-William Shakespeare

"I'm going to call you Sophia Newman," John decided, nodding his head. He'd named several characters that in the past, especially when games either **** him to choose a female character or when he played the rare hentai game that involved gender bending or a female-centric one. It was also something he just liked - because of both of these things, he felt rather attached to that name. Whether this harpy was his actual daughter or not, he didn't want to simply pick a name out of thin air for the first woman to ever call him father.

"Thank you, Father; I will honor your name and carry it with me always. What does it mean?"

"Ah…" John couldn't tell her that it was simply something he had come up with or that it was just a name he'd heard before and liked enough to repeat. She had such devotion, such sheer undying loyalty in those bright eyes of hers that John couldn't possibly reply with such a weak reasoning.

"Sophia has several meanings," Tricia chimed in, one of her drones whirring off a holographic menu as she spoke, "it originates from the Greek 'sophia' or 'sophós' which can be translated as clever, intelligent, or wise. The name rose to prominence several centuries ago after King James I gave it to his daughter."

"I see… I understand, now," Sophia said, smirking if only to herself. "You honor me with such lavish titles, Father. I will do my utmost to live up to them and honor you as my ancestor and clanmate."

"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll do just fine," John said, wincing a bit as he thanked his stars that the name had a meaning beyond sounding nice in his ears. "Changing subjects for a moment, you're a harpy, so where are your wings?"

"My wings? This room is rather small, and there is no place for me to ascend through, so I have kept them retracted. Would you like me to allow them to expand, Father?"

John thought about that for a long moment, suddenly uncertain. He was quite sure that when Sophia was working her way out of the egg he had seen parts of her back and there had been no signs hinting at any existence of wings, even if she somehow happened to be standing at the perfect angle to keep wings folded up and hidden from him.

"Please, as much as you can. I'd like to see them in all their glory."

"As you shall, Father, whenever you call upon them. Whenever our enemies dare to rise against you, may their wicked blood rain down from my wings in your name."

John wished that she hadn't thrown him off with such unexpectedly bloody language, because what came next was something John had always wanted to see. Sophia's eyelids fluttered for a moment, and then an intense golden glow began - not anywhere John could see, but her back must have been extraordinary, because its light was powerful enough to brighten most of the room. After a few seconds, as the light only continued to grow stronger, the source finally became evident.

"John, do you - have you any idea-" Tricia trailed off and settled for a slightly gaping stare as two massive limbs of light grew out of roughly where Sophia's shoulder blades were, extending continuously and slowly becoming more and more defined. The brilliant white faded into hues of gold that outlined feathers, bones, and sinewy tissue while reaching so high they nearly touched the distant ceiling of the Brighton Manor.

When the light finally stopped and faded away, feathers as black and smooth as her hair were revealed under that concealing glow. Her wings were stretched as far as they could reach at first but quickly settled back down. Still, in the few moments John had to observe them at full size, he estimated her wingspan at somewhere around twenty feet. Ridiculous in many ways, especially since the actual weight of the wings themselves meant that their physical size served no purpose. All the same, they were something to behold. The majesty, the incredible detail and purpose behind every feather, the sheer intimidation of their size…

"John Newman, you Gaia-blessed fool… do you have any idea what you have done?"

Tricia's words were somewhere between awe and fear, and glancing over at her face John could find no better emotions to describe her outlook. Tricia's eyes flickered between him and Sophia, as if she were actually concerned as to which deserved more of her attention.

"I mean, I didn't Purify her, but she seems pretty similar to the Nekos and Lunaya. New race, new existence, new physiology… isn't that why you were impressed by them in the first place? You and Moira have both told me how rare non-human races are."

"As well they are," Tricia agreed, stepping forward slowly with a hand extended. When Sophia showed no signs of hostility, she eventually touched the very tips of the harpy's wings, earning a squirm and a tensed brow from the harpy but no other signs of opposition to the attention.

"So… what's the big deal?"

"The Abyss contains the occasional deviation from strict humanity," Tricia began, fingers tracing along the edges of Sophia's feathers as if she were touching the brink of existence itself, "but nothing quite like this. Elves, Dwarves, even Changelings and a few other races exist - but they are the result of magical experimentation on humans, nothing so pure and untouched as what I see here. Rarer examples, such as Elementals and Demons, can be created from magic itself but are exceptionally uncommon and are incredibly difficult to create intentionally.

"Magic can, of course, express itself in many forms in humans - my Gorbachev blood and your Gamer abilities are quite proof of that - but it rarely manifests physically. You say she is similar to the Nekos and Lunaya, but they are mere humans with the barest physical alterations, at least if you break it down to their true forms. My drones are still processing data, but these wings appear to be a part of her body - a part sealed and released using innate magic."

"Okay, but like you said, it's like your eyes," John questioned, looking askance at the eager Gorbachev, "so why is this so much more impressive than me being able to Purify things in the first place?"

"Well, in comparison to creating living beings that are essentially Barrier creatures, perhaps it's not all that surprising. Your creations are certainly unheard of, whereas this would only be extraordinarily rare, but all the same, none of your prior creations have displayed any overt ability to even use magic. If you can create a species of Harpy, one that can manifest and dismiss wings via magical manifestation, what else can you create? Mythological creatures might become mundane if we can materialize their manifold mysteries in multiple manifestations for study and magical advancement."

"Was that really necessary?"

"More importantly," Tricia continued, ignoring John's exasperation, "the fact that 'Sophia' was born from an egg implies that these creatures of yours are far closer to living beings than summons or golems. If they can reproduce, they are essentially a new species. Your little realm may in fact become more a containment net than a petri dish - if these creatures you have created spread or began to multiply, mixed in with the natural beings of this world and hid themselves away long enough…"

"We are potentially looking at an extinction level event… or, perhaps more accurately, a colonization."

Moira strode into the room with the purpose and authority of a woman who knew exactly how bidden every human in that room was to her - she parted the small ocean of Order Knights with her mere presence, her eyes locked on the harpy in front of herself.

"What, you have a problem with this one?" John asked, throwing his hands out to the side. "Because frankly, I'm really not feeling the consistency on this one."

"You heard her, John, Your former creations have been purified Barrier creatures, and even in the lengthiest Barriers that the Fateweavers themselves have ever kept active, none of those have ever been found to reproduce or multiply in any form other than the rare cloning monster or duplicating slimes. A creature which can reproduce infinitely, can harness magic, can even blend in with ordinary humans so as to avoid extermination…"

Moira was mid-sentence, but for all her arrogance, she had forgotten the one creature in the room not bound to her service and apparently not afraid of her. Though her body had been tense since the redheaded Paladin first strode into the room, the mention of 'extermination' seemed to light a fire within Sophia. Immediately her wings were fully extended again, and her shamelessly nude form was pressed in front of John as quickly as she could move.

"If you would seek extermination," Sophia growled, crouching lower to the ground, "you will only find your own if you dare threaten my father again!"

The next few seconds were a blur of activity - the Order Knights drew their blades, Seras took a defensive stance on John's unguarded flank, and Tricia's drones produced multiple pieces of weaponry although none of them seemed entirely certain on which of the multitudes of hostile humans below to point them at. Meanwhile John found himself assailed in his own, unique ways.

Sophia's loyalty has automatically added her to your party!
A Party Member has shared a buff with you: Certainty of Purpose!

John wanted to see exactly what the buff that had been given to him was, but between the blades and bullets pointed at him and his ally, he was paralyzed with tension, ready to World Shift himself, Seras, and Sophia away if things turned for the worse.

"I have threatened no one - your existence has done that on its own," Moira sighed, shaking her head. "Lower your guard and your tone, 'Sophia', for I mean no harm to your so-called parent. I only wish to ensure that our world does not become overrun by creatures we are unprepared for."

"I will believe you when your tone and words carry the same intent that your eyes do," Sophia spat, not backing down even slightly. She turned her head towards John and as she did so revealed a blazing intensity that had not been there before - and ruby red eyes, glistening with magic and strength untold.

"My father, what are your orders?"

"Stand down, stand down - everyone!"

John shouted the last word, so loudly and commandingly that for a moment even Moira herself seemed ready to do so. The Order Knights held their blades, but only hesitatingly. Tricia's drones whirred even more uncertainly, frantically altering between targets as they tried to decide which faction and party was more likely to strike at their mistress. John reveled in the pause for a moment, enjoying the time to think before he spoke but knowing it would never last long enough. Moira's blade-first attitude and Sophia being the first person truly willing to stand up to her would not mesh well if he didn't cool tensions and gave himself time to deal with these new revelations.

"This has gotten far out of hand… if it's containment you want, then you shall have it. I'm taking Sophia and Seras with me back to my world - when I return, if I return, we're going to have a long talk about how you handle unknowns, Moira."

"I handle them as well as I know - by eliminating uncertainty and-"

"And trust," John spat. A moment later he was gone, casting aside the barrier between worlds with Sophia and Seras pulled along with him.