Chapter 414: Fate
No sooner did the realization come than I was hit by a transcendental feeling, a surge of mana so powerful it sent a wave of black dots dancing before my eyes. I shuddered as a wave of titillating pleasure followed hot on its heels, stealing the breath from my lungs and setting me on fire. Every fiber of my body tingled, from the tip of my horns to my tail, eliciting a small, breathless moan.
Fable writhed at my side, lost in the throes of breaking through. His body, which had only just adjusted to the immense growth a few hours before, exploded with growth. His size didn’t change, remaining about fifteen feet from nose to tail, but his aura underwent another qualitative transformation. The space around us cracked like a broken mirror, the unstable space of the gate struggling to contain the sudden flow of raw, primal mana. His eyes lit up with golden, starry light, his horns taking a beautiful, silver sheen. His fur seemed glossier and softer than before, if such a thing was even possible, and I found myself cuddling up close to him, drawn in by the heat pouring off his body.
At last, the sensations began to fade, and I finally fell still, my quivering tail the only sign of the overwhelming experience of breaking through. I felt empty without the seductive warmth of mana, but the hole inside me quickly closed as Fable draped his head over my shoulder, his tongue flicking my cheek tenderly.
"It’s done," I whispered, my voice trembling with wonder. "It...it doesn’t hurt anymore."
For the first time since I could feasibly remember, there was no more pain. Even though my soul had been oversaturated with mana during my breakthrough, enough to stretch it past the bursting point, there hadn’t been any pain. Nothing. Not even the slightest burn or tearing sensation.
"Congratulations, my lady." The ice spirit saluted as its avatar materialized before me, gauntlet pressed to its breastplate.
I nodded my thanks but found trouble raising my head again. My horns felt impossibly heavy, weighing my head down, and even my tail refused to flick with the joy that permeated my entire being. Darkness crept in on the edges of my vision, and the ice spirit’s crisp form began to blur. Even if my soul didn’t hurt, it practically quivered with exhaustion, and my physical body was no better.
"H-how long did it take?" I stammered, barely recognizing the soft, slurred voice as my own.
"Almost a day," the spirit replied. "Your condition worsened a few hours ago, and I worried you wouldn’t be able to finish. Thank you for surprising me."