chapter 109: clearing the air.

My eyes slowly opened. A familiar brown ceiling greeted me.

<Its good to be home> I said as I slowly sat out of bed. My body still felt like crap, but unlike before this time, I can actually move.,

As if reading my mind, a menu screen popped into existence.

Glutton Title activated

Velden, king of nothing, ruler of nothing. Consumed.

Attempting to assimilate: Ę̸͓̪̪̪̜̗̎̓̊̈́Ŕ̶͇̭̟̮̗̼̳̰̑̊̍̿̈̐̄̚R̵̛̪͝Ỏ̶̭͎̦̯̩̉̋̑͘͝Ŗ̴̡̛͔̰͍͍̦͓̯̤͎͓̤̿̓͂͌̔̎̋͗̈͘͝͠!̵̧̡̦̝̻͕̺̖͖̙͓̒̅̍̀̊́̋͜͝ ̴̡͙̭̠͕̤̲̼̗͉͍͍̙̦̌̏̈́Ḛ̴̛̛̛̛̟̇͌̉̀̊͑̏͘̕͝Ŕ̷̨͉̯̦̳̩̭̻͌͒͒̊̌̆̂͝͝ͅͅR̵̨͈̞͔̥̝̉̉̓̾͋̈́̕Ơ̸͇͖̲̮̖̻͌̊͊̾̑͛͝R̸͖̼͇̻͍̪̻͉̬͉̥̠͌̒̇̂̆̾͗̀́̾̊͜!̴̱̲̭̗̣͕̤͇̀̈̀̄̈́͂̿͛͑̀̑̂ ̶̢̡̛͓̥͕̠̬̟͈̤̠̤͗̌̈́́͛̑̚ͅ

Dragon form a̴̗͈̲̩̳̎̋͐̆̓c̶͍͖̱͗̈́̿̄̌̓̆͘q̷̘̫̝͇̰͉͉̎̅͊̀̀͜u̸̞̝͗̍̐̓̀͌̚ȉ̴̧̨͚̫̻̮͉̜̼̊͐̐̈́͠͝͝ŗ̶͓̹̮̖̣̖̝͇͋̾̍̀͂͒̎e̵̛̳͓͚̖̟͕̟͑̄̅͋̀́͠d̷̙͍̬̾̈̆́ͅ  *Ę̸͓̪̪̪̜̗̎̓̊̈́Ŕ̶͇̭̟̮̗̼̳̰̑̊̍̿̈̐̄̚R̵̛̪͝Ỏ̶̭͎̦̯̩̉̋̑͘͝Ŗ̴̡̛͔̰͍͍̦͓̯̤͎͓̤̿̓͂͌̔̎̋͗̈͘͝͠!̵̧̡̦̝̻͕̺̖͖̙͓̒̅̍̀̊́̋͜͝ ̴̡͙̭̠͕̤̲̼̗͉͍͍̙̦̌̏̈́

USER CORRUPTION DETECTED ATTEMPTING PURGE

Ę̸͓̪̪̪̜̗̎̓̊̈́Ŕ̶͇̭̟̮̗̼̳̰̑̊̍̿̈̐̄̚R̵̛̪͝Ỏ̶̭͎̦̯̩̉̋̑͘͝Ŗ̴̡̛͔̰͍͍̦͓̯̤͎͓̤̿̓͂͌̔̎̋͗̈͘͝͠!̵̧̡̦̝̻͕̺̖͖̙͓̒̅̍̀̊́̋͜͝ ̴̡͙̭̠͕̤̲̼̗͉͍͍̙̦̌̏̈́Ḛ̴̛̛̛̛̟̇͌̉̀̊͑̏͘̕͝Ŕ̷̨͉̯̦̳̩̭̻͌͒͒̊̌̆̂͝͝ͅͅR̵̨͈̞͔̥̝̉̉̓̾͋̈́̕Ơ̸͇͖̲̮̖̻͌̊͊̾̑͛͝R̸͖̼͇̻͍̪̻͉̬͉̥̠͌̒̇̂̆̾͗̀́̾̊͜!̴̱̲̭̗̣͕̤͇̀̈̀̄̈́͂̿͛͑̀̑̂ ̶̢̡̛͓̥͕̠̬̟͈̤̠̤͗̌̈́́͛̑̚ͅ

The screen suddenly popped out of existence.…. What just happened? I wafted my arm like a crazy person, where the box was. Suddenly, a white box erupted in front of me. Wait white? The only person who uses white boxes is Sys. This can't be a good sign. The white box was a constant flow of text and numbers moving at supersonic speed.

USER SAFETIES ENGAGED: QUARANTINE MODE ACTIVATED. ABILITY [DRAGON FORM] QUARANTINED.

(̴̧̢̪̦̮̹̥̝̾̍̎͌̇͒̐̕̚͠(̸̯̝̪̫͆(̵̱͕͓͕̠̜̣͖̺̈́̓̎͐̚͠͝(̸͕̤̹̹̺̝͍̉̽̚͜(̸̭̰̙͎̘̀̂̀̉̋̊͌͂͜͝(̸̛̼̥̦͖̠̆͊͒̀͋́͆͝(( Sys here! please don’t do that again!. )))̵̧̟̰̻͕̥̜͊̒̎̈́͝)̷͙̹̘̗̓̎̊̔͂̉̇͜͝)̴̨̠̜̳̫͇̋́̂̚)̷̡̭͉͚͖̐̈̎̾̔͘)̸̨̢̢͙͈̻̞̂̂̓̎̈

Before I could even reply, the white box disappeared, leaving me alone in an empty, quiet room.

<euughhh! How frustrating>

I threw myself back onto the bed. I have no one else to blame for this but myself. But then again, who could have seen that coming?! Gahh! It's so annoying because I don’t even know what the fuck happened! From the top. I ate velden that much, I remember, and for the 1st time, I think one of my titles, Glutton, which allows me a chance to get abilities by eating, gave me the ability called dragon form. However….. Dammit, it's all a weird, fast-paced blur from that point on.

<Gahhh its all so hazy>

My body changed that much is clear, but then everything started to feel hazy, and soon everything started to go black, a weird, comforting, all-encompassing blackness that would’ve swolled me whole if it wasn’t for Sally. Yes sally. Her voice. It called to me, it sounded worried. Just what the hell did I put her through?

A long sigh escaped my body. <I need to speak to her.>

Sally Pov

I quietly stood outside my mother's door, hand resting on the door handle. I've been like this for the last few minutes. Mother had contacted me through the weave with a simple message.

<Come here>, there was no anger or malice or anything with the words. Just a simple instruction. Simple instructions she’s given me plenty of in the past, but for some reason, my body trembled at the thought of seeing her again. Why?

I stood outside the door for a brief moment. I took several deep breaths as I tried to compose myself. The words “It's just mother” and “we've spoken plenty of times before” ran through my mind over and over again, yet no matter how many times I tell myself that. I still feel this chill, this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Dammit! I hate this.

I let out a deep breath and tried to steady my nerves. Images of that form flooded my mind, the snarling teeth. The immense power. The fear. Not fear of dying but fear that the mother I knew will never be back, fear that she will never ever recognise me. fear that-

<Sally?>

My mind instantly snapped. Mother was standing in front of me. Armour yellow and green without a hint of black to be seen.

<Do you want to come in….> she asked. Sheepishly, I nodded as I entered the room. The pressure was immense. I've never been so anxious in my life. I watched as my mother walked over to the edge of her bed and sat down.

<Come sit…> She patted the empty space right next to her. I tentatively nodded as I moved beside her.

The room was dead silent as we sat next to each other wordlessly, and can you blame me?!  What do I even say? Don’t worry, Mom, It's okay, you almost killed me or I'm happy you’re not a monster anymore, Mom. Gahhh! This is awful. I just want to bury my head in the sand and disappear. My eyes glanced towards the door. Maybe I should just leave. Yeah, I like the sound of that.

<Mom, if you don’t need me, ill->

<Do you want to leave?>  mother interupted.

My brain froze. How did she know I wanted to leave the room?!

<What?! No mother. I wasn’t planning on leaving the room.>

Mother let out a long sigh.

<That’s not what I meant, Sally. yesterday or was it the day before? I dont know it all a blur.> She got up and started pacing around the room. just what is going on here?

<Ill be blunt.  I hurt you. Again. And I'm sorry.>

My head creaked to the side. < mother, you don’t need to apologise. You weren't yourself. Literally>

<Even still. It happened, and it happened because of my actions, so it is still my fault. I dont care for much in this world but for the little I do care about. I care deeply about. You are one of those things.>

My mind froze. What was she talking about? None of what she is saying makes sense. Why is she thinking like this?

<Because you are someone who is special to me. I want you to be somewhere comfortable where you feel so I've been thinking, due to the recent events, I think it's best you move to be with Apollinaris.>

A swarm of emotions swirled like a tornado inside me as I processed what came out of my mother's mouth. Why would she ever think- my heart raced and my hands balled into fists. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions, but no matter what I did, there was always one emotion that stubbornly bubbled through, and that was annoyance.

<Mother, can I have permission to do something unorthodox?>

She looked at me, confused, before nodding.

*SMACK*

My hand stung from the pain. Mother's eyes blinked at me as her brain tried to figure out what had happened!

<DON’T EVER DO THIS AGAIN, MOTHER>

Mother blinked at me, stunned at what I did.

<Mother, I need you to understand. I live for you. My life, my body, all of it is for you. There is nothing in this world that could change that. Not you, not god, not anyone.>

Mother's eyes settled on me. < Your face. I remember your face. You were petrified of me. It's why you were standing outside that door for so long>

<THAT WAS!... you!..... IGNORE THAT! What you were didn’t scare me, Mom! I was scared that  for the second time I lost you, scared that you would never be the person you were, scared that the mother I had didn’t even recognise me>

Mothers stared at me for a moment before her eyes softened and her lips curved into a smile.

<I already lost you once, Mom. I don’t want to again. So please…don’t ever do this again.>

Tears started to flow down my face.< Dammit, here's me crying again. I'm so pathetic.> Suddenly, a hand pulled me in close

<You are many things. Pathetic isn't one of them. I'm glad to have you by my side, Sally.>

<Thanks, Mom.>

<No, thank you. I've just remembered I haven't properly thanked you for saving me from that form>

<There is no need for that mother. Its-

<No. I want to. Whatever you want, we'll do it> >

<Well, maybe we could->

<And it can't be sex.> she cut in. dammit. Guess I'll have to hold off a bit longer.

< Thinking about it. We are overdue for some mother-daughter activities.>

<well, if it can't be that. I’ve always wanted to->

*BANG*

The door swung open as a nurse burst into the room.

<Mother!> Suddenly, one of the nurses burst into the room.

<what is it? Are we under attack>

<no. She is about to awaken>

<Ahhh. Penn.  It's about time.> mother glared down at me, smiling. < Should we go visit our newly reborn family member >

I nodded. She gave me her hand, and I happily took it as we set off.

Diva pov

<Any moment now>, we watched intently as the cocoon of penn pulsed.

<So this is what it looks like from the outside> Sally said. She held my hand tight as she stood close to me. I never realised how much she looked up to me. even though I'm not her real mother. No. That doesn’t matter. She is family to me, and that’s final.

I pulled her in close as we watched the cocoon pulse again and again.

<Any moment now. watch>

Suddenly, a loud snap rang out across the mushroom farm.

<There we go>

A large tear appeared on the side of the cocoon. Then another and another. Strands of the caccon fell to the ground like fabric. As Penn slowly cut herself out.

<Mother.  You never told me why you let her choose her transformation.>

<Well, the reason was simple, really>

Suddenly, 6 long yellow and green pincers shot out of the caccon. However, these ones were different; each one had a different end to it; a tool would be a better description. One had a circular jagged blade, another had arcs of electricity coming out of it, and the other had what looked like flame.  A  small smile crept up my face. <I knew, given a chance to ditch her humanity, she would go all in without looking back. I was just curious what she would turn into>

The pincers swung to the ground and dug themselves into the mushroom floor. Then, with ease, she pulled herself up and out, revealing her new and improved penn.

Her body was a mix of dark green and glowing yellow. Gone was her human skin. Like me, she had a complete chitinous exoskeleton. Multiple interlinking plates connected by a black membrane now made up her external body. However, unlike me, she only had 2 sets of arms; her hands, however, what she made up for the lack of arms was instantly made up for by her 6 pincers that folded themselves on her back, making it look like she had a pair of wings.

My eyes drifted down her body before stopping at the big sack that was connected just above her rear, similar to the abdomen the workers have, but smaller, around the size of 2 basketballs side by side. What it was for, I don’t know, but it must’ve been important, as it was protected by strong dark green chitin.

My eyes once again drifted further down her body, the chitin plates that made up her body met neatly at the centre of her chest. This same pattern went down towards her legs, where she surprisingly opted to have a normal set of feet. The only thing that stood out was the sharp, dark chitin that had replaced her nails.

All in all. She looked stunning. A drastic improvement from what she was before

<Long time no see. Welcome to the family.> I said as I walked closer to get a better look at her face. She had a similar face, just slightly bigger and more angular; however, gone was her blonde hair, she was now bald like me, except for the 4 long black tubes that went from the back of her down towards her back. All of this was then adorned with two antennae.

I gently placed my hand on the side of her cheek. < don’t be shy…> I said towards her. Penn slowly opened her eyes, revealing a large set of black compound lenses that stared directly at me. Unlike me, she didn’t have loads of eyes; instead, only 2. Even I could tell there was more to these eyes.

<I feel…I feel> her lips stammered. This is the first time I've seen her do that. Be so unsure. It's not like her. I guess this is a lot, even for her.

< It's okay. Let me.>

Her eyes softened as I approached. I looked towards her antennae, and without warning, I gently pressed my forehead against them. Suddenly, a flurry of emotions filled me.  happiness, excitement, fear, anxiety, embarrassment, confusion, awe, relief, hope. Gratitude, lust. All of them mixed together like a noxious cocktail. Poor girl, no wonder she can't say a thing.

I closed my eyes and connected her through the weave. I've noticed that in the hive, my presence reassures my children; I don’t know why. But something about them knowing I'm here calms them. Will this work on her? I don’t know. But it’s worth a try.

<Don’t worry. I’m here. Just relax>

My voice echoed out in real life and through the weave. It wafted through her with ease, calming her down and settling her emotions.

<Better?>

She opened her eyes and looked at me.

< Better> she said timidly.  Penn looked down at her body, and a mix of awe and curiosity washed over her face.

< Let's go somewhere quiet. Penn, I'm sure you will have plenty of time to figure out everything your new body can do. As for now, there is a lot we need to catch you up on>

<Like what> She asked curiously

<The system>

<The…System?> On cue, a large orange box erupted in front of her, prompting her to access the system

<…..What the hell is this…..>

**********

Penn’s log

Alvearix transformations and personal experiences

It feels like a while since I last did this, but I've been quite busy. Transforming into an alvearix was not on my agenda of things I wanted to do while I was here, but I guess the world had other plans for me. Mother Diva has been surprisingly supportive of this change. I guess she instinctively doesn’t see me as a human intruder in her home but rather as one of her own. But enough about Mother Diva. Let's talk about me. How do I feel? Honestly, quite good. I feel stronger, faster, and my mind feels more precise. I have more energy than I used to and burn through it a lot slower, but even so, this body, as robust as it is, isn't perfect. I couldn’t get it perfect, but that’s fine and honestly preferred—nothing worth having should be given to you. But let’s stay on topic. The change to my body was a welcome one, and I believe it will help further my goals. However, this does mean I am now more attached to the alvearix hive, which is both a bad thing and a boon. However, to get the full potential out of this, I’ll have to make myself more useful to the hive, and I think I have the right tools to do so…