Chapter 4-108: Cursed, Branded, and Marked (2/2)

She looked at herself in the mirror, and didn’t recognize the person looking back at her.

Her new face wasn’t bad-looking... at least, the part without the brown-green Curse Brand occupying it. She was also taller by a good three inches, and looked at least five years older, advancing from a middle-schooler to her late teens almost instantly.

And she had all the curves to go with it, too...

“Your name is Lily now,” Sama said calmly, pulling Lily’s long green hair back over her ears and braiding it with nimble fingers. Sama was a full six feet tall, although skinny enough she didn’t loom. Lily was two inches shorter, but with her curves, should definitely outweigh Sama... although she had the feeling that she did not.

Sama also touched the edges of her Brand, and pulled back with gentle nails. Lily gasped as the Brand was dragged back along her face and down her neck, with some protests she could feel, letting her look at her full, untainted face.

If she wasn’t a great beauty, she was definitely attractive, sexy, and friendly, with dancing green eyes verdant of hue.

She smiled, and found herself staring at the eight canines in her mouth. She looked at the hands in front of her, the bright green nails, then slowly lifted up her right arm and flexed her bicep.

She had a lot harder muscle now than she’d had before, too...

“You can’t stay here, of course,” Sama told her kindly, and Lily listened. “Even if your family doesn’t try to discover who you are, the Church of Imprus will. The Sylunar have already agreed to send you off to Heavenbound Hall to get trained properly.”

“Heavenbound Hall?” Lily squeaked, despite herself. Even her voice was new, and the thought of training, and fighting, got her strangely excited. Especially there, where they trained heroes!

“We can’t be Heavenbound,” Sama said softly, giving her a calm hug. Lily slumped slightly, and leaned back into Sama. She was much stronger now than before, but that just made her that much more aware of how strong Sama really was. “To embrace magic is to fuel the Curse. We’ve denied the Curse, and with it all magic. We are Null Forsaken, and the only magic we will ever wield is that of Gear bound to our soul.”

Their blue and green eyes seemed to glitter in counterpoint next to one another.

“We are Hagchildren. We start as human, but we can grow into the power of the Hags that the Curse tried to turn us into... without all the twisted physiology.

“But that takes time, Karma, and training. You are a Verdant Hagchild, and when it comes time, you will give any Amazon a reason to regret the fact that they don’t wear their power on their face.”

Lily’s Curse Brand crept back up her face as she watched, alive and strong... and completely subservient to her now. It was a useful tool, and as long as it stayed useful, she could keep it around.

She met Sama’s eyes in the mirror. “Verdant Hagchild. What does that make you?”

Sama’s predatory smile turned her clear good looks into a hunting mask. “Brutal Hagchild.”

Lily smiled despite herself. “I think you Annis-bloods got the short end of the stick.”

“But think how much I’m going to save on bras over the years!” Sama laughed back, and Lily had to chortle despite herself.

“I think you have a lot to tell me about,” Lily said seriously.

“Oh, do I!” Sama rolled her eyes. “And we don’t have enough time to do so, so we’re going to do something else. Do you know what a Hagmark is?”

Lily furrowed her brow. “No. Is that a variant of a personal Sigil?”

“No. It’s a line of unique Runes. They have great power, if they can be powered up... which naturally requires...”

“Goldweight!” Lily filled in promptly, wrinkling her nose. “What does this entail?”

“Well, I don’t want others to mar it, so it should be put in some place where they can’t see it to interfere with it... or even realize that you have one.”

Lily looked at Sama grinning over her shoulder in the mirror, and had a strange feeling. “So... just where are you going to put it?”

“Inside your nasal cavity.” Sama’s eyes were dancing even more.

Lily blinked despite herself, her hands going up to her new nose. “I... how are you going to get in there? Do I need to be under anesthesia or something?”

“Of course not.” Sama’s hand came up and turned Lily’s chin around to face her. “Powering it up uses Investing, the same process Primos use to enchant things up. But the making of it just requires some trust. Trust your big sister, I’ll do it right now.”

“Mmmff!” Lily exclaimed into Sama’s mouth as their lips came together, and suddenly something large, sensuous, dangerous, and very flexible was filling her mouth, caressing her tongue, and tickling the back of her throat as it extended right through and up and around inside her head.

The sensation of a golden knife being unsheathed inside her skull made her tense up, but Sama had her securely, and she wasn’t going to fall. Indeed, given how distracting the rest of Lily was reacting to this kiss and embrace, the fact a tongue had suddenly became a scalpel inside her head was almost a minor matter, especially since that tongue was making her entire head dizzy to taste it...