Welldark

Eventually, we made it to a wide-open, double-sided door. Stepping through came with yet another change in scenery.

We were behind the stained-glass window now. The depiction of the bull glowed from the sunlight that fell through, casting its form on a large assembly of glass cases on both slides of me. All throughout the room, distributed with no particular pattern, sometimes tightly clustered, stood trophies from various worlds. There were mighty weapons, odd statues, and a few locally contained magical phenomena. From my brief observation of everything, my favourite must have been the ball of slime that was endlessly falling into one portal and then emerging from the other. It was doing so at a speed almost too fast to properly track.

At the back of it all, right in front of the window, stood a desk that was almost humble. In form and function, it certainly did not match the gathered glory of the trophies in the room, the rafters of thick wood, or even the dark grey tiles of the floor. Its size was all that seemed to fit with the sheer immensity of this space.

A concession, I believed, that the man sitting behind it had made purely because of his own size. Arustius Taurus was a man over 2,20 metres tall and he was, to use crude but apt language, built like a brick shithouse. With arms like logs and paws like that of a bear, he could have snapped the average sized person in half and continued to write with the other hand. That was the impression I got before I even considered just who he was.

What softened the look of this weather-tanned, middle-aged man was the awkwardly tied bow tie around his left horn. He had never worn anything like it before and his otherwise proper attire led me to believe that there were circumstances other than his personal choice of clothing involved. Something about one of his children or haremettes, most likely. The dark colour of the cloth did compliment the black-tipped white of his smooth, bull-like horns.

Carefully, the headmaster put aside the pencil he held. It was of an above average size, doubtlessly necessary to allow him to handle it with finesse. Even then, his handwriting was limited to signatures. There were two monitors on the left side of the table. The right was kept clear of any larger obstacles, three chairs in front and around it.

“Take a seat, Karitas.” The voice hit me alongside his gaze. Unlike the last time I met him, there was no magical element to the intimidation. It was his sheer physical presence that created a little knot in my stomach. I prided myself on keeping a clear head in most situations and, outwardly, I did. One did not meet a man such as Arustius Taurus under the context of dating his daughter without feeling at least a bit nervous though.

“I will leave you to it,” Derilea announced. In a much warmer tone she added. “You know you can always call me, beloved.”

“I almost certainly will,” Taurus added in a similarly warm tone. He looked after his Queen, while I took a seat. Openly, he was staring, focused intently on something behind me. I could imagine and, in the same situation, would have done the exact same. Patiently, I folded my hands in front of my stomach and waited for the sound of the doors getting pulled shut.

At which point, the dark eyes of the headmaster snapped back to me.

“One day,” he said. “A good time.”

“How long do suitors usually take?”

“Between an hour and never.” Taurus leaned forwards, placing his own folded hands on the table. “The serious ones come quick.”

“I never really considered myself a serious person,” I responded with a little quip. 

Taurus seemed at least somewhat receptive to this kind of banter, blowing air out of his nose in an amused fashion. “Diamond Anomalia?”

“Yes, I do make it pretty obvious, don’t I?”

“The first impression first. Are you never serious?”

“To speak without jest or other amusement, in pure sincerity, I can be serious. I am certainly serious when it comes to my Anomalia. I want that to include Aclysia.”

“Have you had sex with her yet?”

“No… sir,” I added the title only because I somehow felt it was expected.

“Kissed her?”

“No, sir,” I responded a second time. “Would it be a problem if I did?” I inquired.

“It would have told me something about you,” Taurus stated. Without further words, he reached under the table. The distinct sound of a fridge being opened was quickly followed by a small container of ice cubes being placed on the table. Two glasses and a bottle containing a golden, no doubt alcoholic, liquid were next. All of them were combined into half a glass full of whiskey standing in front of me.

Taurus raised his glass. He wasn’t offering. I wasn’t declining. We toasted. I took a nip at first and, upon realizing the headmaster was downing the thing, did the same.

I could taste the oak barrel and the strong alcohol content and wheezed. “Not my liquor of choice,” I confessed and placed the empty glass on the table. The ice cubes clacked together. I had to wonder what the purpose of them was. Who needed ice if we were just going to down it anyway?

Taurus refilled the glasses, answering that question. “We drink that one slowly. Don’t forget to smell before you sip.” he told me, then continued right on with the topic at hand. “Aclysia told me it was on her initiative that she moved in. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” I went back to that mode of talking. Taurus radiated paternal, low-key approval, so I was continuing with the strategy that made me popular. Hesitant, I grabbed the whiskey glass again. It really was not my beverage of choice. It was also placed there with some expectation. I wasn’t sure if Taurus wanted to use the alcohol to loosen my tongue or if he was doing it to be a good host. For all I knew, he himself was uncomfortable with having these kinds of conversations. Could have been all of the above.

“What are your plans for my daughter?”

That was the standard question that men across all ages, worlds, and languages had been asked. There were many answers, few of them truly satisfying, hardly any that balanced briefness and clarity of intent well. I chose to dispense with the former. “I have no specific plans for your daughter,” I said, continuing quickly before the stern gaze could turn annoyed. “I lo- greatly appreciate her maidly disposition. Truly, it is a quality I greatly admire in potential partners, being of a straightforward and demanding mindset myself. It feels like she completes me. However, I do not wish to impose myself too much on her. I think that it was natural compatibility that brought us together, so I didn’t make any specific plans for her. Where the whims will take us will be good enough.”

Taurus grunted enigmatically and initiated another sip from the whiskey. I followed his example, even if it made me shudder. “Acceptable,” he stated. “A daughter of mine, however, is not something I part with easily.”

“I would not dare to assume a precious jewel is bought for cheap. This one, if I may elaborate, I take is acquired not through money but through respect.”

After another sip he shook his head. “She is not acquired at all. In the end, it is their choice who their partner is. What I think of it is only important if she cares.”

“She cares a lot,” I said with certainty. “I think you raised a daughter with a good sense of family – which takes a good family.”

“What about you, Neverborne?”

“I would like to acquire one,” I responded sincerely. “My relationship with my father is… My relationship with my parents was complicated long before I became a Neverborne… but my mother did try to teach me appreciation I learned all too late was wise.” I grabbed the whiskey and took a huge gulp. Then I said nothing else on the matter, for fear the alcohol did succeed in loosening a bit too much. “I would like it if we had your blessing, sir.”

Taurus stared at me for a while. I wasn’t the only one doing social calculus around here. Rather obviously, he was considering whether he could or should push me on my familial situation. More defiantly than before, I stared back. “My blessing comes on two conditions,” he continued with what he had invited me for. “I must believe that you are a good influence on my daughter. That’s what any father would want.” I nodded. “Secondly, I must believe you have the potential to protect her. My name carries weight.”

“I understand fully.”

Taurus emptied the rest of his second glass and I mimicked the motion. “Time will tell me about the first. For now, you strike me as an interesting young man. Everyone has phantoms haunting them. Yours aren’t in control.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“The second, is more direct.” Taurus folded his hands again. “You will have to withstand the full brunt of my presence for a minute.”

I gulped, audibly by accident. Astral Capacity could be projected outwards to intimidate prospective opponents. It was more effective the larger the difference. I had been subjected to his aura both times we had met. The first time he had used it to immediately silence the entirety of the freshmen. The second time, he had done it to force the argument between me and Imrult, the Master of Order, to stop. Neither had been the full brunt of it. One knew such a thing instinctively, like one knew that only a limited amount of water made it out of a faucet.

“The choice of when is yours. You can try as often as you can ready yourself for it,” Taurus eased my mind a little bit. “I do not expect a freshman to accomplish what others have only managed to do in their last year. You can leave now, if you want.” The headmaster began to put away the glasses and whiskey, while I pondered. 

What was my obligation here? De-facto, none. Taurus had already admitted that he was not a tyrannical father, therefore whatever I and his daughter did was ultimately outside of his authority. That only meant that I was bound by decency instead of power. As I certainly had my contrarian streak, that was way more effective. Had he been the overbearing kind of parent, I would have been tempted to revolt against what he wanted just because I could.

First question was whether or not I would even take this demand in full. Having established his decency, I felt that it was my obligation to. That, in turn, created a more pressing issue: how did this affect my timeline? By Esther’s design, Aclysia should join our Anomalia at the end of the semester. That was six weeks from now. Ample time to get to know each other better and for Esther to sort out her scar issue. Not necessarily ample time for me to learn to withstand the pressure of the headmaster.

‘One can only make estimates on what one has attempted,’ I thought to myself and locked eyes with Taurus. The giant of a man was patiently waiting for my response. “I need to try right now.”

“Stand,” Taurus ordered and rose to his feet himself. He guided me halfway back to the door, before stopping. A step’s distance between us, he faced me. Three fingers raised, he gave me a countdown. I took a deep breath, let it out, and braced myself for the inevitable.

It was like one large hammer hit every upwards facing surface on my body at the exact same moment. My knees buckled, my head was forced halfway down, my eyes stared straight ahead, without focusing on anything. Universally constricting pressure made it difficult to draw air into my lungs.

My legs desperately pushed against the supernatural weight on my shoulders. The initial strike was the easiest of it all. I got a first-hand experience of what it felt like to be underneath a hydraulic press. At the same time, it was entirely different. In reality, there was no weight. The heat all around me, the pressure on my lungs, the descending force on my shoulders, all of it was akin to the optical illusions one experienced when putting soft pressure on closed eyes. My senses were capable of noting the presence of Arustius Taurus’ Astral Capacity, and, uncertain what else to do with it, were interpreting it as physical phenomena.

Knowing what the nature was helped my mental state. That only did so much. My physical experience was a teeth-clenching terror that only intensified further with each passing second. All of what I was, was sinking deeper into crushing depths. The ground was getting closer. Then I lost my balance.

The moment my hands touched the ground, the pressure was gone. I snapped for air, as if I had just spent several minutes under the surface. All over, I felt damp. I wiped away the sweat on my forehead and did my best to ignore the iron taste of blood in my mouth. My Astral Body would fix what I had done to my teeth.

All of my muscles felt leaden, as if I had just ran a triathlon. Barely, I managed to get from my hands and knees into a normal sitting position. I shot Taurus a questioning gaze.

“Thirty-five seconds.”

“Felt a whole lot longer,” I confessed and let out a long exhale. Nothing about me should have been actually exhausted. “Is that a good start?”

“Adjusting for you being a freshman, it is the best start anyone has had,” Taurus told me.

I nodded, entirely unsurprised. “I do have a lot of Astral Capacity,” I groaned as I fought my way back to my feet. The primary factor in the intensity of the pressure I felt was the difference in our supernatural power. It followed the same logic as the level of intimidation one felt from larger lifeforms. Someone two centimetres taller created barely any instinctive response, while a five-hundred metre giant would make most people react with instinctive fear.

The alternative way to overcome this was through mastery of oneself. In the end, all of the pressure was not an actual physical thing. If I could achieve the necessary level of self-control, the difference in power would not be as difficult to resist.

Taurus waited for me to say anything. I was tempted to try again. ‘No, that won’t end well,’ I told myself. The well of power within me was depleted, expended in instinctive response to the pressure around me. ‘I won’t be able to try this more than once per day… and I shouldn’t waste the headmaster’s time either.’ “Would it be fine if I returned next weekend?”

“You have the card,” Taurus just stated and pointed me towards the exit.