Chapter 664 She was a Happy Child

Benjamin also saw another member of the New Testament appear in the same stretch of memory;

A blue-haired young woman who wore a simple hoodie and was carefully painting the single word "Apex" across the front of a cheerleader’s top before she handed the finished piece of clothing over to Hawthorne with a bright smile, and the smile was the kind that made people want to trust her without knowing why.

"Figure out the meaning, and I’ll give you a kiss~!" She said in a playful and teasing tone that left no doubt about her invitation.

Then she laughed and walked away before Hawthorne could answer.

[So... she might be a god-touched?] Benjamin asked Sys as he watched the blue-haired woman walk away after the exchange, and his eyes followed her until she turned a corner and disappeared.

{It is possible. But it also could be that she learned under a god-touched,} Sys answered without turning her head.

[Hey, is it me or are you just refuting me lately?]

{It’s Master’s imagination. We are done here, so let us hurry to another victi— I mean, subject.}

["Subject" wasn’t any better! And is it me or do you like it as we’re infiltrating people’s heads? And if you’re going to swap my gender here, why the small boobs? A type of harassment?]

{I tell you, it is all your imagination, Master. You must be truly stressed,} she answered, but a clear and visible blush began to spread across her otherwise completely emotionless face as she spoke the words.

She turned her head away so he would not see it.

***

Leaving the head space of Hawthorne at last and returning to the real world, Benjamin awoke to find a clean hole punched straight through the center of his chest, and he could feel the air moving through the place where his heart should have been.

He saw Saharit kneeling close by and trying hard to wake Hawthorne up from the dazed and unresponsive state he was still in.

He clicked his tongue in open irritation at their continued persistence and bolted toward her at full speed with both of his hands aimed directly at the exposed side of her body, and the distance between them closed in less than a heartbeat.

However Zanya moved in at the last possible second and shielded her completely, causing Benjamin’s outstretched hand to impale the swordswoman through her torso instead of the intended target.

She immediately thrust her blade forward into Benjamin’s neck without hesitation, the cold metal sliding all the way through his throat in one smooth motion, and for a moment the two of them stood locked together like that, each of them impaled on the other’s weapon.

[Well, it takes less than two minutes to conclude their life story. I can manage.]

And with that quiet thought he activated the soul link right there and then, entering Zanya’s life without any further delay or hesitation.

***

Once more he found himself standing in a location of pure white light that stretched out endlessly in every direction around him, and the light was so complete that it had no source and cast no shadows.

[I planned to have her for last, this half-oni, but I guess I can work with this. She seems to be the glue holding their group together.]

{Indeed. I have gathered their measly abilities, and I have a fascinating vision for the ability I will form from the crumbs of it}.

[You really look down on people, don’t you, Sys?]

{I by no means enjoy such a thing. But from my perspective, they are raw materials existing solely for the glory and usage of Master.}

[Please, tone down the villain aura; it’s grossing me out that we’re on the same side! Anyway, tear off the white curtains already—and let’s invade Zanya’s privacy.]

The pages of Zanya’s life turned slowly through the open space once more, each sheet unfolding with the serene weight of time, presenting Benjamin and Sys as silent ghosts drifting inside a world already in motion.

They could not touch anything, but only watch. The scenes moved around them like water around stones, indifferent to their presence, and the two of them stood at the edge of events that had already happened long before either of them had any say in the matter.

So far, this life had been the best one Benjamin had witness... but even the brightest stretch of days had its own share of horror beneath the surface.

Zanya was the young lady of a prestigious clan.

Her father stood as a powerful oni who led the clan with steady authority, his presence alone enough to settle disputes and command respect from every warrior under his banner.

He did not need to raise his voice or make any threats. When he entered a room, the arguing stopped, the shoulders straightened, and the eyes turned toward him as though drawn by gravity.

Zanya’s mother served as his closest deputy and his wife, the one who walked beside him through every council meeting and every hard decision, assisting him in the daily work of keeping their people strong and united.

Where her father provided the weight, her mother provided the balance. She remembered what he forgot, softened what he hardened, and held the thousand small burdens that kept a clan from cracking apart at the seams.

At five years old, Zanya was a very happy child, and the entire clan doted on her without hesitation.

Warriors returning from long patrols would pause in the courtyards just to lift her small body onto their broad shoulders and carry her a short distance while she laughed, her small hands gripping their hair or horns for balance.

The elders of the clan would set aside the softest pieces of ripe fruit and the mildest cuts of meat for her alone, and they would watch her eat with the satisfied expressions of people who had found something worth protecting.

Laughter followed her through the temple halls like a second shadow, and she moved through those ordinary days with the easy confidence of a child who had never once been forced to understand true fear.