QT: Against My Will (Volume 2)

4.1 - Unique Soul - Dangerous Angels

Somewhere in Dimensional Abyss HQ...

A shushing sound between the employees started inside a dimly lit great hall with high black pillars adorned with intricate crimson patterns. Wearing simple red robes, they stole a few glimpses at a man being forcefully pushed into a cage by two wardens.

"I heard he refused to reincarnate."

"Is he stupid? His soul is going to be punished!"

"It won't be; he is one of the unique souls. Do you see those wardens? They are taking him into the judging room."

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Inside the Dimensional Abyss HQ's judging room...

In the cavernous courtroom, a palpable heaviness seemed to saturate the very air, oppressive and nearly suffocating. The walls, dark stone slabs engraved with arcane symbols, appeared to close in, making the space feel both expansive and claustrophobic at once.

Dim, flickering lights only cast more shadows. Five elevated thrones loomed at the far end, each seat filled with an arbiter draped in dark, hooded robes.

The central judge read this soul's case, "Why refuse your soulmates for a soul who is incompatible with you?" His voice echoed eerily, reverberating through the room.

Xuan Mu, locked inside a wrought iron cage in the center, looked up. His eyes were haunted, fringed with dark circles, "What do you mean? Bing Shi is not my soulmate?"

Disbelief tinged his voice. "This can't be. My Bing Shi... she belongs to me...only me."

The judges seemed taken aback, confronted with an anomaly they had never before encountered. A man who, despite the memories of countless lifetimes, still chose this woman. "She has her own soulmate. You should know him from one of your previous lives, Zhu Kai."

The judges added that the woman was compatible with her current soulmate in all aspects, including intimacy.

Just a slight mention of that name and Xuan Mu had a strong urge to annihilate that soul, to destroy the string of fate between his Bing Shi and that bug, "So this is it? You choose our soulmates depending on how compatible we are in bed? Then let me tell you this. After getting to know all my lifetimes, the sex life with Bing Shi was the best I've ever had. And even if it wasn't, I don't care. She is more than a soulmate; she is my essence, my very reason for existing."

Xuan Mu dropped to all fours on the cold, unforgiving stone floor, his forehead touching the ground in an act of raw desperation and surrender. "You've seen my accomplishments. I beg you, please, let me accompany my Bing Shi during her missions," he implored, his voice tinged with a mixture of humility and urgency.

His submissive posture alerted the age-old judges. This was a man known for his defiant, demeanor—This was not just a bow; it was an inversion of everything he had previously embodied.

The judge next to the one in the center retorted, "Impossible! You will be sent to one of your soulmates!"

They couldn't afford to spend any more energy on this soul. Let's just consider him fixed and close the case.

Another judge interrupted in a hushed tone, "This man only has one soulmate."

Different from the System HQ, the Abyss HQ's source of income was different. They accumulated energy by letting the soul reincarnate and gained experience as the soul grew from being an infant, especially from unique souls like this one.

When the judge was about to order the wardens to force this man into a reincarnation cycle, he received a call from the System HQ, asking him for a favor.

The judge opened his eyes in surprise, "She did what?! Fine. Considering you helped us a few times, we'll allow it until the time she finishes all missions."

The judge looked at Xuan Mu, "You'll be transferred to the same world as Bing Shi. However, without our system to safeguard you, it's uncertain which of your lifetime memories you'll retain."

Xuan Mu's fists clenched at his sides, the knuckles whitening, feeling utterly useless. Here, he had no power. But it seemed like his beloved gained some connections. Ah, he loved her so much.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to meet all the judges. "Shall we make a deal?" His voice, though subdued, was laced with a resolute conviction, "I'm certain you'll find this proposition quite... compelling."

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° Somewhere in The System HQ...

° "Chief! Bing Shi... She...She upgraded an A world into an S world!" Full of excitement, the manager of the system headquarters put the report in front of a man who looked exactly like the old chief from Abyss HQ.

° "What?! How is that possible?!" The chief went through the report while muttering under his nose, "What's wrong with this girl? Doing one impossible thing after another," his expression suddenly became serious, "Be careful around her."

° "Why? She seems like a nice person." The manager asked.

° "She is an extremely manipulative individual." The chief answered, "But not dangerous, yet."

° Both of them were glad that Bing Shi fixed the broken soul, which was also a unique soul. Every host they sent would always fall for this broken soul's trap and die.

° The System HQ's main source of income was from the relationship between the souls, mainly soulmates. That's why, more than often, their hosts would obtain a system and missions, that would help them to get close to their soulmates.

° Then, there were cases like Victor, whose soulmate was in the process of selection. Their usual mission was to fulfill the wishes of the souls that refused to reincarnate.

° The manager still couldn't believe that Bing Shi was a shrewd person, "Chief, you are worrying too much. Her accomplishment was all thanks to Kuro. We should be worried about her boyfriend instead."

° She did, after all, make Kuro hack the whole world. Somehow, everyone accepted the fact that Xuan Mu's soul was Bing Shi's boyfriend.

° "She would be able to finish them even without Kuro." The chief switched to Bing Shi's first two lifetimes and showed it to the manager, "It's hard to notice, but if you browse through her first lifetime, she killed without lying, threatening or lifting a finger."

° He continued, "Do not underestimate her. Both of them are domineering in their own ways. He, that wants power over everything while she, that needs to have control over everything..."

° In the middle of their conversation, the manager got a message from his subordinate. Closing the call, he spoke out, "Chief, Bing Shi asked us to exchange her upgrade rights for her boyfriend to be transmigrated near her. Should we agree?"

° "She is preparing for everything possible while leaving nothing to chance, isn't she?" The chief rubbed his chin in contemplation. After calling the chief of the Abyss HQ, he responded to the manager, "Transmigrate him to the same world as Bing Shi. Give his soulmate a mission to make him fall in love with her."

° "Yes..." The manager left the office to recruit their ex-host, Guan Fei.

° To receive the same amount of energy as soulmates, Xuan Mu and Bing Shi would need to create a very strong bond.

° Whereas, when it came to soulmates, they would gain energy from their interaction alone. (Without the need for the couple to fall in love with each other).