and her famous character.


    Yeza would oppose the union with a nobody like Khan, and the other higher-ups would even question Liiza''s loyalty since her record wasn''t great. She might decide to reveal ssified information to the humans due to her grudge, and her status as a Niqols made her easier to exploit when love was involved.


    Liiza had also learnt everything about Khan''s life. His story went from the Second Impact, lingered on Istrone, and reached his current state on Nitis without hiding the ugly parts that had filled his tragic moments. She could finally understand the depths of Khan''s sorrow at that point, especially when it came to Bret''s probable involvement in events that he struggled to imagine.


    The reasons behind theirpatibility became clear after they shared their stories. They both had lost a lot during their lives. Their pain had created a wall between them and their peers. Liiza had be an outcast, while Khan had developed exceptional lying skills to hide among normal kids. The intensity of their suffering was clearly different, but their character had advanced on simr paths as they dealt with those feelings.


    Needless to say, Khan and Liiza had to fight against their very nature to separate after that long conversation. They would have done everything in their power to remain all day in each other''s embrace, but they had duties to attend, especially Khan. He would have surely missed his morning lessons if Liiza didn''t kick him out of the cave and sent him back to the academy earlier than nned.


    Liiza''s decisiveness was the very reason why Khan had an entire hour at his disposal to return to at the center of the valley. Still, he knew that her actions carried deeper meanings. She didn''t want Khan to ruin his record because of her, and she also wanted to remain alone.


    That desire didn''te from her feelings. Liiza wanted to do her best to absorb what she had learnt that night and let her emotions stabilize. She was aware that her condition could lead to bad decisions that might worsen Khan''s situation. She didn''t want their rtionship to pick up speed again until she was inplete control of herself, and only some time on her own could bring that rity.


    Khan understood that, and he even agreed with her silent decision. His mind was too into her after the night spent with her. He had to calm down and focus on his training to make sure that his rtionship didn''t hurt another important aspect of his life.


    It didn''t take Khan much to return to the location where the party had unfolded. He even found cups lying around and the cauldron still half-full when he reached that empty spot.


    The area appeared empty, but the path back to the academy felt quite clear even if the ground didn''t carry any footprint or simr traces of the passage of the students. It seemed that part of the defenses in the valley took care of those issues, but Khan didn''t need external factors to find his way back inside the membrane.


    Still, a familiar figure appeared in his view right after he crossed the empty spot. Khan found Doku sleeping naked on the ground with only the upper part of his clothes covering his manhood.


    "[Wake up]," Khanughed while lightly kicking his foot.


    Doku frowned due to the sudden awakening, and a few words that Khan couldn''t trante even came out of his mouth. Then, the alien gave voice to a loud groan when he opened his eyes and noticed Khan standing above him.


    Doku tried to speak in the Niqols''nguage again, but Khan quickly interrupted him. "Don''t go so fast. I''m not good at it yet."


    "You are good enough to interrupt my beauty sleep," Dokuined while lifting an arm toward Khan. "Help me stand."


    Khan smirked and grabbed his wrist before pulling Doku to his feet. The Niqols didn''t like that sudden change in his position, and he supported himself on Khan''s shoulder while his mind found some bnce. He swayed back and forth a few times before he felt stable enough to leave hispanion.


    "I knew that you were a yer," Dokumented while revealing a knowing smile when he noticed the hickey at the base of Khan''s neck.


    Khan had made sure that his uniform covered the hickey, but Doku had pulled it down enough to reveal it while he found his bnce. Still, the Niqols didn''t evene close to connecting that mark to Liiza.


    "You definitely did better than me," Khan smirked while pointing at his naked lower half.


    Doku suddenly realized that the clothes that covered his manhood were now on the ground. His naked body waspletely in the open, and he couldn''t help but exchange an awkward nce with Khan before bending to pick the garment.


    "I swear it doesn''t usually end like this," Doku justified himself while tying the clothes around his waist and covering himself.


    "Let''s both avoid spreading the news then," Khan suggested while hiding his hickey.


    "You humans are strange," Doku scoffed. "I''ve read about your decency. I didn''t think it was true."


    "They need a good Niqols to show them the way," Khan teased while patting Doku''s shoulder and resuming his walk through the forest.


    "Don''t even joke about that," Doku pleaded while following Khan. "Azni will literally cut it if she feels that I''m cheating on her. If you end up with a Niqols, don''t make her angry. I''m telling you this for your own safety."


    Khan couldn''t help but think at the threat that Liiza had voiced before they had their first time. The image of the bull inevitably appeared in his mind, and he also imagined himself in the monster''s position.


    "Are they all like that?" Khan asked.


    "They go crazy as soon as they start feeling something," Doku revealed. "Well, it''s the same with the men of my species, but most of us have more self-control."


    "Our species are so different," Khanmented.


    "That''s the beauty of the universe, I guess," Doku groaned as his hangover sent a wave of pain through his mind.


    "Is that the self-control you were talking about?" Khanughed while turning toward hispanion.


    "Azni likes to make me drink," Dokuined. "She says that I''m too stiff when we are together, but I can''t do much about it. I''m in the second year, and I alreadymand troops. She is still in the first year, and in my team even. I need to create a wall between us."


    "You almost sounded human there," Khan continued to mock him.


    "Shut up," Doku cursed. "It''s really annoying because she doesn''t get it."


    "I mean, you are a Niqols," Khan responded. "Just do what you feel like. What''s the point of going against your nature?"


    "That''s not a bad idea," Doku honestly eximed.


    The duo walked quickly across the forest and reached the membrane in no time. However, Doku didn''t cross it with Khan. He said goodbye to his friend and decided to enter through a more isted part of the academy.


    Khan entered directly and approached the central empty area that featured multiple squares demarked by glowing azure symbols. The clock on his phone had yet to reach eleven am, so the academy appeared mostly empty. The first lessons would still require half an hour to start.


    Khan limited himself to meditate to make that time pass quickly. The envoys from yesterday had only told him to wait there to attend the lessons, so he didn''t bother to pay too much attention to his surroundings.


    Familiar voices eventually resounded near Khan and awakened him from his short meditation. He could see George and the other recruits when he opened his eyes. They appeared rxed and well-rested.


    "I told you that he would have been here before us," George eximed as a faintugh escaped his mouth.


    "Where did you disappear yesterday?" Brandon asked. "It''s not wise to separate since our phones don''t work here."


    "I''ll be fine," Khan smiled. "I only like to have my space."


    "I have to agree with Brandon here," Kelly added. "Your actions reflect on us and the entire human species. Nitis is dangerous, and the slightest dy to a lesson might worsen our rtionship with the Niqols."


    Khan didn''t have words to express how little the Niqols would care if one of their students were to skip a lesson. Still, he would need to disappear almost every night to attend his secret rtionship, so it was better to take care of that topic once and for all.


    "I was the first to ride an Aduns," Khan announced. "I dealt the final blow to the monster that has killed Glenn Padlyn, and I''ve already joined hunts where I was the only human among Niqols. Do my actions really worry you?"


    Kelly couldn''t say anything in front of that sharp response. Khan''s sudden serious answer even left the rest of the group speechless. He would often crack a joke to dismiss the matter, but he had actually defended his right to do what he wanted now.


    An awkward atmosphere spread among the recruits. They couldn''t force Khan to respect their desires, and his actions had only benefited the Global Army until then. However, their concerns made sense, especially since they were now in the middle of the alien territory.


    A Niqols wearing a white robe saved the group from arguing any further. The recruits turned to see that Professor Supyan approached the humans before stopping and moving his eyes between Khan and George.


    "You two," Professor Supyan ordered. "With me."


    Professor Supyan''s seriousness made the other recruits unable to say anything. They remained speechless as they watched Khan and George approaching the Niqols and following him into the distance.


    "You two are ready to take lives," Professor Supyan announced after leaving the empty area and leading the two recruits across a faint path inside the forest. "That might lead you to a dark path that will never stop requiring blood."


    Professor Supyan eventually reached the entrance of an underground area and descended its staircase to lead the two recruits into a strange room covered in roots.


    The underground hall didn''t have walls, ceilings, or floors. It seemed that the roots had naturally created that space and the Niqols had simply added a few glowing runes to illuminate the area. However, it was clear that something so precise couldn''t be a natural urrence. The aliens probably had tinkered with the direction of the roots for a long time so that they could give birth to a neat rectangr room.


    "Your mana inherits features from your character," Professor Supyan exined. "It evolves with you as you grow up. That shows its innate potential to gain different forms."


    Professor Supyan raised his palm and gathered mana over it. An azure membrane that radiated a peaceful feeling spread through the underground room before he ced his hand on the wall and released the umted energy.


    The roots that made the wall shook, and a spiderweb of cracks even appeared when the Niqols pulled his hand back. However, a second wave of power suddenly gathered on his palm and spread a suffocating feeling in the air.


    Khan and George felt certain that Professor Supyan had gathered the same amount of energy as before, but the second batch appeared far more dangerous.


    Professor Supyan didn''t hesitate to ce his hand on the roots again, right next to the first cracked spot, before releasing the umted energy. A series of fissures opened on the wall and stretched past his hand at that point. It was impossible to miss that the second attack had almost been two times more effective.


    "Mind you," Professor Supyan exined while turning toward the two speechless recruits. "I didn''t use different techniques, and I didn''t vary the amount of mana deployed. I''ve only altered the features of my mana and enhanced its destructiveness."


    ****


    Author''s notes: It came out 2700 words. Took longer than expected.