Queen Mary

"Wh-who are you?" Lin Ke stumbled out. "What are you doing to Lily? Let her go!"

Lin Ke looks up at the man in fury, extremely ticked off by what Lin Ke had just seen. While Lily was stuck in the cage, she didn't look to be hurt by any means. However, she was unconscious and curled up in a ball.

"Oh? You mean S5 over here?" The man replies.

Lin Ke pauses in shock. In fact, Lin Ke was completely thrown off by what he just heard. "Y-you're a woman?"

The LADY frowns. "Did I say I was a man?"

Lin Ke shook his head. Now that he thought about it, it was true, no one had mentioned whether or not "God" was a male or female. Lily had only mentioned "God" in speech, but never specified this God's gender.

"Sorry." Lin Ke sheepishly replies. "Anyways, besides that, why is Lily in a cage? Let her go!"

The lady frowns again. "Lily? There is no "Lily". Her name is S5, the 5th Iteration of -." She pauses abruptly.

"Besides that," The lady says, switching the topic quickly. "Allow me to introduce myself to you."

The lady stands up, allowing her robes to flow down. Bowing her head, she introduces herself.

"Greeting! I am the Queen of t- AH!"

In the midst of bowing, the lady tripped over her own robe, causing her to tumble down the long flight of stairs leading to the throne.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" She cried out as she rolled down the flights of stairs before landing on the same level as Lin Ke.

"Owowowow!" She sat on the ground, rubbing her head. Her robe had parted a little to reveal her thin long legs. Quickly, the lady recovered before standing up.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that!" She says. "I'm a little clumsy sometimes."

She slowly stands up and dusts herself off. "Anyways, I am the Queen of this land, and I welcome you to my court! My name is Mary, nice to meet you!"

"Great, but can you let Lily go…" Lin Ke's voice trails off. "Hang on… If you're the Queen… then you���re not "God"??? WHATTTT?"

Queen Mary tilts her head. "Hm? Did I ever mention me being a god? Ohhh, right! You're not from this world so S5 probably just told you that to make it easier to explain. Well, thing is, I'm not a God! Surprise, surprise!"

"Then… then why?" Lin Ke asks, extremely confused.

"Why what? Why did you have to die then? Thing is, you didn't die… It was just a convenient excuse I guess. Now then… About letting that thing you called 'Lily' go… Hmmm…"

"Thing? Lily isn't a thing!" Lin Ke shouts, clearly annoyed.

"Well, it doesn't matter what she is. However, what is true is that she broke the rules, so she has to pay." Queen Mary answers.

"What did she do wrong? I don't think she did anything wrong! She was just trying to help me!"

"She went overboard. She took over your body. S5 clearly went too far." Queen Mary maintained. "She knew the consequences, but she still went and did it anyway. For that, her soul will be dissipated and scattered through the world."

"Wh-what? But I gave her permission!" Lin Ke indignantly. "Plus… isn't that punishment a little bit too harsh?"

Queen Mary shakes her head. "This was the deal, the contract. She broke the contract, so she must pay."

Lin Ke feels his anger boiling from talking to this woman. This woman, who clearly held a disregard for life, who clearly didn't respect Lily one bit. If she wasn't female, maybe Lin Ke would have smacked her already.

"However!" Queen Mary began."You have a chance. A chance to help out the one you call Lily. Due to there being circumstances that were… unforeseen… I decided to give her a chance."

"What is it? If it's something I can accomplish, I will!" Lin Ke promised.

"Oh, it's definitely something that you can accomplish. If you promise me it, then I will let 'Lily' go. I'll even be so kind as to fix your meridians for you."

Lin Ke's eyes widen. "Alright, deal!"

Queen Mary blinks. "I haven't even told you the terms of the deal yet but you're already accepting?"

Lin Ke scratches his head sheepishly. "Ah, right. What is it you want?"

Queen Mary smiles. "Simple! I want you to become a part of my country."

"Huh?" Lin Ke blinks his eyes in surprise. He was thinking about all the different possibilities for the promise but what Queen Mary had just said never occurred to him.

"Of course, I don't mean right now. As of right now, you are much, MUCH too weak to be of any use. So S5 will be the one to tell you when it is time." Queen Mary explains. "Now, will you agree?"

Hearing that her condition was so simple, Lin Ke nods. After all, he didn't really have to think much. Just joining her country in exchange for fixing his meridians AND Lily? That's a steal! "Alright, I agree! But why do you want me to be part of your country?"

Queen Mary claps her hands together in delight, completely ignoring his question. "How wonderful! I will release S5 immediately then!"

With a quick wave of her hand, the cage around Lily disappears, leaving her lying on the ground, curled up.

Rushing up the flight of stairs, Lin Ke quickly arrives at the side of Lily. Scanning her for injuries, Lin Ke takes a deep sigh of relief upon realizing that she was fine. Picking her up, Lin Ke cradles her in his arms, feeling her familiar soft fur.

"Why is she asleep?" Lin Ke asks with a frown.

"Ahh, well that's because she's still recovering from taking over your body. It'll probably be a while before she recovers usually." Queen Mary says. "Anyways, I would ask that you follow me, I will help you fix your meridians now."