Proceeding swiftly, Cadi got the water's warmth just right for her to feel comfortable, then freed herself of her clothing and took a meditative position within the filled tub. Fortunately, there was an in-built function that would keep the temperature constant, allowing her to focus on the more important matters.
Closing her eyes, she carefully sensed her meridians, as well as the Energy surging throughout them. Although she wasn't particularly adept at doing so, the formations that she had to set up were simple even for a novice to succeed at, but there were quite many.
Before she knew it, half an hour had flown by, and a good tenth of her overall Energy reserves had been invested in these internal Arrays. Feeling a bit mentally strained, as she had never engaged in any such precise, prolonged activities, she paused for a while, allowing herself to catch a breath.
'Here I go!'
Arriving at the most vital part of the entire procedure, she began to manipulate her Energy, altering its path of circulation in many minute ways. This was a lot harder than it seemed, especially because she had to simultaneously feed the formations that she had created previously.
'It should be like this, right?'
Double- and triple-checking everything, to ascertain that she hadn't made any mistakes, she finally heaved a sigh of relief and patiently shepherded her Energy along the designated route. She wouldn't instantly get the results that she was hoping for–instead, she would have to keep this up for at least a few hours.
Essentially, she was slowly dismantling and then reconstructing her physical body, piece by piece. Any impurities, birth defects or otherwise malignant influences would be expelled in the process. At the very end of it all, the accumulated mass of waste would be forced out via her pores–which was the main reason as to why it was recommended to already be having a bath.
'I've just got to be patient...'
Whenever a small part of her was 'destroyed', the pain caused her brows to furrow, yet when the rebuilding was complete, it felt extremely relaxing and refreshing. She was caught in between grimacing in severe discomfort and smiling in relief, the cycle continuing on and on for what felt like forever.
Fortunately, due to her high cultivation stage, there was no danger to her in going through with this thorough physical overhaul, as what would be fatal to a regular person would barely have an impact on her. A small part of her heart or brain getting damaged for a short period of time was simply no issue.
Everything went perfectly, and the finish line was finally peeking over the horizon. Then, as she arrived at the nape of her neck, the agony that she had grown used to abruptly increased in intensity, to the point that she had to cry out in pain. And yet, it continually and rapidly got worse!
'W-What's going on? What's wrong with my neck?'
Although the book that she had consulted had warned that some constant aching should be expected, nowhere had it stated that such extreme jumps could occur!
'If I continue, will I make things worse? Or is this simply a hurdle that I have to cross, no matter what? For now, I could slow down a litt–Huh?!'
As she was contemplating her options, she suddenly noticed that she had entirely lost control over her Energy circulation, and even over her body in general. All that she was left with was her mind, now locked into a prison of flesh and bone. The procedure continued unabated, even speeding up and changing in ways which she couldn't comprehend–all the while, the torment got worse and worse!
From that one spot on her neck, more and more parts of her body began to hurt, until it felt like her entire being was getting ripped apart at a below cellular level. She couldn't even scream or make any sound whatsoever. All the while, her mind was being ravaged by the overwhelming torture that she was enduring.
Unbeknownst to her, a purplish symbol had appeared at that spot on her neck. It looked like a combination of a heart, wings and a crown-like halo, exuding both an inviolable majesty and a terrifyingly seductive aura.
Under its influence, an imperceptible pulse had been sent out and spread all around the Sybillans' world. Normal folk would not be affected by it whatsoever, but all those who had been charmed by Cadi before felt their minds go blank, soon overtaken by an unquenchable desire for her. All rationality was overwritten by desperate longing.
Just like that poor soul from earlier, they dropped everything they were doing, fully consumed by their goal of rushing to her side and experiencing sweet release in her embrace. At speeds far surpassing their capabilities and with their bodies moving in strange, uncanny ways, they all began to congregate towards Cadi's location.
But the one who had caused all of this was entirely ignorant. Holding on to the last vestiges of her sanity, she endured, praying to whoever was listening that her suffering would come to an end, and that she would make it through somehow.
'Oh my, how fascinating!'
It was at this point that–out of nowhere–another voice resounded within her thoughts. Its tone was both sultry yet also innocent, gently mending her mental wounds simply through its 'presence'.
'W-Who's there!?'
Shocked at the development, Cadi sent out an inquiry, only to be met with complete silence. Whoever it was that had been with her, they had already left by the time that she reacted. Even that 'healing' influence was gone–but so was all of the pain.
Realizing that she could move her body again, and that the overhaul had seemingly finished, she kept her eyes closed and didn't dare to breathe as she washed off the filth covering her body. Making use of another function of the tub, all of the dirty liquid in it got replaced with clean water within a few moments.
Finally daring to look at herself again, she was delighted to see that her skin's quality had improved to what she judged to be utter perfection. Even her anatomy, down to her skeleton, had changed a lot. If previously, she could be called incomparably gorgeous, then now she could confidently proclaim herself as outright divine in appearance!
Scrutinizing her new and improved self closely, she soon was fully satisfied. All of the important places had become more alluring, and all wear and tear–as well as those dastardly, minute signs of ageing–had disappeared. There were a couple of details that puzzled her, though.
For one, her eye colour had changed. Gone was the apple green–instead, her irises were now a lovely rose pink. She had also discovered the emblem that now graced her nape, which she didn't recognize at all. But most absurdly of all... she had grown a tail. It was pitch black and when fully extended, it reached until about halfway down her calves. The shape of its tip was that of a heart, just like the one which was part of that weird symbol.
But the nail in the coffin confirming all of her strong suspicions was that in her Status Panel, her race had changed from 'Human' to 'Succubus'.
'... that explains a lot.'
Recalling her past behaviour, Cadi nodded in realization. Likely, due to some of the Talents that she had been born with, this side of her had always been dormant, influencing her every action passively. But when she had initiated a full remodelling of her body, it awakened.
'... wait, there are still so many questions left to be answered! Who did that voice belong to? And why... why can I still not stop thinking about that Theodore!? Shouldn't a Succubus be less affected by emotions such as love?'
Falling deep into contemplation, she sank back into the bathtub, absent-mindedly playing with her newly acquired tail. For now, she would try to find an answer, and to figure out where to go from here.
-----
When Cheong Suhyeon and Theodore saw that emblem appear, they immediately recognized it. Locking gazes again, they both were clearly not too happy with the direction in which all of this was going, yet they weren't the least bit surprised.
Succubi and Incubi were amongst the many races calling the Heavenly Dao their home, therefore it wasn't strange to run across some of them in the event venue. However, that symbol shouldn't have appeared on an indigenous inhabitant of these worlds! After all, it was the seal of another Supreme Pillar–the Losta Family.
There were many Named Families consisting either in part or entirely of Succubi and/or Incubi, most of which engaged in the oldest trade in existence: prostitution. That was also how the Losta Family had risen to greatness, being the by far most dominant force in this regard throughout the entire Heavenly Court.
Of course, those from other Supreme Pillars saw them as 'lesser' than them, mostly due to the nature of their business. They were even more looked down upon than the Gold Family's CFC. And yet, putting all of the prejudice aside, it couldn't be denied that they held a lot of sway, influence and power.
Whether it was intelligence gathering or twisting people around their fingers for whatever purposes that they had in mind, the Lostas were terrifyingly excellent at it. That was also why Cheong Suhyeon and Theodore had been so alarmed.
"... what kind of loophole did the Lostas find?"
Quietly muttering to himself, he frowned a little, trying to narrow down the countless possibilities. One thing was for sure, though: Cadi herself was definitely not an integral part of their plan, or even a descendant of the Losta Family.
'But she doesn't seem to be a clone either. She's utterly ignorant of everything. Having her memories wiped or reincarnating without them also doesn't sufficiently explain it–she's honestly too unimpressive. At best, she might surpass some Named Family members, but that's as far as she can go.'
Due to his intuition's earlier warnings, he knew that going against whatever Losta Family heiress Cadi was in some way or shape connected to would be detrimental to him. Whether that be because he would make a powerful enemy, or due to losing out on a potential ally, he could not yet determine.
'For the time being, I'll have to keep her under observation. Perhaps, I can initiate a conversation with the one behind her in some way. It would be best to work out whether or not to keep her around as soon as I find an opportune moment.'
It was at this point that the worldwide unrest began. Those men who had become horror movie-worthy abominations popped up wherever his senses extended, leaving him speechless.
'... those are a lot of partners, even for a Succubus.'
Realizing that Nye had begun to take drastic actions against these people as soon as their numbers became apparent, a cold smile stole itself on his lips.
'I can't let those lives go to waste!'
Informing the Prime Magistrate of his actions to come in passing and ignoring his reaction, he froze them in Eternal Ice, yet didn't kill them. As long as they were incapacitated, that was sufficient for now. Hopefully, Cadi could revert them to a normal, rational state in the future. Then, they could become his Students and provide him with points.
And if that truly wasn't possible, then he would 'reluctantly' accept the Talents or Attribute Points that they had to offer.
His overbearing actions naturally didn't escape Nye's or any other presently observing Sybillan powerhouse's notice. To say that his casually displayed capabilities scared them was an understatement–they were completely petrified!
That grey light ray had been so far beyond their comprehension that they couldn't really understand how wide the gap between them and him was. But this feat... it was different. Not only had he portrayed excellent control over his abilities, but the range of his perception far surpassed their own. Worst of all, however, was that ice that he had utilized. Although they had no idea what it was, they instinctively knew that they couldn't possibly defend against much of it.
'Let that be a warning to those on the fence who haven't gone too far yet. Don't let your 'colleagues' tempt you into crossing the line and boarding their sinking ship of futile resistance, because there is no chance of success.'
With that message indirectly conveyed, he refocused on the now quite visually pleasing 'watch party' and on sharing his various observations with his lovers.