=I was gonna go with bad touch, but that’s better. Also, probably both.=
"Why...is the skeleton ball glowing?"
<=Not sure, but she’s also glowing the same color.=>
{Now let’s see here...}
The parasinner studied the zako marble made of bone, scrutinizing it in a manner Zhen Liu likened to a jeweler evaluating the worth of a recently cut diamond.
{Interesting, interesting, interesting...,} the parasinner mused as she looked over the bone marble, turning and rotating it at various angles to make out all of the details and flaws.
{I think you and I will get along just fine...GULP!}
Before their very eyes, the parasinner swallowed bone zako marble like it was a candy.
As the parasinner swallowed the (probably) inedible bone marble, a noticeable spike in aether and [Chaos] occurred within the cell, so much so that the seal holding the parasinner in place visibly shook for a moment before reinforcing itself.
This moment would’ve been the weirdest and most worrying to Zhen Liu and the curators, but they were a bit too focused on the parasinner herself.
Namely due to an (un)expected transformation that occurred while she was swallowing the zako.
In the moments the parasinner brought the marble to her lips and was just about to swallow it, Zhen Liu could clearly see that the missing texture pattern that made up her form gave way to a decidedly skeletal one, albeit, a somehow sexy skeleton.
On top of that, due to the missing textures no being defined as "skeletal", Zhen Liu could clearly see how the bone zako marble went down the parasinner’s throat and into where her stomach should’ve been, and proceeded to get connected to the weird mechanical bits that had texture.
Once they were latched into place, the parasinner’s existence started to become a lot less questionable and significantly more...defined.
=Because "I love you too much" is a musical masterpiece.=
"Both of you be quiet, weird shit is happening and I want to try and understand how and fucking why," Zhen Liu said in a mildly annoyed tone. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he felt moment was important to his cultivation going forward, even though this was technically a freak accident in the making.
Bit by bit, skeletal piece by skeletal piece, the parasinner took on a very different form.
Her texture-less body began to mimic that of dried bones, the amorphous parts reforming into solid, albeit hollow structures.
Not even the metallic parts of her form were spared from this strange transformation, as they began to reform and remold themselves into forms that had a decidedly gothic and necromantic feel to them, changing color to a deep black and glowing with a strange green energy.
The changes eventually reached what constituted as a head, reforming into a skull-like shape that seemed unusually expressive.
"Huh...unusually fleshy."
If anything, the parasinner’s head didn’t look so much like a skull, but more like a humanoid face with a calvera designed pained over it. Granted, his perception of reality might’ve been skewed since he saw flashes of actual skull underneath.
[Ooooh, now that...felt...stimulating.]
"And she sounds like a kaijin in my head like normal, what the fuck?"
It was at this point in time that Zhen Liu felt his connection to the parasinner change from whatever the fuck it was before to what now felt like a normal kaijin connection, with a strange taste to it though.
The transformation eventually came to an end as the energy levels in the room went back to normal, but the same could not be said for the parasinner.
Gone was the strange black and pink texture body, replaced by a decidedly skeletal one that had mechanical bits covering the chest, arms, legs and parts of the head.
From what Zhen Liu could see, the skeletal parts was definitely similar to that of the skeletal zakos at his disposal, it just now had the parasinner mechanical parts on top of it, like a weird armor enhancement.
[So...how do I look?,] the now skeletal cyborg woman asked while posing.
[I think I’m ready for a close up, Mister Deville...or would you rather I be naked first?]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Since you’re done possessing that skeletal zako...do you mind I have a closer look at it?"
The now silver parasinner squinted at Zhen Liu with a critical eye.
{How do I know you won’t try and take away one of my playmates? You know it gets awfully lonely in here.}
"You’re connected to my brain and soul. Do you feel me lying?"
With a flick of her metallic thumb, the parasinner launched the bone marble at Zhen Liu, who caught it midair.
{Try not to have too much fun with her. She is only just learning what I could impart with her.}
{Why don’t you use your fancy seal and ring to have a gander, daddy?}
Despite the innuendos, Zhen Liu proceeded to do as the parasinner suggested.
He concentrated his mind on his connection with the bone zako marble in his hand, trying to figure out what exactly the parasinner had done to it.
As he did, the familiar form of the status screen appeared before his eyes.
However, as he looked over the data on the skeletal zako, they went wide.
’Oh what the fuck...’
_____________________________________________
Zako {Mutation} Type: Skeletal {Lust Mutation}
Combat Strenght: Acolyte {Master}
Abilities: Scratch, Minor Regeneration, {Intermediate Desire Energy Manipulation}, {Wild Heart}
A zako made from the skeletal remains of mortals and the nascent [Wrath] found in all corpses.
{Due to the influence of external factors involving concentrated [Lust], the skeletal zako has been set upon an evolutionary path involving the intricate usage of this energy originating from mortal desire to procreate and indulge themselves in the throes of pleasure. External influences could change this or enhance this trait. This zako has been primed to readily accept and enhance any desire core that is tangentially related to the concept of [Lust].}
Evolution Chance: 10% {45%}
_____________________________________________
Understanding that "seeing is believing", Zhen Liu proceeded to throw the bone marble to the ground and summon the zakos that the parasinner had influenced.
What popped out wasn’t any skeletal zakos he was used to seeing.
’Alright, what the fuck?’
{Oooh, looking good babe!}
Zhen Liu had expected a skeletal warrior that leaned a bit more on the dark fantasy side, looking particularly dry and hollow.
What was summoned was decidedly not that.
In lieu of a skull, exposed skeletal structure and tattered armor, there was a definitely femininely shaped mass of black energy on which was bone armor that matches up to the anatomy of a human body and the skull looked less realistic and more...cartoony for lack of a better word.
It didn’t look like the specter type zakos he had a couple of in is pocket, it was still skeletal, but now it looked more like a...skeletal monster girl.
Zhen Liu never thought he’d ever have to use words "fuckable skeleton", but that was the most accurate description he could come up with.
"So...looks like you turn zakos into uncommon femme type zakos and way more powerful than standard ones...but also sexy."
"Huh...I guess the only downside to this is that people would probably call me a pervert for leading an army of monster girls that I can’t tell are naked or clothed, but they also hit about as hard as Aether Masters, so...no big deal."
{Does that mean I can get more playmates in here?}
Zhen Liu thought for a moment before nodding.
"Sure, let me figure something out....but first! We need to give you a name. I was thinking..."
_____________________________________________
"Huh...so our ancestral clan I guess used to be a bunch of mercenaries until being elevated to it’s current status by the Wise King...that explains some things," Zhen Hai read aloud to his cousins as he looked over a history scroll.
It wasn’t that interesting but after several hours of sitting around, it was arguably more engaging than even a dirty stage performance.
"Hey if you’re not gonna be eating your kettle corn, can I-’"
"Touch it and I’ll turn you into bacon."
At this moment in time, the Zhen Clan younger generation had finished their shopping and had gathered onto a singular boat in order to socialize with one another.
Zhen Feng had returned with a load of snacks, ranging from familiar roasted squid skewers to unfamiliar such as something called "kettle corn".
Zhen Yue had returned with Zhen Guo, with a brand hairpin made of jade holding her locks together.
And finally, the trio of Zhen Hai, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai had returned with some new scrolls and books to read to pass the time.
(Un)luckily for them, an announcement soon reverberated through the river just as they were getting comfortable.
[ATTENTION ALL FLOATERS! A SECOND QUEUE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED! WE WILL NOW BE DIVERTING THE FLOW TO THIS SECONDARY GATE. PLEASE HOLD ON TO YOUR RESPECTIVE VESSEL AND PREPARE FOR MOVEMENT. THANK YOU.]