Lilith stared at that solitary black sphere, her finger still extended and trembling, frozen in an accusatory gesture against her own stupidity.
The silence in her ears was deafening now that millions of other chances had vanished. Suddenly, she snapped to her senses, her eyes widening to their limits as the reality set in: she had just traded a mighty Dragon Knight or a Catastrophe Lord for... this.
"No! Wait! I take it back! I choose the Dragon Knight! Or that Catastrophe Lord, do you hear me?!"
She screamed, lunging desperately toward the spot where the golden orbs had floated moments ago. Her hands clawed only at the void and the cold, dead air of the temple.
"Undo it! It was a mistake! I just wanted to check…"
[ ERROR: SELECTION CANNOT BE REVERSED. ]
[ INTEGRATION BEGINS IN: 10... 9... 8... ]
[ WARNING: YOUR BODY WILL UNDERGO A VIOLENT, IRREVERSIBLE MOLECULAR RECONSTRUCTION INTO DEMON KING FORM. PREPARE FOR EXTREME PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT. ]
Lilith felt her legs give way as if the bones had turned to water. She collapsed onto the grimy floor, legs sprawled, staring blankly into space. A short, hysterical laugh bubbled up from her throat, dissolving into a quiet sob of resignation.
"Great, Lilith. Just brilliant. You survive death, get a second chance, and then screw it up spectacularly in the very last second..." she whispered.
Right before her face, beside the black orb, the final notification ignited.
[ PRIMORDIAL SUCCUBUS MONARCH (DEMON KING RACE) ]
RANK: Rare-type Demon King
DESCRIPTION: Upon integration, you will be reborn as the Primordial Succubus Monarch - a being from the dawn of time, the fountainhead of desire. Possesses two forms: Human Mask (for infiltration) and Succubus Empress (True Form).
POTENTIAL: Possible awakening of Essence Manipulation, Mental, and Desire-type Talents.
Lilith read it once, then twice. Instead of lighting up with hope, her expression sank even deeper into existential depression as the word "Succubus" began to burn a hole in her brain.
"A Succubus? Seriously? Out of all those powerful, armored beings I saw, I have to be some demon of lust?" she groaned, burying her face in her hands. Her voice came out muffled and broken.
"How am I supposed to fight hero armies now? What am I supposed to do, invite them all to bed and offer my ass, begging them to give me a good shag before they take my head?! This is supposed to be 'great power'?!"
She looked up again, her eyes catching the term "Rare-type." It seemed to sit higher in the hierarchy than anything she had seen before - even higher than those "High-class" ones she'd coveted.
"So 'Rare' means it's even above..."
She didn't finish the thought.
The black sphere shattered with a deafening crack. A blinding white light erupted from within, swallowing the temple and the girl's slight silhouette in a fraction of a second.
The light wasn't gentle; it struck her with the force of a physical battering ram, hoisting her body several inches off the fractured stone. Lilith arched her back, throwing her head back in a silent scream as her human clothes - the simple blouse and jeans she'd died in - began to creak and tear under the pressure of the unnatural force exploding from within.
The fabric ripped at the seams, exposing her stomach, then her shoulders, until finally, with a loud snap, her clothes disintegrated entirely. They turned into a cloud of shreds that vanished in the glare, leaving her naked and defenseless against the coming agony.
Then the real pain began.
A gargantuan, searing torment, as if every bone in her body were being snapped and reset by invisible, brutal hands. Lilith felt her thighs and calves lengthen violently, stretching her muscles to their breaking point. Her hips widened, joints popping as they shifted into a fuller, provocatively feminine curve.
Her waist nipped in unnaturally, accentuating the new line of her hips, while her breasts began to grow before her eyes. They became heavy, plump, and far larger than anything she'd possessed in her previous life, straining the pale skin that was now losing its human hue - turning a marbled, translucent white with a faint violet tint.
It hurts... it hurts so much, like I'm being torn to pieces... but at the same time... what is this strange heat in my lower belly? she thought hazily.
She clenched her teeth so hard she tasted blood. The pain was beginning to mingle with a sudden, wild surge of pleasure that sent shudders through her new frame.
On her forearms and shins, the pale skin split. From beneath emerged hard, glistening scales the color of deep, royal purple. They formed a natural armor, intricately carved and accented with gold, molding itself around her ample breasts to create a defiant corset that emphasized her curves rather than hiding them.
The armor continued down her torso, encircling her navel and riding low on her hips. Her hands cramped painfully; her fingers lengthened, and her nails transformed into long, razor-sharp black talons, ready to rend both flesh and steel.
The worst came last.
Lilith felt a terrifying pressure at the base of her spine, as if something were trying to claw its way out. A gravelly moan escaped her as the skin over her shoulder blades tore open.
With a wet thud and a spray of blood, two massive, leathery, purple-membraned wings erupted from her back. Supported by powerful black claws, they unfurled several meters wide, casting a shadow over the violet glow of the temple. Simultaneously, a spike of pain split her skull as a pair of magnificent, curved black horns sprouted from her forehead, ruining her hair and lending her face a predatory, lethal edge.
As the light slowly faded, Lilith, exhausted and trembling, collapsed to her knees. She propped herself up with her new talons against the cold stone. Her breath was deep and ragged, sweat mixing with the remnants of blood on her marbled skin.
She lifted her head, and her long, now jet-black curly hair spilled over her shoulders, revealing a face marked by pain - but also by a burgeoning, dark majesty. She opened her eyes. Her irises, once brown, now burned with an intense, bloody crimson, challenging the temple's darkness.
What... what happened to me? I feel... different. So strong, and yet... so empty... she thought, looking at her talons with a mix of terror and fascination as her new wings shifted lazily behind her.
Lilith raised her hands to her face. Her crimson eyes widened in mute astonishment as she stared at the ten ebony-black talons - hard and sharp as surgical scalpels - growing from her fingertips. She moved them slowly, fascination battling the rising dread in her chest.
These were no longer the hands of the delicate girl she had been hours ago; they were the tools of a predator designed to tear meat.
She inspected her left arm, where smooth, marble-violet skin covered her forearm. From the wrist down, her fingers were entirely encased in shimmering, deep amaranth scales.
But when she shifted her gaze to her right arm, her breath hitched. From the elbow down, the limb was completely covered in thick, rough, matte-purple scales that overlapped like armor plating. It looked more like the limb of a dragon or some mythic beast than anything human.
This... this isn't real... she thought, flexing the thick fingers of her right hand.
With her left, still relatively smooth hand, she cautiously touched the rough scales of her forearm. They felt hard, cold, and unnaturally dense. She extended a black talon from her left hand and gently tapped a scale on her right.
Tink. Tink. Tink.
The sound was dry and metallic, like stone striking tempered steel. Her heart hammered harder, a shadow of macabre admiration for her new physiology crossing her face.
"Damn... these scales must be incredibly tough to make a sound like that..." she whispered. Her voice was lower now, velvety and dangerous.
She began a feverish inspection of the rest of her body. Both legs, from her feet to her upper thighs, were entirely encased in that same amaranth armor. On her new, powerful knees, just below the patella, additional small black talons sprouted, pointing forward - a look that was both strange and menacing.
Sharp claws on my hands, my knees... for a Succubus, a demon of desire and manipulation, I have an awful lot of tools for direct killing... she thought, furrowing her brow.
Then her gaze dropped to her torso.
The shimmering scales formed a natural, hard bodice that shielded her stomach and hips, while forming that provocative corset supporting her now-gigantic breasts. The armor lifted them slightly, emphasizing their unnatural size and roundness.
Lilith felt a sudden surge of irritation mixed with resignation at the mundane problems of her new existence.
"Great. Now try finding a bra for these... they're way bigger than my last pair, and this armor isn't exactly making things easy..."
The thought flickered through her mind, but she pushed it aside as a cold gust of air hit her back. Instinctively, she tried to look behind her, but her long, black hair - which had cascaded down after the transformation - blocked her view. She huffed in annoyance.
With a sharp motion of her right, scaled hand, she flung the strands back. In the process, she accidentally grazed the delicate skin of her neck with the hard scales and struck the base of one of her new, powerful horns.
Her crimson eyes snapped wide. Her mouth fell open in sudden, painful surprise.
"Ahhh...!" she moaned loudly - a deep, throaty sound that vibrated through the empty temple.
She instantly jerked her hand away as if burned, clutching the aching spot with her smooth left hand. "Dammit... they're so sensitive... I felt that hit right in my brain..."
As she touched her horns, a strange wave of heat flooded her lower abdomen, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. She ignored it, chalking it up to shock and pain. Forcing herself to look back again, her mouth parted in awe.
Gigantic, purple wings spanned several meters behind her, anchored by black, bony claws.
Hell... they're huge... she thought, tensing back muscles she hadn't even known existed.
With all the willpower she could muster, she tried to move them. After a moment, one of the purple wings folded slightly. Fascinated, Lilith reached out with her left hand to touch the membrane. It was smooth, velvety, yet strangely warm and tough - like tanned dragon hide. She noticed small, sharp black horns sprouting from the tips of the wings as well, confirming her predatory nature.
So I really am a Succubus... she thought, feeling her new muscles respond to her commands. She tried moving both wings at once.
The movement was unnaturally natural, as if she'd been doing it her whole life. The wind generated by the flap of the purple membranes blew the dust away from her. Emboldened, Lilith began to turn in a circle, inspecting her new body from every angle. Her eyes went wide when she saw her now-full, provocatively rounded rear, which had taken on a perfect shape after the transformation.
She stopped mid-turn, tilting her head in confusion.
Wait... I don't have a tail? I thought Succubi always had heart-tipped tails or something... it's a classic of the genre... she thought, searching for even the slightest trace of a tail on her back.
But there was only smooth, violet skin.
Before she could finish the thought, the temple's gloom was torn apart by a blinding violet light. A new, gargantuan system message materialized before her, pulsing with menacing energy.
[ TRANSFORMATION OF PLAYER LILITH INTO DEMON KING: PRIMORDIAL SUCCUBUS MONARCH - COMPLETE. ]
[ STARTING OFFICIAL GAME LOGIN! ]
Before Lilith could even blink, the gargantuan temple hall vanished. Around her, in a circle, fourteen colossal gates of light began to materialize.