Chapter 1397: Intermission 3: Ayuru’s Awakening (7)

After the training ended, I stepped away for a while and decided to take a shower.

The silence felt different after all that noise.

Water ran steadily, the sound filling the space as I stood there, letting it wash over me. It was simple, nothing special, but it felt good. It was like a kind of reset.

This was the kind of shower I usually called a lonely one.

There was no one else around and no distractions. It was just me.

Strangely enough, I didn’t mind it right now. Being alone had its own kind of comfort because right now, I had no expectations and even no interruptions. Just a chance to breathe and relax for a bit.

"Do you want me to wash your back, Master?" a voice said from behind me.

"Yes, please."

The reply came out instantly.

It was automatic, like muscle memory. The kind of answer I had given so many times before that I didn’t even think about it anymore.

Then it hit me.

I was supposed to be alone.

The realization settled in slowly, and with it came a strange feeling.

There was definitely someone behind me.

I turned around.

Standing there was a woman.

Black hair, smooth and dark, falling naturally around her. Red eyes that matched mine perfectly, and it was almost too perfectly. There was no confusion about that detail. The resemblance was too exact to ignore. For some reason, she kind of looked like a bit mix of Lilith... and Shredica.

It was the first time I had ever seen her.

And yet...

There was something about her that felt familiar.

She cocked her head slightly while I was staring at her, like she was trying to read something off my face, quietly observing every little reaction I made. There was a faint curiosity in her eyes, almost innocent, but at the same time, it felt like she understood more than she was letting on.

The woman standing in front of me was completely naked, and there was no way to ignore that. Her body wasn’t something you could just casually glance at and move on from either. It naturally pulled attention without even trying.

If I had to explain it properly, she had the kind of physique that clearly belonged to a higher tier. There wasn’t any visible fat anywhere as well as no imperfections, no marks, and nothing that could even slightly ruin the overall balance of her appearance. Her skin looked smooth to an almost unnatural degree, like it had been polished or carefully crafted rather than something that just existed naturally.

The more I looked, the more it felt like everything about her had been refined down to the smallest detail. Her proportions were balanced in a way that didn’t feel accidental either. It wasn’t exaggerated or unrealistic, just... complete. Like someone had taken their time making sure nothing was off.

She looked mature enough too. There wasn’t anything about her that gave off an unfinished or awkward impression. Everything about her body felt fully developed as well as fully realized, like there wasn’t a single part of it that needed changing.

And then there was that one detail that ended up catching my attention more than I expected.

She didn’t have any pubic hair at all.

It wasn’t something I meant to focus on, but it stood out the longer I looked. It felt kind of strange seeing nothing there, especially when she clearly looked mature enough that you would expect it. It created this odd contrast that made it more noticeable than it probably should have been.

Though honestly, it wasn’t like I had any strong preference about that kind of thing. Whether women had thick pubic hair or none at all didn’t really matter to me. It was just... something I noticed. Something that made me pause for a second longer than usual.

"What is it, Master?" she asked.

Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

There was something about it that felt familiar.

I was sure of it.

I knew this woman. That feeling wasn’t vague or uncertain. It was there, clear and steady, like something that should have been obvious.

And yet, nothing clicked.

It wasn’t like I had amnesia or anything like that. My head felt perfectly fine. I had no dizziness at all, and I was sure there was no confusion in my part, as well as no missing pieces that I could point to. Everything else was in place.

So why couldn’t I recognize her?

I tried to go through my memories anyway, searching through everything I could recall. Starting from faces, names, situations. Maybe she was one the women I fucked a long time ago. But no, if she was, then I was sure I wouldn’t just forget her easily...

I went through them one by one, trying to find where she fit.

There was absolutely nothing.

I couldn’t remember ever seeing her before.

But that feeling didn’t go away.

She still felt familiar.

Just not in the way I expected.

It wasn’t her face.

It wasn’t her appearance.

It was her voice.

That was what triggered it.

That was what finally made something connect.

"You’re... Ayuru?" I asked, slowly, like I was still piecing it together as I spoke.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

So it really was her.

Ayuru.

The cursed sword that had always been with me.

Hearing that confirmation felt strange in a way I couldn’t immediately explain. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe it. It was more like my brain was taking a second to catch up with what I was seeing.

A cursed sword turning into a human. Or at least into a human form.

Logically, it wasn’t impossible. Cursed swords having some kind of consciousness was already a known thing. It wasn’t exactly rare knowledge. So the idea that they could take on a human form wasn’t completely out of reach.

Still, actually seeing it happen right in front of me felt different.

It felt... completely unreal.