'The vortex, luckily, opens near Ovaris. If my memory is correct, the portal opens at 8 P.M. today. There's not much time to think about it all.'
Zay glanced around the port and let out a quiet sigh as he sat alone, staring out over the endless expanse of water.
'I can't believe it… I'm still 23, and I'm already accessing the Second Realm—Varnis. I don't remember the last time I managed this before turning thirty. Since completing the Fourth, a lot has changed. Subtle Charm evolved into Charm… and honestly, it's been a pain in my ass. Everyone I pass in this damn kingdom seems obsessed with me. Still… thanks to that, I've managed to obtain quite a lot of items.'
His gaze hardened, eyes following the waves as they crashed into one another. He cracked his neck slowly.
'My Night Vision has improved, my overall vision too. I've gained Resonance Lens: Lost Magic from the Demoness Seal, Glass Double, Velvet Transparency, Captivate… three curses, and enchants courtesy of Lost Magic. I've also reached Resonant Core Rank. Life looks like it's heading in a good direction… well… in a way.'
He shook his head, turning toward the horizon just as a small ship came into view. Rising slowly to his feet, his long black hair swayed in the breeze as the rain finally began to ease and fade away.
'If I remember right, that "switch" has to stay flipped for at least four months out of the year so Midnight can… adapt? Or whatever that thing mentioned in the Seal Realm meant. It's May 31st… seven months left in the year. Should I just flip it now, track the months, and turn it off after four? One way or another… my life's about to get pretty damn awkward for a while.'
He kept his eyes fixed on the approaching ship, his thoughts circling with stubborn persistence. He really only had two choices: flip the switch now, spend the next four months as female, and finish the rest of the year as himself, or wait until the end of August, which would mean spending all of September, October, November, and December being a female. Waiting, he suspected, would only make things more complicated.
'If I do it now, I can adjust to the whole change quicker. The Second Realm will be a pain for a while, sure, but either way there'll be complications. I either reach the Second Realm as myself and deal with the "switch" later… or do it now and still have trouble later. But at least if I switch now, I could just stay that way until it's safe to turn it off sometime after the four months are up…'
He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply.
'Hell, I don't know what to do about this. I should've thought more about it before taking it.'
After several minutes, he turned his head at the sound of footsteps and saw Rei. Rei walked over to the edge of the port and sat down, his feet hanging off the side alongside Zay's.
"What's got you thinking so hard?"
A few silent moments passed as the two watched waves crash against each other, the small ship in the distance drawing closer to port.
"I'm just debating over something," Zay said at last. "Call it… a curse, in a way. It's controlled, but it has requirements to stay that way. But… it doesn't matter."
Rei glanced over at him, shook his head, and looked down as water lapped at the bottom of his boots. "I might be able to give you an answer if you tell me what kind of curse it is. Without knowing anything, I can't really help."
Zay turned to face him, the breeze catching their hair as he exhaled. "I don't think it has a traditional name… It's a curse that forces the Arbiter to become… female, for four months. I'm debating whether to just get it over with now, adjust to it, and deal with it until sometime later in Varnis, after the four months are up, so I don't have to worry about any information leaking about this… or anything else."
Rei's face twisted in puzzlement as he listened, then a slight chuckle escaped him. "Damn… you really got stuck with a curse like that? That's rough."
He fell silent for a long five minutes, watching the ocean stretch endlessly before him. Then his eyes widened slightly. "Wait… isn't it also kind of a perk?"
Zay gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?"
"It might actually work in your favor for infiltration—getting into places you otherwise couldn't, gaining access to certain circles, maybe even earning trust where you normally wouldn't. But there's the question of your physical strength. As a male, you've trained your body to its limits. Would it shift to match the natural strength of a female body… or stay the same?"
He tilted his head, studying Zay carefully. "Still… on the other hand, it could give you a real advantage. Remember when we were on the ship from Gyro? You told me about certain Spirit Arts, those aura-channeling techniques that are only accessible within Varnis, and that only women can perform because of how their bodies naturally shape and direct the flow of aura. And the same goes for men—certain techniques they can use that women can't. In your case… wouldn't that mean you could potentially master both, without the usual restrictions?"
Zay closed his eyes, letting Rei's words sink in. At first, he hadn't even considered that angle. Slowly, he nodded, opening his eyes as a long, steady breath escaped him.
"I didn't even think of that… The Spirit Arts, and certain techniques, perhaps the restriction wouldn't be an issue after all. But…" His voice lowered slightly. "That still doesn't solve the main issue: relationships."
Rei raised a hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "That… would be an issue, wouldn't it? If you went in as female, under a false name and identity, it'd cause a mess once you changed back. But if you go in as male, you might risk being forced into changing unexpectedly because of the curse. Is that what you're getting at?"
Zay gave a faint smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "Exactly. It's a damned trap either way. One path makes it my choice… the other leaves it up to fate."
The two sat in silence for a moment, the sound of the waves filling the space between them. The ship in the distance drew closer, its dark silhouette cutting through the silver-blue sea.
Zay's eyes stayed locked on the approaching ship, but his mind was far from the horizon. The air carried the scent of salt, the promise of storms brewing in the distance, and the faint aroma of fresh bread baking nearby. Eventually, Rei spoke again.
"If you're forced into doing it one way or another… better to do it on your terms, not when the curse decides to screw you over during something important."
Zay's jaw tightened as he nodded. "I guess I'd rather screw myself over than let a curse do it for me." He gave a soft chuckle as he stood.
A sigh escaped him just as the rain began to fall again, as it always did in Ovaris. Waves crashed against the port, the rhythm growing louder as the rain came down heavier.
Closing his eyes, Zay began to focus on the Seal, and his Soul. Deep within his mind, the seal shimmered like liquid silver, the metaphorical "switch" resting in his grasp. It was bright pink edged in deep violet. With a mental motion as simple as flicking a light, he forced it into place.
Rei shrugged his shoulders and yawned as he hadn't gotten any sleep in a few days. He began walking away, unsure what Zay was thinking about but thought he had helped enough.
'That curse sounds intriguing. I wonder if there's any books on it, and if there are, I wonder if anyone has managed to break the curse? I guess I won't be getting sleep for a few more days.'
With his thoughts set in order, he began to make his way to the library in Ovaris.
...
Zay looked forward at the switch within his mind, and upon forcing it into place, a small, bright amethyst orb appeared in his hand. He glanced down at it just as the orb pulsed, fusing into his skin. A gentle warmth began to radiate from his Aura Core—now intertwined with his soul.
That warmth spread outward like molten metal poured into a mold, reshaping him from the inside out. His heartbeat slowed, then quickened, syncing to a rhythm that didn't quite feel like his own at first.
A soft ache tugged at his bones as they shifted, his frame subtly narrowing, muscle lines redrawing themselves throughout his body. The weight of him changed, lighter in some ways, different in others. His long black hair flowed around his face, strands slipping across his shoulders.
His skin prickled as the flow of aura within him altered, the channels adjusting to a new architecture. His breathing felt sharper, as though the air was taking a new route through his lungs. Though, he knew it wasn't a new route, it just felt as if it were.
His center of gravity lowered just enough to make him feel off-balance for a heartbeat, before settling into this new equilibrium as though it had always been there.
The warm pulses that moved through him calmed his nerves and dulled all sensation of pain, numbing entirely what should have been the agony of bone reformation. No discomfort reached him. the only thing that did reach him was the strange, undeniable awareness that his very shape was being rewritten from the inside out.