Heavy footsteps that were uncharacteristic of their owner could be heard walking into the Luna residence.
"You're here, Ines. How are you feeling?" He greeted the young princess of the void.
"It still feels a bit weird, but nothing too serious. If anything, it feels as if I just found just the tiniest glimmer of hope for what seemed to be an impossible problem." She inhaled deeply, feeling a very tiny bit of relief, but quickly realizing that she was still more likely to fail than not, despite the price she chose to pay.
The void was, through and through, a longtime enemy of the Gods. After hearing Ines out, however, Luna gained a bit of perspective. The void wasn't inherently evil. They were a world that was dealt a bad hand, simply put. Ines' father, the monarch of the void, made it his mission to find greener pastures for his people. At least, this was what she learned about their history.
He didn't quite know how deep the enmity was between the Gods and the Void. He was aware that reconciliation was practically impossible under the current circumstances.
The glimmer of hope Ines mentioned, however, could present them with the slightest possibility of a miracle.
The only way: Soulbinding.
"We've conducted tests as well, the regular soldiers, including Vizicsacsi, did not have a prompt for soulbinding as you did," Luna stated his revelation.
Soulbinding: It was an option that popped up during one of Luna's interactions with Ines while she was imprisoned. It required the consent of the other party, something that Ines, whether it was due to the impulsiveness of youth or some unknown wisdom, accepted without hesitation after she and Luna agreed on terms. Despite it being somewhat one-sided and resulting in her being unable to betray the
It should be known that even the Gods were unaware of this feature. Luna had guessed that they didn't either, after all, so far, this was something that was only viable for someone of royal blood and with the utmost purity. This gave him the feeling that all of this was by design from someone who transcended even the Gods.
"Does it have anything to do with my level of purity?" She asked.
"It's possible that it requires a certain degree of purity, yes. Whether it's 100% or not, we don't know yet. The water from the
Their scientists and the elves were working together towards a permanent cure, but the zombie virus was something not even Earth had seen before. They had the
"I see," Ines looked down, her breathing got heavier as she felt her miracle start to slip out of her hands. Within a few seconds, she steeled her resolve again. This was her only hope, and she could not give up now. What other choice did she have?
"Ines, I need you to be aware that should this not work out, you would be betraying your family and your people for nothing." Refusing to sugarcoat the facts, Luna laid it down with no filters.
"I am! I- I'm very aware. Very aware..." Her voice faded as tears started rolling down her face. The pressure was finally getting to her, but she didn't want to give up.
"You shoulder much for your people for someone so young. Do not worry, child. So long as you act towards our nation's interests, I will do everything I can to help you." Luna put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her a little.
She finally broke down. Seeing her crying on the spot, it awakened Luna's fatherly instincts, and he walked over and hugged her, "Everything will be okay." He, in fact, had no idea if everything would be okay. It just broke his heart seeing her cry. This situation was up there in his list of most stressful moments. He didn't know what else he could do to comfort a crying child. Especially one he knew was burdened by so much.
"Uwaaaaah! I jus- I just want everyone to get along. Wh-why can't we all get along? Why were so many worlds destroyed when we would have been happy with just one of them?" She gasped for air in between sobs while putting her arm over her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears. The questions she asked were things Luna had no answers to, as he himself was curious as to why exactly. These questions would only be answered in due time.
The fact of the matter is that Ines would now essentially be an accomplice to the murder of her own people for a chance to save infinitely more. She was aware, just as much as Luna was, that she might never be welcomed back ever again.
Yet this was the only avenue she had.
"Let it all out, child. Whatever solution there is, we'll find it, I promise you that. Whatever path needs to be tread, I will walk beside you." He reassured her again. Ines had shouldered all the risk, telling Luna everything she knew. Enough that she would have been executed on the spot for treason. Ines was always extremely curious about almost everything, which led her to read up on and find new things to learn or know about more than anybody her age would have in the void.
As if that wasn't enough, she herself was going to fight for the
Luna asked himself: If I were in the same position, would I be able to do the same?
Asking himself that, he knew the answer right away.
Shoving that thought to the back of his mind, he made a mental note that he needed to pay close attention to Ines from now on. He contacted Sura telepathically and asked for her advice, to which she replied, "If you truly want to ease her burdens, even a little bit, the only thing you can do now is reassure her that you will do everything in your power to succeed."
"You're right. I agree." He knew. Of course, he knew. Just that, without a 100% guarantee, he just wasn't sure if it was the most responsible thing to do. Adults should be the ones to shoulder the majority of any task, after all. He held Ines' shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said, "You let me worry about everything else. Do what you need to do. I promise you, little one. I will do everything in my power to get the result we desire."
Ines' eyes sparkled as she replied, "Mn! Thank you.. Thank you so much." Even her limited experience with Luna told her that, at the very least, he was a man who kept his word. His promise was worth its weight in gold.
Afterward, he messaged Maxene to take Ines with her on her little adventures. He didn't know how, but somehow he felt as if he actually had two kids now.
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Meanwhile, the subjugation of the Southern nations was underway. The existing nations in the South were still getting hammered by the void army. General Leman would approach this very cautiously.
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Deep underground in various locations in the Philippines, the glow was getting brighter and brighter by the day...