As William stood frozen in front of his door, a sense of dread gripped his stomach like a vice. His eyes widened in alarm as he took in the sight of the woman standing before him, her beauty matched only by the coldness in her demeanor. Flanked by a couple of officers, she exuded an aura of authority that made William's blood run cold.
A chill ran down his spine as the woman's lips curved into a smile, sending a shiver of apprehension coursing through him. Before he could react, she moved with unsettling grace into his home, disregarding any need for a warrant or permission to enter.
William opened his mouth to protest, but his words were cut short by a blow that landed with the force of a sledgehammer. Pain exploded through his body as he was sent crashing to the ground, the impact causing his head to collide with the wooden floor with a sickening thud and opening a hole in his already creaking floor.
His senses reeled as his vision blurred and his ears rang with a deafening silence interspersed with the screeching of a microphone. Try as he might, William struggled to make sense of his surroundings, his mind swimming in a haze of confusion and disorientation.
"Nah, he's not it. He's too veak to be vun of zem," the hulking officer with a black outfit remarked, his Swedish accent coloring his words. He rubbed his wrist and pointed at the disoriented William. "If he vas vun of zem, he vouldn't have broken like a twig."
William struggled to orient himself as the warm sensation trickled down his head, his senses still muddled from the earlier assault. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, he was roughly shoved upward, his body propelled forward as something green in color was thrust into his head.
A sharp, searing pain shot through him as he felt as though his head was being stapled, the warmth enveloping him in a suffocating embrace. Yet, amidst the discomfort, he could sense a rapid healing taking place, the sensation both unnerving and strangely comforting.
With a forceful shove, William was propelled out of his room and into the hallway, where a scene of chaos greeted him. The building's residents were assembled, each bearing signs of injury and distress. Children with red eyes rubbed at various parts of their bodies, their faces contorted in pain as they nursed their bruises.
Gritting his teeth, William joined the group, his gaze shifting to the five officers and the woman descending from his room to join them in the hallway. His mind raced with questions, but he knew better than to voice them aloud in the presence of authority.
William looked at the woman sitting on a wooden chair that had been brought up by the officer. The cold woman gave William a look and smiled, which gave a very bad foreboding to William.
The officers brought up a family that contained a grandfather, a grandmother, and a granddaughter. The granddaughter limped as she walked clutching her leg. The grandfather and the granddaughter were clutching the legs of their officers and begging them to leave their granddaughter alone.
The woman motioned for the child to be brought to her. The woman patted the child and gripped her hair. "What is your name?" The woman asked looking at William.
"William," William answered as he looked at the cold woman. An officer shouted to lower his eyes, but the woman glared at the officer, and he shrunk back.
The woman looked at William and then at the small girl.
William didn't like it one bit.
"I need you to strip." The woman's eyes shined a little crimson as she pointed at William. "I won't force you, but I can't say the same for my team, though." She pointed at her team, which earned a couple of laughs from them.
"They can be very forceful... even on a child," William gritted as he felt his wrath ignite inside his heart. She was going to a dangerous territory, but her meaning was simple. Either William stripped, nor the officers would strip the child.
William couldn't say they would stop at that because they could get away with this really simply, because he knew that the one supporting them, this woman was a royalty.
The wailing of the grandfather and the grandmother increased as William felt cramped inside the open hallway. Then, he sighed.
This time, it was his turn to be embarrassed.
As William reluctantly stripped off each piece of clothing, he couldn't help but feel a surge of indignation at the mocking laughter from the male officers and the suggestive whistles from the female officers. Corruption within the Federation was an open secret, a stain on the fabric of society that had persisted since its establishment after the unification.
In the aftermath of the unification, rebel armies had erupted, prompting the Federation to grant extensive authority to the officers tasked with maintaining order. However, instead of safeguarding the community, many male officers abused their power, wreaking havoc and tearing apart families without remorse.
It was during those dark times that women had risen up to challenge injustice, standing firm against the tyranny of their male counterparts. William had been a staunch supporter of these movements, believing in the power of unity and equality to bring about change.
Yet, as he stood there exposed before the cold gaze of authority, William couldn't help but feel a bitter realization sink in. Corruption didn't discriminate based on gender or any other factor. Those who sought to exploit their power for personal gain would do so regardless of their background or station in life.
As William hesitated at his undergarments, the woman's impatience was palpable. With a heavy heart and a sense of deep humiliation, he reluctantly removed his last piece of clothing, leaving himself naked before the scrutinizing gaze of the woman and the assembled crowd.
A wave of shame washed over him as he stood exposed, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He averted his gaze, unable to bear the sight of the children closing their eyes to shield themselves from the indignity unfolding before them. Yet, amidst his own turmoil, he found solace in the knowledge that the young girl had been spared from further harm.
Every single parent was now closing the eyes of their child, and William had never felt this much insulted in his life. But the child had escaped the predicament, which was all William wanted.
The woman motioned William to prostrate, which was something, in normal circumstances, he would never do. His father had ingrained in his brain that the only ones he should prostrate were God and his mother.
The woman raised her eyebrows and looked at the child. William gritted his teeth so much so that he could feel iron inside his mouth... and prostrated.
The woman crossed her legs and landed her heel on his head. William winced as he felt the heel of her shoe dig into her head and after a couple of seconds, he felt the pain gone.
"No mutation on the body. No body enhancements, and no spiritual fluctuations. No egoistic behavior and morality is properly established inside him. He couldn't have survived the tutorial. He is clean." The woman smiled as William looked at the woman.
He swore in his heart.
He was going to return this humiliation tenfold.
They left the building, and the people began to run wild. William cursed the people for making a ruckus and tried to find his clothes, only to find that an auntie came to cover him with the clothes that she could spare.
Many men came and gave their pants and shirts for him to wear, and he felt weird looking into their eyes.
It was the first time he had seen something inside people's eyes other than their desire. It was gratitude.
He felt that he understood something about being a sovereign.
///////////////////////////////////////////