It wasn't just a thought; it felt like someone was whispering directly into his ear, her breath hot against his neck.
Alex spun around, but the bathroom was empty.
"Don't bother looking," the Empress laughed, a rich, throaty sound. "I am inside you now. Part of your blood. Part of your soul."
"Get out!" Alex hissed, clutching his head. "What did you do to me?"
"I don't know how you survived, but consider it as if you're lucky," she purred. "But, I'm simply remodeling the house to fit my tastes. This male body of yours... It's so crude. So rough. It won't do for a Queen like me."
Alex looked down at his body again.
Panic set in. He quickly shoved his hand into his boxers.
He let out a breath of relief. His junk was still there.
"For now," the Empress teased, sensing his relief. "But have you noticed how... sensitive it became?"
Alex paused. She was right. The fabric of his boxers rubbing against his cock felt incredibly intense, almost overstimulating.
He touched himself tentatively, and a jolt of pleasure-pain shot through him, making his knees buckle.
It felt different from before… softer, the skin smoother, like it was changing texture.
"Enjoy it while it lasts, darling," she whispered again, her voice dripping with sadistic pleasure.
"Or better yet, get used to being the one who takes, not the one who gives. My bloodline is pure Yin. It consumes Yang."
Alex stared at the mirror, horrified. His skin was glowing with a faint, healthy luster that no guy should have.
His nipples, usually flat, looked slightly puffy and pinker against his pale chest.
"I can't... I can't be a girl," Alex stammered, his eyes tearing up. "I live with my uncle. My cousins. What am I supposed to tell them?"
"You fool. Soon you will become irresistible. Men will want you. Women will envy you." the Empress commanded, her tone sharpening. "With your current strength, it's better to tell them nothing."
Alex couldn't help but shudder, when he thought of the scene where men were lusting over him. "Fuck I can't let that happen… I like women."
"Men or Women, what's the difference, you wanted power? You wanted to be a True Awakener?"
She paused, and Alex could practically feel her smirk in his mind. "With my power, you can fuck anyone, I already gave you the ultimate weapon… the power of the Heavenly Enchantress."
"Anyway, now go wash up. Be a good girl and clean our body. We have a lot of work to do."
Alex stood in front of the steamy mirror for another minute, afraid to step out.
He towel-dried his hair, and even that felt different.
His hair was usually coarse and oily, but now it felt like wet silk slipping through his fingers.
As he dried his body, the towel felt incredibly rough against his skin.
"Ouch," he hissed, dabbing at his chest.
His nipples were the worst part.
They were slightly swollen, standing at attention, and turning into rosy pink.
The friction of the towel sent a jolt of electric sensation straight to his groin.
It wasn't just pain; it was a weird, confusing pleasure that made his breath hitch.
"Sensitive, aren't you?" the Empress giggled in his head. "As an Enchantress, your body is preparing for touch. It wants to be handled."
"Shut up," Alex muttered, grabbing his old, worn-out grey t-shirt.
He pulled it on, but immediately regretted it.
The cheap cotton felt like sandpaper.
It clung to his chest, rubbing against his stiff nipples with every breath.
He could feel the fabric sliding over his stomach, which felt softer, less defined than yesterday.
He swallowed hard, unlocked the door, and stepped out into the hallway.
He didn't make it two steps before he ran into a wall. Or rather, a person.
"Whoa, watch it," a sharp voice snapped.
It was Elena.
Alex froze. His cousin Elena was twenty-one, a D-rank Professional with a "Water Control" ability.
She was tall, lean, and had a resting face that looked like she was judging your soul.
Usually, she just ignored Alex or scolded him for being lazy… or teased him a little bit for being short and slim.
But today, somehow, she didn't step back.
She stood there, wearing a tight black tank top and workout shorts, sweating from her morning training.
But instead of pushing past him, she stopped. Her nose twitched.
"Alex?" she asked, her voice sounding confused.
"Uh, hey Elena. I gotta go help Uncle John." Alex tried to squeeze past her, terrified she'd notice the tattoo or the weird bump in his pants that wouldn't go away.
"Stop," she shouted, her hand shooting out to grab his arm.
Her grip was strong, but the moment her skin touched his, Alex gasped. Her hand felt incredibly hot.
Elena's eyes widened. She didn't let go. Instead, she pulled him closer, pinning him against the wall of the narrow hallway.
"What is that smell?" she whispered, leaning in and sniffed his body like a dog.
"I... I just showered," Alex stammered, his heart hammering against his ribs.
He could feel her breasts pressing lightly against his arm, and the heat radiating from her body was making him dizzy as he suddenly remembered the scene from the night at the shrine.
"No," Elena murmured, her eyes losing their usual sharpness, becoming slightly glazed. "It's not soap. You smell… different."
She leaned her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply.
Her hot breath washed over his sensitive skin, making the fine hairs on his neck stand up, returning his focus back.
"Look at her," at the same time the Empress whispered again, her voice dripping with lust.
"She wants to bite you. She wants to taste you. The pheromones you are releasing started driving her wild. This is the power of the Enchantress."
Elena's hand slid up his arm, her fingers tracing the smooth, hairless skin of his inner forearm.
She looked down at his arm, then up at his face.
"And your skin..." she murmured, reaching up with her other hand to cup his cheek.
Her thumb brushed over his lips, which were fuller and redder than usual. "Since when do you have such soft skin? You don't have a single pore. You're… basically glowing."
Alex felt his face flush hot…
Being this close to Elena, feeling her strong body pressing him against the wall, was overwhelming.
He looked down and saw her chest heaving slightly. The way she was looking at him... it wasn't how a cousin looked at a cousin.
It was how a predator looked at a meal.
"Elena, you're too close," Alex whispered, though he didn't push her away. He couldn't. His body was betraying him, leaning into her touch.
"Am I?" she teased back, her voice husky.
She dragged her thumb down his jawline, then lower, grazing his neck.
Her eyes dropped to his chest.
Through the thin, worn-out t-shirt, his hard nipples were clearly visible, poking against the fabric.
Elena's gaze locked onto them. She licked her lips subconsciously.
"You've, what happened to your chest? Why do your nipples look bigger?" she questioned, her voice dropping to a low purr.
She pressed her thigh between his legs, her knee brushing dangerously close to his crotch. "Somehow, you look... pretty. Too pretty for a boy."
She leaned in until her lips were almost brushing his ear.
"Tell me, Alex," she whispered, her hand sliding down his chest, her fingers grazing his sensitive nipple through the shirt, making him let out a broken moan. "Did you find a girlfriend? Or are you trying to seduce someone?"
Alex's mind was spinning.
The sensation of her finger teasing his nipple was sending waves of pleasure straight to his stomach.
He felt incredibly submissive, like he wanted to slide down the wall and let her do whatever she wanted.
"Don't just stand there trembling," the Empress hissed. "Use it. Touch her back."
"Get off me!" Alex snapped as soon as he heard the Empress words, his voice cracking mid-shout.
He tried to shove Elena away, planting his hands against her shoulders.
Elena didn't give him a chance to recover.
With a sudden, violent surge of strength, she slammed him back against the wall, leaving him gasping, his chest heaving against her.
She pinned both of his wrists above his head with one hand, her grip like iron shackles.
"You want to be a man, Alex?" she hissed, her voice dropping to a predatory low. She pressed her entire body against him, grinding her hips firmly into his crotch.
Alex let out a choked sound, his back arching.
The friction of her clothes against his leaking boxers was electric. He tried to squirm away, but she only pressed harder, using her weight to crush his cock against the cold wall.
In fact, his palms felt ridiculously soft against her hard, gym-toned deltoids.
The contrast made his mind filled with humiliation.
He had always been the runt of the family… short, lean, the "office worker" soul in a weak cultivator's body.
But this? This was different.