Chapter 23: Changes
Why would any respectable God allow such heat—no, such acrimonious hell—to chafe, scald, or nearly kindle the contours of her soft, cool dark skin?
Or would she have to naked herself to the glances of ugly animals who would have no care for her natural greatness in a land nearly void of passing wayfarers?
Maybe it was her fate…
The arid scenery came and went behind her steps, but while the surroundings slowly descended, the temperature didn't do the same.
With a sigh, her hand reached the top of her gilded collar-
Badum-badum-badum-badum…
What?
Her heart beat above the usual.
Badum-badum-badum-badum…
Again?
What's goin' on?
"Your Royal Highness, what's wrong?" the mermen asked, startling her.
"No-nothing," she stammered, then realized that her stride stopped a moment ago since he'd overtaken her, her tigers now standing beside instead of slightly behind her.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "It's just the heat, let's go, you guys."
She resumed her trek forward, leading by example under the bemused eyes of her allies, when a couple minutes later…
Badum-badum-badum-badum-badum-badum…
Her heart nearly battered her thoracic cage, clenching her throat and sewing her mouth shut.
Again?
What's happening inside her?
It's as if her heart couldn't wait to burst out!
At this rate, she'll not only run out of fuel, she'll be flat on the ground breathless!
Then suddenly, a sweltering wave spread from her heart to all corners of her body, searing its way through her brain so hard she swallowed back a cry.
Shisssh…
The young queen grunted, her eyes forced shut, as her right fingers pressed upon her trained and toned bosom.
A seed of power, ancient and primal, burgeoned in the very depths of her heart.
A flame?
No, seemingly the beginning of a spark.
A tiny spark full of dreadful might.
A spark whose light shone brighter than the midday sun and the moon's glare combined.
Though minuscule and remote, it sent a shiver rippling across her bones and muscles.
With a slight crack and a twisted sinew, it broke and tore every inch of her body, the effects subtle and minute, as it repaired and strengthened her silhouette bit-by-bit, a stimulating feeling like a blossoming plant undergoing photosynthesis.
However, her body couldn't repress a violent twitch she waved away under her group's inquiring eyes.
Dear Gods?
Had the infection truly began, taking root inside her brain, body, core and heart?
Mmmm…
What?
{AaAaAAaargghhh…}
Who screamed like that?
A tingling wave of heat pooled on her lower half, rising up the curves of her vag**a.
What the-
{Fuuuuu*k…}
Whattafu*k?
She almost came!
Fu*k!
{Fuuuuu*k, fuck, fu*k, fu*k!}
Holy fucking sh*t!
What was happening to her?
{Fuuu*k, I need to fu*k, I haven't fu*ked in a looong time, let's do it…}
What in the name of-
{Fuck, it's hot out there, but no matter, I gotta fuck someone, now! Who's nearby? A merman? Nah, this one too ugly, and he doesn't seem that much into me, plus I'm not that desperate already…}
Who's talking in her mind now?
Who the hell are you?
{Oooh, and these two cutie tigers behind me, unfortunately, I'm no beastie, but if it were a basic true bipedal monster, I wouldn't mind giving it a try… I heard the roughhousing s*x is better with them…}
But the guttural female voice didn't seem to hear her at all, and kept on rambling about its growing sexual needs after dismissing her allies.
But wait a minute…
This voice clearly saw her surroundings, so she did it through her eyes, and she… talked about her sexual preferences as well, so could it —maybe she—is…
Holy mother of all her sh*t!
Is that what the infection is supposed to do?
Halving her brilliant mind?
One rational, and the other… the pith of her lower and darker, perverse impulses?
Therefore, it would be useless to communicate with herself, now, wouldn't it?
Fortunately, the others haven't truly noticed the changes.
What the hell is that archaic power inside her?
Is it the power these sickos before tried to achieve but didn't, thereby leaving those failed mindless monsters who chased them away?
Where they even failed, for that matter?
They had to be since they were seemingly vulnerable to the sun, which wouldn't make them the ideal bravos in a daylight stint…
{Hmmmm, and at some point, I gotta eat! Fu*k, then eat! Yeaaah…}
At some point, she'll be hungry and thirsty as well, since her unending trek gradually emptied her of calories and evaporated her sweat.
On this—and only on this alone—she could agree with her other self.
A dozen minutes went by when…
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations, you broke through!
Current Cultivation Status: ¤Junior (3) Stars¤
|__________________________________________________________________________________________|
What?
She broke through?
No way!
She had to check out her basic stats!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
[Cultivation level: 1] ~Personal Information~ [Next level: 0%]
[First Name: Lyshisha] VITALITY :{100%} [Species : Human ] [Middle Name(s): Ngwi, Asong] MANA : {100%} [Surname: Duala] [Sex: Female] STAMINA :{100%} [Cultivation status: Junior (3) Stars] [Height: 6.3 ft] [Body Weight: 191 lbs] [Skeletal Age: 27 (Born: April 30th 2175)] [Blood Type: O+] [Bone Frame: 9th Grade] [Epithet/Title: Duala's Empire Crown Princess, Dibano Kingdom's Queen]
~Status~
Normal [Jiu Tian Sect Outer-Court Disciple]
|__________________________________________________________________________________________|
The results left her bug-eyed.
What the fu*k?
She gained a fu*king pound!
A fu*king pound!
Why?
So since that bizarre infection changed her bones and muscles—and still doing it as this very second, albeit at a much slower pace now than before—it had to make her fat?
Then what would these changes turn her into?
A fat princess?
No way!
She's not one of those specialized fetishists nor would she want to be thought of as one such member of that community!
To each their own, no judgment whatsoever, but that path's not for her!
But wait a minute…
How did she manage to break through with her broken core and seemingly without condensing the gathered energy of heaven and earth?
What is that primeval energy that can seemingly be a substitute for the ambient mana?
These sickos were surely after that sh*t, that's for sure!
And if someone could create an army made of people able to harness that mysterious energy, wouldn't they be able to break through in no time with an enhanced body to boot?
Wouldn't that make them nearly unstoppable this side of the solar system?
Dear God!
At the very least, she profited from it, but obviously, these sickos would keep tabs on her to see how her body adapted to their sh*t.
She'll have to watch her back even more carefully in this area…
She was then surprised by another discovery.
Three meridians were restored, giving her sixty-three meridians now!
She couldn't help but smile at that.
Maybe this ordeal will be a blessing in disguise…
Minus being fat, of course.
"Your Royal Highness, I firmly believe that this cave would be most suitable to find the ores you need!" Kame said with a twinkle in his eyes.
His sight narrowed, then swelled in astonishment. "D-did Her Royal Highness bro-broke through? How?" he nearly shouted.
"You should have an idea about how…" she trailed off with a beaming smile, before she fixed her eyes on the cave he selected.
The outer rocks were immaculate, but brittle, their shell roasted by the winds of the afternoon sun leaving a thin curtain of smoke and sand by their squalls.
Shards of glass congregated themselves around the cave like an ill-tended garden of roses surrounding the remains of an old tombstone, withered, odorless, and disorderly.
Though what lies beyond the entrance remained opaque, its size didn't allow much more than three people walking side-by-side beyond the slow-droning of calcined air humming a tune of smelt and death.
"Now, let's get inside!" she declared, leading her group within the scorching cave…