"Please tell me your name."
"My name is Ryan... Who are you?" Ryan asked. His gaze slowly turned towards the new figure until he locked on the hooded man's black hair.
His short, black hair framed his round face perfectly, his eyes looking directly into his own while smiling with amusement and interest. He had thin lips and a tall nose within his soft face that looked just like a cherub in an oil painting.
"My name is Shade," answered the man, taking a step toward Ryan without breaking eye contact. "I am the protector of the Xygar."
"I was sent here by The Old Man for a... preliminary test," continued Shade.
Ryan watched as the man removed his cloak.
His skin was covered with intricate tattoos, which matched his dark black hair.
"He told me to test if you were worthy to be given the directions to the ruins, as that is the majority of the test."
"Why would he give me the answer to a majority of the test?" Ryan asked in bewilderment.
"Because he knows you are under a time restraint, that's why!" replied Diana.
Shade ignored her and held up a finger to silence her. "The test is to cure Hannah of her curse."
Hannah gasped, and even Diana took a step back at Shade's words.
"A curse?" Ryan asked in disbelief. "What kind of curse?"
'Are they going to make me convert her?' Ryan thought. 'I would run out of here except...'
When Ryan had used energy vision on Shade, he couldn't tell his rank, meaning he must be at least C-Rank.
But that wasn't the most terrifying thing. His ability also didn't work on the three catgirls.
"That's not fair," muttered Diana angrily, placing a hand over her mouth in shock. "Even though I hate men, he deserves a fair shot."
Shade shrugged, "It's straight from The Old Man's mouth."
Ryan furrowed his brow as Shade put away his hooded cloak and knelt down next to Hannah, who still remained stunned by what Shade said. The man reached forward with his fingers and touched Hannah's forehead before bringing his other arm around and pressing his palm against her chest right above her heart.
As soon as he placed his hand against Hannah's chest there was an intense burning sensation in Ryan's eyes that caused him to throw up his hands in an attempt to block out the blinding light that was now covering his entire vision.
Deactivating energy vision, Ryan's sight returned to normal.
Ryan furrowed his brow looking at Hannah. "Okay, but I'll need you all to leave the room."
Shade only nodded and escorted out the two catgirls without a word of complaint. Once they were gone and the door shut behind them, he watched silently as Hannah rubbed her temples and massaged her forehead.
"What happened?!" she finally asked. "I remember wanting to touch your cheek when my hand got taken away, then everything went black!"
"You're cursed," Ryan spoke slowly as if trying to get the words out carefully. He couldn't believe it either until Shade did... what did he just do?
'Whatever he did, allowed me to tell exactly what her curse was. I should be cautious around that guy.'
"Your curse is that whenever you are close to someone you lust for..." Shade looked at Ryan questioningly with one eyebrow raised, "...you become infatuated with them."
Hannah frowned at the revelation, thinking about every time she felt something like this. She could recall how often she would sneak a look at a male and find herself getting lost in their beautiful features and how the sun hit their skin.
It wasn't always men, though. Some females could work her up as well. The most common type of people she found attractive were human males, which was ironic considering she had only seen two in her life.
Her first was a tall man, about five foot nine or ten inches, with long dark hair that fell past his shoulders, brown eyes, pale complexion, thin lips, and muscular arms and legs. But he turned out to be gay... or at least that's what he told her.
"I'm not crazy. You understand... right?" Hannah looked at Ryan with eyes filled with craze and desire.
'She's starting to look like a yandere. Although, since she has breasts, she passes the test,' Ryan thought.
"I believe I can help you with your curse," Ryan said, recalling how he helped Mara with her icy constitution.
'And I won't have to waste a slot on her.'
"Is that possible?!" Hannah asked while looking at him with hopeful eyes.
Ryan nodded and stood up, stroking Hannah's cheek. "But in exchange, tell me about the Multiverse."
Hannah smiled and teasingly punched Ryan's chest, "You're so silly."
"You either won't need that information, or you'll be able to command me to do... whatever you want," Hannah purred into Ryan's ears, her small whiskers tickling his cheeks.
She licked her lips as she placed both hands against his head before she moved her hand away from his face, running her fingers through his hair playfully while gazing at him with eyes of devotion.
"What do you mean I won't need that information?" Ryan asked, tilting his head.
"You'll be dead silly," Hannah said, giggling. "It's not like the test for a King-Tier civilization's inheritance in the Multiverse is easy to obtain."
Pursing his lips, Ryan shrugged. 'Not like I'm likely to live long anyway.'
Hannah smirked happily before she leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead, and then stepped back and poked her tongue out at him.
"Now, how are you going to cure me, silly boy?" Hannah asked seductively as she brushed her hips. She took a moment to look up at him with those innocent eyes again while slowly swaying her hips as if trying to entice a man into having sex with her.
"Well, as my master use to say, 'The cure lies in the source'," Ryan said, licking his lips.