Maxine swam calmly through the inky black waters of Europa. She had found that she didn't need to breathe while underwater, and she discovered another interesting tidbit about her physiology. She could literately absorb toxic minerals through her scales and a unique biological process occurred within her scales that converted them into nutrients. It was so efficient that she wouldn't need to eat at all if she could find a thermal vent linked to an underground volcano. Those things spewed out all sorts of toxic elements. Unfortunately, all the thermal vents that she had encountered were occupied by some form of life and they didn't appreciate it when she intruded into their territory. Thus, she was only able to remain around them for short periods of time and ate nutritional pills inbetween visits to thermal vents.
She mentally shivered at the memory of the last creature she encountered. It was looked like a very fat sea snake that was roughly twenty feet long until it's body opened up to reveal dozes of tiny circular mouths filled with razor sharp teeth right as it tried to constrict her. While it wasn't really a threat to her, it still creeped her out. I do not want to deal with that nightmare fuel ever again. I guess I'll have to give up on seeing if there are any unique medicinal herbs down here.
After a few more minutes of swimming, she finally spotted a faint light source. Sadly, there were more of those snake things as well as a few crustaceans around the thermal vent. She mentally sighed and looked up when she heard a faint grinding sound along with the faint whine of machinery. Someone must be digging down here. Hmm, if its a new batch of idiots after daddy's notes, they got here way faster than I expected. It's only been a few days since I killed those mercenaries.
Maxine sent her spiritual sense upwards to find whomever was digging. It took her a few minutes, but she found them. They were inside a rather large machine that was digging straight down. Although, it was no where near where she shadow stepped beneath the ice and the people inside of the machine were mostly bronze and iron stage cultivators. Neat. I guess the Technological Union saw an opportunity to study lifeforms living in a rather unique situation. Most places that have life are similar to Earth at least in some respect.
After a few moments of observing them, she had spotted a very faint shimmer moving amongst the researchers with her spiritual sense. Is that the female shadow lord hiding amongst the researchers? She's definitely better at hiding her presence than before. I can just barely make her out. She could still do better though.
[Greetings,] the female shadow lord said via spiritual sense before Maxine could retract her own, [You left before I could introduce myself. I'm Elowynn.]
[And I'm Manatherine, Mana for short,] Maxine replied, [Now, please, leave me alone. You're giving away my location with your inept stealth technique. If you're trying to figure out a way to see without compromising your ability to remain hidden, try to perceive the world around you through the surrounding shadows. It's what I do when I need to remain undetected.] Within a handful of seconds, the shimmering around Elowynn swiftly vanished. She figured that out fairly fast, but that trick has it's drawbacks. Everything is out of focus. Making many of the smaller details get lost. Also, you can only see the area around you from a 3rd person perspective, which can be a bit disorientating at first for beginners. However, it's perfect for observing someone without them being aware of you.
[Thank you for your instruction,] Elowynn replied
[Think nothing of it,] Maxine replied, [It's not as if that method is perfect either.]
[Regardless, it's still superior to the method that I was using,] Elowynn said respectfully.
[No argument from me,] Maxine said, [So, are you going to leave me alone now?]
[I'm sorry, but that's not possible,] Elowynn replied.
[Why not?] Maxine asked directly.
[I'm sorry. I cannot give you an answer,] Elowynn replied.
[Of course, you can't,] Maxine said in exasperation, [Do you at least have some roasted meat on you? I can't exactly cook anything while I'm underwater.]
[I have a few ration bars flavored as various meats. Will that do?] Elowynn asked as she held a couple of them in her hand.
[It's better than nothing,] Maxine said as she enshrouded the ration bars with shadow while creating a small empty sphere infront of her hand and teleported the ration bars inside of it. She dispelled both constructs afterwards.
[I was wondering how you were going to get them,] Elowynn stated, [That brings up a couple questions to mind. How are you not freezing to death? Even cultivators of your level can't survive in such frigid temperatures for that long. And that's not even mentioning how you've survived without breathing for so long.]
[I'm not particularly certain why the cold doesn't seem to affect me much,] Maxine answered calmly, [As for why I don't need to breathe, my guess is that my hydra bloodline is responsible. Hydras are known for surviving underwater for long periods of time. Although, I wish I could find an unoccupied volcanic vent down here. I don't particularly like being stuck in total darkness.]
[I can sympathize,] Elowynn answered, [But there is little that you can do if you wish to remain hidden.]
[True enough,] Maxine said.
After a second or two of silence, Elowynn asked, [Can I ask you for a favor?]
[Depends on what it is,] Maxine answered cautiously.
[I'm infertile and have been so since birth,] Elowynn explained and Maxine confused until Elowynn continued, [I desperately desire children and I know that you revived your nephew. I want you to give me the ability to have children and don't deceive me. I know what you did on your homeworld and reviving the dead is a far simpler process than giving me what I desire.] Fuck, I was worried someone might figure it out, but at this stage, even if she told someone, it's unlikely that they'll get here before I leave. Still, I don't want to stir up any trouble and part of me wants to know if I can actually do something like that.
[Is it a congenital defect that restricts your ability to reproduce or do you lack ovaries?] Maxine asked in an even tone.
[I possess ovaries and there are no obvious defects,] Elowynn said, [The healers explained that my eggs lack the vitality to be viable.] Ah, the eventual down fall of any species is the lack of genetic diversity. The lack of vitality is one way to explain that problem to a layman.
[What you're asking me to do is extremely difficult,] Maxine explained, [Your infertility is a result of a lack of genetic diversity within your race. The only way to restore your fertility is to cause a genetic mutation. I can't control what that mutation will be. It could be as mild as changing your hair color, but it could also be something that will make you beg for death. Are you truly that desperate for children?]
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
[Females of my race are expected to have at least two children. My infertility has made me an outcast,] Elowynn said calmly, [My parents tired to counsel me, but I could tell that they only reason that I wasn't abandoned at birth was for appearances. I was next to worthless in their eyes. The elders even chose me to observe you for the very fact that I was infertile so that IF you were to kill me, they would loose very little. You can't imagine the isolation that I've endured thus far. So, yes, I am that desperate.]
[Very well,] Maxine said softly, [I need to be in my best condition to do what you ask.]
[Understood,] Elowynn said, [How long will it take for you to get into your best condition?]
[One or two hours should be enough,] Maxine said calmly. And enough time for me to prepare a few warp stones in case her story is bullshit.
With that, Maxine severed the spiritual sense connection and located a suitable underwater cave using her spiritual sense. Once she reached the cave, she made herself comfortable and created a couple warp stones that would warp her to the very spot that she was resting in. Next, she meditated to bring her mental and physical faculties to their best. However, it was hard to meditate since she couldn't breathe in the traditional sense. Regardless, she managed.
When she felt that she was at her best, she returned to the spot that she contacted Elowynn at and sent out her spiritual sense to find her. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of an empty room and she was completely naked with her clothes folded to the side. [Why are you naked?] Maxine asked her.
[I thought this would make it easier for you to treat me,] Elowynn said calmly, [Was I mistaken?]
[Your state of dress doesn't matter with the procedure that I have in mind,] Maxine replied, [Will we be disturbed in that room that you've occupied?]
[No, I made sure of it,] Elowynn replied calmly, [It was surprisingly easy to convince the researchers to allow me to stay in this storage room once I announced my presence.]
[I'm not surprised. You're a beautiful woman and all of them are men,] Maxine said knowingly, [Anyways, I'll be there in a few moments.] With a thought, she covered herself in shadow and teleported herself into the storage room.
"Whenever, you're ready to begin I am," Elowynn said in english without getting up.
"Before that, I need to warn you about a few things," Maxine said calmly, "First off, I want to repeat that I don't know what will happen to you since I didn't have a lot of time to properly test this procedure. This could easily kill you as it could give you what you want."
"I was prepared for death the moment that I asked you to restore my fertility," Elowynn answered, "But I am curious as to why you don't have the time to test it."
"Something is happening to me and I don't know what it will do," Maxine answered, "All that I know is that it will happen within a couple weeks from now and I would need at least a month to properly test what I'm going to do to you. There is only a small chance that it will even work as intended."
"I see," Elowynn said as she looked at the floor for a moment and returned her gaze back to Maxine, "Some chance is better than none at all. Get on with it."
"As you wish," Maxine said and sat down behind Elowynn, "Just don't move."
She placed her hands on Elowynn's back while being mindful of her claws and began seeping her energies throughout her body. She had to be careful to spread it out evenly. This is a lot more dangerous than I told her. If I make a big enough mistake, she could turn inside out and still be alive. My control has to be perfect. With extreme care, she used a combination of different elemental energies to trigger a mutation and gradually increased their intensity until something happened. Even after focusing her energies for several minutes did nothing and it gave her cause for concern.
It suddenly struck her the method she was using had to have been eerily similar to how Orianna had fused Claudia into a tree. If Orianna could create a targeted mutation like that, it has to be possible for me to trigger a minor mutation on my own. Now, how did she do it? She could've used the dumbest way and pressed Claudia against a tree while doing what I am to force the mutation into what she wanted. It would have a low chance of working, but it's still possible. I could try something similar, but I have no idea what kind of catalyst would be needed to boost her fertility. Forcing too much healing type energies into her would cause cancer to spontaneously form. Damn it. I wish I knew more about genetics. If I did, I could manipulate her genetic code on a global scale and change a few minor things to increase her individual genetic diversity compared to the rest of her race.
In a moment of frustration, she accidentally let her energies surge and that momentary lapse in control triggered a mutation in Elowynn. She groaned in pain while Maxine swiftly scanned her body for what had changed. An additional pair of kidneys were literately forming inside of her and Maxine could imagine that it had to be a very painful experience when your organs literately shift to make room for new ones. Well, I don't know if that's a beneficial mutation or not. Redundant renal systems are beneficial to mammals, but quadruple redundancy is overkill. Still, it may solve her issue of fertility. With a thought, she checked Elowynn's ovaries and sighed in relief. The mutation had definitely improved her fertility and oddly, increased her bust by a size as a side effect.
Once Elowynn had stopped groaning in pain, Maxine withdrew her hands and said, "It seems that I was successful. Although, I wouldn't recommend doing anything strenuous for a few months until your body has adjusted. And um, you might want to get some new clothes. I'm afraid that many of your shirts may be a bit tight around your chest with your increased bust."
Elowynn whipped around and hugged Maxine while saying 'thank you' over and over again as if it were a sacred chant. "Um, while I'm happy that you appreciate my efforts, I would prefer it if you got dressed first."
"Oh! Yes, you're right," Elowynn said with a slight darkening of her cheeks as she got off Maxine and began getting dressed. However, she seemed to be confused after she put on her top.
"I mentioned that your bust had gotten bigger, but I guess you didn't hear me," Maxine said calmly and in the next moment, a warp stone appeared in her hand as she waited for the ambush. But nothing happened. Huh, she really was telling me the truth. Interesting. I might look for more of these 'discarded' shadow elves in the future. They might make good allies in my timeline.
"I heard you, but I didn't expect them to be so obscenely large," Elowynn commented as she gestured at her c-cup breasts.
"You call that bust size obscenely large?" Maxine asked incredulously, "Trust me. Humans can have MUCH larger sizes naturally. So, don't worry about it. If anything, larger breasts are a bonus. It enables you to better feed any infants that you may have."
"I didn't consider that," Elowynn said and her expression became grave, "I'm sorry, but I need to admit something. I wasn't the only one observing you. I was only able to talk to you privately due to them investigating your homeworld in regards to your sister. It won't take them more than a few more days and I won't be able to hide the changes that have happened to my body." I should've known.
"I'll just hide again," Maxine said confidently." Or, I could use that return stone early and hope that this bracelet has enough of a charge to shield me on the way back. No, it's best that I hold off on that for as long as possible. I can conceal myself a lot better than they can. Masking my energy signal is child's play, but my physical presence is another story. Perhaps, I can find a cave near a volcanic vent.
"It won't work. They're much better at tracking than I am," Elowynn stated, "And I doubt that they will believe me when I tell them about your vague feeling. They're the kind of people to act first and ask questions later."
"Then, I'll just kill them," Maxine stated calmly.
"Please, don't. I can stall them for at least a couple days. You can use that time to flee," Elowynn said honestly.
"Thank you, but we both know that your people are extremely skilled at tracking," Maxine replied calmly, "And I don't want to be running for the next couple weeks. I much rather relax in the depths of this world's oceans."
"That's your choice," Elowynn said while looking away, "I wish you luck and thank you again for helping me. You should go now. It will give you more time to find a suitable place to hide."
Maxine nodded her head at Elowynn and crushed the warp stone in her hand. In the next instant, she was inside the underwater cave. Now, I need to come up with a decent plan to hide until this damn artifact has enough of a charge for me to get home. If not, I'll just have to risk a early return to my timeline.