The Storm Wolf: Gathering Clouds - 5. Chapter 2 Tower (2/2)

I opened my eyes, taking a moment to stare at the pure white ceiling, trying to calm my thoughts.

So this is how one leaves Tel'aran'rhiod? Was there any reality in the previous dream? I wondered if there was another Snow who shared the same dream as me. If we met in reality, would we even recognize each other?

With that thought, I let out an involuntary sigh, realizing it would probably be unproductive to dwell on it.

So I got out of bed and immediately found the blue capsule in the vacuum tube and swallowed it.

This little adventure was fun, but I'd rather live to see my deployment phase, and I'd like my sleep to be restful.

But if I hadn't entered Tel'aran'rhiod, would that Snow have died there? What was that place, anyway? To him, was it merely the Tower, or was it also a dream world? Could he have been a licensed dreamwalker?

I shook my head, letting go of the urge to overanalyze.

After all, to get answers, I'd have to admit to someone that I'd broken the rule by entering Tel'aran'rhiod without permission.

Stepping into the bathroom, I set the panel, letting the perfectly warm water wash away all the lingering questions. I just needed to focus on easing my slightly sore body.

After drying off, I glanced at myself in the mirror and decided to try untangling my fur a bit, at least smoothing out the knots. But as I touched my left arm, an odd sensation froze me in place--under my fingertips, the fur had been sharply cut off, as if by a clean, slicing blow.

Tracing along the stubbled fur ends, I confirmed it covered roughly half my forearm, matching the area where I'd been struck.

This answered some questions but raised even more.

But, just as I concluded earlier, no matter how curious I was about Tel'aran'rhiod, I'd have to wait to learn more.

During dinner, I ordered a rare ribeye steak to treat myself, specifically choosing the most concealed corner to avoid attracting attention.

"I was wondering where you went, vanishing all day like that," Altai wapiti set his plate across from me and sat down in an easygoing manner. "I didn't break anything, did I?"

"Senpai ..." I stared down at my plate, unable to meet his eyes, feeling my ears pressed against my head beginning to heat up.

"Ah, language skills might be at fault, I guess," Kotetsu senpai teased, and I could only respond with silence, quietly placing the piece of meat I'd just cut into my mouth. "Ever thought about trying venison?"

What?

Startled, I looked up at him, only to start coughing uncontrollably.

"Careful, don't choke," Kotetsu senpai was clearly amused. "You can't swallow that big a piece all at once."

I was pretty sure my head was about to explode, so I buried my face in my paws, silently reciting the ten principles of logic to calm myself down.

"On the flip side, my first tried wolf meat..." he had no intention of sparing me.

"Senpai ..." Uncontrollably, a small whine escaped me, hoping he would stop this topic. I really didn't want to discuss this in a public setting, especially when I was this tired.

"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing," he chuckled, and once I finally calmed down enough, I lowered my paws, meeting his gaze. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I sighed, continuing to cut my steak. "Just a bit sore."

He chuckled again, and I had to believe he was just in a very good mood.

At that moment, I suddenly noticed the way his mouth lifted. Whether it was a red deer, an Altai wapiti, or even more distantly related species, that expression was so similar.

I thought perhaps that meant something.

"I saw your name on the Tower climbing permit list," Altai wapiti swirled a small bunch of clover with his chopsticks, chewing it slowly. "Should I sell off my stock of adamantine?"

"What?" I didn't quite understand what he meant, but I was grateful we were finally back on a normal topic.

"You know your crazy adamantine purchases have caused serious inflation in the Academy, right?" Kotetsu senpai pointed his chopsticks behind me, and I glanced at the other diners in the restaurant, not quite catching his drift.

"What's inflation?" I asked, putting another piece of steak in my mouth.

"Basically, it means you've made life very hard for cadets who aren't exactly wealthy." I raised an eyebrow in confusion at his explanation. "But that's not the point." He waved a hand dismissively, continuing. "What I really want to know is if I should sell off my adamantine and nano drones."

Seeing my bewildered look, Kotetsu senpai sighed and began to explain.

"Now, outside of faction-exclusive trades, practically all the adamantine in the Academy is yours. But now you can go find adamantine on your own. So, there are two main predictions." Senpai pointed his chopsticks at me twice, then picked up a slice of cucumber. "One is that production will go up--your skills are well-known--and your irrational buying will stop, so the price of adamantine is bound to crash." Altai wapiti rolled the remaining clover into a ball, stabbing it a few times. "The other possibility is that you don't plan to sell your adamantine, and production will actually drop because you're no longer acting as a Beacon, creating a monopoly." Senpai finally popped that clover ball into his mouth, chewing with force. "So, I just want to know your plan, so I know what to do with my adamantine and nano drones."

"Oh." I didn't entirely understand his explanation, or how this related to nano drones, but I didn't have enough interest in trade practices to put much thought into it, so I planned to simply give a straightforward answer to end the conversation. "I probably don't plan to sell adamantine. I'll stop when I collect enough."

"Then, why are you hoarding so much of it?" He frowned at me.

"Hmm..." My mouth curled up uncontrollably, not planning to spoil the surprise just yet. "Secret."

Clearly missing my sense of humor, Altai wapiti's frown only deepened.

But I was more comfortable with this than his constant teasing over past incidents, so I didn't bother to explain further.

Afterward, we chatted about ordinary things, including our respective course schedules and plans, discovering that we'd both be taking Gaia History this year.

When we finished dinner, Senpai absentmindedly poked his empty plate with his chopsticks, as if contemplating something. After a while, he seemed to make up his mind, looking up to meet my gaze.

"What are your thoughts on collars?" From his tone, I detected a hint of unease.

Was it my imagination?

"What do you mean?" I was somewhat aware of the situation with Gaia's serf and the big cats on Ares, but I wasn't sure if Kotetsu senpai wanted to discuss politics.

"Well," his large brown eyes uncharacteristically drifted upward, and he scratched the base of his antlers. "Simply put..."

In the time that followed, Kotetsu senpai explained some of the other potential uses for collars.

My ears were still burning, and my tail, tightly curled between my legs, showed no signs of relaxing. My paw occasionally drifted unconsciously to the fur on my neck, but as soon as I noticed, I'd lower it, focusing solely on taking the shortest route back to the dormitory, hoping no one would notice my state.

Perhaps I was too distracted, as I didn't sense anything unusual until the sliding door to my room closed behind me.

Tadao stood in the center of the room, his posture somewhat rigid. The grains of sand scattered in the air pulsed intensely, rapidly converging in the center of red deer's raised right palm. The velocity was creating wind pressure, making light objects in the room sway violently in rhythm with the shimmering patterns of the air.

The sand gathered into Tadao's hand, spinning at a speed too fast for the eye to clearly perceive. Some flashes of light even sparked from the thick mass of sand and dust.

"I can't control it!" Tadao yelled, his gaze fixed on his palm. "Take over the Domination now!" His tone was laced with fear, though I could detect a hint of awe and reverence in his eyes--eyes that hadn't turned red yet, meaning he was still managing.

"You're doing great, just hold it," I said, raising my open palms to my chest and taking a step closer. "Remember when we talked about holding the world in your hand?" I spoke softly, trying to calm the panicked red deer. "This power is you--it's part of you. There's no such thing as losing control."

A dazzling blue-white current shot out from red deer's palm, like a jet from the center of a black hole's accretion disk, striking the metal handrail of the staircase and sparking, filling the air with a sharp, burnt smell.

"Stop with the smooth talk, Richter!" Tadao's left hand gripped his right wrist tightly, the panic in his voice more pronounced, as the dust structure began forming into a sphere. "And how am I supposed to believe it's a part of me and won't go out of control?"

With more items flying about, I considered using my consciousness to shield our belongings from the chaotic wind pressure, but interfering too much might rob Tadao of this chance to truly master Domination, so I decided to risk some property damage.

"This isn't some chicken...uh... vegetable soup for the soul," I stammered, seeing his confused expression. Clearly, he hadn't heard that phrase, but now wasn't the time to clarify. "Everyone loses control--that's normal."

"Is it?" Red deer's doubt was unmistakable in his voice. "I've never seen you fail. Your Domination is always flawless!" I could hear a trace of bitterness in his tone. "Any carnivore could master this ability with ease!"

"True, carnivores generally have a better grasp of Domination than herbivores." More currents shot out, adding ozone to the already burnt smell as they sparked from the now tightly formed sphere. "But the real key is to understand all of this," I pointed to the sphere in Tadao's hand, where the sparse outer sand layer drifted slowly without spinning. It reminded me of an atmosphere encasing a planet. "Embrace it--it's all you, every part."

Amidst the debris swirling and air ringing from heated, fast-expanding electron beams, red deer met my gaze. Within the field, Tadao's consciousness pulsed, reaching out to understand the concept I was trying to convey, like tendrils probing my thoughts.

I noticed a faint redness appear in red deer's brown eyes, likely indicating he was near his limit. After a moment's consideration, I decided to risk offering more direct guidance.

The first step to Dominating everything is to understand oneself.

"You are Haruta Tadao, psychic, a rare true-seer in a century, citizen of the Federation, a red deer, also known as Cervus elaphus," I said in a calm tone, raising my voice slightly to rise above the thudding objects around us. "Everyone is the same, herbivore or carnivore, always walking a tightrope, where any misstep leads to an abyss from which there's no return. It's the price of being a psychic."

"You're not helping!" Tadao shouted, his eyes now fully red.

"And... you're also my first friend here." Trying to convey emotion, I sought a connection we could both resonate with. "Whether you mess up or lose control, that's all part of you!" I couldn't put it more precisely, so I tried embedding my sentiment in my consciousness. "Like countless snowflakes in a blizzard!" I closed my eyes, summoning that image. "No matter how different, strange, or useless any particular flake may be, they all belong to the vast white world." I almost felt the delicate, cold touch of snowflakes in my paws. "So, it's okay." I opened my eyes, locking gazes with Tadao again. "Embrace it all as 'me.' You can be all of this."

Words were so limiting.

I could only hope Tadao would understand what a single snowflake in an endless white truly meant.

But whether he shared my experience or not, the chaotic airflow gradually weakened and finally settled.

A sphere was now calmly rotating in red deer's palm. The markings and icy poles on its surface gave it away.

"Is that Ares?" I asked softly, a natural smile spreading across my lips.

To my surprise, Tadao responded by lunging forward and pulling me into a tight hug.

"I suddenly remembered we've had dinner together so many times," Red deer murmured, making me laugh.

It felt... good.

Tadao released me and took a step back. After glancing again at the sphere in his hand, he dispersed it back into fine sand, guiding it back into the metal bucket in the corner.

"I'm exhausted." He rubbed the back of his head, clearly a bit embarrassed.

"Practice was the only path to perfection," I replied, inspecting the small items scattered on the floor and using my consciousness to put them back.

"Damn, it's so late already." He began tidying up as well and sighed after glancing at his terminal. "I planned to go get my clearance set up tonight."

"Clearance for what?" I felt a memory surface and tilted my head, curious.

"For outside communication access," he replied, sounding puzzled. "I thought you'd already set yours up."

Yes, that was it.

In all Rationalism, how could I forget?

I should've marked it on my calendar with a reminder--why hadn't I?

Frustrated, I pulled out my terminal and checked my calendar, but there was no related entry.

"Did Kotetsu senpai not remind you?" Tadao's tone was cautious, likely trying to avoid the awkwardness of this morning.

"No," I replied curtly.

Rationalism, why would I forget?

"Richter..." Red deer murmured, drawing my gaze toward him. "I...." He seemed torn but, after hesitating a moment, finally spoke. "Did you know that Kotetsu senpai has a military rank?"

"He mentioned it to me once—something about the Naval Academy." Though, it was just that one time.

"The Altai wapiti faction in the navy is notorious for being conservative, especially regarding carnivores," Tadao continued. "Do you know what they call Federation citizens with a 'preference' for carnivores? If word got out that Kotetsu senpai was involved with you, they'd likely make him saw off his own antlers."

"Antlers?" I didn't quite understand the significance of that.

"Yes, antlers." Tadao sighed heavily, clearly frustrated by my lack of understanding, and pointed at his own antlers.

"But aren't antlers something that fall off on their own and grow back each year?" I still remembered the bloody sight of Tadao's antlers when they fell off and how sensitive he'd been during that antler-less period afterward, making me tread carefully to avoid causing another tearful breakdown.

"Yes, they grow back the next year." He rolled his eyes, obviously displeased with my inability to grasp the gravity. "Unless they sear the growth points with a hot iron."

"Oh..." I shivered at the thought.

"For deer species, it's equivalent to castration, but it's visible to everyone," Tadao crossed his arms, rubbing them in discomfort.

"Oh..." The image grew clearer, and I forced myself to think of something else.

"So, it's hard to believe Kotetsu senpai would risk getting involved with you unless he was under some unavoidable command from above." He made some gestures, though I didn't fully understand. "I just wanted you to know the reputation the Altai wapiti has within the Federation."

"Thanks for the warning, but I'm really tired right now," I tried to keep my tone from sounding too cold, but it was a clear failure, and the swelling bitterness in my nose only made things worse. "Anyway, I know now."

Forcing a smile, though I knew it looked more like a baring of fangs, Tadao sighed and gave me a resigned nod.

"Alright, then," he said softly, patting my arm, though all I felt was a stiff sensation. "Goodnight, Richter."

After cleaning up and getting ready for bed, I lay there staring up at the ceiling, my mind tangled in chaotic thoughts.

From the start, Tadao had shown his dislike for Altai wapiti, and Kotetsu senpai had basically confirmed his own group wasn't particularly well-liked either. Who was I supposed to believe?

Antlers, collars, fangs--disconnected images darted through my mind, and I could only force myself not to think about them.

But my restless thoughts refused my quiet plea, relentlessly dragging me down, tossing and turning.

Just as I was about to drown in this silent darkness, I seemed to glimpse a pair of yellow eyes from the depths of the abyss.

Maybe tomorrow, after talking with him, everything will be fine.

In my exhausted haze, I didn't even know where this hopeful notion had come from. But I clung to it like a piece of driftwood, gripping this thought tightly as I drifted, floating aimlessly for far too long, until I sank into an empty, depthless void.