Lyshisha opened her bleary eyes, peering at her pet’s worried gazes.

Kame helped her rise in a sitting position while she shook the numbness coursing through her body.

Mamadou and Binetta whimpered as they gingerly pushed their muzzles on each crook of her neck.

“Oooh, my babies, Mommy’s extended sleep scared you, huh? I’m here, now, I’m right here,” she cooed, her fingers sinking within the folds of their skin as she caressed their thick fur.

“Your Royal Highness, are you OK?” the merman inquired.

She twisted her head here and there. “Yeah, I’m fin—In fact, I’m better than fine, I’m fucking … great!” she realized as her brows furrowed.

She closed her eyes, inspecting what changes occurred within herself.

What she discovered shook her heart.

Her physical body was much sturdier than before; her wiry muscles grew a bit larger, while her tendons grew inches thicker.

While that could be counted as good news—she at least, didn’t become so heavyset like a bodybuilder—that wasn’t what worried her.

It was the brightly orange energy suffusing many parts of her body.

Origin Energy has seeped inside a chunk of her meridians, energy channels, even some sections of her broken Sun Core were affected by this invasive energy!

But it didn’t stop there.

A slice of her bone marrow, the thoracic cage where Elder Zhao struck her chest before, and even a few parts of her brain weren’t left untouched.

Her body almost reeled in panic.

However, she took a deep breath to calm herself despite her quivering lower lip.

Her dark self was right!

If she dared to use such energy recklessly, she would eventually take over her body!

How could she not be worried when over a quarter of her brain was already irreversibly infected?

But one question remained…

How could she promise herself to not—and that’s assuming she could use it at will which isn’t the case—use it, should the occasion warrants it?

She’s the ruler of a country, so she can’t afford to consider whether or not it’s ethical, or even hazardous for her to refuse to use any means she had at her disposal to keep her queendom—and by extension, herself—alive and well like a commoner would…

No, the true question is simply how much of herself would remain beyond any subsequent—and there will be—uses of that fabled energy.

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Would her mind disappear, never to be seen ever again in this side of the galaxy, or worse, would she take the place of her dark self instead and be forever caged within the deep recesses of her flesh for as long as her other self shall live?

A living hell!

No, she’ll rather die than live as a prisoner within herself, passive against the atrocities her dark impulses would commit…

While she would do her best to reduce her reliance on that thorny plant, she had to find a way to contain the spread of this curse before it harms her any further.

Now, what ability or piece of technology would allow her to do that?

Her hand wandered the side of her crotch when a thought bloomed in her mind.

“Body-tempering techniques…” she muttered.

“What body-tempering technique are you talking about, Your Royal Highness? Why would you even need a body-tempering technique in the first place? Are you sure you’re okay, Your Royal Highness?” she heard Kame confusing voice say, reeling her back to reality.

“Yeah, I’m fine, really. The body tempering was me thinking out loud I had about another issue, so don’t worry about it, okay, you guys? Now, we better get going to our next destination because time is of the essence…” she said in a reassuring tone as she shied on her feet after a quick stretch of her limbs.

Her body really felt better…

Kame sighed.

Although he didn’t know why she mentioned body tempering techniques, he had to trust her judgment after all…

But one question lingered… “All right, but Your Royal Highness, what about Elder Zhao? Shouldn’t we expect his reprisal at some point?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

The young monarch couldn’t help but smugly smile. “If this fool knows what’s good for him, then he’d better never cross my path ever again if he doesn’t want to become an excellent fertilizer for the local plants…”

The merman gasped.

Was she talking about… “Your Royal Highness, would that mysterious power you harnessed fully defeat him? But have you seen the toll it took upon you to just send him packing, and you’re now confident you can kill him with it? That in itself would imply that you gained some level of mastery over it, so do you know what it is, and why you never used it in the first—’

‘no, I don’t think you ever had that ability before, so it must’ve come from the bite you’ve received earlier!

Your Royal Highness, this … power that came from this lab’ foul experiments isn’t something that could be harnessed without paying a heavy price, so please don’—”

“I can’t tell you for sure what this ‘power’ is, but I know it will be the key for us surviving the trials ahead if we want to make it back to the sect in one piece. However, there’s one thing I would ask of you—”

“That I would keep that strange ability of yours an absolute secret, lest my life be in fatal danger, isn’t it, Your Royal Highness?”

Lishi smiled.

She went towards her tigers and crouched to kiss and caress their warm fur upon her sere fingers. “Well, I probably wouldn’t kill you personally, but indeed, your life would be in danger if your tongue were to carelessly slip where it shouldn’t, but I’m glad you’re aware of it in the first place. All right, guys, let’s go,” she said in a jaunty voice after she quickly took on a new robe after the previous one was shredded by Elder Zhao.

She quickly summoned her impundulu…

You lost some breath! You lost 10% Stamina.

Remaining Stamina: 100%—> 90%

Who became disappointed when its mistress denied her tasty nipples as she quickly hopped on her back.

Your breath recovers!

Remaining Stamina: 90 —> 90.8/100% ¤Recovering 0.8% Stamina every second¤

The new numbers quickly startled Duala’s Empire Crown Princess.

She now lost only ten percent of her stamina now?

Furthermore, she now recovered 0.8 percent every second?

Shit!

Her body was doing too well, now that it became a bit scary, now…

But what could she do about it, now?

Shaking these unproductive questions out of head, she motioned her fellow sect mate to follow her lead, and seconds later, they soared towards the volcano chains.

Coincidentally, Zhao fled that way before she fainted.

Maybe they’ll meet again after all…