While Lilith prepared for her expedition, thousands of kilometers away in the nation of Polon, the world was taking on entirely different hues.
In the city of Zalris, which stood as the proud guard of the continent of Eura against the gloom of the Forest of Chaos, modernity blended with tradition.
Inside a luxury residence, the interior of a bathroom was filled with thick, hot steam. The room was designed in the aesthetic of the burgeoning age of steam and machines - copper pipes ran along the walls like the arteries of some mechanical monster, and heavy brass taps were topped with intricate gears.
At the center stood a massive cast-iron clawfoot tub, filled to the brim with steaming water where jasmine-scented oils floated on the surface.
A woman stood before a large crystal mirror in an ornate frame. She was naked, her silhouette dripping with moisture that slowly slid down her perfectly smooth, porcelain skin.
Her appearance was the definition of sex appeal, capable of taking any man's breath away. She had long, gold-glistening hair cascading over full, rounded breasts that rose rhythmically with every breath. A narrow waist transitioned into wide, tempting hips, and her legs were long and slender.
Her face, with regular features, full lips, and large, mesmerizing eyes, made her look like a goddess born of sea foam.
However, this beauty suddenly gripped the edges of the marble sink so hard that her knuckles turned white. She bit her lower lip, and pain appeared in her eyes.
"It's been over a week in this world... and I still can't get used to this," she whispered in a voice that, despite its sadness, sounded incredibly sensual.
Suddenly, strange sounds interrupted the silence of the bathroom. Laughter, shrill giggles, and incomprehensible muttering, as if dozens of people were whispering simultaneously right in her ear.
"Who's there?! What's happening?!" she cried out, terrified, looking around violently.
There was no one in the bathroom. Only the steam and the sound of dripping water. The woman let out a small squeal, clutching her head, and fell to her knees on the cold mosaic floor.
"Status..." she managed to gasp piteously.
A translucent window flared before her eyes, casting a blue glow over her trembling body.
[ Hero Status ]
Name: Natalia
Hero Level: 1 (0/20)
Racial Level: 50 [Max Limit - 75] - Limit increased after Puzzle-Core evolution
Race: Human (Chosen Hero)
Training Points: 0
[ Base Stats ]
HP: 2000
MP: 5000
Strength: 80
Agility: 140
Stamina: 100
Charisma: 210
[ Skills ] Agility, Stealth, Lethal Touch, Feather Fall, Survival Instinct, Aura of Allure, Instigation, Desire Perception, Provocation, Irresistible Magnetism, Blue Flames, Frost, Aqua Shard, Kiss of Fate
[ Talents ] Perfect Physique, Psychic Sensitivity, Enthralling Presence, Black Magic, Mirror Water Affinity, Fate Binding
She stared at these statistics with mounting despair. She was the hero who had entered this body, but nothing was as it should be.
Only a week ago, she had been a man.
The sudden gender swap upon reincarnation was a massive shock - a trauma her mind could not process.
Suddenly, the whispers grew in strength.
"...don't listen..."
"...but you know - you know - you know..."
"...too late - too late - TOO LATE..."
The babbling voices began to overlap, merging into one pulsating mass.
"...she sees..." "...no, she doesn't, she doesn't..."
"...tell her - TELL HER..."
"...hush - hush - hush..."
Words lost their meaning. They broke apart halfway, as if someone were tearing them.
"...no – no – n-- "
"...AA– AA– AAAAA–"
The sounds filled her skull, bouncing off the inside until it was hard to tell where one voice ended and another began.
"...you are – you are – you are..."
"...you are not..."
"...you are..."
Senseless, babbling voices filled her skull.
At the same time the whispers intensified, she saw strange black veins blooming on her beautiful skin, spreading up and down from her chest. They looked like dark vines trying to take control over her.
Her eyes snapped wide, staring into the mirror in horror.
"Again..." she sighed heavily, her hand moving almost reflexively to her breast.
She began to massage it gently, while her other hand exploratively, almost desperately, touched the lower parts of her new body.
She let out a loud moan as the black lines began to slowly fade and vanish under the touch, retracted back under the skin.
The mumbling in her head subsided, turning into a distant echo until, finally, there was a blissful silence.
She took a deep breath, seeing in the mirror that her body was flawless once again. She was about to pull her hands away when suddenly the air in the bathroom became heavy and piercingly sweet.
"I see you are getting well-acquainted with your new body," a female voice spoke behind her back - incredibly beautiful and dangerously charming.
Natalia froze, not daring to turn around.
She immediately dropped to her knees, not venturing so much as a twitch.
Although her mind was still a battlefield between the male identity of her past life and her new female instincts, the memories stored in the cells of this body acted instantly. She knew exactly who was standing behind her.
"Greetings... S-sage," she croaked out quietly, her voice trembling as a slight stutter betrayed her overwhelming fear.
Silence answered her.
Natalia did not lift her head; she was too terrified of the prospect of provoking a woman who, by her very existence, challenged the laws of this world.
Sage, dressed in an immaculate white robe with a hood pulled deep over her forehead, smiled slightly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the tub - the water that had been steaming just a moment ago simply vanished, as if it had never existed, leaving the ceramic bottom perfectly dry.
"You needn't be so afraid; I'm not going to eat you~" Sage replied in a light tone, seeing the girl trembling on the floor.
After those words, she let out a short, pearly laugh, stepping closer. That sound made Natalia's consciousness suddenly cloud over. She felt her senses beginning to drift away into a dangerous, sweet abyss.
Natalia desperately bit her tongue so that the pain would bring back her sobriety of mind.
God... her voice alone is enough to make me drift away with pleasure... she thought with a shiver of terror.
The memories of this body did not lie: Sage was a monster in human skin, a being whose personal charm was a weapon of mass destruction.
Sage leaned casually against the marble sink. She nonchalantly turned the brass valve. Water began to flow, but instead of running down the drain, it defied the laws of physics and began to slowly fill the sink's basin, creating a shimmering, levitating surface.
Suddenly, a raised, bare foot appeared before the kneeling Natalia's eyes.
Natalia winced inwardly.
Damn, why did I have to reincarnate in this body...
Could I not have just been a goblin?
At least I'd still be a man... she thought, but she did not hesitate a second longer.
She gently took Sage's foot in both hands.
The skin was unnaturally smooth and soft.
Natalia leaned down and placed a kiss upon it, holding her lips against the skin for a fraction of a second too long until she felt a slight tug.
When she let go, Sage withdrew her foot and asked softly:
"How is the adjustment to your new body coming along?" After a moment, she added with a light, sweet laugh:
"Looking at what you were doing just now, you quite like it, don't you?"
Natalia hesitated. Her male ego fought with the new reality, but ultimately, she chose honesty.
"It is still difficult for me to accept... and a bit shocking," she answered in a sad, yet involuntarily sweet voice.
Sage laughed again, and the sound nearly stripped Natalia of the remnants of rational thought.
"You'll get used to this form, dear. Most of our girls went through the same thing as you. Since they managed, you will too."