Reincarnated as a Mushroom?-Chapter 48 - 47: The Madness You Make Me Love

Chapter 47: The Madness You Make Me Love

---

I stared into Crystal’s eyes, anxiety thrumming behind my irises like a psionic migraine. "Wait. I used a piece of my soul to make that thing?" I asked, voice a strained octave above normal. "How bad are we talking here? Be honest — am I going to start hallucinating dead cats or bleed nightmares or something? Because I’m already halfway there, babe."

Crystal, radiant and ruinous as ever, gave me the kind of smile that could melt planets. "My precious Irvine, relax. The damage is not permanent. I can feel every ounce of your existential dread bleeding through the link — it’s adorable, but entirely unnecessary. Your psionic potential will be significantly dampened, yes, but you’ll recover."

I exhaled so hard I felt my ribs vibrate. "Okay, okay... not soul-death. That’s good. That’s fantastic. Temporary nerf I can handle."

Crystal tilted her head, her massive cranial frills flexing in amusement. "Mmm. The recovery period depends on how much psionic essence you sacrificed. For reference — when I create Primes, I imbue them with a shard of my own psionic existence. Those offerings take between eight thousand and twenty thousand years to regenerate. A mere blink for me, of course."

I gulped audibly, throat suddenly desert-dry.

Chuckling softly, she brushed her mind against mine like a velvet blade. "Don’t panic, little ember. You’re still new to the plane of psionic conceptualization — a delicate, crystalline thing. The energy you used will take perhaps... a year to recover. Maybe less if you allow me to dote properly."

A whole year of being psionically half-blind was not ideal, but better than spending eternity as an empty soul-shaped husk. I gave her a lopsided smile. "Thanks, I think? Though you didn’t have to rub in the whole ’you’re fragile’ thing. That stung worse than the blood-loss."

While I spiraled in neurotic circles, Crystal had turned her full attention toward the luminous psionic beast still reclining like a smug demigod nearby. "For such a miniscule fragment of your existence to birth such a refined construct... how exquisite," she purred, her aura thick with awe and hunger. "If I could master this technique... I could abandon biomass conversion altogether. I would never have to devour a living soul again. I could just make what I need, like you do. I could be... free."

Her tone was wistful — a raw, yearning pulse buried under centuries of predatory instinct. Most people didn’t know this, but the Hive — beneath its conquering grandeur — was always starving. Always. The lesser swarms and drone masses felt it constantly. Only specialty bioforms like stalkers and infiltrators, who were severed from the direct hive-link, were spared that endless, gnawing void.

But Crystal? Crystal bore it all. And if this power meant she could rewrite that hunger... I didn’t blame her for fantasizing.

She shook off the thought and turned back to me, curiosity blooming in her psychic field. "Now tell me, my dearest delight — why haven’t any of my Primes returned yet? Surely they sensed what you’ve become. Knowing their temperaments, they would have dropped empires just to visit..."

I scratched the back of my head, shifting awkwardly. "Yeah, about that... I’ve been wondering the same thing. But honestly? That psionic chonky thing floating next to us doesn’t feel like me. Not exactly. It’s familiar, but not mine. I guess time, training, and maybe a few panic attacks will reveal the truth."

Unfortunately, I forgot — yet again — to mute the link when I was thinking completely unfiltered nonsense.

"My mate thinks I’m crazy?" Crystal’s voice echoed through my mind like a thunderstorm made of glass. Her aura detonated around me, flooding the air with furious affection, confusion, and something much more unhinged.

"Oh fuck."

A heartbeat later, salvation crashed through the door with perfect comedic timing in the form of Kimchi.

"ORCHID! Don’t think, grab me and run!"

She didn’t hesitate. Not even a question. With impeccable hive-born precision, Kimchi scooped me into her arms and bolted down the corridor at speeds that would shame orbital shuttles.

"I love that you’re crazy!" I screamed over the link as we blurred past half-molten walls. "Sane is boring! Love youuu~!"

Crystal froze in place. Rage extinguished. All-consuming terror transmuted into a sugar-high dopamine spike.

Her mate loved her. Loved all of her. Madness included.

She’d never get tired of hearing that.

"Hmm~ hmmm hm hm," came a musical hum from behind her. Onyx — that damned stalker — had finally manifested from thin air, casually finishing the anatomical stitching on the feline corpse as if none of this had just happened.

Crystal spun to confront her. "I wasn’t—did you—how long—"

"Yes. No. Three years. Yes," Onyx answered, not looking up.

The air around her flinched.

"Onyx," Crystal growled, "stop using your time-muddling variant of psionics so close to hive center. The synaptic recoil from processing forbidden futures is not sustainable."

Onyx sighed and turned her head, finally looking at her queen. "My apologies. I lose myself sometimes. But to watch our love echo through all permutations... it’s more addictive than any flesh. I had to see. Also — I should inform you of the mutation I’m due to undergo next cycle. It’s been fixed by psionic imprint."

Crystal’s frills twitched. "Fine. Speak your piece."

---

Meanwhile, I was living with the consequences of issuing a vague command to a literal bio-warlord with boundary issues.

Kimchi had interpreted "grab me and run" as "begin a two-day marathon across molten planetary hellscape while bridal-carrying me like a trophy."

Also, she still wouldn’t let go of my arm.

We were heading toward a faint hive-link I could sense underground — likely a maintenance tunnel — but I could feel thousands of drones executing some hyper-specific task beneath us. I didn’t want to interrupt. Not yet.

I tried to ignore Kimchi’s wandering hands while we walked, but she kept absentmindedly fondling my... well. You know.

Eventually I snapped. Scooping her up with a grunt, I carried her princess-style so her hands were above waist level.

Regret was immediate.

Kimchi interpreted the position as divine invitation. She descended upon my neck with religious fervor — licking, nibbling, kissing, marking every inch like she was preparing a ritual.

I tried to keep walking, muttering "my will is iron" like a mantra against temptation. I needed to stay focused. I had gene enhancements to plan. A soul cost to recover from. And yet here I was being sensually neck-murdered by a woman with four arms and no shame.

Kimchi didn’t care. She had entered a trance-like state of pleasure, feeding off my scent and sweat like it was sacred ambrosia. Even rejection felt like flirtation to her.

Sixteen hours passed. My will didn’t break. Barely.

Eventually, as the triple suns dipped behind the craggy horizon and the ambient light gave way to volcanic glow, I found a nearby lava stream. Perfect resting spot. The planet’s geothermal activity made up for the lack of solar warmth, but even with that, I was starting to feel cold.

Maybe it was my weakening thermokinesis.

Or maybe I was just really, really tired of pretending I was immune to Kimchi’s tongue.

Either way, the night was coming — and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be quiet.

--Chapter 47: The Madness You Make Me Love

---

I stared into Crystal’s eyes, anxiety thrumming behind my irises like a psionic migraine. "Wait. I used a piece of my soul to make that thing?" I asked, voice a strained octave above normal. "How bad are we talking here? Be honest — am I going to start hallucinating dead cats or bleed nightmares or something? Because I’m already halfway there, babe."

Crystal, radiant and ruinous as ever, gave me the kind of smile that could melt planets. "My precious Irvine, relax. The damage is not permanent. I can feel every ounce of your existential dread bleeding through the link — it’s adorable, but entirely unnecessary. Your psionic potential will be significantly dampened, yes, but you’ll recover."

I exhaled so hard I felt my ribs vibrate. "Okay, okay... not soul-death. That’s good. That’s fantastic. Temporary nerf I can handle."

Crystal tilted her head, her massive cranial frills flexing in amusement. "Mmm. The recovery period depends on how much psionic essence you sacrificed. For reference — when I create Primes, I imbue them with a shard of my own psionic existence. Those offerings take between eight thousand and twenty thousand years to regenerate. A mere blink for me, of course."

I gulped audibly, throat suddenly desert-dry.

Chuckling softly, she brushed her mind against mine like a velvet blade. "Don’t panic, little ember. You’re still new to the plane of psionic conceptualization — a delicate, crystalline thing. The energy you used will take perhaps... a year to recover. Maybe less if you allow me to dote properly."

A whole year of being psionically half-blind was not ideal, but better than spending eternity as an empty soul-shaped husk. I gave her a lopsided smile. "Thanks, I think? Though you didn’t have to rub in the whole ’you’re fragile’ thing. That stung worse than the blood-loss."

While I spiraled in neurotic circles, Crystal had turned her full attention toward the luminous psionic beast still reclining like a smug demigod nearby. "For such a miniscule fragment of your existence to birth such a refined construct... how exquisite," she purred, her aura thick with awe and hunger. "If I could master this technique... I could abandon biomass conversion altogether. I would never have to devour a living soul again. I could just make what I need, like you do. I could be... free."

Her tone was wistful — a raw, yearning pulse buried under centuries of predatory instinct. Most people didn’t know this, but the Hive — beneath its conquering grandeur — was always starving. Always. The lesser swarms and drone masses felt it constantly. Only specialty bioforms like stalkers and infiltrators, who were severed from the direct hive-link, were spared that endless, gnawing void.

But Crystal? Crystal bore it all. And if this power meant she could rewrite that hunger... I didn’t blame her for fantasizing.

She shook off the thought and turned back to me, curiosity blooming in her psychic field. "Now tell me, my dearest delight — why haven’t any of my Primes returned yet? Surely they sensed what you’ve become. Knowing their temperaments, they would have dropped empires just to visit..."

I scratched the back of my head, shifting awkwardly. "Yeah, about that... I’ve been wondering the same thing. But honestly? That psionic chonky thing floating next to us doesn’t feel like me. Not exactly. It’s familiar, but not mine. I guess time, training, and maybe a few panic attacks will reveal the truth."

Unfortunately, I forgot — yet again — to mute the link when I was thinking completely unfiltered nonsense.

"My mate thinks I’m crazy?" Crystal’s voice echoed through my mind like a thunderstorm made of glass. Her aura detonated around me, flooding the air with furious affection, confusion, and something much more unhinged.

"Oh fuck."

A heartbeat later, salvation crashed through the door with perfect comedic timing in the form of Kimchi.

"ORCHID! Don’t think, grab me and run!"

She didn’t hesitate. Not even a question. With impeccable hive-born precision, Kimchi scooped me into her arms and bolted down the corridor at speeds that would shame orbital shuttles.

"I love that you’re crazy!" I screamed over the link as we blurred past half-molten walls. "Sane is boring! Love youuu~!"

Crystal froze in place. Rage extinguished. All-consuming terror transmuted into a sugar-high dopamine spike.

Her mate loved her. Loved all of her. Madness included.

She’d never get tired of hearing that.

"Hmm~ hmmm hm hm," came a musical hum from behind her. Onyx — that damned stalker — had finally manifested from thin air, casually finishing the anatomical stitching on the feline corpse as if none of this had just happened.

Crystal spun to confront her. "I wasn’t—did you—how long—"

"Yes. No. Three years. Yes," Onyx answered, not looking up.

The air around her flinched.

"Onyx," Crystal growled, "stop using your time-muddling variant of psionics so close to hive center. The synaptic recoil from processing forbidden futures is not sustainable."

Onyx sighed and turned her head, finally looking at her queen. "My apologies. I lose myself sometimes. But to watch our love echo through all permutations... it’s more addictive than any flesh. I had to see. Also — I should inform you of the mutation I’m due to undergo next cycle. It’s been fixed by psionic imprint."

Crystal’s frills twitched. "Fine. Speak your piece."

---

Meanwhile, I was living with the consequences of issuing a vague command to a literal bio-warlord with boundary issues.

Kimchi had interpreted "grab me and run" as "begin a two-day marathon across molten planetary hellscape while bridal-carrying me like a trophy."

Also, she still wouldn’t let go of my arm.

We were heading toward a faint hive-link I could sense underground — likely a maintenance tunnel — but I could feel thousands of drones executing some hyper-specific task beneath us. I didn’t want to interrupt. Not yet.

I tried to ignore Kimchi’s wandering hands while we walked, but she kept absentmindedly fondling my... well. You know.

Eventually I snapped. Scooping her up with a grunt, I carried her princess-style so her hands were above waist level.

Regret was immediate.

Kimchi interpreted the position as divine invitation. She descended upon my neck with religious fervor — licking, nibbling, kissing, marking every inch like she was preparing a ritual.

I tried to keep walking, muttering "my will is iron" like a mantra against temptation. I needed to stay focused. I had gene enhancements to plan. A soul cost to recover from. And yet here I was being sensually neck-murdered by a woman with four arms and no shame.

Kimchi didn’t care. She had entered a trance-like state of pleasure, feeding off my scent and sweat like it was sacred ambrosia. Even rejection felt like flirtation to her.

Sixteen hours passed. My will didn’t break. Barely.

Eventually, as the triple suns dipped behind the craggy horizon and the ambient light gave way to volcanic glow, I found a nearby lava stream. Perfect resting spot. The planet’s geothermal activity made up for the lack of solar warmth, but even with that, I was starting to feel cold.

Maybe it was my weakening thermokinesis.

Or maybe I was just really, really tired of pretending I was immune to Kimchi’s tongue.

Either way, the night was coming — and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be quiet.

--

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