"Hi. I believe I have a reservation in one of the villas," Hera had a hood over her head. It was the only item she received from the people who came to talk to Lurize while she was hiding in the dungeon.
"Sure. Just tap your bracelet on the sensor, and I'll check the reservation for you," the receptionist asked. He barely glanced towards him, seemingly working on autopilot.
"Sorry, I can't. I don't have a bracelet. They said I could confirm who I was with a password," Hera replied.
"You don't have any identification? No guild card, bracelet, tablet, nothing?" the receptionist looked at Hera with a mildly annoyed expression.
Hera smiled, "I'm sorry. From what I was told, I'm a bit of a special case," she pulled back her hood, seeing the world with an infrared filter to make her pupils snake-like, just in case the scales framing her face weren't enough to give the receptionist the message.
"Holy… What are you?" the man gasped but quickly corrected himself, "I'm sorry. I just never saw someone like you."
"From what I understand, neither did no one else. I'm an Ophidianite, and I might be the last of my kind," Or the first, she thought to herself.
"Ophidianite? Damn… Another new species. At least you are not hostile like the Centaur," he looked over Hera, noticing the color of her scales, "Are all of you purple? Oh, sorry, you said you were the last of your kind. You might not know that."
"I do, actually. The scales can change, and they are not always the colors you expect."
"I didn't pop out of nowhere," Hera chuckled, knowing this was technically a lie.
"You didn't? Where did you come from?"
"Well, you see. When a man and a woman love each other very much," Hera noticed in the receptionist's face that he understood what she was trying to say and chuckled, "I guess you don't need the end of that explanation."
"Yeah. Sorry about this," he composed himself, "You mentioned a password? Yeah, we have it here. There are a few lines, and you start, if you don't mind."
"Sure, it should start with, 'The pearlescent sky waned before me.'"
Nodding, the receptionist continued, "As the light from the sea bathes the land."
"And the spots in the wind became stringent."
"And we finally reached its everlasting meaning," the receptionist looked up, waiting for the last phrase of the password.
"Meaning? What meaning? This is just word soup," Hera finished.
"Ok, that's perfect. One moment, and I'll get your keys. Oh, and the rest of the people in the villa already checked in; you are the last to arrive."
"Thank you," Hera smiled.
A moment passed as he walked to a back room before returning with a key card, "Here is your key. Just place it close to the door, and it will open. To get there, just turn that corner and follow the signs marked Villas. Your's is number 8."
Hera nodded and headed out to her room. The villa itself was a beautiful two-story wooden house with a slanted roof. In a way, it was the classic wooden home in the middle of a snowy field. However, that changed when considering the sheer size of the place. The ground floor had an indoor heated pool, a sauna, a gym, a recreation area, a TV room, a kitchen, a dining room, and five bathrooms. The second floor had a total of 5 massive bedrooms complete with individual bathrooms, a 'living room'/office space, and a balcony overlooking the city.
Before walking in, Hera snapped her fingers, creating a soundproof bubble around the entire place. She had more than enough mana for that, and it wasn't like her presence here would go unnoticed. Most of her plans of not attracting attention to herself were completely gone one way or another. Now, she was the firstborn of a new species and one that others could join if they wanted to. Not to mention, she was the only person who could turn others into Ophidianites. There was some resistance to the spell, but she still managed to push through.
After taking a deep breath, the Empress opened the door and walked inside, "Honey, I'm home!"
There was a brief moment of silence when Hera closed the door before she heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching.
"Hera!" Blue tackled the Empress. The force behind her jump would surely knock Hera to the ground. But things were different now. As the controller slammed against her, the Ophidianite used her tail to support herself and stop from falling. Instead, she took Blue into her arms and spun around.
"Are you stronger now?" the controller giggled while holding Hera in a bear hug.
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"Not stronger, just more stable," the Empress smiled and put Blue down, pointing to her tail that was now in clear view outside her cloak.
"Holy crap. You have a tail! Like an actual tail?!"
"Wait, Hera has a tail?" Alex and Bonnie started coming down the stairs.
"Yep, a big one. Well, it could've been bigger, but I thought it would be too much of a difference if it was longer than this."
"Wow, this is awesome, and you look amazing. I was expecting you to be much more like a snake," Blue reached out to Hera's tail but stopped herself, "Can I touch it?"
"Sure, but careful. I'm still getting used to it," Hera smiled and looked around, "Where is Lena?"
"She went out to buy some groceries. We can order room service here, but she wanted to cook," Bonnie came down the stairs and hugged Hera, "I'm so happy you are ok."
"Me too. And did everything work out well with you guys?"
"It did. Peter is a fucking dick, but aside from that interaction, we didn't have to deal with him again. We did get a scolding from the guild for having killed you, but even the person talking with us didn't seem to care about what was being said," Alex was the next in line for a hug.
"But what about you?" Bonnie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her, "How was it? What happened? How different are you now?"
"I'm ok. Staying is surprisingly comfortable, and I think the system did something to make it feel natural. I never look in the mirror and think it's weird. I also got a few skills. Well, quite a few, actually, and I know how to make more Ophidianites," Hera explained as they walked to the couch in the living room.
"Ophidianites?" Blue asked.
"That's the name of my species. I don't actually look like a Naga, you know. Also, from what I understood, the system can't make a Naga again. They are truly extinct. Unless there is a way for a monster to evolve into one of them. But it has to be natural, not with the system's assistance," Hera continued.
"Oh, so you won't be able to open that door?" Bonnie sighed.
"The one in Zaxalam? I think I can. Or at least, that's what I was told."
"By who?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"So, when I was ascending, there was a being that explained to me what was going to happen. I can't say much about them, and they will only show up for people who are going to become Ophidianites. But I can send them a text asking about things related to my body. Like, I can't ask how an experimental treatment will work on me, but I can ask if an aspirin would have any weird effects. Or how to deal with shedding. I asked them about that door and they believe I can open it."
"Shedding?" Bonnie asked, now truly noticing the scales around Hera's back.
"Yeah. We know that will happen, but we are not sure when. Nagas shed once a year, but since I'm not one, we don't know if that will be more or less frequent."
"What else is different about your body?" Blue looked at Hera's ears, "Your ear is not scared anymore!"
"Yeah, this is one of the differences. Snakes, in general, don't hear like humans do, so it had to change to allow my ears to capture the right frequencies."
"Oh? Is there anything weird you are hearing now?"
"I wouldn't say this is weird, but I can hear electricity if I focus. There is a hum when something is turned on. It's not too much, and I can tune it out if I want. I should also be able to hear an ultrasound exam. I was warned that I should take earplugs if I must go through that."
"So… Can you hear a dog whistle?" Alex asked.
"Probably, I didn't have a chance to test."
"What else? What else?" Blue almost jumped on top of Hera, excited about all those changes.
"Well... My eyes can do this," Hera focused on the infrared light to show her snake eyes, "I can do this with my mouth. And check my teeth," she unhinged her jaw and opened wide while the hidden snake fangs inside her canines popped out, venom getting ready to be deployed, "I have a tail. My hands and feet are different. If I ever have children, they will be Ophidianites, no matter who the father is. Oh, and my lifespan changed."
"Your life span?" Bonnie looked at her with a worried expression.
"Yeah. I'm cold-blooded now. Or at least, my blood is colder than yours. So, apparently, this makes it easier for my body to last longer. Something about requiring less effort to maintain, so all the pieces take longer to deteriorate. That was the explanation I got from that entity. I'm not sure that would be the same if another species had ascended first."
"How long can you live for?" Blue still refused to leave Hera's side, but she stopped holding on to her hand.
Hera scoffed with a smile, but there was no happiness on her face, "Ironically, 300 years."
"Oh… Hera…" Bonnie pulled her for a hug, "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry. That wasn't the main reason why we broke up. It was just one of the excuses Silah and I used."
"Maybe this is the system's way of trying to help?" Alex gave an awkward smile.
Hera paused momentarily to think but shook her head, "Honestly. If the system, which is as old as everything, thinks this is a way to help, we are all fucked," she sighed, "By the way. They told me I would have a box waiting for me when I got here. Do you guys know anything about it?"
"It's in the master suite. None of us wanted to take that room. We all feel like you deserved it more," Blue explained.
'I can go grab it for you, Hera. That way, you don't have to get up,' Nimbus suggested from inside the legacy.
'I appreciate it. Actually, everyone, get out here. They miss you guys too,' Hera called her court. Nimbus greeted everyone quickly before flying to the master bedroom. He soon came back with a single white box. Inside, there was a new tablet and a small letter with the password of the tablet and some extra information about what the Empress should do next. Eirik had also set up a new bank account for her with the elves and transferred around half a million gold to it. That way, the guild wouldn't be a hindrance in her attempts to pay for things. There was also some privacy protection on the tablet that would stop people from trying to find its location, but he added that Hera shouldn't push her luck. If someone really wanted to invade her tablet, they would be able to.
As the group was still talking and the Empress was setting up her new tablet, Helena returned carrying a couple of bags of groceries. Bags that were quickly dropped to the floor when the mage saw Hera's new form.
"Sweetie!" Helena rushed over for a hug, "Look at you. You are gorgeous! I'm not going to lie. I was a bit worried about you turning into a full Naga."
"Me too. I'm glad I was able to keep my face, too," Hera chuckled.
"Speaking of which. Won't that be a problem? I mean, people can just assume you are Hera with an illusion," Blue asked.
"I don't think so. Try to Inspect me. I think you will understand what I mean," Hera said. When using [Inspect] in a person, people wouldn't just read their names, but see a bit about their species. Changing what appeared in that window was much harder and it usually was only limited to names. In Hera's case, the notification clearly stated that she was an Ophidianite and there was no mention of her previous life as a human. Meaning that no one, even the most suspicious person in the guild, would doubt what they were seeing once it was proven she didn't try to change anything.