The Beginning of Change
The sky remained an eternal polar night unless I permitted its movement. Because of that, time didn't flow accurately here. Far more time might have passed than I thought, or perhaps far less. So when I finally opened my eyes, I couldn't even be sure what time it was, let alone how many days had gone by.
All I could feel was that Yujin's chest was far sturdier than I'd expected.
It didn't feel this firm last time I saw it.
Well, some time had passed since then, after all. Becoming a hero meant throwing yourself into life-or-death battles several times a year. There were no rear lines in this war. To survive, you had to train your body and build muscle—it was just a means to an end, nothing to do with aesthetics.
But still, I wanted to touch those muscles. So this was... yeah. Admiration. As someone who'd once had a man's body, I was drawn to well-trained muscles. My original body had been far from muscular. Approaching my thirties, my gut had started sticking out, and I'd signed up for a gym only to ghost it after a few days.
Someone like me would naturally be pulled toward these diligently honed muscles, even if they weren't perfectly sculpted.
"……"
Yujin seemed to be in a deep sleep. After dumping load after load into my ass, he must've been exhausted. He'd even gotten one-sidedly wrecked by me in sparring right before that. At this point, he wouldn't notice if someone carried him off, so a little touch should be fine, right?
I poked his pecs with my index finger, pressing in firmly.
"Oh, ooh, oooh…."
Dense. Not just hard—it had that packed muscle fiber rebound when I pressed down. Impressive, really.
I glanced down at my own naked body. Objectively, it was pretty muscular too. But there were clear limits as a woman's body; I couldn't match Yujin's solid, robust build. If we fought using qi, I'd win every time, hands down. Without it, though? He'd crush me for sure. Even with my superior technique, the raw physical gap was insurmountable. If he got serious, he could probably flatten someone like me without breaking a sweat.
If he really put his mind to it, I wouldn't even be able to resist... under him...
"Eut!?"
A sudden heat bloomed in my lower belly, like touching a hot wire. The tattoo that had been small and faint before had grown noticeably larger and sharper. Now, if I didn't actively hide it, even a slight glimpse of my stomach would give it away.
Thinking about it now, it was kinda embarrassing. Like I was his property or something.
...It just looks that way. What matters is reality. I'm not actually his possession, so who cares?
"Ah…."
This guy was rock hard with morning wood, even after wrecking my ass yesterday. Still full of vigor, swollen like he had plenty left. If I left it like this, he might even wet dream.
How much stamina did he have left, anyway?
"You... ever fantasize about a wake-up blowjob?"
I couldn't remember clearly. But probably. Was there any guy who didn't have that fantasy?
"Can't help it with you."
He'd be embarrassed waking up naked with a raging hard-on in front of a girl. Might as well help him out so we could be embarrassed together. That's what real friends do, right?
I scooted down to his crotch and deeply inhaled the scent of his cock.
"Eup, huaaah…."
Weird. This smell never got familiar no matter how much I sniffed it—it only got more stimulating over time. Was it because the mark engraved in my body had strengthened? Or, absurdly, had his masculinity ramped up? Whatever. I couldn't hold back.
"Hauum!!"
I stuffed my mouth full of his cock, swirling my tongue to suck every inch. The repulsive yet irresistibly addictive taste and smell flooded my mouth.
"Mm, churp! Churp!! Jjubooboo~♥"
I sucked out all the air, slurping his cock obscenely while bobbing up and down. It was so huge it filled my throat completely, but that was no issue. I was trained for this. Easy win. I even clenched my throat tighter, gripping him firmer.
My body was already learning how to please this cock.
Ah, he's about to cum soon.
I could read the signals from his cock now. Yeah, I was totally getting tamed by this guy. But it was fine. This was just a means to get stronger. As long as my mind didn't submit, even if my body turned into his personal onahole, it was okay.
Right as I geared up for the final sprint to take every drop, sudden pressure gripped my head. It forced his cock deep into my throat, blocking my airway completely. Then, as signaled, it erupted like lava straight down.
"Urghooooook… ok… ok♥ Ogogogok♥♥"
Too much. Treating me like a real onahole. Only after dumping everything into my stomach did he release my head. Long—one full minute of cumming. Are you even human?
"Suuuuuup, huaaah♥"
Starting the day drowned in semen smell. Worst mood ever♥
"G-good morning."
After that mess, he gave an awkward smile like he was scared of backlash. Pissed me off, so I shot back the worst greeting right in his face.
"Keurgh!!"
※
"Whoa, looks like you two had quite the fun without me. Too bad~ I wanted a front-row seat to human mating."
"What good would that do you? Can you even reproduce to begin with?"
"Hmm~ This body has full female functionality, though."
As I soaked in the warm stream Yujin had conjured to wash off the smell, Kiru reappeared before us. And her first words were sex talk. What a problematic girl.
"Oh, wanna test if you can impregnate an Eight King? I respect your intellectual curiosity. I'd gladly join the experiment if you want."
"E-eh?"
Caught off guard by the sudden advance, Yujin grimaced awkwardly. No worries, no. Yujin wasn't heading down the original story's rapist path anymore. He wouldn't fall for cheap temptations like that.
Still, I should shut it down firmly on his behalf. Not too harshly, though—just a gentle advisory tone.
"Hey!! You wanna die or what! Cut the bullshit—why would Yujin do that with you!"
...Not that I was actually mad. Just raising my voice to make the point crystal clear. Kiru would cling again otherwise.
"Whoa! Jealous? Never seen your face twist up that ugly before~ You look ready to kill."
Me, jealous? What nonsense. Why would I be? Yujin and I weren't even a thing.
……Well, saying we had nothing was an overstatement. We were friends. The kind who'd crossed life-and-death lines together—not your average friendship. Nothing weird about speaking up for a friend like that.
"...Hyowon, you're jealous for my sake?"
Don't mutter like that's touching—it complicates things! I'm not jealous! I wouldn't care if you fooled around with other girls however you want! I'd even encourage it! Except Kiru is dangerous!
...Of course, I'd need to vet if she's actually helpful for saving humanity! If she's worthy of Yujin! I had info advantages others didn't.
"Puhuhut... So that's what girls are like? Learned something. It was just a joke—no need to get that mad~?"
Kiru backed off with unnecessary parting words and changed the subject.
"Anyway. Things are starting to kick off here. Faster than expected—probably your influence."
"Yeah. Figured as much."
"...Don't talk in inside jokes. It's lonely."
With that, we gave a quick rundown.
"This Taeguk Fragment is overflowing with wildly free qi beyond imagination. It was ultra-stable before we arrived. Remember that empty space when we first got here?"
"But you entering disrupted the qi balance. Your ripples kept affecting the surroundings endlessly. Change bloomed in the void. Endless change births new life. Soon, new entities will spawn from this qi without us lifting a finger."
"……?"
Yujin looked lost. Fair enough—I didn't fully get it either. Just knew it from the setting docs~
I summed up the key info.
"Remember when we said this is the Eight Kings' home?"
"Yeah, hard to feel it though."
"The next generation of Eight Kings is being born right here."
That drove the gravity home.
"No way!"
"Way~ I, the original, was born here after all."
"But then we've committed an unforgivable sin! Humanity's already on shaky ground with the Eight Kings, and now we've added another?!"
"You said to trust me, remember?"
I played stubborn. Irresponsible after setting this up, but Yujin accepted it.
"They're forming, but still fluid stage. Way weaker than real Eight Kings."
"Not that they're pushovers compared to regular monsters~"
Those proto-beings devour and get devoured endlessly, filtering impurities, merging essentials into purer, unified forms. That's how Eight Kings are made. We'd crash that party.
"We'll steal the qi they need to consolidate."
Fight them directly, engrave the experience into our souls. Absorb their power. Success means we'd meet the baseline to face Eight Kings. Not a guaranteed win, but we'd at least fight.
First-year academy kids doing this!
"...What if we fail and a new Eight King spawns?"
"Seal it forever and bail. I know how."
Yujin groaned, clutching his head. But soon he steeled his gaze at me.
"I said I trust you. Whatever you do, I'll be right there."
...Hng, pretty smooth talker. If I were a girl, I'd swoon. If I were a girl, that is.
"Kiru, you'll help too, right?"
"No interest in another Eight King. We're not bonded just 'cause you lump us as such. Happy to help."
"Thanks. ...Kinda nostalgic, huh? Like our first gate class, teaming up. Back then I left most to Hyowon... This time, I'll shine. Let's cooperate."
Yujin extended a hand like for a shake. Hmph, no need for that. Kiru was a potential enemy. I grabbed it instead.
"……Hmm~"
Watching us, Kiru suddenly said,
"Y'know, you two really match~ I don't get human emotions well, but even I can see the picture's perfect. Hmm, yeah—this must be 'meant to be'? Got it with my heart, not head."
Outta nowhere, Kiru buttered us up. Thought that'd melt me? Big mistake.
"Hmph! Meant to be my ass. Sure, we match—but not as man and woman. As friends? Not a bad vibe. Hmph!"
"Ah, this is what they call 'easy girl'? Got that with my heart too."
"Shut up!"
Dawn broke in the sky. Without my input, the starlight coalesced into a massive sun. Nothing like Earth's, but it looked the same to us.
"Sign the world's changes have truly begun."
Even without us creating, it was evolving—stirring to birth a ninth king. No such thing would happen, though.
"Let's go!"