Her eyes fluttered open and oxygen filled her lungs, sitting up and rubbing her eyes she could make out she was in a dark room. Despite sending the message, her left arm did not rise up to rub her left eye as her right arm so obediently did. She looked to see what was wrong and only stared at the empty space a limb should fill.

“Sorry. Couldn’t save it. No miracles here.”

“I’m alive? And you’re real?” Ivanna turned to the giant worm that hovered over her, she hadn't even noticed when it had crept up which, for a being that size, took real skill. “That was all real?”

“Yes, I am sorry. So sorry.”

Ivanna moved on quickly. “Where am I?”

“Caverns deep inside caverns.”

“Huh?” She looked around the room, which was pretty well lit with its various glowing wildlife. She herself lay on a platform carved in strange runes that were rough and old and really uncomfortable, nothing like the ones they learned at school. Around the room was the same polished rock that was unique to the Rat Caverns so she was definitely still inside this hellhole but across the walls were deep pits that housed something that gave her a weird feeling, there was glass that peered into these gaps but there wasn’t enough light to see anything besides an outline of strange humanoid figures. As she looked around she managed to get a better look at the mysterious monster that saved her, which Ivanna was pretty sure was a girl from her lovely sounding voice, then again the politics of worm gender sounded complicated. Her eight eyes blinked back at the schoolgirl as she took in the worms body, though Ivanna was shocked to find that the worm actually had a few pairs of massive legs and deadly looking talons amid its massive and long torso that was bundled up in the corner of the room in the same way a snake bundles up to sleep.

[You are the first of your species to have reached the Hidden Citadel, title unlocked [Pioneer]]

“Hidden Citadel?” She raised her arm to touch the screen and noticed through her foggy brain that it was different than usual. Gone was her tanned skin, replaced with what looked like a solid white shell. In fact, not only was she completely nude but her entire body was covered in this hard white shell like someone had broken a large egg and stuck the pieces on her like the carapace of a bug. Both her legs looked well otherwise, not skewered by her own bones as they had been previously, in fact they looked a lot sturdier. Underneath the carapace was red flesh, similar to what the worm had, yet it looked healthy and fresh.

“Did you… take my skin?” Ivanna figured if in exchange for her life she had to trade her skin, it wasn’t too bad. Yet she was utterly baffled by these changed to her body as the worm sat silently and allowed her to process.

“I take no skin, have plenty of own.” it joked, which Ivanna liked. She had always considered herself a bit of a jokester but people didn’t really appreciate it that much at that uptight preppy school. Except Mr Humphri- maybe she didn't want to think about him.

“What happened to me? What did you do?”

The worm paused, looking deep in thought before it mustered an answer.

“Your body, very bad. Your life was young and vibrant, I take you here in mausoleum for Elders, your body and the Elder Tav’ari have merged and are one.”

“I have so many questions. My body is so different, I feel so much lighter... wait that's because I'm missing leftie." Ivanna mourned the loss of a good arm.

“Yes… yet, I feel you do not understand still.”

“Of course not! Why did you do this? Who are the Elders? What the hell do you mean mausoleum and how did you merge our bodies? I thought this was just a D-class dungeon and some dumb field trip with my class! Stop looking at me like that! I'm not weak or pitiful, I'm Ivanna I'm just me!” Before she knew it the dams broke, and the 'don't think about it' failsafe was quickly failing.. “I should have died! Why… why did he do that? Why did you save me? I should have died, I want to die." Ivanna felt like screaming but she could only whimper, burying her head in her arms. "How could they do that to me? What have I ever done to deserve that?” Her words felt endless, begging the world for it to undo what he did to her, helplessly and endlessly begging it to not be real.

“You do nothing.” The worm muttered, her soft words were the only comfort. “Cry is good, you do nothing but cry.”

It took a while for Ivanna to stop and realise her face was a flat and smooth surface as she tried to wipe away the tears she had not shed, yet she definitely still had lips and a chin and a very runny nose. Ivanna didn't have a mirror and only had one hand to feel out her new face, which didn't give her the best grasp on its new anatomy. She looked up at the worm who had been silent for a while now.

“You said you don’t have a name?” She sniffled, wiping her nose and noticing some strange things about her face, but she’d get to that later.

“Titles, just titles, no name.”

“What are your titles?”

“[Hidden Boss] and [Empress of the Undercavern]”

“If it’s alright with you, can I call you Empress? You saved my life, the least I could do is call you by something other than giant worm in my head.”

“Empress is a good name, I like. Your name was Ivanna, what is now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ivanna name for girl who die, this is a new girl, new body, new name.”

“Huh… that’s a good point. I quite like Ivanna but I don’t really want to be her anymore. Let me think about it. In the meantime could you answer the rest of my questions?”

“Yes, you must know many things. New body of yours has responsibility, much to learn.”

Ivanna asked Empress many things, to which Empress patiently responded. Ivanna’s body took some getting used to so as they spoke Ivanna did a variety of activities and found out a few things about this new anatomy. Her speed and strength had increased by leaps and bounds, and the simple spells she knew with her affinities of light and healing no longer worked, which Ivanna didn’t mourn too much about with their complete uselessness as she was dying, she could barely heal a cut and the most advanced she got with light magic was lightbulbs and purifying some cursed weapon once.

Empress told her about this new body and the Elder Tav’ari she had merged with. Tav’ari was part of a powerful clan of monsters that sought to grow stronger through brutal means. The Elders were old even when Empress was just a little… pup? Worm? Either way they were definitely S-class from what Ivanna could tell from Empress's endless praise of their abilities, or maybe they were even the highest tier, G-class, meaning almost God level abilities. The way they got to the top was by the very platform that Ivanna woke up on.

The platform was constructed by Isha’vi, another Elder. The way they grew in strength was through life or death battles with their foes, who were monsters of almost equal prowess. Should the Elder's win, as they often did, the loser's body would be taken to the platform and its abilities and appearance would find a balance within the Elder, gifting them some of their strength, speed and appearance. By this method, the Elder's became unique individuals, completely separate from the bodies they were born in they were revered as abominations and rulers. But humans came along and wanted to have this power too, a lot of things happened and the Elders all left their bodies on a mysterious mission, leaving them behind in the mausoleum as a reminder of their legacy. Empress couldn't tell Ivanna why they left or what the humans had done, but since then there hadn't been any humans inside the Hidden Citadel for centuries. Empress told Ivanna that Tav'ari's body was much stronger than Ivanna's, hence why very little of her human appearance remained in the merge, which Ivanna found she did not mourn that much. It made her grow a burning desire for a mirror so she could finally see what she'd become, which judging by her being almost eye to eye with this giant worm meant she'd gotten a lot taller.

The place they were in now was a room hidden deep inside the Rat Caverns, a dungeon formed as a maze that only grew more confusing the deeper you entered. Humans were naturally predisposed to avoid exploring too far inwards, there were several wards that prevented them from entering much further lest they find the Hidden Citadel, a sanctuary for clans and monsters to escape from humanity and live under the guidance and power of the Elders. After the Elders were defeated or hibernated or died, (the details are foggy) the Hidden Citadel slowly died off and became a ghost town. The dungeon core chose Empress to stay and guard the Elder’s bodies in the mausoleum and the platform that they used to build their strength, the core probably knowing how important the platform was poured all its power into making Empress an incredibly powerful boss for what was a simple D-class dungeon in appearance. However considering all the monsters that knew about this place had died off, and probably their children and grandchildren too, they wasn’t much business in terms of fending off intruders for the colossal creature.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Could she do any magic?” Ivanna wondered. If she had received the power of Tav’ari, then perhaps she had inherited her special abilities too, maybe Tav'ari could do magic like wicked cool wind blades or big fireballs. Ivanna had always dreamed of being a powerful mage, it was why she had stiudied so hard to enter the Royal Academy to learn among the best mages on the continent and grow in power. Even though her affinity was weak, all things can be increased through hard work, yet Ivanna was not the prodigy she had hoped and progress was too slow. Perhaps with this new body, thinsg could go her way this time.

“No idea, story say eldritch magic but sources were... suspicious. Very weird stories about Tav'ari back in day."

“I studied eldritch magic at school, it’s outlawed due to its spasticity and uncontrollability.” Ivanna recited the textbooks. ”It sounds awesome, when can I try it out.”

The worm cocked its giant head to the side, “Magic dangerous, not here, out there.”

“Alright I’ll take it outside.” She sighed, “Lead the way though I have no idea where I’m going.”

“Follow me.’ Empress began to slide through the corridors, Ivanna patiently waited for her whole body to get through the archway with took quite a while.

“So Tav’ari was famous for being beautiful huh?”

“Yes, much so. Her muscles and fighting skill made many beast want her, big lady, very cool.”

“She was big?” Ivanna frowned, looking at her very not bulky body. “I’m not big.” She felt a little relief.

“You body merge with her, you get body and fraction of power, very tiny. That is why no muscles.” Empress sounded a little disappointed. “Her body was so heavy when I place it next to yours, but now, so small and light, could almost ride on my back.”

Ivanna immediately perked up. “Rea-”

“Almost.”

“Ah, oh well.”

“You do well with your changes, you no arm, you no face, it is funny, no?”

Ivanna froze, causing the worm to pause as well. “What do you mean no face?”

"I show? I show you, that is where we go. Then we do a little magic."

"Sounds perfect." Ivanna pursed her lips, and lifted her arm to her face. Her skin felt rough, different from her familiar texture. Yet where her hand touched her face she couldn't feel any ridges or bumps like a normal face, just the same flat rough texture that ran through the rest of her shell. Yet, despite a distinct lack of eyes she still could see clearly, in fact she could see better than she'd ever seen, the caves had very little light in these tunnels untouched by man, yet not a single crevice could hide from her sight. She found herself even more delighted by this when they reached a large room, filled with stalactites of massive proportions looming over a giant lake in the centre. Water, glorious water, something so human and normal that it made everything else that had happened in the past day seem almost like a dream.

"Look, reflect." Empress turned to Ivanna, who took her cue to step forward. She peered into the surface, careful not to touch it so not to ruin the perfect stillness it reflected back at her. She saw herself, a stranger, staring back.

"Oh my god..." Ivanna looked at herself in its full glory. "I'm... awesome." Empress was right about having no face, or at least half of one. A large piece of shell covered her eyes and nose, leaving only a mouth with thin lips and almost human teeth if not for the sharp glint that reflected off each tooth. The shell extended up her head and into long flared spikes, looking almost like a crown, but what shocked her the most were two curled ivory horns protruding just below the crown from where her ears would have been, had she any, adding an embellished flare and implied danger to her natural royalty. Whoever this Tav'ari was, Ivanna thought, she was definitely a badass. The rest of her body looked the same as she had seen it when she first awoke, sturdy and impenetrable, and a lot more muscular than her human body had been. However she lacked the bulk Empress had talked about with such reverence.

With sudden realisation, Ivanna felt a stir of mana in her chest swell and rise like a wave, but panic took over her as she realised that she was not the one controlling it. She turned to her new friend, reaching out a hand in plea.

"Empr-"

And then the blinding light took her.

"Wake up." A stern woman's voice snapped at her, it wasn't her mother or Empress yet it stirred her awake with it's familiarity.

"What..." Ivanna hazily looked around, feeling a calm grey surround her in a blank room. She looked towards the source of the voice, and saw what she could only assume was the one and only,

Tav'ari. Just as Empress had described her she was large, powerful muscles and even greater horns than Ivanna currently had. She was more confident too, Ivanna hadn't realised it until seeing Tav'ari but her body fit her, of course it did, but on Ivanna it now seemed to be ill-fitting and unworthy of her pathetic soul.

"Stand up." The monster spoke, her voice was fitting for an ancient queen of beasts. Ivanna obeyed.

"You occupy my body now, in the same way I occupied many bodies myself. This is good news for you." Tav'ari sat down on a large throne that appeared behind her. Ivanna sat on a small wooden stool and found the difference pretty befitting of the situation. She felt the non-existent eyes bore into her. "However, for me, this is bad news. I would like you to leave my body, find something else more... suitable..."

Ivanna watched Tav'ari sneer. She felt a frown draw across her face, even if Tav'ari couldn't see it.

"No, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I just can't. I don't have anywhere else to go and frankly... I need your power."

"Why?" Tav'ari snorted, "Revenge? Against that boy? How childish, it will get you nowhere and certainly not with me."

Ivanna stood up forcefully, pushing the stool away. "If you know who he is then you must know why I want revenge! We share a body now, surely..." Tears welled up with nowhere to go, "surely you must feel the pain too, the shame of it all." Her voice broke, her strength faded out of her as the queen watched her wallow and she fell to her knees. Milan, that disgusting bastard, ruined her. Switching bodies couldn't remove it from her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

Tav'ari did not speak for a long time, waiting for Ivanna to stop crying. But soon, the words escaped her thin lips.

"You plan to kill him, yes?"

"Yes."

"You believe you have it in you?"

"Yes."

"The strength?"

"Yes!"

Tav'ari hummed, "Mmm, perhaps you do. But you are weak, only alive because I permit it. That earthworm out there doesn't fully understand the complexities she has unleashed by giving me to you, but she knows as much as I do that you will need to train before you can leave the Hidden Citadel."

Ivanna stood up, clenching her lone fist. "I will train then, I will be worthy of this body."

Tav'ari laughed, loud enough to startle Ivanna. "Worthy? You will never be worthy. But under some stern tutelage you will be... adequate."

"Tutelage?"

"Well, I can't let you go around this weak with my face and a missing arm. You will come here to this space in my Overwill, the part of me that remains in this body past death and I shall teach you sword skills, though I may have to adjust some of my techniques until you can grow that arm back. Tell that worm that while she lacks in almost every department, she will have to train you in magic, however I already have a way I can assist with that outside of my Overwill." An evil smile crept along her face, running a chill down Ivanna's spine. She didn't know what Tav'ari had planning but she knew it was going to be something truly wicked.

"Go now, just know if you do not suit my expectations that your soul can be removed from my body at any point by me, I do not care where you end up afterwards."

Ivanna nodded, and once again was taken over by the light.

"Little lady!?" Empress's voice echoed through the giant cavern, falling on mute silence as Ivanna remained still on the floor after collapsing from the strange light. However a light groan eased up Empress's worries as the girl shot up and looked around. Seeing Empress, Ivanna immediately surged towards her with such speed and desperation that something in the worm's instincts wanted to immediately whack her yet she resisted as the girl hugged her with ferocity.

"Empress! You have to teach me magic or I'll die! Painfully! I think..."

"Mm, yes, magic I can teach, especially right now."

"What? Now?" Ivanna released Empress and stood back, confused.

"Yes, behind you."

Ivanna turned to see what she could only assume to be a portal forming behind her, it looked like black tar and felt twice as menacing as it grew larger by the second. Before Ivanna could ask what was going on she heard Tav'ari's voice in her head.

"Fight it with magic and win, or you die."

That's when the first arm burst through the portal.