Re:Immortal

Surprisingly, the mood of the banquet was light as both sides slowly but surely began to open up to one another, with a few people moving in closer to the other side.

Soon, laughs and cheers could be heard even from outside of the banquet hall. Omis was surprised at how easily things seemed to have been going. 'Ah shit, I hope I didn't just jinx it.' He thought to himself.

His eyes glanced at Krano who was seemed immersed in talking to Tizzy about something. Omis would have paid attention if not for the flirtatious looks Beri had been shooting him.

'A little bit of flirty never hurt nobody.' He thought to himself as he gave her a slight wink.

Overall, the entire celebration was proceeding beyond expectations. Perhaps it was due to the previous fight that seemed to have brought them a bit closer to each other.

Or maybe it was due to Krano using him as means to remove the competition he had on him, thought Omis as he remembered the 'Hive' members that had attacked him when he left the capital last time.

Whatever it was, Omis was sure things were not as simple and flowery as they seemed on the outside. Trying to take his mind off everything, he brought the cup of wine to his lips and took a large sip feeling the alcohol burning down his throat.

It was then that Krano seemed to have finished his conversation with Tizzy as he turned to look at him. "Mister Omis." He said.

"En?" Setting his cup down on the table, Omis turned his attention to Krano.

"Once again, allow me to formally thank you for your help." He said.

"I did it for my people, more than I did it for you." Answered Omis.

"True that, but still a thank you is due." Nodded Krano.

"While your thank you and this lovely banquet are appreciated mister Krano, I'm afraid that would still not be enough for my people." Said Omis, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes as his expression turned serious while glancing at Krano.

"Ho, and what do you have in mind mister Omis?" Asked Krano as he squinted his eyes.

"I think you already know."

"I'm not sure I do, please do enlighten me." Smiled Krano, yet for some reason, that smile only served to annoy Omis as he frowned.

"A place to stay, their home." He suddenly said in a serious tone.

Stroking his chin seemingly in deep thought, Krano answered. "My people had never looted nor occupied the mountains you left behind since our cultivation methods are vastly different, and after all that happened, I wouldn't stop you from taking those back."

Shaking his head, a slight chuckle escaped Omis's lips before he replied. "What good are a few broken mountains, we'd be lucky if we found a couple of intact ones." He said.

"And what exactly are you suggesting then mister Omis?" Asked Krano.

“The capital.” Bluntly said Omis causing Krano’s eyes to widen for a second his usually smiling face nowhere to be found.

“Aren’t you afraid you are overstepping your boundaries, mister Omis?” He asked with a chilling tone.

Unconcerned, Omis took a sip from the wine glass in front of him before casually glancing back at Krano and answering. “You need us, as much as we need you mister Krano.”

Krano seemed puzzled at that reply as he continued starting at Omis. “What do you mean?” He asked curious about Omis’s reply.

“None of us is in a really good position to negotiate, the best we can do is compromise. We may pushed the ‘Hunters’ back, but then again what about the next time?” Asked Omis. Krano remained silent as he waited for him to continue.

“Alone, none of us stands a chance.” A long sigh escaped Omis’s lips as he added.

“Hell, I'm not sure if we even stand chance together.” He said while glancing at the noisy banquet hall.

Leyla alongside Lu Lu was being dragged by some ‘Hive’ ladies as they kept on asking them various questions with awe-filled eyes full of curiosity. Some other ‘Immortals’ took the initiative to make a few toasts with some ‘Hive’ members.

Obviously, not everyone was happy about the entire ordeal, they had been enemies for thousands of years, and just asking them to put all their differences aside and become best friends was not realistic.

There was still a large number of people who remained with their own side, each observing the others with an alert expression. ‘Still, as long as they are not actively trying to murder one another, it’s progress.’

Krano remained silent for a while before replying. “I’m not sure if the people will agree to that sort of decision.” He said while shaking his head.

Rolling his eyes on him, Omis answered. “You can’t fool me mister Krano, I know that all the decision-making is up to you, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, especially not now when I'm very much sure you already took care of all of your competition.” His eyes a bit cold as he stared at the ‘Hive’ leader.

“Hmmm.” Krano still did not reply and merely glanced at Omis with an interest in his eyes.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m telling you to give up the capital, I'm just asking you to share.” Said Omis.

“Times change, yesterday’s enemies are today’s friends.” He added with a smile.

“Wise words, so I take it you don’t need the floating mountains?” Asked Krano.

“Oh no, don’t get me wrong, we will take them as well.” Answered Omis with a bashful smile.

“Then what was all this talk about?” Frowned Krano.

“Look at it this way, you never bothered to use them ever since you got them, so it’s only right we do, plus that’ll be much better than everyone just crowding you here in the capital no?” Smiled Omis.

“You drive a hard bargain, mister Omis.” Answered Krano with a shake of his head.

“Not at all, I believe this is for the benefit of both our sides. Times are changing, and we have to adapt if we want to survive, we need each other.” Said Omis with conviction.

At that, Krano looked at him with a serious look for a few seconds, before letting out a long sigh and grabbing his cup of wine, and raising towards him.

Omis did the same as both cups clanged before the duo jerked their heads back and down the cups in one swift motion.