Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 155: The Howl’s consequences

Visha woke up Uri and Xeno wrapped around her in bed. The first thing she noticed was not their body heat or lack thereof. The first thing she noticed was the tail. She felt the extra appendage and knew that it wasn’t a dream. She really had a tail.

[Why are you freaking out again? It’s not like you weren’t born with one.]

Sys? Visha queried.

[You finally want to acknowledge me?]

Visha sighed heavily. The two men beside her stirred. Their changes were very clear to Visha. Xeno’s body was filled with power, and Uri’s body was colder than before. He felt dangerous. Visha’s heart beat rapidly, seeing the changes.

She felt her body react. She tried to hide it. But how could she hide from the two men whose senses have advanced?

Uri pulled her close. His breath skimmed across her neck. She shivered. Her back arched. Stunned, she froze. When did she become so sensitive?

Xeno moved closer, placing a kiss on her cheek. Hands snaked around her waist.

"Shasha smells amazing," Xeno said with a goofy grin.

Uri grunted in response.

Visha was already in shock from the tail, her body sensitivity. Now, she found she had another problem. Any sound either of them made, her body reacted. She wondered if she had committed some kind of crime when she performed the ritual. Why did her body become so sensitive?

[It’s your instincts. Your body is willing to please your mates. Plus, you want it.]

You shut up. I have enough to deal with. I don’t need you right now.

The system went quiet after being berated by Visha.

She wiggled her way out of Uri and Xeno’s arms. Being muddle-headed would not help her in the slightest right now. But when she got up and saw the two men still in bed, their erections high, she heard herself let out a high-pitched yip.

She covered her mouth in shock and horror.

"Don’t say a word," she threatened when she saw both men smiling. "One of you needs to tell me what’s going on, right now."

"We were hoping you could tell us," Uri stated.

"How am I supposed to know?" Vish said exasperatedly.

[...]

Do you know what’s going on? Visha asked with no hope.

[Finally! Of course I know. You’re tearing the Beast Continent apart.]

Visha’s eyes widened when she heard the response. Walking back towards the bed, she ignored Uri and Xeno, continuing to talk to the system.

Say something that makes sense. How does a ritual manage to affect the entire Beast Continent?

[Since the death of the First Beast, the continent has been in decline. The last breath...the harmony was disturbed. Because of the disturbance it caused, things that were never meant to exist reached the continent—the corruption. You’ve already met them. Those ugly things you fought before.]

[They should have become that. Someone wanted to destroy the Beast God and all his creations. The harmony wasn’t just interrupted. He almost died because of it. It was supposed to be his last act before leaving. He would bring balance to a world that had none.] 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Aren’t gods supposed to be immortal? How did he get hurt?

[Immortal doesn’t mean invulnerable. He was harmed. And your ritual accidentally triggered the spread of disaster. The corruption and instability were locked in place. Someone discovered them and has been trying to use them to their advantage. That’s why they are all over the place now.]

[The howl caused the vital energy of the world to increase, and that increase made the ties on the forbidden zones loosen. Now, they can spread.]

The news made Visha overwhelmed. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Uri and Xeno lay on the bed close to her. Their gaze locked onto her face. Her expressions were noticed by them both.

Giving each other a sideways glance, they left the room.

So what do I do now? I didn’t know that would happen. It’s supposed to be therapy. I was only trying to help people let go of baggage. Now I’m responsible for the downfall of a people?

[You aren’t their downfall. It was meant to happen sooner or later. You only accelerated it. If you checked the lore crystals I gave you, you would know this.]

The system couldn’t sigh, but Visha heard it. The lore crystals had always been there. She did not look at them because they had no use to her. She reprimanded herself for not looking. Maybe she could have avoided this problem.

Pressing her hands to her face, she sighed. The early morning birdsong did nothing to alleviate the unease in her heart. She took several deep breaths before removing her hands.

Resting her hands flat on the bed, she felt the fur beside her. It felt soft. She rubbed her hands along the fur, and her body tingled. So soft.

Tightening her hand around it, she felt something hard. Absentmindedly, she played with the fur. It wasn’t until she pinched a little tohard and felt the pain that she realized what she was touching.

With it still in her hand, she turned to look. Her hand gripped the furry tail. Visha sighed again. She could no longer count the number of times she had sighed.

Lying in bed, she allowed herself to sigh one more time before getting up. This was not the time to wallow. Things in the pack needed doing. As the one who caused the problem, she needed to address the pack.

Sys? Visha called out tentatively. Can you tell me about what happened last night?

[Vital energy. I said it before. It’s the same energy found in the pool in the grotto. Why do you think I told you to hide it? Vital energy makes you stronger. From your world, it’s like qi. The energy of heaven and earth.]

[Beastmen and females have been inhaling it all their lives. But they don’t know how to use it. The collection of vital energy from the ceremony awakened your genes. Basically, you overate, and your body changed in accordance with what you ate. The default for beastmen was always supposed to be their half-shifted form.]

Visha’s jaw dropped. Half-shifted beastmen are the norm? Then why do some tribes think it’s a curse?

[That is also a matter of harmony. They are both Beast and Men. Why should their appearance not reflect both? As for believing they are cursed. Much knowledge has been lost.]

Visha exhaled slowly. This was a lot to take in. Then she remembered the system mentioning Vital energy. She had heard of cultivation, who hadn’t? But something that’s supposed to be a myth is now becoming fact...Her eyes shone, thinking she could give it a try.

[Don’t think too much. You can’t actually cultivate.]

Hope came quickly and died even quicker.

Visha’s shoulders dropped.

Why can’t I? If the ritual can help us get started, why can’t it help us cultivate? We can do it again.

[Stupid. It doesn’t work that way. Do you think overeating is a good thing? Once is enough. If you do it again, you might die. But...]

The system trailed off. It was waiting for Visha to ask. Visha also knew what it was doing, but she wanted an answer.

But what? Just tell me what you want. Visha said, annoyed.

[If you help me find something. I’ll help you.]

Visha’s lip twitched. Of course, there was something she had to do for it. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Taking a deep breath, she responded.

"Fine, I’ll help."

Later, Visha would ask herself multiple times why she agreed.