Ch 358: Sweet dreams.

Nu reached the rooftop of the Mitsugoshi building. She removed her thick glasses and undid the bun keeping her long brown hair up, letting it fall down and return to her usual hairstyle.

She nodded to the two girls guarding the door, then headed to the meeting room where she had made her report earlier this week.

Like before, she knocked twice, then entered. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon were Present, and so were Eta and Zeta. The full Seven Shadows had assembled.

"Greeting, Alpha-sama, Gamma-sama. I came as instructed." said Nu, and they all nodded to her once before continuing their conversation. Zeta, a therianthrope with cat-like ears and blonde hair, was reporting about the results of her latest expedition.

Nu remained standing beside the door, waiting for someone to ask her questions.

When Zeta finished, Alpha nodded. Then she frowned slightly as she squinted at the wall on Nu's right for several seconds, and Nu turned her head, wondering if there was something, and failing to find anything out of the norm.

"…Alpha?" asked Beta, and Alpha shook her head.

"I must be imagining things… Since Nu is now here, let's speak about the incident earlier this week involving Claire Kagenou. Epsilon, did you interrogate that prisoner?"

"I did." nodded Epsilon. "No one saw us as we took him, and we made him talk. His name was Zenon, the eldest son of a count, and he definitely was a member of the Cult of Diablos. Unfortunately, he didn't know anything more about the Cult than we already knew. Their compartmentalization is still flawless."

"However, he had quite a bit to say about the incident itself and some of that is quite important. He did kidnap Princess Alexia, then used some of her blood in an attempt to summon the Demon Lord Diablos."

"Claire Kagenou and her party came in just in time to see the result of this summoning ritual. But instead of the Demon Lord Diablos, the ritual summoned a black-haired girl who spoke a strange language that Zenon didn't know. And one of the new students accompanying Claire, the one named Chisato Nishikigi, replied in the same language."

"He also said that he originally planned for the kidnapping to happen weeks later, but he changed his mind because he suspected Chisato and her three friends, Takina Inoue, Rin Tohsaka, and Sakura Tohsaka, were members of Shadow Garden due to them all joining the Academy the same day, and their above average sword skills."

"Zenon and his men fought Shadow's sister and her party, and they were crushed almost instantly. Zenon said that Chisato, who he was facing, used a strangely-shaped musket who shot small bursts of white light, and that she shot him twice in quick succession without reloading it."

"That gun, I want to examine it." said Eta, her interest piqued. The narcoleptic elf, the genius engineer who created most of Mitsugoshi's new products, rarely reacted to any news not directly related to Shadow himself. But the opportunity to study an artifact of the ancient era still in working condition suddenly had her fired up.

"Zenon also mentioned that aside from Alexia, the Cult also had in their cells one of the Afflicted, and they used her for various experiments. We searched for her but didn't find anyone, alive or dead. I only found a few rags near the cells. The guards already had searched the sewers, so I assume they found her first and… put her out of her misery."

The Seven Shadows lowered their heads in silence for a few seconds, lamenting the loss of an innocent girl, someone who might have become one of their new recruits.

"The only member of the cult who knew about the ritual was executed by Chisato or one of her friends, it seems. And this concludes my report."

Alpha nodded and turned to Nu.

"Nu, what can you tell us about that incident?"

"Alpha-sama, I infiltrated the Academy and started befriending them." said Nu. "They have an open and friendly behavior, so it wasn't hard to start a conversation with them. The issue is that while they readily talk about school matters, they tend to remain vague whenever I ask about their pasts or about what happened during the incident."

"The one named Chisato, who seems to have become Princess Alexia's girlfriend, confirmed that they went into the sewers and fought a bunch of kidnappers to save Princess Alexia, but she deflected whenever I asked about details, and I couldn't prod too much without arousing suspicion. I could not even confirm that they were aware beforehand that they were facing the Cult of Diablos."

"I monitored their activities and stumbled upon something strange. Every late afternoon after class, the four of them will wait until the students are gone or back in their dorm, then enter one of the school's dojos where they will meet with three more female students, as well as Princess Alexia, Princess Iris, the Student Council President, and the two Guards who are part of Princess Alexia's usual security detail. I peered inside from one of the rooftop's windows."

"They seemed to do some training together. I spotted glowing lines appearing on their arms and legs several times. And they…. they reminded me of the lines or magic power that appears on the ground and walls around Lord Shadow when he unleashes his full power."

Nu received some sharp looks, and was well aware that what she just said bordered on blasphemy, but she had to report honestly on what she saw. Downplaying what she saw would have been the true betrayal. She continued before anyone could accuse her.

"I would have spent more time observing, but it seems that Sakura, one of Chisato's friends, was looking at the ground and noticed that the beam of light coming from the window had a missing corner. She quickly looked up, seeing my head for an instant before I could get away from the window. I do not think she had time to recognize me, especially with the sun on my back, and I retreated immediately, but she knows someone was watching."

"I sincerely apologize for that mistake." said Nu with a regretful tone as she bowed her head.

"You are forgiven." nodded Alpha. "You could hardly look inside without running the risk of being spotted, no matter which method you chose. You were simply unlucky. Keep befriending them, but do not aggressively push to know more about them. Maybe they will drop their guard and let some valuable information slip after a while."

"We should grab them and make them talk." shrugged Epsilon. "If they're innocent, we can always have them join us. They seem to be moderately talented, at least. And if they aren't innocent, then good riddance."

"That's a bit premature." replied Alpha. "Whatever they are doing doesn't seem aimed at Shadow Garden, so let's not burn bridges now. And if they are friends with Claire, harming them may not be something that our Lord would approve. Nu, you're dismissed."

"With your permission, Alpha-sama, Gamma-sama." nodded Nu before leaving the room.

She allowed herself to relax. Admitting her mistake and apologizing for it had been the right move, and none of them had doubted her ability. That would have been intolerable.

As she decided to rest for a few minutes on the nearest bench, she pondered on what she had learned, and what she should do. She couldn't ask about the Afflicted, or the girl speaking a strange language since Chisato and her friends hadn't mentioned her at all.

Should she enter Chisato's room in the dorm and try to steal that gun? No, that would put them on guard, and she needed them relaxed.

She decided that for now, she would stick to the slow approach. She already had managed to secure a place at their table during lunch. She was simply going to be near them, minimizing her interaction, and hoping that they would eventually forget about her presence and start letting things slip.

Unbeknown to her, a Heroic Spirit in her dematerialized state was standing a few meters from her, considering what she had learned.

…

Alexia tried to imitate the posture she had just seen Okita perform, then thrust her sword forward, using not only all the muscles of her arms, but also those of her legs and waist.

"Hum, that isn't bad." nodded Okita. "You were slightly out of sync. You moved your waist a little too late. But with lots of practice, this will become natural to you."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance." smiled Alexia as she resumed her starting position, and tried again.

"This time, it was your legs that lagged a bit behind, but keep it up." smiled Okita with a thumbs up.

Alexia nodded, and tried again.

She still couldn't believe that they were currently inside this strange crystal ball, and that she would spend a week training with Okita, and less than one night would pass in the real world.

Changing her usual sword style wasn't an easy or painless process, but after seeing Okita spar against Scathach, she had decided to ask the Heroic Spirit to tutor her.

A little farther away, Scathach was training with Sakura and Rin, taking both of them at the same time. And winning with ease. Alexia suppressed a shudder as she saw how violent this 'spar' was, and how often the Tohsaka sisters had to heal themselves.

"I don't know how they find the determination to keep going. What drives them to endure such torture?" asked Alexia.

"I think Sakura wants to close the distance between her and Akeno as much as possible." nodded Okita, smiling in approval at Rin's and Sakura's determination to become stronger. "And Rin really doesn't like the fact that her little sister is stronger than she is. Some big sister's pride thing. And there's also the mission. A lot depends on us, more than you can imagine, and they know they will face some very strong opponents soon. They wouldn't have called us otherwise."

"Renu's friends? I noticed how you avoid answering her questions about my kidnapping."

"Yes. Chisato and Takina know a little bit more about the organization she's a part of than they told you. They hunt the Cult of Diablos like us, but their leader is crazy strong, and we don't want them to learn about us at this time. We aren't ready to fight them yet."

"Why are you going to fight them in the first place, if you have the same goals?"

"Because our methods aren't the same." shrugged Okita. "We go out of our way to avoid killing innocent people while we deal with bad guys. Some of us are strong enough that, if they went all out, the land would still bear marks of their battles a century from now. But we try to avoid that."

"Those guys don't, or at least, not anywhere to the same extent. That's why we'll need to defeat their core members without killing them, then absorb their organization into ours."

Alexia was about to nod when she almost jumped out of her skin due to Medusa appearing near her.

"Sorry. You'll get used to it." shrugged Medusa.

The spar with Scathach stopped and they walked closer. Sakura and Rin were panting, and they nodded gratefully at Medusa for the interruption.

"How was it, Medusa?" asked Rin.

"Renu, whose usual name is Nu as we expected, reported to seven young women corresponding to Chisato's description of the Seven Shadows, and Nu referred to two of them with the names Alpha and Gamma. Shadow himself wasn't present. Alpha felt my presence in my dematerialized state when I stood four meters from her, although she wasn't positive and assumed her senses were wrong when I stepped back."

This caused Sakura and Rin to nod grimly. The ability to detect even something as faint as a dematerialized Heroic Spirit was somewhat correlated with one's own power and perception, and sensing one at a distance of four or five meters would put Alpha in about the same bracket as Sakura.

"As we suspected, they are the ones who extracted Zenon to interrogate him. They know that a woman speaking another language was summoned, that Chisato can talk to her and possesses an advanced gun, and that there was an Afflicted held captive beside Alexia. They assume she has been killed, either by us or by the guards who came later. And they know that we are doing some atypical training after classes with Princess Alexia, Princess Iris, and the two guards."

"They decided to wait and see for now, and for Nu to keep acting friendly with us. They do not see us as hostile to them at this point, but we have their interest, and your relationship with Claire made them hold off for now on the idea of capturing one of you for interrogation."

"We'll need to accelerate our training further." nodded Sakura. "Alexia, do you still wish to join Valhalla? This is your last chance to decline."

"I want to join. What do I need to do?" asked Alexia.

"Follow me outside. We can't do the next step inside the Sanctuary whenever we use its time compression."

Alexia nodded, and she and Sakura found themselves in Sakura's room, in the dorm.

Alexia saw her take from wherever she stored things that small black tablet she called a phone, and its surface lit up. She touched it a few times with a finger and pressed it against her ear, smiling at Alexia.

"Hello, Senpai. I hope you are well… Yes, me too… Please activate the video, I wish to introduce you to someone."

Sakura nodded and turned the lit surface to Alexia, and the Princess's eyebrows rose as she stared at the moving picture of a purple-eyed woman with long black hair in a ponytail, dressed in a black and gold military uniform Alexia couldn't identify.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." smiled the woman as she seemed to stare into Alexia's eyes. "I am Akeno Himejima, Valhalla's vice-leader."

"Likewise." nodded Alexia. "I am Alexia Midgar, second princess of the Midgar Kingdom."

"Senpai, as I told you before, Alexia wishes to join Valhalla. Can you please help her establish a contract and allow her to learn our abilities."

"Ufufu, I see." smiled Akeno. "Princess Alexia, I am going to make a few declarations. At the end of each of them, I need for you to respond with 'I consent' or 'I agree'. This holds the weight of an unbreakable promise, so you must have the will to follow through. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm aware that the training might become hard and that I must keep it a secret." nodded Alexia.

"Let us start, then." nodded Akeno before adopting a formal tone. "Princess Alexia, with this verbal contract, you agree to join our organization, Valhalla, and follow the orders of our leader, Noah Enfield."

"I consent." nodded Alexia, not thinking for a second that the orders in questions might go well beyond fighting underground organizations.

"You agree to undergo the training necessary to acquire the abilities exclusive to Valhalla, without disclosing any of its particulars to outsiders, and see it through its end no matter how difficult the training will be."

"I consent." nodded Alexia again.

"You agree to use the powers you will gain responsibly, not using them in ways that would harm large numbers of innocent people. Although you are not prohibited from taking actions to punish acts of disrespect or evil deeds committed in front of you. On the contrary, action is expected."

"I consent."

Akeno nodded, and Alexia felt something like a shiver spread across her whole body for an instant.

"Alright, this is done! Welcome to the family, Alexia. I look forward to meeting you in person."

"Thank you… Is that really all?" blinked Alexia.

"What we just did was the easy part. The hard part is the training I mentioned. But I trust Sakura. She's a good trainer. She has plenty of experience by now."

"Thank you, Senpai." nodded Sakura. "We have to rush things a bit, but I will make sure Alexia's training is done perfectly."

"Is my cute Kouhai in a rush? Are you in a difficult position over there?"

"Senpai, Chisato and Takina were able to tell us about the local situation. We will soon have to subdue and assimilate an elite underground organization of about seven hundred members!"

"Seven hundred? I want to be there when Olga-Marie hears about that!" chuckled Akeno.

"Yes. But their core members are strong. And their leader is a monster who might be comparable to Okita in terms of sword skills and speed, and have enough magic power to create multi-kiloton-range explosions to boot!"

"…Oh." said Akeno, her expression suddenly serious.

"That's why we requested for Scathach and Okita to come to help us train. And they might be involved in the fight against him."

"I see. Well, I trust you girls to know what you are doing."

"How are things on your side, Senpai?" asked Sakura.

"We're almost done shoring up the Federacy's defenses to an acceptable level and finding pilots for our ground forces. And there's this irritating Republic filled with silver-eyed, silver-haired people who believe that anyone with a different eye or hair color belongs to the 'inferior race' and must be treated as livestock, only good to be sent against a sentient swarm of autonomous war machines to die as cannon fodder."

"We've been asked to invade that country and make those responsible for the discrimination pay for their crimes, while not leaving the Republic defenseless against the Legion. There's a certain woman of the 'superior race' who called my friends, I quote, 'feebleminded, slothful degenerates'. And I really, really want to get my hands on her."

"I see." said Sakura with a cold smile. "I do not think she will enjoy this nearly as much as you will, Senpai."

"I do not think she will either." chuckled Akeno. "Anyway, I wish you luck, Sakura, Alexia. Call me again at any time if you need another contract established."

"Yes, thank you, Senpai. I probably will very soon, as we already have several volunteers."

"Glad to hear it. Oh, Frederica-chan is here. Good luck!"

"Bye, Senpai." nodded Sakura as she made the phone turn black again and put it away.

"There's a few words I just heard that I do not understand." frowned Alexia. "Senpai? Kouhai?"

"Those are terms that describe seniority in Japan." smiled Sakura. "For example, since you are a second-year in the Academy, and I just joined, I could call you Senpai, and you would call me Kouhai. Like Senior and Junior."

"I see. Next, Akeno mentioned pilots for her ground forces. What is a pilot, and what does she mean by ground forces?"

"Pilot is another name for driver. Over there, they fight not with swords, but with four or six-legged steel machines armed with giant, improved versions of your muskets. And you saw the metallic wall behind Akeno. She is inside a flying warship, hence the mention of ground forces. She meant the forces who will fight on the ground, but will be ferried around by the warship."

"A flying warship? How does it fly? How fast can it go?" as she tried to picture a flying galleon, maybe one having huge hot air balloons instead of sails.

"I'm not sure how fast, I never asked. I uses some very advanced technologies that I do not understand, and one of them is a way to produce gravity, but going upward. Noah named it the Finality, because it is so large and powerful that its mere existence is meant to bring an end to any conflict. Upon seeing it, the enemy will either give up and negotiate for peace, or be annihilated. You'll get to see it one day."

"What do you mean, I'll get to see it? Are you going to bring it to Midgar?" asked Alexia, wondering if it was a threat.

"No. I mean that you will be able to travel a lot as a member of Valhalla, and you will surely visit it at some point, even if simply by curiosity."

"Alright. Please refrain from making ambiguous statements like this. And the last thing, you said, multi-ki… what was it already?"

"A very rough unit of measurement to describe the size of an explosion." smiled Sakura. "When I said multi-kilotons-range, I meant that this guy might be able to create craters with a radius of… about two or three hundred meters." Sakura chuckled as Alexia's eyes widened. "Which is why we really, really do not want to have to fight him inside the capital."

"Yes, that should be avoided at all costs." faintly said Alexia, aghast at the idea. "…Say, Sakura. What is your relationship with Akeno? It felt like you two are very close."

"I certainly hope so!" chuckled Sakura. "I love Senpai very much... I owe her everything."

"Everything?"

"…Are you willing to hear a rather dark story? So far, we have shown you the good, honest side of Magecraft. But Magecraft is a domain with a very wide range of applications, and evil people can do some truly depraved things using it."

"Yes. Rather, I think that I must hear it." nodded Alexia.

"…When I was six, I was taken from my family and placed into another. And the first thing my new grandfather did was strip me naked and lock me in the basement, in the worm room, for three days."

"Worm room?!" exclaimed Alexia. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Yes. And the name was fitting." nodded Sakura. "Thousands upon thousands of worms and other grotesque insects-like creatures, magically created by Magecraft, crawled out of holes in the walls, so many that the floor was covered by several layers of them. Those worms were created to bring out a person's magic potential and amplify it, although at the cost of physical pain and decreased lifespan. It is because of those worms that my brown hair turned purple."

"The strongest of them invaded my body and made it their new nest. After I reached puberty, my stepbrother started raping me. My Grandfather approved. He wanted my mind to break completely. And for a long time, that is what he got. I became like a living doll, only going through the motions day after day, with no hope that my situation might improve."

"How terrible… Why did they do this to you?"

"My grandfather intended to turn my body is his next flesh suit by transferring his consciousness into the biggest worm. That is how he survived for over five centuries, stealing someone's body every few decades."

"But, mere days before he intended to do the transfer, Senpai saved me. She killed him, purged all the worms from my body and healed the damage they had done, fixed my lifespan, and then restored my confidence and self-esteem by making love to me until I found myself desirable again. She treated me both as her little sister and her disciple, and trained me so I could gain those exclusive abilities."

"I…" gulped Alexia, feeling her throat tighten. She thought little could faze her, but Sakura's tale made her slightly queasy. "I do not know what to say, Sakura… What you experienced... Are you okay now?"

"I am." nodded Sakura. "Senpai told me she likes the color of my hair. I don't even have nightmares about the worms anymore. I did not let what I endured define who I am today. Well, aside from my anger with anyone who mistreats innocent girls, as you may have noticed."

"You won't hear me complain about that." nodded Alexia. "I'm glad you're doing so well... What happened to your stepbrother? Has he paid for his crimes?"

"Not yet. After I joined Valhalla, I became too busy to deal with him. But next time I return home, I will hunt him down and end him." shrugged Sakura. "But enough said about these gloomy things. Let's return inside and start your training, Alexia. It's going to be fun."

"Fun?" asked Alexia as they returned back inside, and Sakura took her hand, leading her towards the large house in the middle. "Didn't you and Akeno imply that it was going to be hard?"

"Well, it's going to be hard for you, at least during the first few days." nodded Sakura. "But this kind of training is like coffee. You hate it at first, then it grows on you."

"If you say so." nodded Alexia as they climbed the stairs, and Sakura led her into a large bedroom.

"Your training starts now, Alexia." nodded Sakura as she released her hand. "From now on, and until I decide to pause it, you must follow all of my instructions."

"Okay, but why a bedroom?"

"Chisato and Takina are already busy in the basement training Emi and Kanna. They decided to get it out of the way first, then establish a contract with Akeno once they're done. The end result is the same. Get naked, Alexia. I have a training outfit for you to wear."

"Ah?" asked Alexia, her surprise turning to confusion as her hands started moving on their own. "What, why are my hands…?"

"It is due to the contract you just agreed to, Alexia. You have to follow my instructions, and if you hesitate or resist, your body will do it for you. Trust me, it will feel more tolerable if you act willingly."

Alexia struggled for a few seconds, then resigned herself to it. The instant she did, her hands fell down to her side, and she could move them again.

"I didn't know the contract could compel me this way!"

"That is why we do not have to worry about traitors, or members of our family misusing their powers in a catastrophic way. You are going to become quite strong soon, Alexia, so some kind of safeguard is necessary." nodded Sakura.

"Do I have to lose the undergarments as well?" hopefully asked Alexia, but her expression fell when Sakura nodded.

"What kind of training requires me to be completely naked?"

"The garment I am going to make you wear is the very definition of skintight, and it is more pleasant when there is nothing to interfere with contact between it and the skin."

"Skintight? Isn't that going to make me look like a pervert?" asked Alexia as she regretfully pulled down her panties.

"We're used to seeing people in those, and I won't parade you in public while you wear it. We're not going to think any less of you." smiled Sakura.

Alexia removed her bra and glared at Sakura while using her hands to cover herself.

Sakura nodded, and mana gathered between her hands Item Creation. Alexia frowned as she saw the result, pristine white and shimmering.

"Isn't this thing way too small? And what is it made off?"

"It is made of something called latex, a material normally made from the processed sap of a specific tree. I used an ability you will soon obtain to make this bodysuit out of artificial latex, shinier, more resilient. It can stretch up to eight times its original size before it risks tearing, and thanks to this property, you will be able to enter through the neck hole. Sit on the bed and lift your right foot, I'll help you put it on.

Alexia gulped as she did as instructed, and Sakura put her foot into the garment. It was cool to the touch and felt very thin.

With practiced gestures, Sakura stretched the material higher on her leg, and she felt the latex tightly gripping her leg.

"Left foot, please." smiled Sakura, and Alexia had no choice but to obey.

"It feels so tight."

"Yes. Do you like it?"

"I don't know. It's a strange feeling."

"You will like it soon. As I said, it's an acquired taste. Stand up, please."

Sakura kept stretching the latex, a few more centimeters each time, and Alexia felt the white garment swallow her legs, then her hips. When the neck hole was stretched around her waist, Sakura paused and rubbed her legs to work the creases out. When she was satisfied, she resumed her work.

"How is wearing this thing going to help? Does it have good mana conductivity?" asked Alexia when Sakura made her insert an arm into the garment, and the latex snapped around her arm when she lifted it.

"You'll understand soon." smiled Sakura. "The other arm now, we're almost done with the suit.

Alexia frowned further in confusion, trying to make things make sense as she pushed her other arm inside, lifted it, and the elastic suit snapped in place, the hole closing around her neck. She felt the bodysuit move a little, adjusting itself to a better fit.

"I feel like an overstuffed sausage. It is squeezing me from all directions." complained Alexia.

"Yes. And you look great in it." grinned Sakura as more items appeared between her hands. It was a pair of thin white mittens made of supple leather.

"Show me your hands, Alexia." said Sakura, and Alexia had no choice but to obey. Soon, she couldn't separate her fingers, and the mittens were secured by white leather straps around her wrists.

When she was done, Sakura made short, wide sleeves made of white leather, with laces and two white leather straps to the side. Alexia couldn't figure out their function, until Sakura instructed her to fold her arms to have the mittens rest against her shoulders, and Sakura secured them in place with the sleeves.

As Sakura put them on her, tightening the laces and securing the straps, Alexia noticed the areas around the elbows were padded and got a bad feeling from this.

"You're tying me up in this strange position. How is that going to help me train?"

"That's because the way to gain those abilities isn't done by conventional training." said Sakura as she made two more sleeves, wider ones this time, and Alexia guessed her legs were about to meet the same fate as her arms.

"They are abilities that Noah can and will grant to those who are loyal to him. You agreed to follow his orders, and that's a good first step, but far from enough. You must desire to serve him for the loyalty threshold to be reached. In short, you must learn to enjoy the idea of submitting to him. That is what this training is about."

"A training for perverts?" blurted out Alexia, paling.

"That's a way to see it." shrugged Sakura as she laced up the last of the sleeves around her folded right leg and fastened the straps.

"Now, there are many ways to reach that threshold in submissiveness. I could train you into a masochist, for example, mixing sexual pleasure with pain until you come to see pain as a spice to reach greater pleasure, and see submission to Noah as a pleasant and thrilling thing. But I am choosing the softest method with you, Alexia."

"I am going to train you as a pet cat!"

"A pet cat?!" exclaimed Alexia, unable to believe her ears.

She had been swindled!

"Yes. It's really the gentlest way. It's the one I used to train Rin, by the way. I'll even refrain from adding the tail plug today, because your first day is going to be hard enough already. Ah, here's your collar, my pet."

Sakura brought a red leather collar to Alexia's throat and fastened it. Then, she put a hairband with white cat ears on her head, and forced the bound Alexia into her lap.

"Untie me, Sakura!" protested Alexia as she struggled, but Sakura held firm.

"Alexia, while your training is underway, you will refer to me as Mistress, and do not say another word until I allow you to. Just try to relax and enjoy your Mistress's attentions, my cute pet."

Alexia, having received the order to relax, instantly went limp and couldn't speak anymore. She was powerless as Sakura's hands roamed all over her body, massaging her through the latex.

And after a few minutes, her eyes widened in sheer disbelief as she realized that Sakura's touch was actually turning her on!

"See? Once you get past the embarrassment, this kind of training isn't so bad, right?" grinned Sakura as she gently pinched Alexia's hardening nipples. "I am going to keep pampering you until you accept me as your Mistress, and from that point, it will only be a short mental step before you see Noah as your Master as well. When you do, you will fall unconscious for half an hour, and when you wake up, you will be able to use many of his abilities skillfully as if you had them for years."

"Ugh." moaned Alexia in humiliation. It seemed like she could make some noise, at least.

…

Darkness looked around, slightly puzzled as she examined her surroundings. She recognized her room in Chaldea, but she had no memories of returning. Her last memories were of falling asleep. But it felt a little too real to be a dream.

"Hi, Darkness." said a voice she recognized, and Darkness smiled as she saw Noah standing close, smiling.

"Noah? So it must be a dream."

"Yes and no." replied Noah, looking around with interest before walking to her desk. "This is your Soul Space. I just managed to get a very nice reward after fulfilling a quest, and I got an upgrade related to both Soul Magic and the Soul Contracts. Your body is asleep, but this, is not a dream."

"Is that some new way to communicate, then?" asked Darkness, but her eyes widened as she saw the items Noah was placing on the desk. several bundles of red rope, a red ball gag that looked unreasonably huge, and a black leather collar.

"Yes, it is a new way to communicate, my slave." grinned Noah as he saw her expression. "A way that is not limited to words. And from now on, we will meet here every, single, time you fall asleep. And I do remember telling you once before that I would bind you into a pretzel before teasing you and flogging you for hours. What I have in mind right now is slightly different, but I do not think you will have anything to complain about."

Darkness's heart fell like bursting in happiness. She would get to be tormented mercilessly, every single night? For eternity? But…

"What about the others?" hesitated Darkness "Wouldn't it be selfish of me to monopolize you every night?"

Noah smiled and walked to her before hugging her tightly and kissing her.

It was her first kiss with a man, and it felt great. She hugged him back tightly and wanted it to last forever.

"I appreciate that you're thinking about sharing, Darkness." smiled Noah when he finally pulled back. "But you do not need to worry about it. This Noah before you is a small shard of me, and everyone who signed a soul contract with me has another shard. When I fall asleep, the shards will synchronize with me, so I will know whatever happened inside your Soul Space."

"And now, I am going to strip you." smiled Noah, reaching for the fastenings of her breastplate.

"That is so great, Master!" exclaimed Darkness with a dopey expression.

"You can thank Lilith later. She is the one who decided to provide me with this convenient way to be with everyone, despite how large my harem has become."

"I will." nodded Darkness with a fierce nod. She really felt fortunate to have surrendered to Akeno back then.

Noah removed her metal armor, but decided to let her keep her black under armor bodysuit. Instead, he poked it with his index between her chest, and the black material gradually turned from mate to shiny.

"And there are two interesting features of the Soul Space, my slave." mused Noah as Darkness stared at the spreading change in wonder, feeling the suit grow tighter as well. "The first is that time can be extended there. We could spend several days in this place while you only sleep for a night in the real world."

"Please do!" breathed Darkness.

Things kept getting better and better!

"Not tonight." denied Noah, shaking his head. "I'm going to be overwhelmed when thousands of shards transmit to me their memories. It will be like having my first meeting with countless girls. We'll wait to see how I manage that before we try extending the time."

"I understand, Master. Please quickly tie me up, so we can make the most of those few hours!"

Noah chuckled and walked to the desk, taking the first bundle of red rope and uncoiling it.

"And the second thing, my slave, is that your Soul Space shares some common traits with dreams. It is possible here to do thing that are impossible in the real world, like what I did without your bodysuit. Or like, this…"

Noah grinned, and suddenly, there were three Noah standing in front of her, and Darkness's eyes bulged as an idea came to her mind.

Two of them disappeared, and he chuckled.

"I will keep the gang-rape experience for another night, though. It wouldn't be good to go all-out and do everything right away."

Noah took her left wrist and brought it behind her, up between her shoulder blades. He did the same with her right wrist, and bound them together with four coils of rope before stating to weave a rope harness around her torso.

"The first time I experimented with someone else's soul Space, Akeno got to experience being restrained by slimy tentacles and being played with."

"I want to try that!" shouted Darkness, already panting with lust.

"You will, one other night." nodded Noah.

"How about, a minotaur?" asked Darkness with swooning eyes.

"Eh, no. Nothing that would be too distinctly male. That would feel like I'm letting someone else get his hands on my belonging. And I won't have that."

Having run out of rope, he extended his hand toward the desk without looking at it, and Darkness saw another bundle of rope take off and fly to his hand.

"I could have you trussed up with a mere thought, but where is the fun with that?" chuckled Noah as the bundle uncoiled itself, and he resumed binding her, making it tight.

Soon, her arms were completely immobilized in a near reverse-prayer posture, her heavy breasts surrounded with red rope, the layer of black latex straining to contain them.

Noah examined her with a nod, satisfied with her appearance, then took the huge red ball gag. Darkness opened her mouth wide, but it still took Noah some effort inserting the gang, and he pulled tight on the straps before fastening them closed.

"Yes, I figured you would like it tight." grinned Noah as he saw her melting expression. "Spread your legs, slave." commanded Noah, and Darkness did. Her eyebrows shot up as a wooden contraption appeared between her leg, and started rising.

"Mmpheph!" exclaimed Darkness in anticipation as she recognized it, a staple of torture chambers, but something that she hadn't had the opportunity to try yet.

It was a triangular wooden horse. Its upper edge was blunt and rounded, but Darkness didn't doubt that when her whole body weight pressed on it, it would be extremely uncomfortable!

And Noah bound lengths of rope to the horse's four feet before connecting them to her own ankles, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to move much to try to relive the pain and would remain stable no matter how much she squirmed.

The wooden horse kept rising until her own feet were off the ground, and Darkness felt like cumming as the unrelenting pressure on her crotch became slightly painful.

When she looked back at Noah, he had a long whip in hand.

"I am going to give you a good whipping, Darkness. Also, the ropes are going to contract a bit over time, becoming tighter around your arms and torso, and pulling down on your ankles."

That was it, his cruel words pushed her over the edge.

"Mphoahp!" groaned darkness as she came hard.

Noah smiled at her as she recovered and added a black leather collar to her bonds.

"As I said, I am going to whip you. Every five strikes, I will pause. When I do, Darkness, I want you to grunt. Grunt once if I am being too harsh, and I will lower the wooden horse a bit and go easier on you. Grunt twice if you are fine with it. Grunt three times if you want me to put more strength into the whip."

Darkness, looking at him with hot eyes, immediately grunted three times, and Noah laughed as he took position behind her.

"As expected of my perverted, masochistic slave. You're supposed to get a taste before you ask for more."

Darkness turned her head as much as she could to see him from the corner of her eye, and saw his arm move, and the whip lash at her.

With a sharp crack, it landed on her left butt cheek, and Darkness moaned in ecstasy.

…

Alexia felt relief as she saw herself in her own dorm room and wearing the school's academy uniform, not this perverted, clingy outfit Sakura forced her to wear. Then sighed as she realized that she was only dreaming, and that more molestation awaited her once she woke up.

"Hi there." said a man's voice, and she turned, seeing a young man sitting on the sofa, a gentle smile on his face. He wore simple black pants and a white shirt, and he was incredibly handsome. One she thought she had seen once before. It took her a second to place him.

Chisato had shown a picture of him, on her phone.

"You're Noah, Valhalla's leader!" exclaimed Alexia, pointing a finger at him.

"That's right." nodded Noah. "And, although we never met before, I assume you are Princess Alexia. I think I recognize you."

"I am. Why am I dreaming of you?"

"This isn't a dream. Did you sign a Soul Contract with Akeno recently?"

"No. We had a verbal agreement. I didn't sign anything, but it seems I'm stuck regardless."

"Yes, verbal contracts are just as valid. When you made that agreement with Akeno, a tiny fragment of my soul entered yours. Thanks to it and a special ability I just acquired, I can appear in your dreams, and the memories of what happens in there will be transmitted to me later."

"I don't want this!" retorted Alexia. "What Sakura is doing to me is already bad enough, treating me like a damn cat and making me wear this accursed latex suit! Are you going to mess with me in my dreams as well?"

Noah remained silent for a few seconds before sighing.

"I assume she just started your training, then, if you feel so reluctant about it."

"Yes." nodded Alexia.

"Remind me to ask her to take a picture of you in this cat outfit and send it to me, I'm sure you look cute wearing that." nodded Noah.

Alexia drew her sword and tried to stab him, but the sword's blade became limp as a wet noodle before reaching him, then disappeared from her hand.

"Violence against me won't work. Not in this place, where I can control almost everything." said Noah with a shake of his head. "And I'll have my shard in Sakura's soul ask her within a few days... Let's make a deal, Alexia. If you calm down and sit beside me, and we talk like adults, I promise I won't touch you tonight, and I will show you a few things about your world, things that you will find useful down the line."

Alexia thought about it for a moment. She realized that due to the agreement with Akeno, if Noah gave her a direct order, she would be unable to refuse it. If she agreed to his deal, he probably wouldn't do anything lewd right away, and any information was more useful than none.

"Fine." relented Alexia.

She sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

"Thank you." nodded Noah. "I know what Sakura must be doing to you is hard to accept, but I see it as necessary. You may be a good person overall now, but there's no telling if that will still be the case ten thousand or a hundred thousand years from now, which is why I need all my girls to be very loyal to me."

Alexia tilted her head in confusion. "What nonsense are you blabbering about? I'll be long dead a thousand years from now."

"…Did none of the girls tell you that one of the perks I share with them is immortality?"

Alexia blinked in surprise.

"…They didn't. Are they really immortal?"

"They are." nodded Noah. He gestured toward a wall of her room, and suddenly, there was on it a giant version of the smartphone Sakura and Chisato possessed.

"Alexia, I am going to show you some of the memories I have from your world, memories covering both the past and a future that would have happened, if not for my girls entering your world and causing that future to take another direction. It's going to be a bit fragmented, I'm afraid, but I will try to keep things in a chronological order."

The black surface lit itself up, showing her small bits centered around the life of a young boy, in a city very different from what she was familiar with. A city full of metal carriages not needing horses to move. The boy seemed obsessed with the idea of becoming a shadowy figure like those found in some fictional stories, helping heroes fight villains while hiding in the background, and he started to train himself like a madman to become one in the real world.

"You said those are memories from my world? It looks more like Chisato's description of Japan."

"It is Japan, but it is relevant." nodded Noah. "Just wait a little bit."

Alexia frowned as she kept watching the boy become obsessed, training and training in secret and reaching the limits of the human body in a world without magic. Then, she saw him try to learn magic to exceed those limits, and failing, again and again. His obsession reached the point where the boy, now the age of a young man, bashed his head repeatedly into a boulder, then, dazed, strayed into the path of a large horseless-carriage and died.

She felt a bit sorry for the madman, his obsession having led to his death.

The scenes continued, this time showing a baby, and Alexia understood from the voice accompanying the scene.

"Is this the same person?"

"Yes. He reincarnated into your world, with his memories intact." said Noah.

"That's so strange. And, isn't that small girl Claire?" asked Alexia, incredulous.

"Yes."

"So he's Claire's little brother."

"Keep watching."

Alexia did, and saw the young boy now using a sword. In front of others, he was a lot worse than Claire. But when alone, he proved to be much stronger.

She saw him leave his family mansion at night to slaughter bandits as the 'Stylish bandit slayer', experiment with magic slime, then find a girl suffering from a severe case of Corruption, and experiment on her. She saw him somehow manage to cure her after a while, restoring her body, then swindle her using a made-up story about hunting down the Cult of Diablos.

"At the time, Cid didn't know the Cult of Diablos actually existed." chuckled Noah. "He thought that this was only a last minute improvisation to setting himself up as the eminence in shadows. It seems that, somewhere, a god has a sense of humor and gave him a nudge."

Alexia nodded, her eyes not leaving the screen, as she saw Cid and the elf girl, who he named Alpha, find and cure other afflicted girls, and form an underground organization. She saw Cid react to Claire's abduction, sending Shadow Garden after the kidnappers, but deliberately avoiding contact with her to hide his identity. Then, the members of Shadow Garden leaving the Kagenou estate for years to keep investigating the cult and growing their influence.

"From what Takina told me after a discussion with Claire, Cid is going to join the Dark Knights academy in a few days." said Noah. "What you are about to see now is from that future that is not going to be."

Alexia nodded, and the display of Noah's 'memories' resumed.

She saw Cid enter the academy, take two idiotic male students named Po Tato and Skel Etal as friends, treating them in reality as props for his background character life, and after losing a stupid bet, confess to Alexia herself, inwardly praising himself for the perfectly average confession. Then being utterly surprised when the Alexia on the screen accepted it.

"Why would I accept? Ah, Zenon!" exclaimed Alexia.

Noah nodded and showed her a memory of telling Cid that he was just a pasty to keep Zenon at bay, bribing him with gold coins, and him playing along.

"That guy is utterly shameless." sighed Alexia.

The next scene showed him being accused by the guards of having kidnapped Alexia, then scenes Alexia herself was all too familiar with, the mad cultist drawing her blood, and Millia in her corrupted state.

Noah showed her scenes of Shadow Garden taking action, of Shadow confronting Zenon, Zenon swallowing some pills to amplify his power, and Shadow unleashing his full power with his 'Atomic' skill, whatever the word meant.

She saw the devastation Shadow left behind, leaving a giant crater in the middle of the city, herself standing on its edge, and Iris finding her, crying tears of relief.

The next scenes, happening some time later, described two plots from the Cult of Shadows to frame Shadow Garden for random murders, and to recover a specific artifact brought to the academy for study. They also planned to kill everyone, staff and students alike, but Cid and the core members of Shadow Garden would step in and defeat them.

Then the screen turned dark.

"Let's stop there for now." said Noah. "I already gave you a lot to process."

"You did… So you're going to fight Shadow Garden, even though their leader is Claire's little brother."

"You have seen how little he cares about collateral damage." shrugged Noah. "He easily could have defeated Zenon without killing thousands of people in the process, but he just had to show off. He needs to be put on a leash."

"…We at least agree on that." sighed Alexia. "How strong are you, compared to him?"

"…That's hard to say." replied Noah after a few seconds. "Cid may very well be significantly stronger than me in terms of raw magic power."

"As far as speed and sword skill, I think we're about comparable. However, I have a few counters and special tricks that would likely be effective. I have collected many strange techniques and abilities over many different worlds, and some are quite hard to counter. Besides, me and my girls grow a little stronger every day, while he has probably reached his peak already. As long as they avoid a direct confrontation for a while, I'm rather confident they will manage to defeat him."

"Are we going to tell Claire?"

"Not at this time, and I forbid you to tell her anything about what I have shown you." replied Noah. "There's no telling how Cid will react if Claire confronts him. At best, he will try to have her join Shadow Garden. At worst, Alpha or one of the others will kidnap Claire or something. Chisato told me they intend to solve the crises the Cult of Diablos will trigger after they start, so they have justification, but before Shadow Garden has time to get involved."

Alexia sighed. She could see his point, even if she didn't like the idea of Claire being treated like a fool all along.

She fell silent for a little while, and Noah seemed content to wait. The images of herself she had seen projected on the screen rang true, even in their most unflattering aspects.

It was uncanny to think that this person she had never seen before already knew so much about her.

"Why did you show all this to me?"

"To break the ice, and give us more productive things to discuss than you being trained in my service." shrugged Noah. "Your fate was sealed the instant you made that verbal contract with Akeno, but I am trying to make things a little easier for you. I think that you knowing what is at stake may help you accept it faster."

"And it makes me angry that you're probably right. You really have me cornered here…" sighed Alexia. "Claire and my sister. Are you going to try to have them make verbal contracts with Akeno as well?"

"They are beautiful and capable, and they have good personalities." nodded Noah. "I'd be a fool to pass on them. And before you start objecting, remember that immortality is part of the package they would receive. Wouldn't you wish for them to have it as well? To be by your side forever?"

He stood and lazily stretched.

"I am leaving it at that for tonight. When I disappear, your consciousness will fall asleep for the rest of the night and you will experience normal sleep."

Alexia nodded.

"Feel free tomorrow to think about questions to ask me next time. Sweet dreams, Alexia." smiled Noah before disappearing.

Alexia saw the large black screen fade into nothingness and wondered if she would find the dorm's hallway if she opened the door of her room. She stood, walked to it and opened it, finding the hallway, no different from the real one. As she started walking to the stairs, however, she found her eyelids quickly growing increasingly heavy, and in mere seconds, she couldn't keep them open anymore.