The Red Hand

Chapter 190 – A Choice.

"Then we could bring everyone back!" Hishya exclaimed as she stormed over to Sizix, who was dangling from Akagi's grasp. "How do we do it?!?"

{They were hiding this the whole time?!?} Hishya was pissed. She lost good friends in FWO and knew so many people who died. If they could bring them all back, then this would go a long way toward making things right.

"Can you?!?" Akagi shook the dangling Spirit. “Answer the question or so help me, I'll make you regret your very existence!”

"I cannot!" Sizix shook her head as her entire body trembled. "The database has already reached a critical point. We used most of its power and by tapping into it and extracting those three bosses, its structural integrity was weakened severely. It's only a matter of time before it falls apart at the fundamental level. At best, one more entity could be recovered before it completely disintegrates!"

"Only one..." Hishya's fist tightened in anger. "We have to pick one person to save... But wait!" She turned to Akagi. "You can fix this, right?!? I mean you're the Demon Lord! Surely you can restore it and let us get everyone back?!?"

{We have bullshit power on our side! Surely Akagi can use all her crazy Demon Lord power to stabilize it?!?} (Hishya)

Akagi thought for a moment, running things through her mental calculations. "I cannot." She shook her head, and Hishya's heart sank. "Not only do I lack the technical knowledge required to do something like repair such a complex magical formula, but I have no idea where to even begin."

{I am a being meant to destroy, and while I know many things, this is far beyond my understanding. I don't even know the first thing about such a magical formation, let alone how to conduct repairs.} (Akagi

"T-Then just take the entire thing inside your shadow!" Hishya was trying to figure out something. "You can do anything in there, right?"

"No." Akagi sighed. "I can do many things within my body, but again I have no idea what to do here. I don't magically have all the answers Hishya."

"N-Nor do I." Sizix continued shaking. "We were only given some basic information, and none of our records speak of restoring the database. I honestly doubt it's even possible, as its simply too complex. Not to mention it was always meant to be temporary to begin with.”

"Then just store it away! You can stop time and research it later!" Hishya put forward another argument. “If you can do that, we can just fix it later once you know what to do!” It was a good idea, and would utilize Akagi's unlimited time to their advantage.

"The problem with that idea is that, most likely, the database will not survive being taken within me." Akagi shook her head.

"What do you mean?" Hishya had no idea what Akagi was talking about. She'd never heard of her having issues absorbing anything into her shadow.

Akagi groaned. "I hate to tell you this, but when I take a person or item into my shadow, I actually deconstruct them at the fundamental level and then put them back together. I suspect that the database would collapse the moment I tried that."

"Deconstruct?" Hishya tilted her head, not understanding her meaning.

"Think how transport beams work in fiction. I strip you apart atom by atom, then put you back together. That's not a perfect explanation, but it works." Akagi gave a wry smile.

"Ehhh." Hishya felt a chill run up her spine. "So that means..."

"Don't think about it too much. Your soul, rather than your physical body, is what matters. Basically, all I did was tear away your fleshy exterior, sucked your soul into my shadow, and then built a new body for you. So we have no swamp man issues here since the soul, not the body, is who you are." Akagi didn't want to tell anyone this since it would cause issues, but she had no choice here. "So yeah, taking this into my form is a bad idea. I doubt it will go back together once it breaks apart. At least, that's why my gut feeling is."

{Note to self, DON'T go into her shadow again...} (Hishya)

"That still means we've got to make a choice about who to bring back. I know a few people we could-" Hishya was cut off by Akagi throwing Sizix to the floor.

"Sorry Hishya, but this isn't up for discussion or debate." Akagi glared at Sizix. "Everyone stay right here, and no one move a muscle or I'll throw you in with Armalthy." She turned, tearing open a portal to the estate and walking through. A moment later, she returned with Yumi, someone nobody expected to come here.

{Wait! She wants to-} Hishya figured out who Akagi wanted to revive.

"My Lord, what's going on?" Yumi was a bit confused, as she hadn't expected to be dragged here.

"Listen, Yumi." Akagi took a deep breath. "I've found a way... a way to give you back at least part of your family." She stared Yumi dead in the eyes.

"W-what?!?" Yumi yelped. "What are you talking about?!?"

{R-really?!? I'll get to see them again?!?} Yumi was both confused and elated at the idea.

"The only problem is..." Akagi's face went dark. "That we can only bring back one person." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. If it was possible, I'd give you back all of them. If only I'd known about this sooner!" Akagi slammed her foot down, causing an earthquake. "IF ONLY I'D TAKEN MORE A PROACTIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SPIRITS, THEN WE COULD HAVE BROUGHT THEM ALL BACK!" She unleashed a massive pressure wave which caused everyone, except Yumi, to fall to the floor under its massive weight.

"My Lord, please calm down! There's no need for you to get upset!" Yumi rushed over and hugged her, which caused the pressure to recede. "Please give me an explanation for what's going on. I thought you said such a thing would be impossible?!?"

After calming down, Akagi explained everything that Sizix told her. How she could revive one person who was within FWO, even if they'd died. Though Akagi left out the small tidbit that said person would technically be a copy, with everyone understanding never to speak of such a thing again under penalty of eternal torment.

"If that's the case, then please revive someone else!" Yumi shook her head. "I love my family, but you should prioritize one of the players who died! They were dragged into this conflict needlessly by the Spirits!"

"So were you and your family!" Akagi disagreed. "You and everyone else from that world were created by the Spirits, and they dragged you into this entire thing of their own accord! They had the gall to create an entire world, then destroy it and kill millions of people!" She wasn't going to back down. "Besides, YOUR happiness is more important to me than anything else! Fuck the other players if it means you get to have at least one family member returned to you!"

{I want to comment on that statement, but that would be a very bad idea right now...} (Hishya)

"Akagi, I know you're emotional right now. But please try and see things through Yumi's eyes." Mizumi said nervously.

"Keep your mouth shut!" Akagi glared at her. "You are responsible for all of this, so you have no right to speak on this issue."

"I know it's my fault! I'm just telling you to listen to Yumi!" Mizumi, surprisingly kept pushing. "You'd be making her choose between her mother, father, and sister! You must understand what a horrible thing that would be for her!"

"Exactly! Mizumi is right! Don't force Yumi to make that choice!" Hishya agreed.

"It's fine, my Lord." Yumi grabbed Akagi's hand with her own. "I have you now, so it's fine." Her smile belied the sorrow in her heart. "So please. My family died all those years ago, and sure I miss them every day, but it's fine. Someone else can be brought back. I'm sure Superbia would love to see her sister again."

"No, it's not fine." Akagi cupped Yumi's cheek. "But you're right that I shouldn't force you to make the choice." She took a deep breath before pushing her away. "I'm sorry, Yumi. But I can't allow this chance slip by." Akagi turned to Sizix "Bring back her sister, Miji. Now!"

"My Lord, no!" Yumi grabbed onto the hem of her kimono. "Please! I told you not to!"

{Its fine! Don't waste such a boon on me!} (Yumi)

"I heard you... but... I'm sorry. Please forgive me for ignoring your wishes this one time." Akagi glanced back at her, tears in her eyes. "I just don't want you to go without your family any longer." She'd returned to her usual form. "Having no family... I know how hard it is, and I know you're just putting on a front when you tell me it's fine, Yumi. So whether you want it or not, I'm returning at least part of what you lost." She was resolute in her decision. While Akagi didn't much mind going against other people's will, she was generally not ok with doing that to people she cared about. Seeing Shima and Taichi attempt to overrule Kana's wishes had greatly angered her, but here she was doing the same thing to the most important person in her life.

{At the end of the day, I guess I am that bitch's daughter... if there was anyone I shouldn't disrespect like this, it should be Yumi. But here I go, trampling over her will just for my own self satisfaction. I really am an awful person, aren't I?} (Akagi)

"I...I..." Yumi started crying.

{She'd finally put all the pain of losing her family behind her after all this time, only to be put in a situation where that wound could be ripped open once again. I get Yumi not wanting to be reminded of that tragedy again, and I understand Akagi's feelings as well. Honestly... I can't be angry at her for doing this. She might be ignoring Yumi's words, but she knows how the girl truly feels on the inside.} Hishya thought to herself. {You really do love her, don't you, Akagi? Even if you say you can't feel love, I don't believe it. If that were true, then you wouldn't go against your own principles for her.}

"Now do it. Return Miji to this world." Akagi wiped her eyes as she glared at Sizix.

The Spirit stumbled to her feet as Akagi released her from her bindings. She steadied herself before beginning a complex ritual with lots of chanting and sutras. Eventually, one of the many lights within the database started to glow as it slowly rose up and out of the magic bubble. After a few seconds, the light grew as it began to descend toward the floor, shining brightly as it descended. Slowly but surely, the light began to morph into a humanoid form with small arms and legs.

Everyone watched as it began to look more and more human. It grew hair as green as Yumi's, and not long after clothing began to form. The small girl was wearing simple brown shorts and a plain white T-shirt. Once her body was fully formed, the light disappeared leaving behind a small girl that looked to be around six or seven years old. At this sight, Yumi rushed across the room.

"MIJI!" Yumi scooped her sister into her arms. "Miji! Is it really you?!?" She hugged her. "Oh, Miji!" She began to cry as she hugged her sister, feeling her heartbeat against her chest.

"Ughhhhh." The young girl began to stir from her slumber. "Sister?" Miji's eyes slowly opened. "Sister, is that you?"

"Miji!" Yumi squeezed the girl even harder. "You're really ok!" Hearing her sister speak caused Yumi to begin balling, probably harder than she'd ever done in her life. The entire rest of the room went silent as they watched this display. While the database began to churn, crack and flicker in the background, before disappearing completely. With that, all those who perished within FWO, Player or NPC were gone forever.

{I'm sorry that I couldn't bring everyone back, but this way... this way you can have something, Yumi. Please forgive my selfishness... I just... I couldn't let this chance slip by me. You've given me so much, and I've done nothing in return. So... take this... its the least I can do} Akagi thought to herself as tears streamed down her face.

End of Book 3