"You’re my knight in shining armor, onii-chan! This means you have to kiss me now! You have to!"
Jason couldn’t help the amused laugh that escaped from deep in his chest, and he carried Maya up into his arms! Maya’s entire face lit up, and she quickly rushed forward to try to kiss Jason, but Jason easily moved his head to the side and pressed a deep kiss into Maya’s cheek! Maya pouted when Jason dodged her, but Jason didn’t even notice as he brought her head to his shoulder and hugged her tight! Jason felt pure relief passing through his body, and he let out a small sigh as he just listened to the soft beating of his sister’s heart. Jason didn’t know it until that moment, but he had been scared. For the first time in a very long time, Jason had felt genuine fear, and he didn’t know what he would’ve done if he had lost his sisters today. But Jason couldn’t allow himself to dwell on that. Jason just had to be grateful that they were safe and alive. They were here with him, and that was what mattered.
"I love you so much, tiger."
Jason whispered this into Maya’s ear, and Maya’s face grew red in a blush as she tightened her hands around Jason’s neck and hugged him back.
"I love you too, oni-chan. Please marry me."
Jason couldn’t help but chuckle again when he heard her words, and he looked towards Janet on the floor. Jason walked forward with Maya, and he could see how Janet flinched when he got within arm’s reach of her. Janet was looking at him the same way hundreds of other superhumans had looked at him in the past. There was reverence and awe in her gaze, but deep under all of that, there was nothing but fear. A small war waged inside of Jason as he debated his next action, and Jason knew that what he did here would determine their family dynamics for the rest of the foreseeable future. Jason could leave Janet to continue doing whatever she wanted, and he could simply give her some crystals to allow her to continue growing stronger, or he could accept her into the family once again and make them complete. Jason let out a calm sigh as he saw Janet’s eyes drop to the ground as she waited for him to say something, and Janet suddenly looked up as she saw a hand appear in front of her.
Janet’s eyes widened in shock when she saw Jason smiling softly at her, and Jason spoke calmly.
"Let’s go home, Janet."
For a long moment, Janet simply stared up at Jason without being able to say anything at all. But all of a sudden, a raw, intense emotion rose out from Janet’s heart, and Janet didn’t even know when tears began to gather in her eyes. Tears fell down her cheeks like rivers, and Janet put her hand over her face and cried like a child! Janet knew she didn’t deserve this! Janet knew that she had done something that was unforgivable by turning her back on her family, and she had no right to even ask for forgiveness! But even after everything that she had done to them, Janet couldn’t believe how much love they were still showing her! Did she even deserve something like this!? Did she really deserve such a family? Of course, she didn’t.
"I’m sorry, Jason. Sniff~! I’m so sorry for everything."
Jason crouched and put his hand on Janet’s head before speaking.
"I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, Janet. Life was hard for us, but I handled it just fine. I didn’t allow what you did to stop me from working hard for the family. But when you get home, you’ll apologize to mother. She’ll forgive you, we both know that already, but she won’t trust you as easily as before, and neither will I. So even though we’ve forgiven you, it’s up to you to work towards making us trust you again. Can you do that?"
Janet nodded desperately as she tried to clear her tears using her shirt sleeve, and she reached up to take Jason’s hand when he stood and offered it again. Jason pulled Janet up gently, and she smiled at her brother as he softly ran his thumb over her eyes to clear her tears before he patted her head affectionately.
"I’m proud of you, Janet."
’Ah, so this is why there are so many girls after him.’
This thought suddenly passed through Janet’s mind, and she could only look up at Jason with wonder in her eyes. A small blush of embarrassment rose on Janet’s cheeks, and Janet couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped as she cleaned the rest of her tears. Janet suddenly felt a lot better after Jason petted her, and she realized that Jason had no idea that treating girls like this was only going to make them fall for him. How can her brother be both brilliant and dense at the same time? Janet chuckled at her own thoughts, and Jason raised a brow in surprise when Janet suddenly stepped forward and wrapped Jason in a tight hug. Janet pressed her face into Jason’s chest like a dying man who had just been saved, and Jason couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his hand around her shoulder. At the side, Gina watched the three siblings with a smile on her face, and for the first time in nearly eight years, Gina felt like there was a chance for this family to heal.
.....
[The World of Zeryln]
[221 Dimensional Leaps Away from Earth]
The world of Zeryln was a Rank II world that had great similarities to Earth. Although Earth was about twenty times larger than Zeryln by landmass, Zeryln possessed great forests and vast waterways that allowed it to build a civilization that had existed for centuries. The dominant species of this world were known as the Coryl, and they were humanoid creatures that could grow up to four meters in height and possess strong bodies and powerful builds that allowed them to build great monuments and farm for food and natural resources all around the world! For centuries, the Coryl lived a peaceful life without any knowledge of their place in the Primordial Expanse, and they thrived as one of the most successful non-magic races in their Primordial Domain! But everything changed on the night of the Winter Solstice.
The Coryl celebrated the changing of their season at the end of the lunar year as the Winter Solstice, and they saw this as a night to party and share gifts between themselves. Millions of them had gathered to watch their King light the great Lunar Bonfire, but it was at this moment that ’she’ appeared. She was a sophisticated-looking woman with long silver hair and a noble face that would lure in the attraction of any man. She wore long silver robes that glowed in the bright moonlight, along with silver bracelets and a necklace lined with dozens of bright silver diamonds. She called herself Ulysis, and she announced on that day that she was to become the new ruler of Zeryln.
The Coryl had obviously protested, and they all screamed and shouted for her to be captured and killed for her insolence! The King called for his guards and told them to come and capture Ulysis, but the Coryl didn’t know that their fate had already been sealed. Because it was on this day of celebration, and at this moment when they were supposed to be enjoying moving into a new year, that the Coryl were introduced to the world of magic for the very first time. Ulysis hadn’t even lifted a finger. The first few guards to approach her had been swallowed by the ground and crushed. The next batch had been skewered by millions of ice needles. The grounds began to shake and rumble beneath the feet of the Coryl, and fear filled the hearts of everyone gathered as they all realized what was happening! The tall castle above them had suddenly broken and cracked into thousands of pieces, and they were all about to be crushed by the falling rocks!