Mali Domain (Part 1) [MATURE]

"It's an SSS+ domain."

At the mention of this, the sounds in the room suddenly stopped. 

"W-what?" Alec stuttered, eyes wide at what the other said. "W-when did it opened? Why are domains suddenly increasing now?"

Gamnique sighed and opened the large intangible screen in front of them. He clicked on it a few times and the screen showed a very massive domain floor that had looks…not so malicious as the first few ones Ian had seen. The door was just a white twenty-foot wooden door. If Ian didn't have any knowledge of domains, he would think this was just a normal domain because it lacked the usual ominous aura. 

In the picture, there are a lot of people already gathering in front of the domain. Gamnique clicked a few more and it showed a live news with a woman in front of the domain. 

"There is a new domain that appeared in Mali again. As of the moment, the techno team stated that it is an SSS+ class domain which is the third time this has ever happened in the country. Authorities had advised all nearby people to evacuate their residence and live at the next city's temporary shelter. The last time an SSS+ class domain appeared in the country was twenty years ago and that took the lives of many defenders and normal people alike."

Ian's breath started to falter at this information. He somehow remembers what happened in the last SSS+ domain when he was little. The pieces of information were bits but all he remembered was that it was pure hell. It was chaotic to the point that even his class A mother had to be deployed near the area. 

"I've contacted all the S+ class defenders in our country, as well as other dependable A+ class…" Gamnique trailed off and with a frown on his face, he continued with: "So far, there are none who responded to it."

"Damn," Alec said and sat down on the sofa again - a little unnerved. Though he trusted his own abilities, Alec wasn't sure if he could handle this one alone. He was still skeptical of the fact that at any moment, the creatures inside the domain may exit the gate and he couldn't do anything about it because he lacked speed. Seeing his state, Ian unconsciously gripped his hand between his own two ones and sat on the floor. He began to guide Alec softly while not letting out a sound. As he was doing this, Ian's eyes were closed so he failed to look at the gazes Alec and Gamnique exchanged between the two of them.

With a sigh, Gamnique said: "It's better to just acknowledge that we are the only two S+ class saviors who are available right now, especially with what happened to Maurice…"

"How is she right now?" Alec asked, thinking about their friend.

See, there remains some bad blood between all S+ saviors in the country. Be it a battle of pride or whatnot - they just deem each other as enemies for no damn reason. However, Gamnique and Alec was a different story, as well as their friendship with Maurice Latre. Maurice was another S+ class savior who was always carefree with her ways so when she tackled a domain by herself with no other support nor backup, she fell victim to what the news outlets call the "savior killer". About two years ago, there was a strong individual who started to target A+ class saviors in the country, with many losing their cores at the battle. Maurice was the first S+ class who was targeted but thankfully, her core remains unbroken. 

"She's doing fine, there are many guides who were deployed in her room but she needed sufficient energy to do so," Gamnique said, now noticing the weird but comforting aura in the room. Gamnique glanced at where Ian was and saw that he was still guiding Alec. Looking at Alec, Gamnique whispered: "What kind of guiding is that?" 

Alec looked at Gamnique confusedly. "What?"

"Why can I feel it too?" Gamnique stated, keeping a low voice. 

Alec bewilderedly asked: "What do you mean?"

Oh yeah. Gamnique forgot that Alec hadn't had much guidance so he couldn't tell what's the difference between this one and the others. Gamnique had shared a lot of guiding sessions with other people and he can tell, it was not like this at all. No guides had ever suddenly changed the aura in the room, like what Ian was doing now. At the moment, Gamnique just wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep because of how comfortable he was feeling - despite what they had just discussed seconds prior. 

"Anyway," Gamnique shrugged it off. "The domain in Mali opened just four hours earlier and I think we should prepare for this one."

Alec nodded. Ian opened his eyes after he was done guiding - it remains a surreal experience to Ian because every time he tried to guide the older man, it was always in the same setting: him being plunged into extreme darkness but then something pulling him back to reality - this time, it was Gamnique's firm voice. 

"It should probably take at least one to two days to complete this one, so take Ian and other A+ class saviors," Gamnique said, slowly sitting on the floor in front of Ian. "May I?" 

"Huh?" Ian asked perplexedly. He looked at Alec and saw that the other just nodded. 

"I'm just going to check on you, especially since you're probably coming with us," Gamnique said, pulling the hem of his formal wear. He brought his hands and placed them on the sides of Ian's face. At the intense stare of the older, Ian slightly blushed and trembled. He blinked a few times but Gamnique was just staring at him directly.

After a few seconds, Gamnique pulled away and stood right back. "We are going to leave later tonight so you're going to have to prepare." He said to the two and with that he swiftly exited the room - leaving behind Alec and Ian. 

"What was that about?" Ian muttered to no one in particular.

He heard the other man chuckle. "Gamnique seemed to like you, I haven't seen him be so attentive to anyone before. Even when I kept breaking my arms when we were younger, he wouldn't even bat an eye in my direction."

Ian didn't know anything to say at that but it's a rather complex feeling. He can feel his heart still beating rather loudly, as well as the blood rushing to his face. 

"You heard the man, you should prepare for our venture tonight - bring extra clothes as well as camping necessities," Alec said. 

"Oh, okay."

When the two said he had to prepare, Ian actually did not know what he meant by that. He gets what the older man meant when he said to prepare for camping necessities because he had heard about domain exploration before which takes days to even complete. If worse comes to worst, domains lock themselves from the outside - preventing further backups so he really needs to prepare to face the worst. However, he was a guide. He does not need or know how to fight against these creatures beyond average human comprehension.

So, he does what he believes is right. Preparing his ass to face the worst. Literally. But here him out, Alec and him discussed earlier that guiding has a higher success rate through intercourse and bodily contact. Essentially, guiding is just a way of emotionally, physically, and mentally connecting with someone in hopes that one will calm the other down. It is technically a form of counseling or talking to your psychiatrist. 

Well, that's what Ian wants to believe as the red on his face continues to grow even redder as he enters a sex shop near his house. What bombarded him as he stepped foot were the mannequin models dressed in harnesses and bondages that were colored a dark shade of brown or black. He forced himself to look down and occasionally scan the title section until he came face to face with the object that he only saw in certain and specific places in the world. 

The circular plastic with a glass tube is looking at him almost menacing. It's probably the most terrifying thing Ian has ever seen before - apart from the monsters that seemingly kept looking more and more human-like. 

He scanned the item and cringed internally. Picture this: a six-foot man dressed in all black with hair falling on his face, buying a rectal douche. He didn't even bother looking at the others - he just grabbed the simplest-looking design, some condoms, and a large bottle of water-based lube. The market for lube is probably going down the drain as time passes by because no one really needs them - they are mainly targetted towards betas. However, the beta population is slowly decreasing as more and more people who are alpha or omegas are coupling to produce the same of their kind. 

The employee on the counter didn't even bother glancing at him - which he was thankful for. He thinks he should not be embarrassed about this because it's fine for people to shop for their sexual needs. But then again, this was his first time shopping for such - see, he had never gotten a chance to be physically intimate with someone because he was busy trying to feed himself as well as pay the small rent fee in his government-subsidized homes.

Now, he is back to his house - clutching the plastic bag filled with foreign things. He quickly locked the door behind him and went straight to his bathroom. He put the plastic on the sink and then locked eyes with himself on the small cracked mirror. He saw that he was red as fuck - not surprising. He was also sweating a lot which made his black shirt stick even weirder on his skin. He quickly hooked his hands on the bottom of his shirt and chucked out of it. He picked up his phone and saw that it was only three in the afternoon. Alec said they would come to pick him up at eight at night to give him time for preparation.

He quickly took a good shower - it's not a shower. It's just a bucket with a random small bucket that he has to bring to his head to act as a shower. He patted himself dry and walked outside the bathroom with just his towel on. He bit his lip as he tried to search for ways to prep himself on his phone. He clicked a site that looked trustworthy without many advertisements and saw the procedure. 

He shakily let out a sigh - this is just for work. He repeated to himself as he plunged the douche into the bucket filled with clean water and - this is really embarrassing. He grabbed the plastic on his sink and washed his hands, sitting on his toilet bowl. He read the article on his phone one last time before setting it near him. 

[Mature Content Removed

"-Ian?" 

What the fuck? Ian's eyes widened. That was Alec. Oh my god. He wiped his fingers hurriedly on the sheets and as he was doing so, his phone lit up and displayed the time: five p.m. Thoughts were racing his mind like: they were supposed to meet at eight, why is he already here?! Oh my god, he heard my moans? How do I look him in the eye now?!

"I - uh, wait a minute!" Ian shouted. Shuffling the bed sheet out of the frame which made all the lube, condoms, and some of his garments drop on the ground. He chucked the sheet to his laundry and haphazardly threw the things inside a box under his bed. He quickly washed his hands in his bathroom and shrugged in a towel.

Panting, he ran to his door and opened the door slightly, his eyes came into contact with a familiar pair and a man who had a knowing grin displayed on his face. For three seconds, no sounds were coming from outside and Ian could feel his heart faltering. 

"W-what are you doing here?" Ian said - trying to cut the dead awkward silence. "I thought we were supposed to meet up at eight?" 

"Well," Alec trailed off, still smiling which made Ian think that he heard what he was doing just seconds ago. And it was no surprise since the older had heightened hearing - I should face this like a man. Ian thinks. "I figure you'll need help on what to pack but I see that you are busy preparing alright."

"What?" Ian blushed again for the nth time this day. He can feel the heat traveling from his cheeks down to his chest. "I- I- uh,"

"It's fine," Alec said going inside the room with no complaints from Ian as he defeatedly let him in. "We are all just men here - nothing to be embarrassed about."

Ian rapidly went to where Alec was standing still and it was in front of his bed foam which he had now realized had a mysterious wet puddle in the middle. 

"Wow," Alec whistled teasingly. "You're really going at it." 

"AH!" Ian shouted at him, acting as a barrier against the older man's gaze on his sheets. "I just knocked something there."

"I'm sure you do," Alec chuckled to himself. "Anyway, let's prepare for the worst and eat something good at Gamnique's house."

So, for the next twenty minutes or so, Alec dictated what and what not to bring to the domain while lecturing him about how to fold clothes correctly. Alec also stated what he should be wearing and now, he was dressed in the familiar white top he loves, as well as the common guiding personnel uniform he always wore when he met with Alec or Gamnique.

The two then drove to Gamnique's house which...was not really a house. It was the penthouse of one of the largest buildings in their city. 

-

"Are you sure we are invited here?" Ian whispered when they were silently going up the elevator floors. Surprisingly, or not, the guards and the main people at the reception easily let them in - possibly from the number of times Alec shows up here unannounced.

"Don't worry," Alec said, now stepping out of the elevator room when it opened to reveal a massive metal door that made the interior of the house completely unseen from the outside. If Ian hadn't known that this was Gamnique's house, he would've thought they were entering a prison or something. "Gamnique doesn't mind."

Alec happily skipped to the door and opened it with ease and immediately, the smell of freshly cooked food wafted Ian's nose once again. One thing that comes to his mind as he trailed shily behind Alec was that - wow, some people really live like this. And now, he can't help but feel embarrassed by the state of his house. 

The ceilings were so tall Ian couldn't help but wonder how those were cleaned. There was a huge glass chandelier in the middle of the large living room and -

"Mal!" Alec shouted happily and ran towards a boy who was...pale. "It's been so long since I've seen you! You're always cooped up in your room!"

Alec pulled away to reveal a boy whose appearance was surprisingly very similar to Gamnique's but in a different way. The boy was probably sixteen or seventeen and one thing that was a prominent feature of the boy was his white long hair that fell to his waist. The boy had a ghastly pale complexion which was a stark contrast to his rather deep set of black eyes. It was what made Ian think that this was Gamnique's relative - the way the two have similar sets of dark eye bags and sharp eyes. He was shorter than the two of them because when Alec hugged him, he was slightly above Alec's elbows. 

"Craig," The boy addressed, rather dull which is also similar to Gamnique. "Please stop touching me."

"Why? You're so cute!" Alec continued to hug the boy who made no effort of pulling away and rather just standing tiredly. "Anyway, Ian, this is Mal! He is Gamnique's little brother." Ah, so he was right. 

"H-Hello, sorry for coming here without notice," Ian waved at him awkwardly.

"Ian Terno, the exclusive guide of this lunatic," Mal said with a slight quirk on his lips. "I admire your bravery."

"Uh- uh, thanks," Ian said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"If you don't mind," Mal said and pushed Alec away who dramatically fell on the floor.

"Mal!" Alec continued to fake sob. The click of a pair of formal black shoes made Ian turn around and see Gamnique walking towards the three of them. 

"I see you already have met my brother," Gamnique said plainly sending a nod to Mal. Mal sighed as he walked up to the grandiose staircase. 

"Where is he going?" Ian asked, eyes still on Mal until he disappeared on sight. 

"You see," Gamnique started, motioning for the three of them to go to another room which Ian believed was the dining area because the smell of the food starting to make his mouth water. "I don't really like to involve my brother in the domain business. So, whenever I get to talk with people regarding the domains, I make him go back to his room."

"Oh," Ian said. He gets it - he's just a little protective of his little brother. 

"Besides, should something happen to me - he's the next in line," Gamnique said, now slipping one of the chairs from the table and motioning for Ian to take a seat on the said chair. 

"Thanks," Ian said shyly. Ian looked and saw that Alec was playfully still standing next to the table. 

With a sigh and maybe against his will, Gamnique pulled another chair in front of Ian at which Alec sat with poise - mimicking a princess at a tea party being treated by her servant. 

"Thank you, good sir," Alec said, patting the shoulders of Gamnique. Who just rolled his eyes quite fondly despite what his actions and words might entail. 

"We can start eating and please eat a lot because the only thing we will be eating at the domain is packed military goods." Gamnique said, now scooping soup into a bowl and handing it to Ian who shily mumbled another 'thank you'.

Ian was about to ask 'why' when Alec beat him to it - seemingly quick to understand that Ian was not completely aware of all the shenanigans.

"It's because those fuckers in the government want the crystals and other rare items inside domains to be clean and useable. Did you know one time I even had to apologize to a whole lot of people at the board just because I accidentally cut a precious stone - which, hello?! I was fighting a monster – is the stone more important than my life?" Alec rambled, hands motioning the air as he spoke.

Gamnique had to interfere once again - like the formal spokesperson of a public figure who wants to protect his image. "Some human food can cause chemical reactions to rare items in the domains, it's why food is generally banned from domains that are B+ and below. However, they let some military-grade food pass if they know defenders will have to stay for a day or two."

Alec playfully rolled his eyes as he stabbed the slab of meat and started chomping on it with force. "This is so good - my compliments to Chef Gamnique," Alec stated.

Trying to think of something to say, Ian states: "Your house is so big."

At that, Ian saw the quick quirk of Gamnique's lips. "Thanks,"

"Is your house this big too, Alec?" Ian asked in amazement and actual wonder. As if working under them entails that he too would soon start living lavishly - maybe he will soon eat good actual food, unlike those instant ramen that can cause issues to his organs.

Alec hummed softly. "No, our houses are actually quite similar."

Ian's eyes widened. "Eh? Why? Don't you work for the government?" Which is true. See, Gamnique's huge technology corporation is part of the private sector. However, his sub-guiding company, where Alec and Ian are both signed in, was still under the government. 

A five-second silence passed and Ian couldn't help but feel like he shouldn't have said anything. 

"Well, yeah," Alec cleared his throat, looking down at his plate so Ian couldn't see his reactions. "I don't want those fuckers money. I, uhm-,"

"What Alec means is that," Gamnique quickly interjected. "He is working towards a different goal - way different than just being rich, isn't that right, Alec?"

Alec nodded with a sigh and then looked up again to send a small grin to Ian. "Yeah, money's not the only reason why I'm taking up harder domains,"

Ian noticed the shift in the mood in the room so he decided to not press the topic further. Clearly, the two of them both share a vulnerable and private story that they still do not dare tell Ian. But then again, it's fine since it's not been that long since they met each other. They still might not trust Ian completely since practically, and compared to the years they shared, he was a stranger. 

The evening dinner went by like that - with talks regarding the possibility of what would happen in the domain and the clinks of the tableware against the plate. Alec and Ian had to sit on the large and soft cushion in Gamnique's huge living room as they waited for Gamnique to get his belongings and change his clothes. 

"Okay," Gamnique authoritatively said, walking out of what Ian presumed to be his room dressed in a rather posh-looking black tracksuit. "Let's get going."

-

The moment they stepped into the domain, they immediately noticed that something was terribly wrong. The place was the complete copy of Mali city. What changed was the fact that the whole city was entirely deserted - with overgrown grass littering almost everywhere and the lack of clean streets. See, Mali was known to be one of the cleanest cities in their country - probably because of the fact that Mali was a city primarily populated by upper-class citizens. 

"What the hell…" Ian heard one of their companions say. Ian does not know the exact number of the people they came with but the gist was that: there are only two S+ class saviors (Gamnique and Alec), ten A+ class saviors, and the guides were almost twenty (including him). 

"Isn't this Mali city?" Another one mumbled and Ian felt a sudden chill in his spine that someone was watching them from afar. He briefly looked at Alec because if someone were looking at them, he was sure that Alec would be the first one to know because of his heightened hearing. 

The large group continued to walk around, with Gamnique leading the front and, Alec and Ian trailing slightly behind him. 

"Do domains now copy the real world?" Alec muttered, still looking around as he stepped on a random trash. He picked it up and saw that it was a poster of a known politician in their world but the date on the back suggests that the poster was created many years into the future. 

"Be careful everyone," Gamnique shouted to the group with his brows furrowed as he looked for a place to stay for a while because he had a feeling they would not complete this domain as quickly as the others. "We still don't have enough information as to what kind of monster the boss in this domain is."

"Are we locked from the outside?" Another one of the guides asked, voice trembling. Now that Ian thinks about it, it was a normal reaction - to be terrified for the unknown. But for some reason, he does not feel afraid now when compared to his past two domains.

"No," Gamnique sharply said. "If worse comes to worst, the officials can forcibly deploy other S+ class saviors here if they notice our health deteriorate rapidly."

Ian unconsciously touched the device attached to his neck. 

With a sigh, Gamnique loudly said: "We can stay in this park for a while, please set up the tents here."

Without complaints, the group began setting up the tents, compact and foldable furniture, and some even began cooking. Unlike the outside of the domain wherein it was night, the domain here was actually in the afternoon. The rays of the sun were still present as they cast shadows on the buildings surrounding them. The park they were in was actually the same as the familiar one in their real world. 

With everyone starting to get busy doing their own thing and Ian trying to offer his help to other which they abruptly shut him down every time, the man now walked to where Gamnique and Alec was talking among themselves. He can distantly see that Alec's ears twitched and then the guy glanced at him. He waved him over and Ian quickly ran towards the two. 

"What were you doing?" Alec said, looking at him directly in the eye. 

"They always declined my help so…I don't know what to do."

Alec laughed. "It's fine. Gamnique and I were just talking about how this domain is fucking weird."

Which is, understandable. Most of the domain they were in was in fact cities but they had some imaginary elements to them - unlike this one which is a complete and direct copy of Mali city. In the last domain they were in, it was a city alright but it was almost devoid of real temperature and sounds. While the sun's heat can be felt here, as well as some chirping of birds everywhere. It was too realistic. 

"This is just between us, but see that police car?" Gamnique pointed at the white vehicle with light blue lines abandoned across them. "That design was supposed to be released next year, as part of the newly created police task force. But why is that in this domain?"

"It's almost like this domain is set in the future," Alec said, voice wondering but it earned a hitch in Gamnique's breath. 

"Don't be ridiculous," Gamnique said but Ian thought he looked like he was wondering about the possibility as well.

Alec suddenly stood up alertly and the two others immediately sensed that something was wrong. 

"What is it?" Gamnique asked Alec tensely - eyes alert as he looked at their surroundings but to his dismay, there was nothing that struck him as odd.

"There are…there a lot coming this way."