The damage created from Cate's single attack left Ion shaken and the water spirit trembling. She was no match for Cate. After the two sides exchanged a few more blows, Cate gained victory and had the young woman pinned to the ground. She struggled as much as she could, but Cate was hungry, and she was the only food around. Cate licked the young woman's neck, taking away a layer of flesh. The pain from this alone made the young woman call out for her mother.
Cate did not stop at only this. She bit into the young woman's neck with such terrible force that the water spirit's spine snapped and she was left completely helpless. Cate's teeth penetrated the young woman's flesh, and blood began flooding Cate's mouth. The taste was heavenly. Something Cate had not gotten from the animals she had been eating earlier. Cate took in the blood as if she had just crossed a desert. As the blood filled her being, Cate felt her blood boil with excitement and her mind regain some level of calm, but not enough for Cate to show any mercy to the young woman. In less than thirty seconds, the water spirit was completely drained, and her body was lifeless.
Cate was not a vampire. She was something completely new and much more ravenous. Cate began feasting on the young water spirit's flesh. Cate ate everything down to the bone. When she was done, Cate stayed in place with her body covered in blood. She looked at the dark sky and felt the sun coming out. "This is the price of power," Cate thought to herself. She contemplated how far she was willing to go to gain the power she needed for her revenge. By the time the sun fully came out, Cate concluded that she was willing to go to the very pit of hell and back if it meant that she would get the power she craved.
She had just killed an innocent young woman who had barely lived, and even though Cate felt overwhelming guilt, this was not enough to get her to course correct. "I chose this path long ago, and even turning into a monster no different from the gods is a price I am willing to pay," Cate said as she got up and returned to her quarters. There, she cleaned up the mess she had made and bathed once again. This time, the hunger did not come back so fast. Cate could feel that this hunger was something that would forever be part of her. She began thinking of ways to manage it so that she did not end up losing control just like what had happened.
During breakfast, Cate confirmed that she was no longer able to eat normal food. There was bacon, bread, fruit, and everything else that one could eat for breakfast. This was a meal fit for a queen. Mary, Catherine and her maidservant Yore ate their breakfast, and they chatted. Cate spoke once in a while, and even though she was saddened by her recent transformation, Cate was happy that Mary was speaking to other people. This was even though Mary had yet to forgive Cate for her deception.
"You have yet to touch your breakfast. Not even a bite has been removed from your plate," Yore said. "I am not hungry." This was all Cate could say about the matter. From the moment she entered the dining hall, Cate had been assaulted by the smell of the prepared breakfast. Everything smelled foul and dead. When she looked at the dishes, she saw the beauty of it, but that was all spoiled by the smell, which was worse than that of shit. Cate could not even imagine eating this food.
When the others were about to finish with their breakfast, Cate held her breath and placed a piece of bread in her mouth. The moment her tongue touched the bread, it tasted like earth, and after a second of chewing, the bread turned to ash. It was real ash in her mouth. Cate endured the taste and the smell and swallowed the ash as fast as she could.
"I have been cursed by the world. I have become an abomination, and Mother Earth does not want to provide for me. I have been abandoned by the world. From now on, the only thing that can sustain me is the flesh of those with free will, separate from Mother Earth." Cate quickly reached a conclusion about what was happening to her. This was all a consequence of her using the Original Sin spell to gain power by becoming something new to the world.
Cate tried drinking some water, and even that turned to ash in her mouth. There was nothing she could do to stop what was happening. The Original Sin spell could not be reversed, and she was sure on this matter since she was the creator of this powerful spell. It was her greatest creation, and it now seemed to be the thing that would bring her the most suffering. Cate tried everything on the table, and nothing changed.
"What happened last night?" Mary asked. She was not the only one interested in the subject, but she was the only one who could ask. Everyone else was a servant, and Catherine and Yore were hostages. Even though they lived freely in the palace, they were not allowed to leave. They knew of Cate's ruthless nature and therefore did not dare disturb her by asking about things that did not concern them.
"The palace was attacked by someone who did not know better. I dealt with the matter. You do not have to worry about there being another attack, as the palace has already left Germany," Ion said. Cate did not even flinch at this lie from Ion. She had sensed him watching her last night, and the two had spoken before she came down for breakfast.