Cattle Registration (5): Irreversible Erosion

In reality, Yuriathenes leaned back against her throne. The office was already empty. A long time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had passed since her subjects withdrew, yet she remained seated in the same place. Her legs trembled faintly, and her lower abdomen still burned with a quiet, lingering afterglow. She covered her mouth with one hand, breathing in harsh gasps.

......Six times. She remembered with perfect clarity exactly how many times she had reached climax. From the first orgasm she had fought desperately to suppress in front of her subjects, to the successive waves that erupted once she was alone. Her body had reacted against her will, and in the end she could not stop the tide.

Yuriathenes slowly looked down at her hand. Her fingers were trembling. The grip that had clenched her skirt still carried residual force. She gritted her teeth and rose with deliberate care. Her legs felt as if they might buckle. Leaving the throne, she walked slowly toward the bedroom. Every step made her thighs brush together, and her still-hypersensitive body tormented her. Movements that would once have meant nothing now sent sharp stimulation through her nerves.

When she reached the bedroom, Yuriathenes closed the door and sank to the floor. She leaned her back against the wood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and spent a long time steadying her breath. Her body remained feverishly hot. She now understood clearly that this would not end with a single climax.

......This is not a one-time occurrence.

She lifted a hand and pressed it lightly to her breast. The instant her palm touched fabric, a faint current raced up her spine. Even clothed, she could feel her body continuing to receive stimulation. She closed her eyes and summoned the status window.

Yuriathenes’s eyes darkened. 8.7 percent. It had risen higher than immediately after her return yesterday. She clenched her teeth.

......It went up.

She recalled Karsen’s words, the ones he had spoken while administering the injection. He had called it sensitivity amplified forty times. The phrase had felt abstract then. It did not feel abstract now.

If it was forty times there, then roughly one-tenth of that effect remains here—about four times the normal sensitivity.

The injection she had received in that hellish place had not produced a mere temporary effect. It had changed her body itself. She could no longer deny it. And that change continued to torment her even after her return to reality.

Yuriathenes rose slowly. Her legs still felt weak, but she forced them to move. She picked up the bracelet resting on the bedside table. It looked like an ordinary ornament set with subtle black pearls. She tapped the surface twice with a fingertip. Moments later the bracelet emitted a faint black glow and vibrated.

“Chilheok.” The Empress spoke in a low, cold voice. “Within half a day, secure the highest-grade pleasure enhancer currently obtainable along with its antidote. Report in full detail on the drug’s mechanism of action, usage instructions, and effects. Move as quickly as possible.”

Yuriathenes stared down at the bracelet, then lowered herself into a chair. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Her head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt heavy. Her body was still reacting with painful sensitivity, a fact she could no longer ignore. She closed her eyes and murmured under her breath.

“......This cannot possibly be the end.”

She had already sensed that the injection was not a one-time affair. That intuition was rapidly hardening into certainty.

---

Roughly four hours later the bracelet vibrated again. Yuriathenes lifted her hand and checked it, then pressed the surface once and spoke in a low voice.

“Report.”

Yuriathenes opened the document. As she read, her eyes sank deeper. Fortunately the enhancer they had acquired was also calibrated to roughly forty times sensitivity. Its effective duration was seven days. The knowledge that the effect was not permanent offered some small comfort. The document further stated that even stronger and more refined variants existed beyond this high-grade product.

She set the document down and murmured, So there are things stronger than what I received.

The realization did not end in mere shock. The injection she had already endured produced a significant effect; the existence of even more powerful versions proved that substances used on cattle in that other dimension could function fully in reality as well.

She picked up the antidote. It was a small vial of clear liquid. She opened it and slowly drank the contents. A bitter, heavy taste slid down her throat. Yuriathenes set the empty vial on the table and observed her body’s reaction. There was none. She pressed a hand to her breast again. The hypersensitivity remained exactly as before. The antidote had produced no effect whatsoever.

......Even this is not enough.

She considered the imperial treasury, where elixirs handed down from antiquity were stored. These priceless substances were used to dispel curses and poisons ordinary antidotes could not touch. Yuriathenes went down to the vault herself and withdrew the maximum quantity the imperial house permitted. She swallowed the elixir. For a moment she felt a faint response, but it was only temporary. After time passed, the hypersensitivity remained unchanged. The elixir, too, had failed.

Leaving the treasury, Yuriathenes clenched her teeth. Even the elixir...

Only one final option remained. The holy water of the Sun Temple. Produced by the saintess at the main temple, it was known to possess the strongest purifying power against curses and poisons. She traveled to the temple, met the archbishop, and obtained a small quantity. She drank it carefully. A warm energy spread through her body. Yuriathenes waited, telling herself that this time it would surely work.

The result was the same. Even after taking the holy water, the hypersensitivity did not disappear. On the contrary, as time passed the sensation seemed to grow sharper and clearer. Leaving the temple, she walked slowly.

Yuriathenes now understood. The drug that had seeped into her body in that wretched place could not be reversed by any medicine, holy water, or elixir available in reality. Even she, the Empress, could not undo the influence she had received there.

She returned to her bedroom and sat quietly in a chair. Her hands trembled faintly. Her body remained painfully sensitive, a truth she could no longer deny. She closed her eyes and whispered.

“......Is this my body now?”

She gazed out the window. The world outside had already grown dark. In all the years she had lived as Empress she had overcome countless crises—wars, political conspiracies, even rebellion on the eve of her ascension. She had conquered them all. Yet now she realized she was gradually crumbling beneath something she could not control.

She tightened her fist until the knuckles whitened.

“......System.”

Her voice was low, laced with both fury and despair.

“You...... made me...... like this.”

But the words reached no one. In the room, only she remained. Yuriathenes slowly leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Her body was still burning, and her heart grew colder with every passing moment.