Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

Mid-morning the next day, Hanna awoke in her bed wearing her nightgown. When it registered what had happened, a smile crept across her face. “I must have been more fatigued than I thought,” she murmured. She stretched and yawned, finding she didn’t have any real pain. Kicking her blankets off, Hanna marveled that she could even move her legs after such a long convalescence. She sat up and sighed while looking at her partially covered legs. Pulling her nightgown up to her waist, Hanna stroked her legs gently for the first time, actually exploring what they felt like. “Goodness,” she breathed, “I have such beautiful legs. I never really stopped to appreciate them.” Her libido started rising as she stroked her legs, feeling the silky smooth skin with rock-hard muscle beneath the surface. Hanna raised her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. Laying her chin on her knees, she looked across the room, just enjoying the feeling of not being in constant agonizing pain. The urge to relieve herself drove Hanna into the bathroom. After using the toilet, she stopped and looked in the mirror. Her image fascinated her. It felt alien, yet so familiar.

At a whim, Hanna stripped naked and stood before the mirror. “Oh, my god,” she murmured, “I’m…I’m beautiful. Why did the Emperor make me so pretty when he hates me so much? Surely, he could have made me much uglier. Why do this?” Hanna stared at her image, pondering the fate that gave her such a gorgeous body despite all of the scars that survived the mutation process. Hannibal’s facial and general build remained intact during the mutation. The procedure only altered it just enough to make him a true anatomical female. “I just don’t understand it,” Hanna said softly. “But I must thank him at some point for this. For the first time in my life, I feel truly alive and not like the walking dead.” She stroked her breasts, gently exploring them as she had her legs. The sensual massage of her breasts caused her to become aroused physically to the point she could see its manifestation in the mirror. “Oh, my...so that’s how that works,” she chimed with delight, enjoying the sensations. “God...I feel so alive. It’s amazing. I wonder why I never felt like this as a man.”

“Maybe because you never lived as a man,” Caverias whispered in her ear, “You were always worried about controlling the world around you, always looking for vengeance, and never stopped to just live. Now, you’re being allowed to actually live for the first time.”

“Yeah,” Hanna agreed, “I never did live for myself in the good way. It was always for someone else or for my own selfish, vengeful ambitions. Not once did I ever pay attention to my own needs. I was such a fool. It took being mutated for me to see that.” A chill raced down her spine at her words when she realized the truth of those words.

“Your words, not mine,” Caverias replied, “But true nonetheless. You could have felt this freedom as a man before now had you truly repented, but you were so stubborn and rebellious, much like Thoth. Whether you want to accept it or not, you and he are very similar, right down to your temperament.”

“Really?” Hanna asked with surprise, suddenly seeing Caverias in the mirror looming behind her in full angelic armor. “You were his guardian too?”

“I was,” Caverias said softly, putting his hands gently on her shoulders. “And now I am your guardian at the Lord’s order. Look in the mirror, Hanna, and tell me what you see, for the mirror does not lie.”

Hanna stared at her nude form in the mirror, loving and accepting it unconditionally. “I see a part of me I’ve never seen before,” Hanna admitted, “As the man I used to be, I unconditionally rejected and suppressed her. Now, she has risen and taken over, showing me the fallacy of my arrogance, identity, and beliefs. I see my other half, the part I rejected as a man showing me how to really live. I see the calming female yin to my raging male yang. I see the love of life and light and fun; the part of my soul that gives life and doesn’t take it.” Tears filled her eyes as she began to comprehend at least part of her destiny. “I see the part of me that Selina latched on to...the part she connected with that drew her to me to begin with,” she declared, “I see not just my female alter ego. I see my soul mate. I see Selina who saved me from oblivion and my own dark heart.” Hanna covered her eyes with her hand as her head sagged, sobs slowly bubbling up. “How could I have been so blind?” she cried.

“Listen to me,” Caverias said softly. “You have seen truly, but not completely. There’s more to you, much more. You’re just now taking your first true steps into the light. But you have missed the most important thing.”

“What’s that,” Hanna wept.

“You forgot the good within your male half,” Caverias declared. “You have great good in your male side as well. You forgot and suppressed this female part of you because of the society and world you live in. It’s because of the world you rejected and suppressed Hanna as your female half. That’s why you’re still weak. You’re only half a soul when you reject your opposite side, Hanna. Even now, you’re starting to reject that male side...the side that made you Hannibal. Don’t do it. You need him as much as he needs you.”

Hanna gasped in astonishment. “Oh, no, I’m doing it again,” she declared sorrowfully. “I’m rejecting my opposite side, which is now my male side. I’m doing the very thing I swore I wouldn’t do. Oh, god, how stupid I am. Please forgive me.”

“It’s okay,” Caverias replied, touching Hanna on the shoulder in emotional support. “You saw your sin and turned from it, but you must not think you’re stupid, because you’re not. You must accept both sides, not reject one over the other. That’s the way of the Enemy.”

“I know,” Hanna said softly. “It’s hard, though. This mess is of my making. My present condition is of my own making. It’s my fault I’m like this and not accepting both sides of my being. I’m such a fool.”

“You’re a fool only if you don’t see your mistake, which you have,” Caverias reassured Hanna. “Besides, it isn’t entirely your fault because you have yet to truly comprehend the nature of the human species as the Lord made you. The Lord made souls not merely male or female separately, but as both together. You’re born with both sides in you, but only one is allowed to physically manifest at a time in this life. In the early phases of gestation, the human body is neither male nor female, but both simultaneously...a true hermaphrodite. At the proper time in the growth of the fetus, the sex of the fetus is determined by the Lord’s will and triggered through a unique set of hormones being released in the mother that activates the genetic codes of the fetus that determines sex. The chosen sex rises in the development of the fetus while the other sex is genetically locked down, remaining dormant in the fetus. Therefore, when the fetus is born and becomes a living soul, that soul has the chosen sex outwardly, but the opposite side remains buried dormant within the body, mind, and soul; within its very genetic structure. This duality extends to the mind, spirit, and soul, not just to the flesh. The soul only becomes complete when he or she has accepted and integrated their opposite into their mind, soul, and spirit. The soul’s true power comes from this union that creates a completed soul. Why do you think the Lord made you humans as male and female and told you only to mate as male and female?

“That’s because it mirrors the mating within the human soul of its individual pieces. The Lord purposely created you and all humans as fractured souls. The job you have on earth is to learn to put the male and female pieces together in a perfect union, which is the way the Lord ordained it. Only when he or she does that can she have true peace and happiness that no one can steal from them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

A gasp escaped Hanna’s lips as Caverias’ words gently pushed her male and female sides together in a perfect mating. “You know I speak the truth,” Caverias said. “Selina is your proof. She is not of this Earth, but of another world entirely, yet you found her...your soul mate. Without her, you’re nothing, an incomplete soul. The same can be said of you, Hanna. You and Hannibal are two sides of the same coin. The Lord just decided to turn your coin over at this time to make a serious point about your rebellion, which I’m very pleased to say you have backed away from. You must become a completed soul before you can truly comprehend your fate. Fuse Hanna and Hannibal together forever to become the completed soul you were meant to be.”

“That’s it,” Hanna breathed in epiphany. “That’s why I’m like this: to become a pure completed soul. Can Selina truly be part of my soul?”

“She already is,” Caverias reassured Hanna. “Selina is meant to be the physical representation of your female half, Hanna. She always has been. That’s why your mutation is not permanent. When you have properly integrated your internal male and female halves, then Selina will become the physical representation of your female half. She always has been that. When you have properly aligned and integrated your internal male and female sides, then you will be shown the way to reverse the mutation, thus allowing you and Selina to truly seal your souls together for all eternity. It’s the Lord’s will.”

“Thank you, Caverias,” Hanna sobbed in gratitude. “Once again, you show me hope in the darkness and gems of truth I completely missed. I shall do everything in my power to merge my fragmented soul and become the pure completed soul you speak of.”

“You may also enjoy yourself while you do it,” Caverias reminded her. “It’s okay to have fun and enjoy the pleasures of being female while the Lord allows you this form. Just watch what you do, though. The same restrictions as a man are still on you as a woman. Don’t sin against the Lord, Selina, or yourself. Be careful not to let the physical pleasures of your present form cause you to forget who you are. Don’t let the carnal pleasures of your body blind you to what you really need to do. Remember, unrestricted carnal pleasures will lead you back into the Darkness, and I know you don’t want to go back there again.”

“No, I don’t,” Hanna answered emphatically. “I like living in the Light. It’s so much better than living filled with fear, hate, despair, blood, and violence. For the first time in my life, I can say I’m happy.”

“Good,” Caverias chimed, “Now be a good girl. Remember...we’re always watching.” Caverias’ image vanished out of the mirror, leaving Hanna standing there with peace and joy in her heart. She gazed at her image and for the first time truly felt at one with it. She hugged herself and went out into the bedroom to get dressed.

Stopping at the dresser, Hanna rummaged through it, finding a sexy metallic-blue halter-top teddy with high-cut legs and low V-cut on the chest that showed off her cleavage. “Oh, this is so pretty,” she murmured, slipping into it. It formed to her body perfectly, accentuating her curves. “Very nice,” she muttered, looking at herself in the bedroom mirror. “This is so hot. Why do the girls always end up with the nicest, hottest clothes while the guys just end up with something just functional? Damn if I know, but it makes me want to stay like this.” Hanna then proceeded to put on a pair of loose-fitting gray trousers, a short-sleeved midnight blue blouse came down to just below her hips, a wide leather belt with a dragon buckle, knee socks, and a pair of low-heeled knee boots. She primped in the mirror, tying her hair back in a single ponytail and sighed. “As much as I love this, it still feels so strange dressing like a woman,” she murmured. “It must be a residue of my male side. I am going to miss this if I ever get to change back.” Hanna pushed one last hair into place and then walked out of the room.