44 The Leimans

"No, wait, that's wrong. This really is Ninzhe from head to toe. It's been three days since he came back from the injury and I haven't seen anything wrong," Zhenin mumbled to himself as he stared at the basketball-sized Ninzhe on the ground.

On the ground, Ninzhe had a confused looked. It was as if he suddenly realized why he looked at Zhenin with hostility and himself with fear.

This reaction chained back to Ninzhe.

In Ninzhe's vision, Zhenin moved. The light source in his hand changed direction and went to the side of his bigger, hollow self.

The moment Zhenin stood on the side, he flashed the light towards the small Ninzhe.

This time, Ninzhe wasn't a shadow of himself anymore.

It made him realize.

He wasn't a shadow of his former self.

The reason he was small is that he was new—a product of a second chance.

Finally, he knows what this vision is all about.

A choice.

In front of him is his past self. Who he is now is his current self.

The decision he needs to make to be whole again. Whether he accepts becoming his old self again, or insist on becoming a new person altogether.

Ninzhe almost broke into a chuckle. This vision, what's the point? In terms of memory and experience, both are the same. The only difference is that he feels like a stranger to his own blood in his new life.

Looking back at his actions, he realized that he trusted Jack more than his own brother. Why? Just because he saved me once? Zhenin did that a million times. Because Jack can bring his family back? Isn't Zhenin his family too? And he's already here with me.

At the moment of his realization, Zhenin moved again. This time he twisted the head of the flashlight like a camera lens, and the angle of the spotlight widened.

Soon enough, his mother and father moved behind Zhenin and grabbed his shoulders, showing support. He knew that whatever he chose, his family would stand by him.

He did not hesitate any longer. He's Ninzhe for crying out loud. Closing his eyes, he jumped towards his hollow self.

The world rippled.

Back in Zhenin's vision.

Zhenin forced himself to stand up. Balancing on one leg, he carried the small Ninzhe towards the hollow Ninzhe. Ninzhe shivered, terrified at the thought of what Zhenin could do.

When Zhenin was in front of his brother, he stopped. He placed the small Ninzhe in front of the hollow Ninzhe and put his arms in between them.

"I don't know the exact details of why this happened or why you two got seperated. Still, remember back when we were kids? We had a fight over a piece of cookie then mom and dad would make us face each other while they block the middle? I want you to talk to yourselves, or… I mean… yourself. Look, as much as I'd like to have another brother, maybe a sister? I don't know. What I know is… There can only be one Ninzhe. If you like to be the new you, or be my little brother of before, know that I am still your bigger twin brother," Zhenin spoke, a sparkle of tear visible in his right eye.

This time, the fragment of the soul he lost has been reformed. But unlike the hopelessness he felt before, he found a way to be better. The pride and ego that he lost had been rebuilt, but instead of being absolutely prideful, he knows his size compared to the universe.

Suddenly, both Ninzhes looked towards him and smiled. Similar to Ninzhe's vision, the small Ninzhe jumped towards the bigger Ninzhe, and the world rippled.

Before he woke up, he felt it. On his shoulders, the warmth that was unable to feel since a year ago. Tears began to fall from his eyes.

Suddenly, he missed his parents more than ever.

This is why Jack stayed and guarded the two. Because even from a universe away, the pair of souls, Jhinupir and Milna, formed a thread towards Jack that exited through the ring in Ninzhe's finger.

The red and white flames that represented the father and mother began to burn vigorously. Small specks of fragmented soul began to form and circulate around the bigger part of the soul.

Jack got confused for a second. Because from where he was, the way the souls reformed itself looked very similar to the formation of the sun in the case of Jhinupir and the moon in the case of Milna.

Every second, a speck gets absorbed, and the flames began to show form. The race of the half-human, half-snakes. The specific species that have the venom to paralyze their prey. Milna Leiman, the Gorgon, was the first to wake up.

Carrying the grace of a woman and the enticing aura of a snake, Milna opened her eyes.

With blurry eyes, she wasn't able to see anything. But she can feel it, her husband beside her. Turning her head around, crimson flames flew around like burning moths around a candle fire.

Her eyes cleared up.

Ever since Jack created a solar system, the uniform light spread across his universe was removed. The white surface of his stone body isn't visible to mortals anymore.

For a moment, Milna thought she was seeing the birth of a red dwarf star. For her, there were no words to describe the phenomena in front of her as the red flames burning bright against the dark, empty background of the cosmos.

Then she thought, this was right. The sun of her life, who could it be other than her husband?

And then, Jhinupir Leiman, the half-human, half-seahorse, also known as Hippocantaur or Seantaurs in this world's pop culture, opened his eyes.

Like Milna, his eyes were blurry at first, but he could feel his wife beside him.

The moment his eyes cleared, it was like looking at a fantasy. Planet Buriean has no moons. The planet is also tidally locked. Looking at his wife right now, like the moon pulling the tides in his world, he could feel waves in his heart.

This woman, oh so strong and beautiful.

She, who sacrificed her life to paralyze the mutated beast just so they could go back and give the stone to their sons, is here with him again.

"Is here with me once again," he uttered.

Looking apologetic, Jhinuper was about to open his mouth.

"Ok. I know you guys have a lot of catching up to do, but first your son is now fine." Jack heartlessly blocked the married couple.

Behind him are two enlarged screens showing Zhenin and Ninzhe, who lost consciousness.

"Lastly, your souls have been revived. My promise with your ancestor, Simeon, is done," Jack stated.

The crimson red flames of Jhinupir slowly changed into white. Red seeped out of the plasmic substance and slowly turned into a simple key.

"You!" Milna screamed.

"This is only a transaction, woman. I don't run charities here, much less imbeciles like you," Jack snapped immediately.

"Guys, stop it. Jack we understand. But what of us?" Jhinupir intervened.

"You will be staying in Ninzhe's ring. For now, I'll still allow them to follow me. If they decline three of my missions, then it's over for me. I don't need save people, I need subordinates," Jack glared at Milna.

Milna glared back.

Jhinupir was helpless. Jhin treated Jack with respect as he grew up talking to Jack. But when Milna learned about Jack, she felt like Jack was just using Jhin.

To be fair, Jack did give Jhinupir a mission.

The mission is as follows.

[Stay on planet Buriean.]

[Build a church and gather followers for me.]

[Quest Rewards: Secrets to deification.]

[Quest Failure: Death]

[Declining this quest will cease our blood bond for good.]

In the beginning, it was all fine. The couple spent the first year planning about this. But due to the failing medical services, they weren't aware they were pregnant at the time.

The moment Milna realized that they were expecting, she immediately regretted staying on the planet.

This caused Milna to rebel.

Letting her emotions take over herself, Jack was pissed. They already agreed, and she wants to back out. Of course, Milna had her reasons too. Jack intentionally hid the fact that they were both pregnant.

In his defense, he was going to treat the kids like he did with Jhinupir, who grew up strong and already a peak stage 2 before the apocalypse. The constant exposure to radiation would make it easier and painless for the kids to evolve into higher beings.

Still, the fact that her child would have to face constant danger hit her mother's nerve. To her, it was unacceptable. These kids would have over a thousand years of lifespan, there was no need for them to endanger themselves in the name of becoming strong.

Jack thought otherwise.

In the end, Jhin sided with Jack. The fact that Jack is an actual god is enough for Jhin to trust him. With no other choice, Milna relented. However, the church was never built as Milna decided to focus on her kids rather than the mission. Jhin wasn't able to establish something as big as a church by himself.

Due to her insubordination, Jack declined to save Milna in the end. The quest stated that failure meant death.

Jhin understood. Still, it did not stop him from hating Jack. Who would point at themselves for being selfish and blame themselves, right?

But even so, Jhin made a final deal with Jack.

Protect the kids, let our consciousness live with them. After that, every memory hidden in Jhinupir's ancestor's genetic code, the entire Leiman clan, would be Jack's. It was the kind of deal with his and his children's soul on the line.

Jack agreed. Unexpectedly, the family is far more complicated than he thought.

In just one year, the kids had so many adventures, and the worse one was in the lab. If it weren't for the accident where Zhenin accidentally bounded to Jack, the kids would've died in that place.

The only reason that Jack kept going is that he really needed the Leiman's memories. Most half-human would have ancestors going all the way back to earth's prehistoric era. But only those with prominent races would have access to memories that are generally not shown to the public. With a gap of 4 quintillions worth of information, Jack isn't aware of how different this current universe is.

In any case, it's all part of the plan.

And now, he has Mengsk. The value of the Leimans plummeted, and Jack even began to wonder if he should just let them go. Remembering Simeon, he shook his head and waved his hands.

Without a goodbye, Milna and Jhinupir disappeared from view. They entered a particular area in the white space that is connected to Ninzhe's ring.

Outside his body, in the place where the universe is only a small ball, a white stone orbiting the known universe began to dim itself into black.

Jack, unaware of what's happening, entered the sight of the other white stone and passed by. The moment Jack disappeared from its view, the stone began to glow once again. A sharp red light shot out from its body towards Jack's orbit.