65. Breath

Celia stared down at E-10's corpse. At his eyes, staring back at her. In them she saw hate, and she saw death. His, her own, the death of Haet's entire crew. Dreg. Deeper than that, she saw triumph. Victory over the impossible. Proof that she could overcome. Even if not by her own strength.

And there was something twisted about that. Something that scared her. Like the lurking beast from the fairy tales her father used to tell her about. Only this felt far more real.

Paradox chose that moment to return.

Don't you worry my younger self. Soon enough you won't have anything to fear.

Celia chose not to voice how that was exactly what she was scared of. A thought that Paradox, whether she heard it or not, made no comment on.

Now, I need you to do something very important for our growth.

"That burst of strength at the end, that was you wasn't it?" Celia asked, interrupting her. The gears of her mind beginning to turn.

Yes. It was. Why do you ask?

"Why'd you only choose to help then if you could've done so earlier?"

For your growth.

"My growth?"

Yes. Came the answer, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. You must understand my 'younger self' we are like a flower in a garden of weeds. To truly grow we must be strong. Stronger than the world around us. And that strength is born through struggle.

"So you let me struggle."

Of course. I wound not rob myself of the sweetest fertilizer. Of that great gift of true struggle.

Celia felt it then. Rage. A fire that burned in the back of her mind and begged her to act like a petty child. Anger that she put out. Dousing the fire with the cold rationale that she was right. That her future self was right about strength and how to obtain it.

But Celia wasn't so certain she wanted strength anymore. Not for the price it came with. Not at the cost of herself and her humanity.

She did not want to become a monster. And nothing made that so clear than clearly seeing how this future version of herself was willing to go for more of it.

Celia did not want to become like that. Strong, yes. But certainly not at the cost of all else. Still, she held her tongue, and slowly nodded.

Paradox giggled behind her ear. I see you, you know. That defiance, that want to stay who you are. I know how it tastes. And you should hold onto it. Perhaps you shall come out as the best version of us for it.

Now then, I need you to drain our little hydra of his remaining essence.

Celia hesitated. "Isn't he... Kinda too dead for that?"

You've never even tried to drain a corpse before.

"Yes, but... Essence, it kinda felt, warm? Like something that belonged to the living, I think?"

Yes. Good to see my instincts were always there. And while essence does indeed belong to the living, there is a portion of it that can only be taken from the dead. Or with sufficient power. Now hurry along, we don't have all day.

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Again, Celia hesitated. Patting her drum tight stomach. "I'm, uh, kinda full though." She weakly offered.

Paradox was unmoved.

Trust me, you won't mind a bit extra. Besides it's not like we're trying to watch our weight now are we?

Celia didn't argue with that. Couldn't. Not when her gut stuck out from her like a pregnant woman's, and her hips were wide enough to make even doors seem like a challenge. Not that she would be passing through any, any time soon.

Instead, she did as Paradox bade her and reached out towards E-10's still warm corpse before something else came and claimed it. She activated Essence drinker. And through her fingers, she felt the warmth of what she assumed to be E-10's soul. Or whatever Essence truly was. And like the last time she drained from him, she noted that it was very warm.

Like a raging fire hidden behind a curtain. The heat so grand and great, that it made her wonder how her own Essence burned in comparison. She figured it probably wasn't even half as hot. Or maybe it was, seeing as she was absorbing his fire.

An experience that turned out to be a mite bit different from the last time she did so. As last time, the essence she took simply filled her. It also healed her too. But other than that, it didn't do much.

This was nothing like that. This time the essence she stole more than just filled her. It entered her. Suffused with her being, and became a part of her own.

It also made Celia feel like she was gonna throw up. And she couldn't even remember the last time she felt like that. Her impending doom aside, absorbing E-10's essence felt oddly good. Satisfying even. Kinda like that one massage she hadn't gotten... What was that, five years ago?

Either way it was pleasant. And right as the process was on the cusp of finishing, Celia felt a push come upon - what she guessed was her - soul. One that hit it with a surge of overwhelming power. Enough that it pushed her right over an edge she hadn't known was there.

Growth achieved!

Classification advanced!

Classification: Feastling -> (High) Feastling

Designation advanced!

Designation: True-born Hybrid (Beyondling) -> Beyond-touched Hybrid (Beyondling)

Slot Unlocked!

Slots open: 9

Celia's flesh bent and tore. At the waist, she exploded in scales. A carpet of black and white that fell, that slithered downwards, consuming her legs in violent metamorphosis. She'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt. Because, oh boy, did it hurt.

It was like her lower half was being consumed by the veil of scales erupted from her. Legs melted together, becoming a singular unit. Feet morphing into the tail end of... Well, a tail. Lengthening, as skin and leather was replaced with her natural armor. Serpentine in nature.

Far too serpentine to be anything else, actually. Celia was becoming a snake.

From the waist down, at least. Which somehow hadn't rid of her shapely backside. If anything, she was even wider than before now. Lower half both thickening, and lengthening as her gut, which, trust her, was very sizable, shrank in size. Size that was very obviously being siphoned over to what she assumed to be a new stomach. And, well, fat holder.

By the end of the change she was at least - and she almost couldn't believe she was saying this - 15 to 16 feet long. With a vast majority of her new "length" solely belonging to her tail.

A tail that wasn't even done changing. Her thousands of scales were changing. Growing larger, thicker, and sharper. And then she was growing arms, hundreds of tiny limbs that lined the sides of her tail from top to just a little below where her hips were at their widest. Black and phantom like hands that, much like her first set of extra arms, she could feel and control just as easily as she could her legs.

Legs that no longer existed, she supposed. Which was definitely going to take some getting used to.

In fact, there was a lot of things she would need to get used to now. From little, to not so little.

Like the feathers she had at her waist. Her fan of tentacles from chimera being a great deal longer. She was pretty sure there was poison behind her teeth now. And, well, she could look down and actually see past her stomach now.

Which still wasn't small, but it certainly wasn't as domineering as it had been before.

She had surprisingly mixed feelings about that.

She also had a plethora of questions. Almost all of which were directed at the only presence capable of bringing about this change on her.

"Paradox, what did you just do to me?" She asked, tongue flicking in and out of her mouth as she did so. The taste of the world meeting it on every short foray it took.

A new sense she absentmindedly classified as useful.

I gave you a little well needed boost. There is little more to say on the matter. She answered, as if that was actually answer enough.

It was not.

"Why am I a snake?"

And before Paradox could answer, another spoke in her place.

You are not a snake, you are part hydra, part anathema. Inimical to all other natures.