Legends of Amacia The Awakening

At 9:25 AM in the Red Tower, Hanna and Selina just finished getting dressed for the day. Selina sat in her wheelchair wearing a warm-blue halter-top dress with no sleeves. The dress reached just below her knees. A leather belt with a draken buckle wrapped her waist and sandals sat on her feet. On the other hand, Hanna wore her blue swimsuit underneath and a blue sleeveless tank-top blouse along with a matching knee-length blue skirt. A leather belt with a plain buckle wrapped her waist. White knee socks and six-inch leather boots shod her feet. A cut-off short-sleeve leather coat sat on the dresser waiting for her. She had her hair pulled back into a long loose ponytail. Hanna sat on the bed with Selina in front of her in the wheelchair while she braided Selina’s hair into a single ponytail. “You have the softest hair, sis,” Hanna said to Selina while braiding her hair. “I wish my hair was soft like this.”

“It’s all in how you treat your hair,” Selina purred. “You just need to take care of your hair. That’s all.”

“I know,” Hanna murmured as she finished the braid, locking it in place with a clip. “There, all done. Are you hungry?”

“Sure am,” Selina replied warmly. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

Before Hanna could rise, a brilliant flash blinded them. Hanna cried out in surprise, hiding her eyes, as did Selina. Both of them found their strength vanishing as the flash subsided. “Don’t be afraid, my friends,” a familiar voice said smoothly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Be strengthened in the name of the Lord.” Hanna and Selina felt someone touch them and their strength returned, as did their eyesight.

Hanna blinked a couple times, not sure at what she was seeing. Gabriel stood before them in shining armor with Dan and Paul either side of him. Four powerful war angels stood back with their weapons ready, making a perimeter. They kept a sharp eye on everything outside their circle. Hanna slapped herself when she saw them. When it dawned on her who stood in front of her, Hanna’s eyes grew wide with shock and surprise. “Gabriel, what is going on here? Why are Dan and Brother Paul here?” she asked.

Paul stared in utter amazement at Hanna, smitten by her savage beauty. “Hannibal...is that really you?” he asked, staring at Hanna’s lean and powerful athletic form.

A warm smile crossed Hanna’s lips as she stood up. “I’m afraid it is, Brother Paul,” she answered soberly, giving Paul a warm embrace. “The Emperor mutated me into this using 1st Age tech. It hasn’t been easy adapting to a female existence, but the Lord gave me the strength and wisdom to do it. God, I’m so glad to see your face; yours too, Dan. But why are you two here?”

“Once again, it was Gabriel’s idea,” Dan admitted. “I’m just along for the ride as a witness. Man, you look good, Hanna. I’m so relieved you survived.”

Hanna turned and hugged Dan warmly. “Me too,” she chimed. “I’m also happy that this time I’m dressed much more modestly. That leather teddy you saw me in the last time was right down humiliating and so scandalous.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Dan replied, looking Hanna in the eye as they let go of each other. “I was there. Remember?”

“I do,” Hanna said warmly. “I also remember you telling me about the meteor storms. God, it’s good to see you again.” She kissed Dan on the cheek in a friendly manner. “I was secretly wondering what’s been going on upstairs and how you were,” she admitted. “But I never thought Gabriel would bring Paul down here. Why did you do that, Gabriel?”

“The Lord wished it,” Gabriel replied. “He wanted Paul to see you face to face in your present condition before your mutation is reversed. He’s also here with Dan as a second witness. You know there are foul deeds are afoot in this cursed grave.”

“I do indeed,” Hanna agreed solemnly. “The Darkness here is far deeper and more treacherous than I anticipated. Something far darker and fouler than the Emperor is stirring in the east. Furthermore, I’ve encountered new information about the 1st Age that troubles me greatly. It seems the Emperor, even back then, was no more than a pawn of the Dark Gods and FATE.” Hanna became subdued in her tone and body language. “I found Grimm’s Bane, Hellion, and the Draken Gauntlets of Ryu-Fudo in this very tower, Gabriel,” she reported softly. “And the ancient draken leader Cerrelius has been appearing repeatedly in my dreams. He taught me Grimm’s Requiem. Do you know what’s happening here, Gabriel? Why do I recognize Grimm? Aeolus showed me telepathically what Grimm looked like and told me about Ragnar Caverias, and his prophecy about me. Something very big is brewing that I’m not sure I’m ready for.”

“Calm down, Hanna,” Gabriel cooed, touching Hanna on the shoulder as Paul continued to stare. “Such is the reason I’m here with Dan and Paul. But first, you and Paul must talk. Come here, Brother Paul, and see the truth about Hanna. Ask her what you may.”

While Paul edged up to Hanna, Dan moved beside Selina and smiled at her. “I’m pleased you’re still alive after everything that Hanna told me, Selina,” he murmured. “And that dress is stunning. You look good in it.”

“Thanks, Dan,” Selina replied softly. “It’s good to see you too. I’d stand and hug you, but I’m still getting over what they did to me in the Black Fortress. I can’t walk yet.”

Dan leaned down and hugged Selina warmly, who returned his embrace. “It’s okay, Selina,” he whispered. “You’ll be up before you know it. I’m sure of it. There’s nothing that can keep you down.”

“I appreciate that,” Selina purred. “It helps. Now, I think we need let Paul and Hanna talk. Seeing Hanna like this has shaken Paul. I can sense it. He doesn’t know what to make of it.”

“I’m sure it does,” Dan replied softly with an added chuckle. “I’m not sure he wanted to believe me when I told him about Hanna’s mutation. Now, he can see it for himself. This should be interesting.”

Gabriel stepped back, letting Paul stand before Hanna. “I still have trouble believing that this is you, Hannibal,” Paul said softly. “I can’t conceive of the evil that did this to you. Please, explain it to me.”

Hanna sighed deeply, loving Paul as both a father and friend. “If you don’t believe your eyes, then touch me, brother,” she said warmly. “Everything you see is real, right down to my breasts. I am truly a woman thanks to that bastard. The Emperor had Josephine mutate me down to the genetic level. They literally turned me into my gendered opposite. This is what I would have looked like if I’d been born a woman.” She saw Paul hesitating and took him by the hand. Placing his hand on her left breast, Hanna cooed, “Feel it, brother. It’s okay for you to touch me. I’m not a phantom or demon. I’m real and thanks to the Lord, I haven’t forgotten who I was and am. Feel my heartbeat. It beats same as I did when I was a man. I am one hundred percent woman, complete with female skeletal structure and all the appropriate plumbing, as amazing as it seems.” Seeing Paul’s blush, she cooed, “Please, don’t be embarrassed. I’m not. You’re my friend. If you look closely at my face, you can see the shadow of my former self there. Even being mutated at a genetic level into a woman couldn’t totally erase my former form.”

Paul lifted his hand from Hanna’s chest and touched her on the chin, looking closely at Hanna’s face while turning it with his hand. His eyes grew wide as he finally saw the ghost of Hannibal in Hanna’s face. “That’s really you, isn’t it?” he breathed in awe. “I can see your old face in what’s staring at me now. How did this happen? Can it be undone? And why is everyone calling you Hanna?”

“Because Hanna is who I am now,” Hanna stated. “I’m not sure you’ll understand, but I’ll try to explain. When this first happened to me, I had trouble reconciling who I was. It was very disturbing to be a man locked inside a woman’s body. I had no idea if the mutation could ever be reversed or if I could survive being changed into this. But the Lord was merciful and has shown me a marvel few people ever come to understand with this mutation. You see, we’re born as a fragmented soul with both a male and female component existing together in the same body, soul, and spirit, but remaining separated.” With that, Hanna sat down with Paul on the bed and explained the mystery of the completed soul as she understood it. She even explained how the fetus initially is both male and female, but becomes one or the other at the Lord’s order at the proper time. Both Paul and Dan listened raptly as Hanna explained the great mystery of life.

When Hanna finished, Dan said, “Whoa, that’s majorly deep. I had no idea that we were all like that. I can see why it’s a mystery.”

“Indeed, but it does explain some things,” Hanna stated. “It explains why the Lord was so emphatic about marriage being between a man and woman. The marriage between a man and woman is just the outer symbol of a soul uniting its male and female components. When the fragmented soul unites to become a completed soul, they gain a peace that transcends everything. Even better, they come to understand their place in the Lord’s Will and what they’re here for. For most people, it takes a lifetime to do this. But it seems I’m the exception. Because of what I’m supposed to do and because of my past sin, the Lord literally broke my vessel with this mutation to get me to understand this mystery, and to undergo a time of purging for sins I’d forgotten and not repented of. But it seems the time of my purging is about over. Tomorrow, I shall undergo the procedure to reverse this mutation. So I’m taking these last hours to enjoy being a woman.”

“That is indeed a remarkable truth,” Paul declared, touching Hanna on the leg. “It’s a marvel that I can’t even begin to comprehend. Yet, it’s the truth. The Lord is telling me in my spirit what you’re saying is true. How did you survive when you found yourself forcibly changed into a woman after a lifetime of being a man?”

“I had some very close friends, sisters actually, who helped me to keep from losing my mind,” Hanna admitted. “Selina was my greatest help, of course. They helped me comprehend what had happened to me, and deal with it. Apparently, it seems I’m the only one who has ever been able to make the transition between male and female without going insane and committing suicide.”

“Who are these sisters?” Dan asked. “Are they the girls you spoke of who were locked in the Harem?”

“Yes,” Hanna replied. “They’re my sisters in ways you cannot comprehend. I love them deeply because of how they helped me in my time of need. They are here in this very tower. My Harem sisters showed me how to be one of them and survive the insanity of the Black Fortress. But it ultimately came down to me making a conscious choice to identify and temporarily split my male and female components apart. I had to secure my male side, Hannibal, and let my female half, Hanna rise to the surface. I didn’t recognize her until that moment, but she’s always been with me. If I hadn’t locked Hannibal down, the stress of the two parts warring for control would have torn me apart and I would have gone insane. But since my escape from the Emperor, things have happened and I’ve come to understand many things. Just a couple days ago, I released Hannibal from the room I locked him in because he had to be free before the reversal could take place. I’ve been working to reintegrate with him since then.”

“Are you saying you purposely developed a multiple personality because of this change?” Paul asked in a worried tone.

Hanna smiled and touched Paul on the cheek. “Don’t worry,” she cooed. “It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, but yes. I was forced to utilize a dual personality to do this. My female personality was always here, but remained dormant and locked down while I was a man. But when this calamity happened to me, I rediscovered that female personality and had to let her take control. At the same time, Selina, Izanami, and I secured Hannibal...my male personality inside my mind so the Emperor and the Black Prince couldn’t erase and destroy him. Izanami is a telepath of the 1st order, as is Selina. Together with my growing telepathic ability, we locked Hannibal up at his order to prevent him from being lost when I was put temporarily in the Harem. As I said, just a day or two ago, I opened Hannibal’s prison and have been merging slowly with him since then. If everything goes according to plan, when Josephine reverses this mutation, the full integration of Hannibal, my male side, and me, Hanna, his female component will take place. Hannibal will return and we shall be a completed soul. I actually look forward to it because as his female component, I never wished to take over full control from him. All I ever wanted was to walk beside him on the path the Lord set us on. We’ve learned so much from each other with this mutation. I only wish it could have happened without this mutation, but alas, it was the Lord’s will that this happen to us.”

“I still don’t understand,” Paul insisted. “But I can see you’re in full control of your faculties, which means you’re not lost or insane.”

Selina had been listening intently to the conversation without intruding. She clearly saw Paul’s inability to understand. “Brother Paul,” she called out. “May I say something?”

“Of course, sister,” Paul replied. “I’m very happy to see you’ve remained untouched by this.”

“But I have not,” Selina insisted soberly. “Hanna and I have seen and experienced things no mortal soul should ever see or experience. The Emperor’s evil knows no bound and has no bottom. Both of us have been tortured physically, mentally, and sexually while we were prisoners of the Emperor with Hanna taking the worst of it.” Both Paul and Dan gasped in horror as Hanna nodded solemnly in agreement with Selina’s declaration. “Hanna has truly seen and experienced hell in its fullest because of what the Emperor did to her,” Selina said after a brief pause. “But what you don’t seem to understand is that despite this hellish calamity that befell her, it has vastly strengthened her in ways you cannot conceive. Hanna is now a telepath extraordinaire, far more powerful than I ever could be, and she’s still growing...evolving in unexpected ways because of what the Emperor did to her. If you will permit it, she can show you telepathically what she means so you can understand. I suspect the reason she hasn’t done it yet is that she didn’t want to do it without your permission. She respects you too much to do it without your consent. Will you let her show you?”

Paul’s eyes grew wide as Dan gasped. “Is this true?” Dan asked in amazement.

Hanna smirked knowingly. “Yes, it is,” she admitted. “It seems I’m rapidly becoming the most powerful human mind on this planet because of this chastisement. I didn’t ask for it, but I got it nonetheless. The Lord has given me tremendous telepathic and telekinetic power as a counter to the Black Prince and the Emperor. Apparently, these powers and abilities have lain dormant in me since I was born. But now that I’m here in these circumstances, the Lord has triggered these strange powers and is presently showing me how to use them safely. Yet, I hesitate to use them because they scare me. I still don’t understand the full reach of what I’m becoming. But I’m smart enough now to not disrespect the gift giver and accept the gifts. Selina is right in telling you why I didn’t intrude into either of your minds. It’s because of my love for each of you. Intruding into another mind is a dangerous thing to do, though I’ve gotten pretty good at doing it. Most of the time, it’s just an uncanny ability to sense what other people are feeling. But I can read their minds and thoughts if I concentrate, and I can even show them things that I know.”

Paul looked at Gabriel with great concern showing in his face. Reading Paul’s expression and mind, Gabriel declared, “This is part of the truth about Hanna, Paul. The Lord has imbued to her great power, what you would consider psychic, even magical, to act as a counter to the Emperor and his infernal power. You must not fear these abilities Hanna and Selina are sharing with you. They are gifts given to Hanna by the Lord Himself...tools and weapons she needs to be able to stand against the Darkness of the Emperor, which is far deeper and insidious than even she expected. And she did not lie about her telepathic ability. Her mind is rapidly becoming the most powerful human mind on the planet. She can use this power to show you telepathically what she’s been trying to tell you over the last few minutes.”

“Is it truly possible for her to read my thoughts?” Paul asked.

“Ask her yourself,” Gabriel stated. “She’s gained much experience in the last few weeks concerning her telepathic potential. But she will not touch your mind without your permission.”

“You can really do that?” Paul asked, turning to Hanna.

Hanna sighed. “I can,” she admitted. “But not without your permission. Telepathy can be troublesome at times. It can be maddening to hear every thought around you and feel every troublesome emotion coming from those people. It’s enough to drive a weaker mind insane. But Selina taught me how to control it and tune it out. Will you let me show you what I’m talking about telepathically?”

“Okay,” Paul conceded, seeing how insistent on Hanna was about getting his permission. “But just realize that I’ve never experienced any of this psychic stuff. I always thought it was of the devil.”

“The Darkness and demons can use psychic power and often do maliciously,” Hanna replied. “But apparently they aren’t the only ones who can do this. Selina pointed this out to me the night we were married. The Lord gives these abilities only to those who will use them sparingly and within His will. I will never abuse this power, and constantly wish for them to be lifted from me. No one should have the power I find growing inside me. Only the Lord Himself should ever have access to this kind of power.”

“I can see you’re genuinely afraid of this power,” Paul stated. “It shows in your body language and tone, as well as in what you’ve been saying. This is good. You know power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your fear of this keeps you in check.”

“It does,” Hanna admitted. “My deepest prayer is that when I no longer need these strange powers, the Lord will lift them from me. I’m exercising power now that’s far in excess of what I ever wielded when I was a wizard.”

“And He will,” Gabriel said stoically. “But only when your job is done and it’s safe to do so. Until then, these abilities and powers are to be your burden. However, fear not. The Lord will help you bear this burden. He will not put more on you than you can bear. It’s not His way and you know it.”

“So true,” Hanna agreed. “So, like the good soldier, I press forward bearing this burden praying I can use them righteously and without malice to bring honor to the Lord.”

“Amen,” Gabriel chimed, pleased at Hanna’s response, “Now, show them the truth, Hanna so we may get to the point of this gathering.”

“Yes, sir,” Hanna answered with a sober smile. “Are you ready, Paul?”

“I am,” Paul stated. “Will it hurt?”

“Not in the least,” Hanna declared, “but it will feel strange since you’ve not had this form of contact before.”

“Can you show me too?” Dan asked. “Like Paul, I don’t completely understand what you were saying, but I know it’s the truth down to my toes.”

“Of course,” Hanna stated. “In fact, I can show you both at the same time. It’s a perk of my skill and strength level. Come here and sit next to me Dan.”

“Okay,” Dan replied, sitting at Hanna’s right while Paul sat to her left.

Taking both Dan and Paul by the hand, Hanna declared, “Now relax, my friends, and close your eyes. It’ll make it easier for you.” They closed their eyes and Hanna closed her eyes, engaging her gift. Dan and Paul gasped in astonishment as they felt Hanna make telepathic contact with them, showing them the truth she’d been trying to explain to them. But she did not share her memories about her tortures or of her adventures in Amacia. It took her less than ninety seconds to impart the truth of the completed soul to them. Opening her eyes as she broke contact with her friends, Hanna declared, “There it is. Do you now understand what I was trying to tell you?”

Paul and Dan stared at Hanna, now understanding not just the truth of the completed soul, but also a small part of the truth about Hanna. They could not deny her presence in their minds as she taught them as a teacher teaches her students. “Felt kind of weird, didn’t it?” Hanna chimed.

“Yes,” Dan murmured, still in a state of mild shock from the contact. “It’s about the strangest thing to ever happen to me. I could feel your presence in my mind. You spoke without ever opening your mouth. Despite how strange it felt, I liked it. You felt so warm, full of love and life, and so patient with us. You’ve never been like that before. Does this have to do with your present state?”

“A little bit,” Hanna admitted. “What you felt is the result of my finally making peace between my male and female half. Even though it’s not quite finished yet, it has given me a peace of mind and soul I’ve never had before. It’s allowing my true light and life to shine out. It’s a wonderful feeling. Do you now understand what I was trying to tell you about the completed soul?”

“I do,” Dan chimed. “And the most fantastic thing about it is how simple it really is. You say all of us need to do this?”

“Yes,” Hanna stated. “But to do it you do not need to go through what I did in order to make it work. A full-scale genetic switch to a female form isn’t necessary. You just need to ask the Lord to help you find your female side and make peace with her. You see, Dan. Your wife is the outer manifestation of your female side. That’s why the Lord brought you and her together. Each of you is the physical manifestation of your other half. When you make peace with your female half, and she makes peace with her male half, both of you will know who you are and why you are together. It will make your bond even stronger. It’s the same way with me and Selina.”

“I’ll do it,” Dan blurted out, “...even though I’m not sure how at the moment.”

Hanna smiled and patted Dan on the leg. “The Lord will show you how. The biggest problem facing you will be finding that part of you. Finding her is almost ninety percent of the fight. Once you find her, the Lord will show you how to make peace and become one. Then, you will see clearly and have the power of the completed soul. Only a completed soul will be able to resist the Darkness that threatens to engulf us all.”

“Hanna,” Paul said softly, touching her on the arm.

Hanna turned to Paul, seeing tears dripping down his cheeks. “Yes, brother,” she replied.

“I’m so sorry,” Paul cried softly. “I had no idea. Can you forgive this old man?”

Hanna put her arm around Paul, giving him a friendly squeeze. “Of course I forgive you,” she chimed. “I saw your hesitation and doubt about me with the telepathic contact. I knew you weren’t sure that I hadn’t committed the sin unto death. That’s why I gave you a little extra to consider. All cards on the table; I didn’t ask for this and still don’t. But I can’t, in good conscience, back out now. The Lord sets my course, and I cannot stray from the path. I’ve repeatedly tried to weasel out of it and each time, the Lord scourges me even harder. I’ve finally learned my lesson, and a hard one it was. Even in my darkest hour in the pits of the Black Fortress, I never truly doubted the Lord or blamed Him for my predicament. However, I did despair and briefly give up on myself. You have no idea how powerful and caring the Lord really is. He put me in the deepest, darkest, most vile circumstances I’ve ever been in and showed His infinite mercy and power by sustaining me. He actually used me when I was completely helpless to bring hope to the hopeless. When I saw Him use me despite of me, I realized there was no place He couldn’t reach or influence. Even the very bottom of the Abyss is not beyond His reach. However, I could have done without the torment inflicted upon me. My time as prisoner of the Emperor is a very deep wound that is still healing.”

“But it is healing,” Gabriel intruded. “You now can speak of those events without completely breaking down. It’s a miracle in itself that you’ve been able to do that after what you endured.”

“So true,” Hanna replied. “But it still hurts.”

“I’m sure it does,” Paul said, touching Hanna on the hand. “You have much to be thankful for, even in your present situation. I am truly sorry I doubted you, Hanna. I know you hid what happened from me, but you did show me how your faith kept you grounded and intact. Why didn’t you share what happened there?”

Hanna sighed. “Because I’m not sure it’s the proper time for you to see it,” she admitted. “What I endured in the pits of Amacia is so heinous it will haunt me for all time. I didn’t want you to see it because I didn’t want to contaminate your light. It’s far too evil for you or Dan to truly see what really happened to me. I literally saw what the Emperor means to do to every soul who doesn’t bow to him.” Hanna’s face paled as she hesitated.

“Is it that bad?” Paul asked softly, concern rising for Hanna.

“You have no idea of the depths of depravity and darkness the Emperor wishes to unleash,” Hanna murmured in a very subdued tone. “He means to unleash the Darkness and feed us bodily to it. We are no more than foodstuffs for his infernal minions. He cannot be allowed to succeed.”

“You’re joking,” Dan replied in disbelief. “You mean he means to use us like cattle to feed his demon minions?”

“There was a place,” Hanna whispered, the horror and terror rising in her tone, “...a place in the Black Fortress where a demoniac alien AI literally cooked people alive so they could be fed to the Emperor, the Cadre, and the Zarukar and Xenian hordes. It was truly a Hell’s Kitchen. When I returned to the Black Fortress to rescue Selina, I destroyed it and the heinous place we prisoners called the sex floor.” Paul was about to speak when Hanna interrupted, sensing his question. “Don’t ask what you’re not prepared to learn, brother,” she insisted emphatically. “It will haunt you for all time. Just know that the sex floor was a torture chamber where every depraved action was committed against women with impunity. I was physically and sexually tortured there in ways you cannot comprehend. It was there I learned the Lord’s power and reach.” Tears started dripping from Hanna’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” Paul said softly, putting his arm around Hanna. “Forgive me, sister. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“It’s okay,” Hanna whimpered, leaning into Paul’s embrace. “It’s not your fault. It’s just the memories of that place haven’t fully healed yet. You have no idea what it feels like to be a man locked inside a woman’s body and then to be raped and tortured mercilessly. It’s a horror that nearly destroyed me. If it hadn’t been for the Lord using Selina and my sisters in the Harem to show me how to dispel that horror, I would not be here.”

“You were raped?” Paul asked in horror.

“Yes,” Hanna whimpered, realizing Paul had to know at least part of what she endured. “I was raped repeatedly by all manner of devices and once by the Emperor himself. But I was not as I am now. Using 1st Age tech, he somehow connected my mind to a clone girl, which was tortured in that place.” Seeing Paul’s confusion, Hanna said, “I understand your confusion. I shall try to explain. It’s called an Avatar. My body, before it was mutated, was placed in a machine and put into a deep stasis. But this machine has the ability to connect my mind to a living clone, allowing me to literally live and control another body remotely. In my case, the Emperor hooked my mind to a clone girl and not a clone man. He then took that clone girl and tortured it while my mind was inside it with no way for me to escape it. I felt everything he did to that clone...including the time he brutally raped me. I quickly discovered that one reason I was put in that position was past sexual sins I’d forgotten and failed to repent of. As a dark wizard, I would mind-rape girls as the pagan occult priests would physically rape and sacrifice them to their Dark Gods. Therefore, as a punishment and penance for those forgotten, unrepented sins, I got to experience what those sacrifices experienced first-hand. I became the sacrifice strapped to the altar. You have no idea how lost, alone, and abandoned I felt in that position. But it was for my good. I finally saw my old sins and repented of them. When I did that, the Lord gave me the strength to endure the reaping I was going through.”

“Brother Paul, Dan; Hanna has just revealed to you her deepest pain and sin,” Gabriel declared. “Only a handful of souls know what she just told you. It shows not just the Lord’s righteous judgment, but His infinite mercy. When Hanna repented after seeing her sins, the Lord gave her additional assistance so she could survive the scourging. What she just told you was her Gethsemane and crucifixion. Now, she’s about to finish the purging of her sins, at which time the Lord will restore her to her original male form. Hannibal will emerge from the tomb as a completed soul ready to do what the Lord asks without hesitation.”

Paul stared at Hanna with wide eyes, floored by the revelation. “Oh, my Lord,” he breathed. “I had no idea you’d been treated so badly. Why didn’t you show me when you used your telepathy?”

“Because, as I said, to show you what I endured from my memories would contaminate and scar you for life,” Hanna said softly, wiping her eyes with her hand. “You would have seen and felt everything I did. I didn’t want you to experience the pain, fear, and despair I did when that happened to me. That’s why I’m telling you and not showing you. You’re such a gentle soul, Paul, much like Selina. It would be a grave mistake to let you see and feel what I did on the torture floors.”

Paul pulled Hanna into a full embrace. “I’m so sorry for what has happened to you,” he cooed. “But I’m starting to now understand what the Lord wants for you. And the treasure of the completed soul you shared with us is indeed a marvel only the Lord could reveal. I’m honored He had you share it with us. If you need anything, just ask. We’re here for you. You’re not alone.”

“I know,” Hanna replied softly, enjoying Paul’s embrace as she returned it. “You’re not the only one who keeps telling me that. Keep doing it because I tend to be stubborn as a jackass sometimes. If you see me being stubborn and doing something stupid, pick up that two-by-four and smack me aside the head to get my attention.”

Paul let out a chuckle. “That I will, Hanna,” he chimed. “I’m also seeing how you and Hannibal are really two side of the same coin too. You and he really do complement each other just Selina balances both of you. And you know, Dan was right about you being beautiful. Your beauty truly is breathtaking. I’m glad the Lord decided to let me see you like this, Hanna. Thank you, Gabriel.”

“You’re welcome,” Gabriel stated. “But it was the Lord’s will that you meet Hanna just before she is restored. You had to know and understand the concept of the completed soul so you can share it with the rest of the saints. Because of what has happened to Hanna, she was the only one who could impart the knowledge about it in terms you could understand.”

“True,” Paul agreed. “Though I think it’s more through her telepathy that I finally was able to start grasping it. People don’t generally do what Hanna has done this quickly, do they?”

“No,” Gabriel stated. “It takes almost a lifetime for people to finally make peace with themselves to become a completed soul. Although, some do it quicker than others do. It depends entirely on when they discover their other half and make peace with it. Some people don’t ever become completed souls, not ever discovering this intimate truth.”

“What happens to those people?” Hanna asked. “Does the Lord reject them?”

“Of course not,” Gabriel stated resolutely. “If they believe in Him and strive to live according to His laws and mercies, He brings them into the fold same as someone who is a completed soul. However, before getting full access to Paradise, they are given the chance to become a completed soul. Once those souls realize they’re fractured and see how to remedy it, they do it. Every fractured soul who has died in the Lord has successfully integrated and been allowed into Paradise. Often time, this happens in that transition period when they die. The Lord sends angels to them to give them the one last chance to become a completed soul. I’m pleased to say every fractured soul who has died in the Lord has made the transition successfully.”

“What about those who die in their sin?” Paul asked. “Do they get the same chance?”

“No,” Gabriel answered bluntly. “A fractured soul lost to the Darkness will never be able to reconcile and make peace to become a completed soul. The Lord sends them to their prescribed reward according to their deeds.”

“Have there been any completed souls who have turned their back on the Lord?” Hanna inquired.

“Yes,” Gabriel answered bluntly. “Just because you become a completed soul doesn’t mean you can’t be corrupted by the Darkness. Unfortunately, those completed souls that fall into the Darkness seldom ever break free of it to return to the Lord. They become far worse off than those who are fractured. It’s not pretty and it grieves the Lord tremendously when it happens.”

“Oh,” Hanna murmured, surprised by the information. “So becoming a completed soul doesn’t give you an impenetrable shield against the Darkness, and it becomes a real liability if it compromises you.”

“True,” Gabriel stated. “That’s why it’s imperative that you remained entrenched with the Lord and not give place to the Darkness. If it corrupts you after you make the final merger, only the Lord Himself would be able to rescue you if it’s His will. But fear not. He knows which soul will succumb and which one won’t. Not a single righteous soul will fall to the Darkness. He has foreseen it.”

“You have given me much to consider,” Hanna admitted. “I should be very careful now. I do not want to go back into the Darkness again. I like living in the Light.”

“I know you do,” Gabriel stated. “If you’re careful and don’t let the Darkness enter again, you’ll be okay. But know that the Darkness is treacherous and far deeper than even you realize. Foul things are afoot that cannot be stopped now as the Darkness deepens. The ancient horrors stir because of the Emperor and Black Prince. Time, space, and all existence lies in the balance. We must be ready, and so should you, Hanna.”