Volume II: Chapter 8: Surprise!

Two to three weeks had passed yet still no signs of him.

'Everything became different since he left. My eyes seemed to look for him, like I was searching for his features everywhere and then my brain would play a trick on me that he might be there or perhaps that it might be him somewhere or is he really there? Right over there or I might have gone insane or whatever... I just missed him so much,' she thought.

'Maybe Peach also noticed that back then and I am the only one who doesn't' she thought. 

She makes mistakes frequently in all the things she does and became more aloof rather than enthusiastic than usual.

"Hey, are you alright?" Peach asked.

She nodded with a poor smile on her face.

"Huh? ah.. yeah. Uhm. I'm alright" she answered like her head was on the clouds and she appeared under an enchantment spell and overall she was in a very gloomy state existing in that soliditary space.

"The play is tomorrow. You need to be okay. I'll support you," Peach said.

Peach was worried. "Hidelga, Is this what you wanted?" she said. Peach's words were heavy. Hidelga smiled sorrowfully. "Yes. This is what I wanted." She cut it short and left.

"You will meet your sponsor after the play so you better do your best, kid," her manager told her during the play practice.

A loud clap called everyone's attention, and then their Director spoke, "Listen, everyone! The play is tomorrow, so keep your spirits up. Do your best. Carry out every line accurately like you are the character itself."

"And lastly, Lao and Hidelga. Both of you will be doing a real kissing scene tomorrow so please don't be awkward as much as possible. I can see both of you improved, especially you Hidelga. I know it won't be a bother. So can I expect the best out of it tomorrow?" He asked.

Everyone nodded yes.

"So let's have one take then go home, the two of you Lao and Hidelga." The director pointed.

Just One peck, that's enough to let her know that she feels absolutely nothing towards her partner in the play but she needs to act like there is something just to carry the act right.

So she recaptures everything from the last time. Just like the last time with Leon. 

She outlined it in her mind.

When the day of the play finally came, everything was executed perfectly.

"Now that you know I am death? will you still accept me?" Hades asked Persephone.

She yields to the flow of Persephone's character and dives into the storyline as she gives him a kiss thinking that Leon is this person and not Lao.

Deep inside her head, she was hoping that it was Leon.

When Hades and Persephone kissed the audience made an uproar. It shows the success of the performance which means that it is better than any performance they had.

"That was a delightful kiss. Did you perhaps miss me that much, my Persephone?" He muttered turning back to his real voice. His hooded appearance as Hades hid his real identity which is Leon.

When she pulled away in shock Leon pulled her closer against his frame and went for a deeper kiss.

Meanwhile in the stock room, when an assistant opens the door she finds Lao who is the actor for Hades. His hands and feet were all tied up.

When the curtain went down, she apologized, "I-I'm sorry about..." She was speechless and ashamed.

"I don't mind. It is repaid though," he said, pertaining to the kiss.

"Now let's leave together," he said.

"I- I can't" she answered still hesitating.

Leon smirked at her response. "I knew you would say that," he said.

"You think I have no idea that you were not yourself the past few days because I'm gone?" he said telling her about her sulking and everything.

"H-how did you know?" She said feeling embarrassed.

"Just admit it, Now, you can't live without me," he said confidently.

"Y-you're not supposed to know that!" she said.

He gave her another kiss and said, "It's okay. I am not the type that will not deny or hide. If I find something to my liking. You can tell, simple as that," he said.

'Why does the emperor needs to relent?' he thought.

"I need to meet my sponsor now," she said.

"Tsk, What?" he said and sighed in distress.

He abducts her, carrying her on his shoulders, and rides a horse then leaves the theater together.

"I can't believe you can live in this place without noticing anything," he said.

"What?" she said having no idea what on earth Leon was talking about

"The forgotten place of the empire, this place," he said.

"What are you saying?" she asked as he hastened.

"Watch," he whispered into her ear as she was held deeper in his chest. His warm breath gave her an unusual feeling.

A shadow is right behind him as his backup. It was Alas.

In the middle of the forest beyond Leon's training ground. There was a cave from beneath a wide mountain range.

At Leon's signal, Alas threw a fire to ignite a bomb surrounding the mountain range and that exposed a big wall built by human bones, and in the very middle where all the bones are all clinging to, was a girl.

"It's disrupted" Leon stated as he pulled the rein to stop the horse, They already found the eternal threader. Everything is moving in a cycle the whole time and the only way to disrupt the Reality disruptor is to find the threader.

There are 12 immortal threaders, that keep the balance of the whole world against the bestowed power that was given to greedy men and its purpose is to avoid destruction. Most humans wanted to be one of the 12 chosen eternal threaders but was never chosen. However not all threaders wanted their sacred weapon, some weapons have rare powers that go beyond the normal things on earth that are no longer fit for a human to live with, which means some of the sacred weapons make their threaders suffer. There are cases where the threaders die because of their sacred weapons and being selected to become eternal threaders extends their torture.

The sky turns dark and the distortion is spreading throughout the area and within a few hours it will be completely swallowed by chaos. The only way to return bck to normal is to terminate the intruder. 

The ground shook and cracked open into large fissures on the land and all the people lined up and were about to march into the mouth of the earth, including animals.

The distortion worsened due to time and then a multitude of puppet-like-humans and crawlers came and chased them.

Crawlers are like humans but more likely have twisted bodies that are bent down and crawl like spiders, they have darkened skins and human-malformed faces meanwhile Human-like puppets are human-like creatures that stand upright, and lose their conscious minds, and some have their heads stooped low or have other parts of their body being dragged along like zombies.

Some of them had a worsened appearance, where their bones and teeth were all protruding outside and sharpened, and others had their nails like claws. More likely as corpses with distorted bodies in which the skull, eyes, tongue, organs, and flesh were all exposed and have a very foul smell.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" she asked.

"Have you heard about eternal threaders?" Leon asked her.

"Yes, why?" she answered.

"Then I'll explain to you later," he said. "but to give you an idea this whole city will be destroyed" he explained.

Hidelga was shocked. "NO!" she exclaimed. "We have to save Peach, Mr. Tim, and the others. They are in danger!" She said as she pulled Leon's clothes, persuading.

Leon sighed and then gave her a solemn answer "This is the Reality disruptor, Ludus no Psyche. It can make anything from the threader's mind into reality and anything it creates becomes a part of reality." he explained however Hidelga was not able to grasp the notion out of great shock and confusion.

"This place is no longer existent. It is only a replica of the previous city that was standing here centuries ago." He said. "The only real people in this place are you... me... that shadow" he pointed to the one who was leaping from tree to tree, the eternal threader, and another entity who brought information from the empire outside." he said.

"I....don't believe you!" She pushed Leon and struggled to go down. She almost hurt herself. Luckily, Leon was able to pull her refraining her from getting hurt.

They were forced to stop and the main problem now. The puppet-like creatures are approaching them.

_______________________________________

Before Leon returns to Hidelga in the theatrical play.

 Leon strolled beyond his training ground when the whispering paradox started to speak again. 

'I'm sure of it. This is an eternal sacred weapon, isn't it?' He asked after investigating for how long.

'So, you've noticed, very Impressive!' It said.

'Well... There is only one weapon that can do such a thing and it has so many names. It is known as The King of Illusions, the Reality Disruptor, the 'Ludus no Psyche' it stated.

'How can I defeat it?' he asked.

The voices started laughing. 'There's no way to defeat it' it said.

'So, you're saying that you are no match against it?' Leon thought hitting the weapon's pride.

'(laughs mockingly) I am saying that you are not capable of using me against it' It says contradicting. "YOUR BODY CAN'T EVEN HANDLE ME!!!"

"You better start calling yourself a mocking weapon," Leon said.

'Our great emperor. There is no way indeed, however, there is a process that can cut it open. If you are decided and prepared to die then go and find the threader of the Ludus no Psyche then pray for a way to defeat it. The eternal sacred weapon kept its original form for a hundred and billion years.' it said...

The Ludus no Psyche is the Highest complex manipulator sacred weapon and it exceeds all the Mind manipulators and all Complex sacred weapons.

Then Leon went to investigate more about the weapon that kept dominating the place.

Alas came to see him that time and held an old dagger to his master with a written name on it.

'Oran'

"Well done," He complimented his subordinate and said, "I'll leave after I finish a few business." 

After investigating, Leon went away to check if Hidelga already come home.

"She looks rather gloomy for a character in this eternal weapon's play" Alas commented.

"She's not a character from here," Leon said as he leaned the side of his head on the wall near him.

The play is days away and Hidelga is rather gloomy than excited. He was watching her from afar seeing her become unstable after he left. it made him more determined.

"She should take this as a lesson" he muttered.

"Sire?" Alas said not able to hear what he said.

"She is your mistress," Leon said. "SO, in the future I want you to protect her," he said.

Alas looked at him and he spoke again Leon continue to speak.

"She is going to be my official wife. My empress to be" Leon said.