"Tifa..."
"Cloud..."
The living room was lit up by candles, with Cloud and Tifa sitting on the couch, their lips interlocked. Cloud's tongue brushed against Tifa's tongue. She was resting in his arms on the couch, her breasts pressed against his chest. He could feel her heartbeat and warmth. His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, his hand gripping the flesh of her hips.
His tongue slid across her lips, her mouth opening wider, her soft moans escaping. She pressed closer, deepening their kiss. He broke the kiss slowly, both of them panting, their warm breath mixing in the air. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she panted, her cheeks flushed.
Her eyes went to Aerith, who sat down on Cloud's other side. Cloud leaned towards Aerith, her lips connecting with his. Their lips parted slightly. Aerith moaned against his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her breasts pressing against his chest. Cloud slipped his tongue into Aerith's mouth, slipping it in and out, taking his time. She moved in a slow rhythm, her hips moving as well. Tifa pressed her chest against Cloud's side as her fingers traced along his muscles.
Cloud pulled away from Aerith, meeting Tifa's lips. Aerith's hand moved downward, sliding under the cloth. He shifted his gaze towards the woman with golden hair, who sat near his legs, planting a gentle kiss on his abs, licking it a little, looking up with ruby her ruby eyes.
He pulled his mouth away from Tifa's, her mouth still agape, saliva connecting her tongue with his. His eyes moved downward towards the golden-haired woman, her soft kisses and licks brushing against his skin, her hands slowly trailing down his abs. She pulled his clothes upwards, his rock hard abs exposed to the eyes of these three women.
"Stop it, this is enough," Cloud pushed Eve's head away. He was too hard because of the three, anymore and he would lose all control.
"You have been working so hard," Aerith whispered, "You haven't been absorbing Aura properly."
"Mm, Cloud, let us feed you a little," Tifa pressed her lips against him, clasping his cheeks between her hands. Her tongue explored every inch of his mouth, their kiss deep and heated. Aerith joined in, kissing Cloud's neck and ear as his hand moved up and down her body.
He groaned. Eve pulled his forward, pressing her breasts against the cock trapped inside his pants, moving up and down, nibbling on his abs and chest. He shuddered as both Eve and Aerith teased his body with kisses.
Tifa's lips moved along his neck and jaw, his breaths short and uneven. Cloud pulled away from Tifa, resting his head on the couch back, his eyes closed, taking short breaths, trying to get control over himself. Tifa took the opportunity to press her lips against his collarbone, making Cloud groan and suck his breath in.
His chest heaved as Tifa moved down, kissing the top of his pecs. She planted soft kisses against his chest and abs, and Aerith's gentle kisses tickled his neck, and he couldn't move as Eve moved on his thighs, kissing them.
He felt the heat build up inside him. He rubbed his cock against her boobs, feeling the weight of her breast. The feeling of her skin was wonderful, the softness of her touch making him tremble. Cloud's cock began to pulse in anticipation. Her hands moved to the rim of his pants. She unzipped his pants, her fingers slipping under his boxers.
"Wait, I wanted to talk about something important," Cloud grabbed Eve's wrist. He didn't want to pull her fingers away from his cock. It just felt better, and he didn't want to lose that sensation.
"What is so important," Aerith pouted, tapping on the tip of his cock. Cloud groaned, shuddering as he let the pleasure sink in.
"About that Caravan that Takagi are asking," Cloud breathed out, "where is Arthur?"
"He...is busy with that woman again," Tifa stood up, "I'll call him."
Aerith rested her head on Cloud's shoulder, stroking his arm, watching Tifa leave, "Is this important right now?"
"Before I forget..." Cloud rested his head on hers when Eve sat up on his thigh, stroking his head, running her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes. In this world, there was a war beyond their borders, many Veteran Rank Humans existed. Vanguards existed in Hundreds and they only had a few people on their side.
Despite all that, this was the most peaceful he had ever felt in the last few years of his life. He looked to the side, his gaze falling on Tifa, who sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Arthur walked in the living room, holding a chair in his hand, tied to the neck of the purple-haired woman in the metal collar, her eyes covered by the blindfold.
"Hey," Arthur grinned.
"Arthur, did you have to bring her," Eve sighed at him. She had spoiled him too much, because of her, he had a thing for mature women now. He was addicted to that particular brand of aura.
"Mother, can you just deal with it," Arthur raised a naked Yuriko by her collar, putting her near Eve, who sighed, touching Yuriko. She sealed Yuriko's hearing.
"I sealed her hearing for now," Eve used her aura to block her hearing. Arthur sat down on the table, letting Yuriko kneel on her hands and knees. He stroked her head, "do we have to do this now?"
"Yeah," Cloud nudged Eve, who stood up, shifting from his lap to Arthur's, giving Cloud some space. He breathed out, "I don't know what to do with this Caravan thing. I understand where they are coming from. To grow further, we need more people, talented with. With more of them, we can gain more DP. With more DP, we can develop the land faster."
"Yeah, yeah," Arthur happily stroked Yuriko's head, stroking her cheek, which she rubbed against his palm, "We certainly need it."
"For that, I placed Alice under Tsunade's care. If it works, it should allow her to have Peak Jonin Rank powers in short time. I placed Demon Embryo in Souichiro and Yuriko, which should take a month or two before granting them some power, allowing them to step into Jonin Ranks," Cloud told them the plan.
"Three Jonin Class. If I can push her a little that would be four," Arthur raised Yuriko's face by her chin, stroking her wet lips. He looked at Eve, "Mother, you'll help?"
"Mm," Eve lovingly kissed his head, "Four Jonin Class should be enough."
"No," Cloud closed his eyes, "that part is what troubles me. Shinra, that ruled my world. I know how they do things, everyone of their tactics, the underhanded methods and everything else. Because of that, I have an idea how the Five Great Villages and rest of the forces participating in war will deal with this. Jonin aren't enough. We need a Kage Rank."
"You know how they will react," Tifa worriedly looked at Cloud, "Jenova Cells..."
"No, they aren't causing trouble. I have never felt in so much control," Cloud murmured. He shook his head, "Anyway. Right now, there are only two Kage Rank in our village. Me and Tsunade."
"That's why..." Cloud paused, "I am thinking about going with the Caravan and leaving day-to-day work to Arthur with Tsunade overseeing it."
"No!" Tifa sat up, surprising him. He scratched his head, looking towards Aerith, who only lowered her eyes with a downcast look.
"You want to leave," Eve watched him with a troubled gaze.
"You have something to say," Cloud had hoped Arthur would support him, being more rational.
"Mm, mm," Arthur nodded, keeping his eyes closed, "You totally should have had sex before dropping this."
"You are useless," Cloud let out an exasperated sigh.
"Cloud," Tifa sharply looked at him, "You can't. It's too dangerous, even for you!"
"That's exactly why," Cloud shook his head, "Without me, they would be annihilated."
"Then can't we wait," Aerith whispered.
"The longer we wait, the slower our growth. Right now, with the war and chaos is the best time to recruit as many humans as possible. For the sake of their newfound peace, they wouldn't ask too many questions like the expanding land. Or if they noticed something suspicious. Once the war stops, and we try to recruit, the nations might give us special focus and find out about what or who we are."
"This is the only opportunity we have to grow without much worry. We need it," Cloud pressed on.
Tifa hugged him from the side, burying her face in his shoulder, "I don't want you to leave."
Cloud remained quiet, enjoying the feel of Tifa's body, her warmth. He grabbed her, resting his cheek on her head, "Sorry..."
Tifa shook her head, hugging him tighter, "I'll become stronger..."
"Hm."
"There is still time before the Caravan is ready to leave," Aerith pressed her hand on his chest, "let's train till then. If we can push you to Inhuman Rank, then we wouldn't have to worry about anything."
"Hm, that's not possible," Arthur interrupted her, getting elbowed by Eve. He held his waist, continuing, "You can't reach Inhuman Rank by stacking aura on top of the other. Oh yeah. Why don't you try asking that Heaven's Mind stuff? Maybe it has a solution?"
"Good idea," Tifa's eyes sparkled, "Cloud?"
"Ugh...it never answers...but fine," Cloud had little expectation, "Heaven's Mind?"
[Inhuman Rank doesn't exist. Hence, it is unreachable for Demons]
"Hm," not only did it answer, "What do you mean it doesn't exist? Clearly there are beings who have reached Inhuman Rank before?"
[Grant me permission to borrow your left hands power for a better explanation.]
"Ok, for a little while," Cloud narrowed his eyes, becoming cautious.
"What is going on," Aerith softly asked when Cloud's left hand started to glow, his gauntlet came off and a hologram appeared in front of their eyes, illusion formed by Jenova's powers.
It was the shape of a human. All five of them could hear the voice, "this is a Phase 1 Demons body. If you peer inside," a round glow appeared in the position of their heart. Then a spiritual body connected to a chain, further bound by multiple chains, "there are a thousand ways to represent how the Curse works. None of the right. What is known is that Phase 1 Unlocks their body. A more accurate way to say it is, they are able to project the strength of their True Body into the temporary one."
"Project the strength," Eve repeated those words, narrowing her eyes. The faceless human hologram representing the Demon's body moved its head, nodding.
"It's creepy," Arthur whispered in Eve's ear. Everyone in the room heard that whisper and Aerith agreed with him. It was...'nothing like a human or a living being...worse than AI that Cloud talked about.'
Heaven's Mind continued, "Precisely because they are projecting the strength that exists in another Dimension, they cannot train it and it is uniform across the Race. Over the years, some beings, through Sheer Willpower, have been able to put a crack on the Door to Phase 2. Instead of opening it. They managed to steal strength from Phase 2 and covert it into Physical Strength, granting them an immense boost in their power. Which in turn reduces Phase 2 Strength."
"In the long run, it causes imbalances in their body. Hence, all but one person who has achieved Ascended Four Ranks have failed to continue growing despite their Will."
"Wait, big brother has also reached Inhuman Rank. Does that mean he has stopped growing?" Eve worriedly asked.
"On the contrary. He is the only person to have achieved Inhuman Rank without using external forces whose growth hasn't stopped."
Tifa breathed out in relief, "that had me worried," she looked towards Cloud, who had the similar relief on his face. After all, Augustus trained them, they had grown very close to him, let alone Tifa was adopted by him.
"That doesn't make sense. Does that mean Father's growth had stopped?" Arthur couldn't believe it was even possible.
"No. Aurelius Aurum is different from the rest of the Demons," Heaven's Mind spoke in that mechanical tone.
"What does that mean? How is he different?" Cloud leaned forward to ask.
"I have never been able to observe him. My current Hypothesis is: King Aurelius Aurum reached Phase 4 and awakened His True Self at a Young Age. Around when he was 6 or 7."
"No way...even for Father that's going too far. It takes Demons hundreds of years. No thousands! Some can't achieve in their whole life. You need understanding. Enlightenment!" Arthur raised his voice in disbelief.
"Yet. He achieved it. It was around that time when Round Table was being constructed. Being too young and too kind to kill his father. He chose to give up all His Powers and Fate and sacrificed it to the creation of Round Table, effectively becoming the Weakest True Demon to ever exist. Since he has His True Body he doesn't need to project strength. He can train it from ground up, becoming the only Demon to ever Truly Reach Inhuman, Dragon and Titan Ranks, and surpassing that."
Cloud, Tifa, Eve and Aerith all remained silent. To hear such a thing about King Aurum was amazing. They all had been trying to crawl to Phase 2 yet here was a being, who as a child reached a Phase far beyond that and abandoned it and regained his powers.
"No, you are wrong! Completely wrong," Arthur raised his hand, causing an Artefact, the Round Table to appear in front of him, "See? If a Phase 4 being used his Power and Fate to create this, then it wouldn't only have the power to share strength between 12 people! While that is a great ability but a Phase 2 Ability can achieve that!"
"That is not what Round Table does," Heaven's Mind replied.
"It doesn't?" Tifa parted her lips in surprise, "we are using. It was utmost help when Cloud was losing control of his powers."
"Yes. It does do that. For Phase 1 Users. It's an Artefact unlike any others because it carries the Fate and Powers of King Aurum. While a kind child, he had the mind and resolve worthy of a King. He left behind a trap in Round Table. If King Uther, whose heart wasn't pure and 11 of His Chosen Nobles had used Round Table without the Heroic Spirit, or in layman's term, one person whose heart wasn't pure, it would kill them from inside out."
Everyone in the room was shocked to hear that.
"That means..."
"Yes. If King Uther didn't make a move on you to create Excalibur. He would have died still," Heaven's Mind closed its eyes.
"Oh..." Arthur plopped back down, dejected, "I didn't realise..."
"You said that it has more powers?" Eve cutely tilted her head, "What exactly does it do?"
"At Phase 1, it allows you to collect physical strength in one place. At Phase 2, it will allow to stack the abilities of 11 in one."
Cloud raised his eyes, "Abilities?"
"Yes. Strength, Uniqueness or Requirements to possess the Abilities doesn't matter. It would erase all the side-effects and allow you to purely share the abilities between the 12 Possessors of the Rings. Phase 3 and 4 are far out of your reach. These two Phases Unlock more of its abilities and at the end of it all? It will allow you to inherit King Aurum's powers when he was 7."
Aerith darted her eyes around from the silence in the room. She clapped her hands, "We really should have had sex before!"
"Ehe," A small laugh escaped Arthur's lips, contagiously spreading to the lips of others.
"There is no time for that," Cloud felt energised.
"Personally, I think we deviated," Eve didn't want the chance to slip, "Cloud is a human. Why would it take away from his Potential to Reach Phase 2?"
"It's because how Demonification works. When humans go through it, their Desires and Obsession are transferred into another Dimension where True Bodies of Demons are where their own Demon bodies are being recreated. Once they reach the end of the Phase 1, all preparations are complete. Once they reach Phase 2, the two existences connect, completing the Demonification process."
"Then isn't going beyond the Phase's limit and achieving Inhuman Rank all the better? If a Demon achieves that, then their True Body will have higher strength than rest of the Demons, and their potential will increase?" Tifa frowned, "Once Human should be able to do that?"
"Yes. It can. It probably has been done before. King Aurum's powers far surpasses rest of the Demons precisely because of this method."
"I am confused. You said it's not possible," Eve tilted her head.
"I informed that it isn't possible for Demons or through hard work, or training immense aura because it doesn't exist. You can't REACH Inhuman Rank. You have to CREATE it."
"Oh," Cloud held his chin, "You can't reach it because there is no path to it. You have to create the path itself. That's why gather Aura won't do. No matter the amount of aura there is. Then how can I create Inhuman Rank of strength?"
"I have no idea how King Aurum reached it. Godslayers have always been difficult to observe even long before they became Godslayers. I do know a solution to your problem. Which is why I deviated from the questions before," Heaven's Mind gestured towards the Round Table, "A Faux Seat. By using the Round Table to create a Temporary Inhuman Rank."
"I thought you couldn't react it by Stacking together?" Arthur raised his brow.
"For that. You should talk to Tsunade Senju," it suggested before disappearing.
"To Tsunade," Cloud's eyes flashed, "She has changed a little. Did you meet her recently?"
"She has Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique," Eve nodded, "I didn't realise it was enough to create Faux Inhuman Rank. We should go see her. Tomorrow, that is. For today..."