Han slowly opened his eyes, his heart full of grief from the words he heard. The sounds still rang in his mind, listening to Eric beating Ha-Yoon the wet thudding sound as his fists landed on her body. During such an event, she didn't attempt to call out for help. Han had wondered if such a thing were due to her not believing help would come or due to her own resilience. Numerous times, Han wanted to spring up out of his chair and call out to her. He would have beaten and tortured Eric, letting everyone know of his pain and anger.
When Ha-Yoon had pricked him with the poison, Han had feared his own demise while also saddened to face another betrayal. Feeling the poison flow through his body, Han had wanted to embrace his death. No longer would he have to worry about struggling. Even with all his powers, wondering whether the feelings of other being genuine weighed heavily on him. Life was something that couldn't be appreciated in isolation. This was why he was grateful for the artificial love and care from his creations. They gave him something to cling onto when life was drowning him.
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Do you wish the Sleeping Poison to be eliminated?
Yes No
Looking at the screen in his mind, Han understood two things: the system would protect him from instant attacks he didn't anticipate, and Ha-Yoon hadn't betrayed him. What he thought to be poison in order to kill him was actually only meant to incapacitate him. While bringing him joy, it also saddened him because it meant she was afraid he would be unable to stand against Eric.
Selecting "Yes," Han felt the poison leave his system. Wanting to see how things went if all parties thought he was out of play, Han imagined a solution.
Simulate the effects of the Sleeping Poison?
Yes No
If the system could sense his well and able to act on reality, then Han thought it would be able to make his body look like it was poisoned. It was an enjoyable experience, feeling the effects while being detached from the negative sensation. Han felt his body lose control as the simulated poison took hold of him. The way his knees hit the ground and stayed like that before falling forward onto made him think that an acting award should be given to him. No actor could do such a realistic performance as he had.
Ending the simulation, he immediately felt himself regain control over his body. The feeling of death being lifted let him know that everything was good. Grabbing the leather restraints, snapped them with ease. Standing up, he looked around the room. Seeing the form of Ha-Yoon laying there, Han asked, "What is your opinion?"
Like a mirage, the air shimmered, revealing Anacolis and Aracia. They didn't appear startled that Han had noticed their presence. "Master, I am sure that you already know what we thought of this woman." Seeing Han nod his head she continued, "we had initially believed her loyalties and feelings were not genuine, which made us hostile towards her." Anacolis looked at Ha-Yoon, and her expression softened. "But I believe that we saw today demonstrated her resolve to Master. Though she was being beaten, she kept her gaze on Master. Even as she was dying, her thought was what drove her to move closer to you."
"Her words moved me, Master," Aracia said quietly, as she stared at Ha-Yoon.
"Master...," Anacolis began to say before Han interrupted her.
"Not wanting to step into the realm belong to the dead is something I believe firmly in. There are too many struggles in life, so I always felt it selfish of heroes to resurrecting loved ones." Han's words were quiet. "Though I hope that she is happy where she is, this does not help to quell this feeling in my chest. My thoughts are likely similar to hers, where we hoped that a small painful experience would allow the other to be free from all this suffering." He stood in front of Ha-Yoon, his expression grim. "I hope you are not resentful of my selfishness."
Leaning forward, Han reached out with one of his hands and touched the side of Ha-Yoon's face. "Wake up, my love. You have been asleep for too long, and it is time for you to return."
Everything around them seemed to stop as the world became silent. Nature appeared to be calm around them, neither happy or sad from such an act occurring. Ha-Yoon's body began to glow and dimmed, followed by the sound of her gentle breathing. Like someone being awakened after a sound night of sleep, her eyes opened, and she looked up to see Han.
"I now know that there is nothing to fear from death if I am able to see someone I love. Though you may not believe me, I did not want to poison you. I knew that you would be in danger, so I only did what was necessary to protect you. If only I could tell you this while I was still alive." Her expression became sorrowful as she regretted not being able to convey her feelings to him.
"There is nothing to apologize for. I already knew that you only meant to protect me, though such acts were unnecessary. Protecting you and myself is well within my powers." He soothingly said to her.
Tears trailed down her face, as she listened to Han's words. Her smile was wide as she happily nodded her head. "Even though I will never see you alive again, I am happy to hear you say that."
"What do you mean you will never see me alive? Are you planning on going somewhere?" Han teased her.
Ha-Yoon looked confused as she didn't understand what Han was saying.
He leaned forward and gave her a deep kiss, infusing it with all the love and happiness he could put into such an act of love. Though she was shocked at first, her body relaxed as she embraced him and returned his feelings back to him.
When he pulled away, Ha-Yoon's eyes were wide open as she finally understood what had happened. "How??" Was all that she could ask, the very idea being something impossible in her mind. He watched as one of her hands reached down to where the knife had penetrated her body and tried to find the object which ended her life. As her hand fumbled around the area, she looked down and saw that she was whole and the knife was gone.
She looked back at him, eyes full of wonder and questions. He placed a finger on her lips, as she was about to ask him a string of questions. "There is something I wish to show you before I answer any questions." Standing, Han reached out a hand towards Ha-Yoon. "Will you join me and come home?"
Seeing the outstretched hand, Ha-Yoon lovingly smiled and took hold of it and was lifted to her feet. The room around them shimmered and changed to his throne room.
Ha-Yoon turned around, looking at how majestic everything looked. "Where is this place?" She asked him, as she continued to gaze at everything.
"This is the Stronghold, located at the center of Felicitas, my city," Han answered, smiling at Ha-Yoon's reaction to his work. Turning towards Anacolis, Han commanded, "bring everyone here."
With a simple nodded, she made her way out of the throne room and off to gather everyone.
Ha-Yoon looked back at him and asked, "Yi, how were you able to bring me back to life." She looked down at her hands trying to understand everything.
"Though I told you a few my powers, I did not paint a complete picture. The reason was that I did not want the information to taint my life here. I thought that holding back the information would benefit everyone, including myself, I now realize that it has only created more problems. I am sorry, Ha-Yoon." He looked into her eyes, hoping that she accepted his sincerity.
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Ha-Yoon walked towards Han and hugged him. "We both did things that we thought we were doing right but learned that it would have been better, to be honest. Having the chance to be with you, instead of living in that nightmare, is the best thing that could have happened." She then lightly punched him in the stomach, causing Han to grunt. "This is for making me go through that experience when you could have prevented that." She then kissed him on his cheek. "This is for not abandoning me, and bringing me back to life."
Han could feel himself smiling, as he was happy that she hadn't been angry about how he let her go through such an ordeal. He took her by the hand and led the way to the statues and fountains. The two of them enjoyed the moment, both happy that they were together.
They moved to where Han's throne was placed. He sat down on it just as the doors opened to reveal a single file line of his creations and Selestra. They lined up in front of him and knelt down.
"We welcome back, Master." All of them said in unison.
Han looked at one of his creations, who he hadn't seen in a while. "Minatoria, it has been a while. How have you been?"
Minatoria snorted, "Master, unlike everyone else, I have been making sure that your home is safe." She glared at the other creations.
"Pah!! You spend your days sleeping and making your subordinates do all the work, checking the people entering the stronghold and making sure that the city is safe. Do not try and make it sound as if you are some dutiful worker." Queen sniped, sneering at how Minatoria tried to make herself look responsible while they were fooling around.
"I have also heard that you have gained a new toy?" Anacolis commented.
Trying to get Anacolis to stop talking, Minatoria urgently waved her hands as she glanced at where Han was sitting.
"Oh? What is this toy you are keeping?" Han asked sounding curious.
"Just some stray that came into the stronghold." Minatoria tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. She looked like a kid that was caught by their parents doing something they weren't supposed to. Pouting, she crossed her arms and huffed, "Master doesn't even come visit me, so I caught a rodent." Looking at Ha-Yoon, Minatoria grinned, "I see that Master has also found something interesting?"
Queen smacked the back of Minatoria's head. "Do not try to deflect the issue!"
Han raised his hand. "I am sure that she is doing a good job at caring for it, so there is no need to fight." He chuckled at the way Minatoria's face lit up, seeing how Han didn't have an issue with her new pet.
"Master is so generous!" Brittany cooed while throwing daggers at Minatoria.
Han enjoyed seeing how all of them got along with one another. He then looked at Selestra, who seemed to integrate herself very well into the group. "Selestra, come here." He smiled at her.
With practiced grace, Selestra got up and walked over to where Han was sitting. She was a picture perfect image of regal beauty, likely from her own background and from being around his creations for so long. Looking at Ha-Yoon, he motioned with his head for her to stand next to Selestra.
Having both of them standing in front of him, Han said, "though you may already know this, Selestra, I will repeat if for Ha-Yoon's sake. Ha-Yoon, you asked how I was able to bring you back, and I have yet to give you an explanation." Pointing at his creations, Han said, "Those wonderful women are creations that I made. They have only existed since the time I created them. With my ability, I am able to do things that would only be thought to be restricted to the realm of gods. Though I have this ability, I try to limit myself in order not to ruin my own enjoyment. There are many things I could fix in this world that I choose not to fix." His gaze fixed onto Ha-Yoon's. "I do not know if this is an issue for you, but let me know, and I will help you relocate to a safe place where you will never want for anything."
The sound of a slap could be heard ringing throughout the room. Everyone looked shocked at the sight of Ha-Yoon slapping Han, including Han himself. He touched his stinging cheek and looked at Ha-Yoon in confusion. Her face was filled with anger and her eyes with tears.
"I was finally able to be with you. You brought me back from the dead. And you are thinking about having me sent to another location??!!" She screamed the last part, her face contorted with emotions.
"I did not know whether you would be angry about how I could make the world a better place." He sounded bewildered by how she had reacted to his words.
"I do not care about the world!!! I care about you!!! You, idiot!!" She yelled back.
Hearing her words hit his chest hard, and he could feel a part of himself feeling happy to hear her words. "You care about me?" He asked sheepishly.
"Of course, you fool!" She smiled, though her eyes were still looking emotional.
"Yi, we do not care that you can do all these things. All we care about is you and only you." Selestra added in.
Han looked at the two of them with wonder on his face. It took him a while to understand the words they were saying to him. Then he smiled. "I guess I was worried about nothing?" He chuckled.
"Looks like we need to help fix that head of his," Ha-Yoon told Selestra, who nodded in agreement.
Feeling better, Han said, "now that we have gotten past that, I guess we should move onto the next part." His expression became serious. "With what has happened to Ha-Yoon, I wanted to ask both of you a very serious question. The two of you are human, so you are very weak and are vulnerable to a variety of attacks." He paused to let his words sink in. "I want to offer you something that no other human has been offered. I want to turn the two of you into something similar to my creations, and be with me for eternity."
There wasn't even a moment of hesitation before the two of them embraced him, both of them crying. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" They both kept repeating.
-----
Once Selestra and Ha-Yoon had regained their composure, they were once again standing in front of him. This time they looked extremely happy, like a bride on her wedding day. They were eager for Han to change them.
"Remember, the process will rely on your own thoughts. This is going to be different than how I created the others, so your emotions and thoughts will help to influence what abilities you gain." He handed each of them a round pill that he created while the two were getting ready.
"There will be discomfort, thought the pain should not be too intense. It will take a while for you to change, so do not be worried if it feels like it is taking too long. Just keep focusing your emotions on a single thought." Han explained to each of them.
They nodded their heads, understanding how serious this process was.
"The two of you will be inside of these chambers during the process. It will allow no external forces to influence you while you focus." Han directed to two columns and indicated for them to enter them.
Selestra and Ha-Yoon had no fear on their faces, as they entered the chambers. They looked back at Han, and each smiled at him. The doors to the chambers closed and they floated, the area having its gravity canceled out. Taking the pill and swallowing it, they closed their eyes and appeared to concentrate. From their expression, Han knew that they were likely experiencing the initial process. The pain would start out mild but slowly increase, as it changed their bodies. Soon the two of them will show outward signs of changing.
-----
Han sat on his throne, watching the two chambers that held Selestra and Ha-Yoon. It had been a month since they had started the process. This was the first time that Han had tried such a technique, so he was nervous about how long it was taking. There was no way to know when they would emerge. It felt like when installing software and the install time kept changing, Han hated whenever he had to use his old Gateway computer and how slow it would install software.
In each of the chambers, the two women were floating inside. The difference was how they looked compared to when they first went into the holding device. With Selestra, she was beginning to develop scales and fire could be seen radiating out from her. It gave her a draconic look, though the fire coming off of her body looked like a phoenix. In the chamber with Ha-Yoon inside, her body was covered in some kind of cocoon. Han was very interested in what she would emerge looking like.
As he was staring at the two women, who were eager to perform such a metamorphosis, the door into the throne room opened. Turning his head, he saw that Helania was gracefully walking towards him. He was surprised and happy at the same time. It had been a very long time since the last time he was able to see her, and having her presence missing affected him.
Stopping several feet away from him, she kneeled and stated, "My Master, I have returned from the mission you had assigned to me."
"Rise, Helania," Han commanded. In a softer tone, he said, "I have missed you."
Getting to her feet, she gave a look full of love. "I have also missed Master. Though I am happy to fulfill your wishes, I felt a part of me missing." She walked closer to him and got on her knees while resting her head on his lap, "please limit such requests, where I am apart from you, Master. My purpose is to be by your side, though I understand how much you depend on me."
Laying a hand on her head, he stroked her smooth hair. It was a sensation that brought back waves of memories with them being together. "I will try and keep you close to me, though I may have future missions that require you to prepare things for me. Know that I do not ask these things of you lightly."
Helania nodded her head as she understood how much it pained him to ask her to part from him.
Without lifting her head off from his lap, she asked him, "Master, I see that we have new people in our midst?"
"Yes. They have chosen to transform themselves into something other than human, to serve me and my ideas. Though I was hesitant to do this, I have learned that such hesitation can be problematic." Han explained.
"I am sure that they will do a good job at being your creations, just like we are," Helania answered, mentioning everyone else and their loyalties towards him.
"What did you discover in your mission?" Han changed the subject, as he continued to stroke Helania's hair.
Helania's eyes were closed, as she enjoyed the attention Han was giving her. "The Holy Powers of the Creators are behind many of the sabotage attempts. They believe that the Overflow is something of a gift, to maintain a certain population size and help the nobility stay in power. Many of the believers are fanatically devoted to the HPC, making it difficult to learn their movements and where they keep their more nefarious locations hidden."
"That sounds like what we already determined, though it is better that we got a look at the system instead of assuming what was happening." Han stroked his chin thoughtfully, digesting what Helania reported.
"Master, the HPC also seems to be working for demons that have recently appeared. They take up orders at various locations that are called temples. Each temple is the central area for a particular demon and their worshippers." Helania added in.
"Interesting. I figured that they had a connection with the gods, but know that they are also working with the demons is painting an interesting picture. I have had the opportunity in encountering them; they gave us an entertaining time. They are nothing to worry about, considering their powers are lower than ours." Han mulled over learning that the demons were also involved.
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Val was stressing about her current circumstances. She looked around at the mess left behind from the previous attack on her office. She remembered a time when such a mess would have been quickly dealt with, but with how the Student Council was acting it was clear that they no longer considered her to be one of their own.
Throughout the week, many of her knights had left claiming that she lacked the strength to lead them. Some were afraid that they were going to be killed, by staying within her influence. She was now left with only a handful of knights.
Sighing from the overwhelming stress caused by a multitude of issues, she called out, "Henry! Do you mind getting me some tea?"
Henry was one of the few remaining knights that were faithful in his duties to her and the academy. It was a comfort to know that not everyone abandoned her, afraid for themselves. She smiled as she saw Henry bringing a tray with her favorite tea kettle and cups. It always seemed to make the tea taste better, though it may only be in her mind.
As she watched Henry set the tray down and began pouring the tea into the cup, she said, "Henry, I appreciate how you are willing to stick by my side during these difficult times. I do not think I have thanked you for what you have done."
"My Lady, I am merely doing what is the right things as a knight." Henry calmly stated. He set the cup in front of her and backed away to let her enjoy her tea.
Val lifted up the cup and enjoyed the spiced tea, which had a shot of alcohol in it to help settle her nerves. As she placed the cup back on top of the table, she went back to look at the paperwork in front of her. "I do not know how we are going to protect the remaining nonhumans inside of the academy," she grumbled as she took another sip of the tea. Leafing through the paperwork, Val felt a tightness in her throat. Trying to clear the lump in her throat, she took another sip of the tea though it didn't seem to alleviate the pain that was increasing. Also, Val had noticed that it was beginning to become difficult to breathe. Quickly looking to Henry to ask him to call for help, she saw him standing there with a smile on his face.
"As a knight of the Academy, I am loyal to the Student Council. They have deemed that your services are no longer required." Seeing her face turning different shades of blue, he nodded his head and gave her a final salute. "We thank you for your hard work and effort, and hope you enjoy your vacation in the next life." Henry then proceeded to leave the office.
Val watched Henry leave, and after listening to his words, she understood how much of a fool she had been. "If only I had listened to Yi's advice," she thought, regretting how stubborn she was.
Under the sofa, where Val had rested, a piece of crumbled paper began to pulsate with a glow.
Val tried to quickly look through her supplies in hopes that she had something that could buy her some time, but everything useful had already been removed, likely from Henry's action.
"Master was correct in informing us to look out for you. You should think of yourself as being blessed to have Him think of your well-being." A cute voice called out to her. Turning around Val saw an adorable woman in a maids outfit standing there by herself.
Val wanted to demand who she was, but her throat being completely shut made that impossible. She could only point at the woman, demanding she identifies herself.
"How about we deal with your small issue before we move onto pleasantries." The woman placed a finger on her chin as she tilted her head. Raising up her other hand, she merely snapped her fingers, and Val felt air rush back into her body.
Collapsing onto the floor as she coughed, holding her throat to make sure that she didn't imagine the situation. Looking up, Val saw the woman curtsy and say, "I am Giselle, and my Master would like to invite you to Felicitas." She giggled cutely at the end. Val could only stare blankly at the woman, as she tried to understand what was happening.