Chapter 113 The Changes

After her twelve-hour slumber, Evernya managed to raise her arms, but not much else. Bored out of her mind, Evernya fell back to sleep after her meal for another twelve hours. When she next awoke, most of her aches and pains diminished to the point of a mild throbbing, allowing her to sit up on her own for a few seconds before her weakened muscles gave out. After her next twelve hour nap, she spent several minutes sitting up before dropping to the bed exhausted. Over the next two days, she continued her schedule of awakening for ten to twenty minutes every twelve hours, with jumps in muscle strength and drops in soreness.

Finally, by the third day, as her AI predicted, Evernya regained enough strength to attempt to stand. Evernya scooted her naked body toward the edge of the giant king bed, dangling her legs over the edge. With slight hesitation, she slipped her butt off the right side of the bed, unable to reach the floor with her short legs. While keeping her hands on the bed for support, Evernya rested her feet on the soft black, and hunter green, sparkled carpet.

Unfortunately, the moment she rested her full weight on her legs, they buckled, sending her to the floor with a thud. Damn it! Stupid, weak legs! Do I have to relearn how to walk again? Evernya grumbled mentally, waving off a robot sent to help by her AI.

Determined more than ever, Evernya pulled herself up, using the bed to try again. This time, she slowly transferred her bodyweight to her legs, allowing them to adjust to the load. With visible shaking, her legs held against the strain.

After several minutes of standing, Evernya tried to take a step. However, the moment her left foot left the floor, her right leg buckled, forcing her to lean against the bed. Well, I should have expected that. At least I can stand now. I need to take my recovery one step at a time. If I were a human, I doubt I could even stand at this point after three months of atrophied muscles. Oddly, I don’t look skinner, but Meira said mana makes everyone look their best. However, my line of sight seems slightly lower. Did I shrink?

Curious, Evernya asked her AI, “Did I shrink?”

Linked into her host’s body, her Ai ran a quick diagnostic before answering, “153 centimeters.”

Evernya’s eyes widened, exclaiming out loud, “What the hell, how did I shrink seven centimeters! I’m practically a Loli now! If I didn’t look young before, I probably look like a child now!”

Her AI jumped in before her host panicked. “If it makes you feel better, my lady, your mother’s last recorded height was 150 centimeters. Your father was over 220 centimeters, but he was a wingless armored Draecath. You took after your mother, becoming a lightly armored winged Draecath. As a winged Draecath, your body will shorten and lighten to increase your capability of flight.”

Evernya’s annoyance at her shrinkage instantly vanished at the mention of wings. “I have wings? But I don’t see them. Do I shift them like my claws?”

Amused by her host’s child-like excitement almost matching her appearance, her AI explained, “I’m sure it would be inconvenient to have wings all the time, so yes, you shift them, which you should know how to do via genetic memory.”

After a quick mental search, Evernya spotted how. Unable to help herself, she immediately sent her mana to all nodes to trigger her transformation. First, her finger and toenails elongated, followed by her natural armor painlessly pushing itself to the surface of her skin. Evernya stared at her scale and fur-covered armors in awe, unprepared for the sudden forced back arch as her wings rose out of her back. Her sore back protested its current positioning, but unable to stop mid-shift, Evernya endured the pain.

Ten uncomfortable seconds later, her wings fully emerged out of her back, immediately extending to their full length, smashing her right-wing into the headboard. Pain resonated through her wing, shooting up her spine, causing her back to arch further into an almost impossible backbend, with tears forming in her eyes. Evernya unconsciously retracted her wings, folding her right-wing around to her front, allowing her to rub and inspect her throbbing wingtip.

After several minutes, the pain and discomfort diminished as her mind caught up to the fact of her new appendages. Fuck, that hurt! Holy Shit, I really have wings! Does that mean I can fly? What do I look like with wings and armor? Evernya thought while scanning her eyes over her black and green bedroom for a mirror but finding none.

While giggling to herself, Evernya’s AI displayed a picture of Evernya spread eagle in the mana tank with her wings extended and armor shifted. Evernya’s eyes widened in surprise, swiveling them around, only to find the picture remaining firmly at the center of her field-of-view. “How did you float an image in front of my eyes!?” Evernya asked in shock.

“I can transmit data to your brain such as Internet webpages, videos, or in this case, a picture recorded near the end of your second evolution.” Her AI explained in an amused tone.

“Awesome! The picture is crazy high resolution too! Who needs a TV or a smartphone when I have you.” Evernya gushed while ogling the high detail image in front of her vision.

Her AI puffed her nonexistent chest in pride. “thank you, my lady. I come installed with many functions, both essential and for entertainment purposes, such as I double as a cell phone. Most of these functions are accessible by requesting them similar to how you speak to me now. However, more complex functions require my direct help, such as scouring information networks for specific data or creating a list of said data. An example of a simple function is manipulating the picture displayed to your optical nerves. You may zoom, move or close the file in any way you wish just by directing your wish to my chip.”

Excited to try out her newly integrated toy, Evernya returned her attention to the image, zooming in and cropping out the rows of robots, allowing her an unobstructed view of her body. Mesmerized by her beautiful visage, Evernya’s right hand unconsciously drifted towards the top of her head, finding two sharp additions just above her hairline. Her vertically slitted eyes widened in surprise as she attempted to shift them away, only for her pointy little horns to remain no matter what she tried.

“As you have noticed, your horns and eyes are permanent, but aside from shrinking a bit in height and weight, nothing else visibly changed.” Her AI revealed.

“Eyes?” Evernya questioned in confusion as both hands prod her horns, no longer focusing on the picture.

As a proud host of her Draecath, the AI continued, “Yes, eyes, as a Draecath, your eyes changed to a more catlike vertical pupil, enhancing your overall vision in all lights, especially in the dark. However, unlike felines from Earth, your eyes do not impede your color vision or your focus over distance. Instead, they enhance both.”

Overcome with shock, Evernya panicked. How can I return with horns and cat eyes!? The height change isn’t a big deal, and gaining shiftable armor and wings is awesome, but this is too much. At least, aside from the changes, my face seems identical to before proving my identity. But how will I answer all the questions I’m sure I’ll receive from the government? I’m sure Meira and Aya will understand, but what about asshole nobles like Archibald? Will they hunt me down to experiment on me? Dammit, what do I do? I can’t just waltz back into society like this, but hiding my new additions feels just as disgusting as hiding my ears and tail.

Her AI allowed her host to stew on her thoughts for a few minutes before speaking. “you should feel proud of your new additions, especially your horns, since they are a symbol of your esteemed heritage as a Draecath. If someone looks down on you because of them, they are not worthy of your attention. Your horns are just as much a part of you as your beloved tail. Cherish them as such.”

“But what about the humans, won’t they give me issues?” Evernya questioned, one hand stroking her tail while the other prodded her horns.

“If they do, they no longer deserve to be in your presence! They should feel honored to be in the presence of a Draecath of your stature!” Her AI asserted voice filled with wrath toward any human who dared to discriminate her host.

Finally knocked out of her shock, Evernya’s face gained a look of absolute superiority befitting her royal title, announcing, “Yes, fuck them if they don’t like me for who and what I am, then they don’t deserve my respect.”

With tears of joy in her digital eyes, the AI proclaimed, “That’s right, my lady! No weak human may look down on you!”

Evernya commanded her armor and wings to recede before laying on her back on the comfortable bed, deep in thought. I feel like I’m becoming more and more arrogant by the second. Is it because I’m a Draecath now? Or is it something else? She called me a princess, and deep down, it feels right. So maybe it’s just how I am. Oh well, I’ll just roll with the changes. It’s not like I didn’t already feel a bit superior to others, so what’s wrong with thinking a little higher of myself as long as I don’t lose my head and do something stupid like making enemies with someone beyond me.

Besides, who can look down on cute little me? If anything, the horns add a bit of charm to my near lolified body. At least they are a pretty sapphire blue and small, kinda like zero-two from that anime. I already have cat ears, so my head real estate is a bit lacking to accommodate massive demon horns or something like antlers. They are now a part of me, like my ears and tail. To be honest, I’m more annoyed with my height loss than my horns. It’s going to suck dealing with my short stature for the rest of my life, but oh well, nothing I can change about it now. At least I am still at a somewhat common height, nothing crazy like an adult under 140 centimeters. Wait, will I shrink further? I better ask, 153 centimeters is dealable, especially with telekinesis for hard to reach things, but any shorter will be ridiculous.

Evernya sent the question to her AI, bracing herself for the worst. “No, aside from possible artificial modifications, this is your fully grown adult body. Prior to your Draecath evolution, your body would age at a similar rate to an Alpha shifter reaching at the oldest the facial features of someone in their thirties in human years. However, since you awakened in your late teens, your face will always stay that of a young adult forever. Your body size depends on your Draecath type, however. If you were 200 centimeters and still evolved into a winged Draecath, your body would shrink under 160 centimeters no matter what. At least for you, your original height was similar, sparing your body from most of the shock. The forced physical changes are why the second evolution is extremely dangerous and usually only induced several years after the Draecath evolution. Draecath have very resilient bodies, but shrinking, or stretching one’s mana system without proper preparation, can easily kill a Draecath.”

Evernya breathed a sigh of relief, stretching her arms out on her giant bed big enough to fit five Evernyas side by side with room to spare. One crisis averted, but I’m sure more will come. But for now, I think I’ll take a nap. Evernya thought as her eyes drifted closed, exhausted from physical and mental overload.