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Chapter 28 [Arc II : Becoming the protagonist]

  They soon arrived in front of a small building that looked like one of those old churches you could find in the mountains, with stained gss windows that were dirty, and walls full of cracks. Thomas stopped to look at it. He had imagined a few times what the artifacts would look like, but now that he was here, he was getting nervous. However, a strange feeling was pushing him further, like the one he felt towards the commander, and he knew exactly what to do.

  “We should start the circution before it gets dark. It will be hard to sleep if the cursed monsters get too close.”

  Tari was taking charge, setting up tents and starting a fire. During this time, Tira approached the knight and was talking in a low tone. Simon’s eyes were widening more and more. He finally jumped in surprise and turned to Thomas.

  “You are the Shaman ? And I am a familiar ?”

  Thomas sighed and turned to the building, ignoring him. He really wanted to chase the man away, but he couldn’t. For the sake of the story, for Bael, he had to put up with it. There was this strange feeling again, growing stronger, and it put Thomas in a very bad mood. At this moment, he heard a voice behind him and at the same time he felt a hand on his arm.

  “Master, I am finished with the…”

  Before Tari could finish, the slim man had reacted on instinct and a pink light flew towards the boy projecting him against a nearby tree as dust and leaves were lifted off the ground. Thomas’ breathing was ragged, looking at the purple-haired twin with eyes widened by the fear. He quickly hid his shaky hands in the pocket of his hoodie.

  “I told you not to touch me.”

  Tira ran to his brother to help him up.

  “We are sorry master, Tari just forgot, it isn’t his fault !”

  Thomas took a deep breath but it was hard to calm down. One simple touch on top of his clothes was enough to trigger a whirlwind of hidden memories, from Mariane’s childhood to her teenage years, as well as their assault in Hell, when he had fronted to discover he was kissing one of the princes, and even more recently, his first day in this dimension. Everything was projected in front of his eyes like a movie, but he felt each scene’s sensation as if he was reliving it again.

  “Shaman ? Are you alright ?”

  The commander didn’t take a step forward, but he was looking at Thomas with worried eyes. It was probably the effect of the link between the Shaman and the familiar, but his worry seemed genuine.

  ‘Fuck… Why do his eyes ressemble Bael’s so much ?’

  The affection mixed with curiosity were simir to the king’s when Thomas had first met him in Hell’s academy. It was infuriating, it made him sick, but somehow it was also appeasing in a way.

  He finally succeeded in calming down somewhat, thanking himself for having chosen a baggy outfit that could hide his shaking body, and turned to the twins.

  “You need to respect the rules. Don’t touch me unless I give you permission.”

  “But for the circution, we need…”

  Tira spped his brother to shut his mouth. It wasn’t the time to think practically, their master was really angry. At this point, the commander shyly lifted his hand.

  “Hmm…”

  Everybody’s eyes turned to him. Even if he occupied an important position within the kingdom, with his short stature and delicate features, he looked like a kid being interrogated by a teacher.

  “I don’t know what is happening here, but… I read some history books in the royal library, and it talked about the Shaman and his magic. To gain the power to regute the artifact, you need a ‘circution’, right ? It’s an exchange of fluids so you need to be close to your circution partner. But it doesn’t seem that way ? Is there a problem ?”

  Tira answered with a shy smile.

  “We made a big mistake some time ago and our master is still angry. But we need to repair the artifact as soon as possible, we can’t spend the night that far into the forest with the cursed beasts around…”

  The twin was more tactful than his brother, but in the end he was saying the same thing : Thomas needed to bury his feelings and hurry up. The slim man took a deep breath. If he was going to do that, at the very least he needed to choose the person that would disgust him the least.

  “You.”

  He pointed to the commander, who looked at him with wide eyes.

  “Yes ?”

  “You’re a familiar too. You can help your country, so come with me.”

  And Thomas walked towards the building. The inside was as much of a mess as the outside, with cracks and dust everywhere. Most furniture had already disappeared, leaving barren walls covered in vegetation. In the middle, however, a bright light was illuminating the building. It had the shape of a circle, with strange engravings all over. However, the ball was cracked and the light that might have been pink before, was now a murky gray. The artifact was truly in bad shape.

  “Do we do the circution on that altar ?”

  Simon had followed him inside, touching his blue ponytail shyly. Thomas answered with a nod.

  “I guess so. It’s my first time, but I have a feeling we need to do it that way.”

  The commander stopped.

  “Your first time ? But you are the Shaman !”

  Thomas untied the ribbon that was maintaining his bck hair, letting it flow along his back. He was trying his best to hide his nerves.

  “Think of me as just being reincarnated. I don’t have memories so repairing an artifact is my first time. And that…”

  He pointed to Simon’s bulge, visible under his chestpte.

  “That’s my first time too.”

  The knight reddened vividly, coughing in surprise as he was taken off guard. After he cleared his throat a few times, he looked at Thomas again.

  “So, that’s what exchanging fluids is all about… Won’t it work if we just kiss ?”

  The slim man had done some research on the subject so he could answer with certainty.

  “It is enough for a basic cultivation, but not for repairing an artifact. Anyway, even if it worked, I won’t kiss you. The only person I kiss will forever be Bael.”

  “You have a lover ? Are they a familiar ?”

  “No. He isn’t even in this dimension. I was removed from his side to reincarnate as the Shaman. It’s complicated.”

  For some reason, Thomas felt like he could confide in Simon. Was it because his eyes looked like Bael’s ? Or because he was itching to share his feelings to someone and talk about the king he was missing so much ? Either way, he felt way better after verbalizing what he had on his heart. The commander didn’t judge him either. He simply listened.

  “I see… You are not doing this because you want to, right ?”

  Thomas shook his head.

  “If I remove the curse, I can see him again. It’s the only thing I want, to be with Bael one more time.”

  The slim man turned to the artifact, but Simon caught a glimpse of his face. It was full of deep sorrow, longing, sadeness, and fear. It wasn’t an expression easy to ignore. After taking a deep breath, Simon nodded with a newfound energy.

  “I will help you as much as I can. Everybody should be free to do what they want without being pressured to, as long as it doesn’t cause harm for others. That’s my philosophy as the commander of the knight order. I can’t pass by someone who needs help.”

  He took a step forward, stopping when Thomas flinched.

  “I’m sure you don’t really want to do this, but it’s necessary to see your beloved again, right ? Tell me, what should I do to make you more at ease ?”

  Thomas gritted his teeth. He had been buying time, but he needed to start the circution now. After thinking for a while, he finally answered.

  “Don’t look at me. I think with your back turned it would be easier. Don’t take all your clothes off either.”

  Simon nodded and obeyed, walking in front of Thomas to lean forward, his stomach on the altar, taking off his armor to slightly lower his pants. The slim man furrowed his brows.

  “You look like you have some experience.”

  “Never heard of what happens in the army ?”

  Simon ughed, trying to rex the atmosphere, but Thomas still seemed stiff, looking at the knight’s white buttcheeks in front of him. The commander asked, looking in front of him at the artifact to avoid making the slim man uncomfortable :

  “If it’s your first time, do you need me to loosen myself ?”

  “Yes, please.”

  His Shaman senses were getting crazy, screaming at him to jump on Simon, but Thomas was frozen in terror, looking at the knight taking off his gloves and sliding a hand between his thighs. The more he looked, the more the memories were flooding him, mixing with Bael’s face.

  ‘What am I doing ? What is happening ? Is this real ? Why am I here ?’

  On the outside he looked fine, but inside he was slowly losing his mind.

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