Chapter 21-3 (Lust and Love)

'Things seemed to have gone smoothly. Much more than I thought it would be.'

Ginovas thought, seeing the situation in the underground dungeon where the high priestess was kept. She used her Avatar skill and created Alter, her alter ego which took the form of a boy. Unlike the hermaphrodites, Alter was made to be a complete human male with all the perks.

Like a younger version of herself back when she was just a normal human being, but more fit, more charming, and more attractive.

Ginova smiled, watching Loraley's sleeping face, a high priestess of the Aria church who once stood so proud and defiant before her, now turned into a pathetic slut who can barely kept her lust in heat, wanting nothing else but to copulate with someone who could potentially be twenty years younger than herself.

'Even if my hypnosis doesn't fully work on her, she is still human after all. If I can't tamper with her psyche directly, I can still mess with her through the natural aphrodisiac our bodies emit.'

And it seemed to have worked quite well. Through Alter's perspective, it was obvious Loraley barely held on to her sanity.

'Funny. Even though she drank my essence, I still can't take over her mind completely.'

How could this be? This was the first time she encountered something so bizarre ever since she came to this world.

'Even so, she doesn't seem to possess a threat to me. Not that I can tell. I wonder if the other high priestesses are like her. If they also possess such ability to resist me, then I wonder about their Saintess.'

The Saintess of Aria church.

It was to be believed that Aria reincarnated after her death. She would return to the living through the womb of her female disciples, being able to speak early on in her infancy and tell the tales of old. Her words were sacred, her divinity unquestionable.

Her first resurrection was marked as the 'advent', the beginning of the Aria church's expansion. With a new body, Aria built her church and spread the doctrine of virtue, love and compassion for other living beings. She lived long and brought about a new age of prosperity. This was the era when the scholars of that age began to spread her adventures and exploits, regaling the people with tales of her greatness and her virtuous nature.

To show her the highest of respect and adoration, people called her the Saintess, the one who is holy and pure.

Through the ages, the Saintess died and reborn into the world in an endless cycle. For her death will signify a new beginning, her rebirth, a symbol of hope for all that seek her guidance.

She was revered, worshipped and adored by the people who were enthralled by her teachings.

Aria was her name.

The Saintess was her title.

To this day, alive and breathing somewhere in the world.

Ginova's greatest obstacle to achieving her ambition of taking over the world.

'Thirteen years, yet my influence still can't reach the empire. It is rather difficult.'

Letting out a sigh, she focused back on the task at hand. Loraley still has a part to play in Ginova's experimentation.

'I've managed to blackmail her into submission using her precious servants she calls the maidens. Loraley really cares about them, so much so that she was willing to suck my cock with her own mouth to keep them safe.'

Her technique and performance was sorely lacking that Ginova had to finish the job herself through masturbation. But it didn't matter. It was to be expected. She doubted that Loraley would have enough experience to handle a penis, much less figuring out the correct method to pleasure it.

'Loraley must have been taught to abstain from sexual activities. No wonder she can't perform even the most basic of things.'

It was the same case for the maidens Loraley brought along with her.

'The maidens were not immune to my influence. Just like normal people, they are in my complete control and have become my subjects. I can toy with them anytime I want to, but that's not exactly my objective.'

The blackmail was nothing but the first step to achieving her real goal, to find out the cause of Loraley's resistance to her influence. Unlike her subjects, Ginova was unable to control her mind and access her memories. A tricky enemy, but with a little bit of creativity, she planned to make it work somehow.

'Alter's disguise isn't perfect, but it doesn't matter. Slowly but surely, I will make her fall for him. My own flesh and blood, my 'son'...'

—————————…

"Wake up."

"...?"

The world seemed to spin. Opening her eyelids, Loraley felt a slight headache coming at her. A familiar face came to greet her, a child with smooth, pale skin and soft dark hair. Young, and charming, the serious expression on his face betrayed his childish innocence, making him look a bit more mature than he really was.

"Alter...?" Loraley called out to him, squinting her eyes. The pain that spreads inside her throat with every syllable she uttered reminded her of the unfortunate events that happened yesterday, of how she fell victim to the goddess's trickery, of how she was blackmailed into sucking her tainted meat rod to protect her maidens...

'No...!'

Loraley quickly shook off such thoughts, the very image of it bringing forth another wave of disgust and frustration to her.

"Yes, it's me. Wake up. They brought us food." Alter said.

He then stood up and walked toward the door where two women seen carrying trays full of food and beverages stood outside the cell.

"Ah, you're awake?" One of the women greeted him with a smile. "That's good, I've prepared breakfast for you and your friend here."

Loraley watched as the woman bent her knees and lowered her head to the ground to place the tray down. Right after serving them their food, she suddenly fell into a low crouch, reaching within her pants with a determined hand. What emerged was an astonishing sight, a member that was only half erect but already hinting at its full potential, its proud head peeking out from beneath a protective sheen of foreskin.

Without any warning or pretense, the woman directed her burgeoning shaft toward their plentiful meal on the cold stone floor. And then it began; like water gushing from an unsealed dam, a deluge of urine burst forth from her tip. The unmistakable sound echoed through the prison cell, the unholy liquid splashing against solid matter as if it were trying to erode it away over time.

The stone floor beneath their feet grew slick and glossy with the unnatural rain. Glistening trails of urine slipped through tiny cracks in the dungeon floor and cascaded down into unseen depths below where their echoes resonated across the walls until silence prevailed again throughout the room.

As drops hit untouched portions of food and clear beverage now stained yellowish, Loraley felt bile rise up her throat at this appalling desecration of sustenance intended for them.

In response to this utterly repugnant act, she couldn't hold back a gasp that filled their cell with both terror and disbelief.

"Relax, it's premium-grade nourishment handpicked from the Goddess' own stash. Not a thing amiss with it." The second hermaphrodite guard chimed in, the cadence of her voice both soothing and chilling at once.

"We've enriched it with our unique garnishing just for you." The first guard smirked as she playfully knocked her half-hard member against the brim of their plates, squeezing out every single droplet she had onto them.

"Make sure to eat it all up. Don't be shy to ask for more if you feel like it." The two hermaphrodites smiled. Their faces looked human, but Loraley knew better. They seemed to act more like beasts than people.

A nonchalant "Appreciate it." was Alter's casual response, betraying no outward signs of distaste or shock despite the repugnant circumstances.

"With pleasure! It's an honor to serve the esteemed offspring of our goddess." One of them said, her words coated with insincere respect, further poisoning the air already dense with humiliation.

"Hurry before the meal gets cold. We'll return later to clean up." The other spoke with an illusion of concern, as if this were a standard serving routine instead of a morbid spectacle.

Leaving those repugnant words behind, they withdrew from the cell, their laughter echoing off the cold stone walls. Their departure brought little relief though, their presence had been replaced by the lingering acrid smell of urine which hung thick and pungent in the air.

Loraley and Alter remained, two beings trapped within the grimy dungeon walls where decency had been reduced to twisted games played out under dim torchlight. Their lavish meal lay spread out before them, once wholesome food transformed into abhorrent matter by the hermaphrodites' unspeakable act.

"Here," Alter gently slid the tainted tray towards Loraley, a grim offering wrought with humiliation.

She glanced down at the ruined meal, her eyes moving slowly over the discolored contents. The fine white wine once promised had now been violated, adulterated by an insidious infusion that formed a frothy streak of yellow on its once clear surface.

The bread was now soaked, no longer crisp but a pitifully damp lump while the succulent cuts of meat and vibrant vegetables were marred with an unholy gilding.

"Are you out of your mind!? I won't eat this filth!" Loraley's voice echoed, her hands shoving the vile tray away with a vehemence that spoke volumes. "Get rid of it at once! They're deluded if they even entertain the thought that I'd deign to consume this mess!"

Alter merely sighed, a weary sound echoing his resignation to the current predicament. "It's the same thing everyday. You don't have any other choice."

"I won't degrade myself by feasting on filth! This…I refuse!" Her voice rose again in an impassioned outburst, each word punctuated by defiant determination, ringing through the eerie silence of their desolate cell.

"Hear me out," Alter began, his tone low and steady. "These hermaphrodites, they aren't ordinary beings. Despite their human appearances, they're essentially an entirely distinct species."

Loraley remained silent but her expression spoke louder than words, a mixture of repulsion and ire etched in her features as she glared at the tarnished feast before them.

"The substances they secrete are not like ours. Their urine, their seminal fluid; while it may carry similar scent characteristics to humans', their taste is uniquely different." Alter let this sink in for a moment before continuing.

"You've had direct experience previously, haven't you?" His question hung heavily in the air around them.

"What…?" Loraley's brows furrowed, a flicker of confusion spreading across her face. "I…I'm not following what you're implying…"

"I mean when you sucked Ginova's dick," Alter stated bluntly. "You sampled her pre-cum and it didn't taste as you anticipated, did it?"

"I-I…" Loraley stuttered, taken aback by his straightforward words. A blush spread rapidly across her cheeks, painting them a vivid crimson in the dim torchlight of their cell. Yet before she could form a coherent response, Alter plowed on with his explanation.

"They were unexpectedly sweet, correct?" Seemingly impervious to Loraley's embarrassment, he forged on. "It probably came as quite a shock how delicious her fluids were. But that barely scratches the surface. Their ejaculate and urine are far more delectable than any mundane meal you've ever consumed."

"That's preposterous… How can you even suggest such a thing? Why would I ever give credence to such words!?" Loraley fired back, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"But that's precisely their purpose," Alter countered calmly. "They're flawless beings, created to exist for the pleasure of others and to be pleasured in return. It's how they— and by extension, the Rabbit Hole— survive and prosper."

"A flawless being!?" Loraley retorted, her voice thick with unrestrained anger. "Are you making fun of me? Enough is enough! Leave me be!" Her words reverberated through the cell, bouncing off the cold stone walls.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you don't believe me," Alter responded, his demeanor remaining unruffled despite her outburst. "One way or another, sooner or later, you will come to taste them by your own choice or otherwise." His words hung heavy in the tension-laden silence.

With a cold flicker in her eyes, Loraley turned away from Alter's casual dismissal, concluding that it was futile to expend any more energy on such absurd discussions.

"Fine. Have it your way," Alter shrugged nonchalantly, picking up his tray and digging into the disgraced meal in silence.

Loraley cast sidelong glances at him, at the way he munched through the food, at the loud slurping sounds that echoed around their cell each time he swallowed a mouthful of wine stained with traces of their captors' perverse fetish.

Bile rose in her throat as her stomach churned violently. She clasped her hand over her mouth, struggling to keep down the rising tide of nausea that came unbidden at the horrifying thought of consuming something so revolting, so debased… so nauseatingly depraved.

Once he polished off the last morsel, Alter placed his plate and cup back onto the tray and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm finished," he declared, rather jovial in fact. "Such a satisfying meal. It's beyond me how you didn't even give it a chance."

"That's enough, or I will vomit." Loraley's voice was barely audible, muffled behind her palm. "And another thing… why serve wine instead of water? It's nonsensical."

"Ah, well," Alter began with a wry chuckle. "The wine acts as an excellent blend with their urine. That's all." His words resonated in the quiet cell, echoing off damp stone walls into an unbearable silence that followed.

"That's… That's utterly preposterous! How can you even suggest such a thing?" Loraley erupted in disbelief, jolting upright. In a huff, she stormed towards the barred door of their cell, furiously hammering her fists against the iron barricade.

"Release me at once! I demand to be let out!" She cried, the last shred of sanity she had finally snapped, pounding on the sturdy bars in hopes that someone, anyone, might hear her desperate pleas for help.

"The entire city has lost its sanity! This is madness!! sheer lunacy!!" Her voice rose higher and higher, lashing out to nobody in particular, or perhaps to everyone and everything itself. All semblance of calmness abandoned her as fury took over, driving her into an impassioned tirade against their tormentors.

"You're wasting your energy. There's no use for that." Alter spoke up after sitting back down to his usual corner.

"And frankly," he continued, casting a glance towards her disheveled appearance, "you're currently in no position to critique the meal. There's dried cum marring your skin, you realize that?"

It was as though Loraley was suddenly snapped back to reality, becoming painfully aware of the dried remnants smeared all over her skin, vestiges from her encounter with Ginova. She shivered at the realization, spunk strewn across her body like some primal badge of conquest… A crude marking from when she had succumbed to an overwhelming climax and blacked out.

"N-no…! This can't be!" Loraley whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself in a futile attempt at comfort. "This is just filth! Pure, vile filth!"

"Given our current circumstances, there's not much to be done at this moment. We'll have to endure until the allocated bathing period later," Alter retorted nonchalantly, leaning back against the chilled dungeon wall and closing his eyes. "Wake me up when the time comes."

"Bathing period?" Loraley whirled around in surprise, her face etched with a blend of confusion and curiosity as she regarded Alter's tranquil form.

"Yes." Alter answered without opening his eyes. "It's the time of the day where we will be ushered into the bathhouse. All prisoners are required to wash themselves thoroughly before being sent back to their cell, as the goddess' law dictates."

Loraley's eyelids fluttered in quick succession, her mind reeling at the influx of new information. "Wait… I'm… what?"

"Don't stress over it too much," Alter replied. "Just remember this. We are mere playthings for the goddess. As long as she perceives us to hold any value or utility, she ensures our basic needs are met. You could consider these small amenities as a privilege of sorts, a sort of compensation for abiding by her rules."

Without any regard to Loraley's stunned silence, Alter carried on.

"Feel free to belittle our meals all you want, but there's no denying that the Goddess has provided us with an abundance of food, diverse in variety and of superior quality than what one might typically consume at home."

Loraley remained quiet, her shocked expression set in stone as she processed his words, taking in this strange logic within their unsettling circumstances.

Her gaze drifted back to her portion of the meal, once tempting and nourishing, now degraded and profaned. Despite the repugnant tarnishing of the food by the hermaphrodites, she couldn't ignore the obvious quantity and quality that lay before her.

Much as she loathed to admit it, Loraley found herself unable to refute Alter's words. He was right, the meal presented before her could rival even those served within the empire itself. If one overlooked their bleak surroundings, given proper clothing, and ignored the cold stench of their prison cell, they might be mistaken into believing they weren't captives at all.

"As long as we don't indulge in foolish rebellions against her, she extends kindness and fairness– even towards us prisoners," Alter continued, his tone steady despite the grim conversation.

"What on earth are you prattling about? Do you even hear yourself!? You're sounding utterly mad!" Loraley shot back, her voice a potent mix of disbelief and frustration.

"I know everything there is to know."

"...!"

With that one sentence, Loraley found herself speechless once again. When Alter saw her reaction, he added further. "I am the progeny of the goddess herself, the deity endowed with the ability to puppeteer people and warp reality according to her whims. I bear an unparalleled closeness to divinity for she is my mother."

Loraley gaped at Alter in mute disbelief. While she had been aware of this revelation, to hear him declare it in such a manner stunned her into silence. It was as though a gust of icy wind had swept through their cell, leaving her standing frozen on the spot.

"Loraley... that's your name right?" Alter spoke of Loraley's name for the first time ever, "Let me ask you something. What do you know of us? The hermaphrodites? I assume you have done research about your enemy before you made your move? I mean, it's not like you can go head on without understanding anything about us, right?"

Loraley hesitated, but eventually nodded her head. "...Yes." She replied.

"Then you know that they are a species with superior strength, stamina and libido. They're capable of reproducing with each other in ways that no man and woman can. They are created to please, to serve, and to protect. " Alter added, "As I've mentioned before, they were created by our goddess with the sole purpose of serving humanity as their protector. They possess exceptional abilities that no human being could ever hope to accomplish. That's just the way they are."

"But... why are they being put to work in a brothel then? If they are so perfect and powerful, cherished by their creator, how come they ended up being sex slaves for the common people?" Loraley asked, still finding it hard to believe.

"You look upon them for working in the brothel, but they do not think of it that way." Alter responded. "Their purpose here is to satisfy the people's darkest desires. In a way, they're fulfilling a role that only they can fulfill. Their job is to give pleasure to others and to receive it in return."

"So you're saying that they don't consider it to be a slave job?"

"Yes." Alter nodded his head. "They consider it a privilege to submit to their partner's desires. They consider their position as a whore as an honor. Catering to people's darkest fetishes is a noble purpose. It's something that makes them happy. It's part of their purpose and their reason for existing."

"Are you serious? This is too absurd." Loraley shook her head in disbelief, unable to grasp the idea of having sex with people being an 'honor' for the hermaphrodites.

"For them, the word 'slavery' is simply meaningless. They view the act of sex as something sacred and beautiful. To them, sex is like a form of worship, where both partners give themselves to each other in body and spirit. To them, pleasure is everything. It's the ultimate goal of life." Alter stated firmly, his voice filled with conviction as he spoke.

"…I thought you got locked up in here because you went against her will, but you speak as if you are on her side all along." Loraley said, her tone incredulous.

"I don't like what she does with her power." Alter retorted without missing a beat. "However, I do respect the fact that she's created the hermaphrodites and put them into a position where they will always be happy and content, where they're free from pain and suffering and will live out long healthy lives serving the people and pleasing them."

Loraley questioned the reality of it all.

'I don't understand what's happening anymore.'

After seeing and hearing what has been happening around her for the past few days, she began to accept one indisputable fact.

'The goddess... she is real.'

The common people referred to her as goddess while people who are close called her Lady Ginova. The hermaphrodites were created by her. The people too, have fallen under her influence. Her men turned against her and her maidens were used to blackmail her to obedience.

The deeper the facts sank into her mind, the more she realized the gravity of the situation. If all her suppositions are correct, then that means the entire city is under the goddess's control.

'This city...this kingdom, everyone here is in the hands of a hermaphrodite goddess who has a penchant for turning humans, be they men or women into her own plaything. She's not just an ordinary deity... even her own son...'

"The hermaphrodites are innocent. However, the way she obtained strength and spread her influence across the kingdom wasn't something I agree with. I don't intend to participate in this twisted play. That's why I opposed her." Alter said without much thought, "But I was foolish. I don't have any special power or any unique abilities. My magic isn't anything to brag about either. I am simply immune to my mother's influence. I have no strength or charisma that I can rely on."

"...Is that how you ended up here?"

"Pretty much. Now that we have our wrists and ankles chained by this device, we are even more powerless than ever. No magic, no power...no ability whatsoever to oppose the goddess." Alter replied with a sigh, "We have nowhere to run. Even if we manage to escape from this place, where could we go next? The only safe place I could think of is the empire, but the goddess has eyes everywhere."

'He's telling the truth. That's the only conclusion I could come up with.' Loraley thought with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Then... we are doomed... aren't we?"

Alter's answer was short and succinct. "Not necessarily."

"...what?" Loraley frowned as she glanced at Alter. She could not quite make out the meaning behind his cryptic statement, "What do you mean?"

Alter didn't bother looking at her as he responded, "Again, as I said before, we are toys to her. Get this fact straight in your head. We don't actually pose any threat to her, and we should stay that way if we want to keep our lives. We should focus on surviving rather than fighting her. Keep our heads low, do her bidding and stay out of her way."

"...then you mean I should give her what she wants?"

"Precisely," Alter nodded his head as he spoke, "You don't need to agree with everything she does, but at the same time you cannot oppose her openly. All you can do at the moment is to play her game, wait and bide our time while searching for an opening to escape."

"Is that your plan? Wait and see how things developed...?"

Alter didn't respond. He just smiled as he leaned his back against the wall before closing his eyes again.

"You are screwing with me...! What do you mean bide our time!? How can we escape if our wrists are bound in chains!?" Loraley exploded with anger at his attitude, her voice laced with irritation and impatience as she stared daggers at him, "There is no way in hell that's going to work!!"

Alter cracked one eye open, and then spoke, "The only person who can get us out of these chains is my mother. In other words, she's our only hope of freedom. If you can win her over, then it's possible."

"...I...I..." Loraley faltered as she tried to muster a response. She found herself at a loss for words, her mind overwhelmed by the implications of Alter's suggestion.

"As I have said, she has taken quite the interest in you... perhaps she would be willing to listen to you." Alter said, his tone filled with hope as he spoke, "However, that would require you to submit yourself to her completely... to become one of her pets, groomed and taken care of... or to be a slave, humiliated and degraded beyond belief. What's your take on that?"

The idea sounded absurd to her at first but then it slowly dawned upon her. She may be her prisoner and captive now, but the goddess has made it clear that she doesn't intend to kill her nor do her any harm.

"...If I don't comply with her... She will make an example out of me, and possibly make my maidens suffer in my place..."

"There is a chance that you may be granted some degree of freedom by her if you submit." He added after a while. "Perhaps some independence? She is a cruel mistress, but she's not a person who enjoys bloodshed. At least, to my knowledge nobody has ever seen her murder anyone before."

His words were heavy and somber, the meaning behind them clear to both of them. Alter had laid out two options for her.

Death or enslavement.

Loraley's mind went numb. The decision was heavy, it bore on her dignity, pride, honor, her morals. However, she could not think straight at the moment due to the events that had unfolded. The mere idea of accepting this proposal sounded unthinkable, but it was the only logical conclusion that made sense to her at the moment.

"Bath time has arrived."

The previous two hermaphrodites who brought them their meals were back again to retrieve the plates and trays, both smiling sweetly and acting oblivious to their predicament.

"......"

Loraley uttered nothing as they took their things, voicing their disappointments upon her untouched plate of food.

"Did you not enjoy the meal? A shame really. We put a lot of effort into preparing it. You can rest assured that the next one will be prepared by us as well. We'll be looking forward to your feedback next time!" One of them remarked with a wink before unlocking the cell, prompting them to follow.