The First Cultivator

Ulvandia would've muttered a curse if her three tongues had allowed it. The most she could make was a warble that sounded like two pigs rutting. It might have been fun in the bedroom. Now it was just irritating. Perhaps she might get something more useful when the next surge of changes happens. With Ulvandia's luck, her nipples would change to tentacles… actually, she might like that.

Ulvandia lets out a warble that might be considered a laugh if one had a blood alcohol level that was nearly lethal. She usually would never let such a sound escape her mouth, but the abominations ignored her. Why wouldn't they? She was one of them… or at least physically she was. Her body had stretched abnormally, with limbs of varying lengths. It made walking a challenge. Eyes has sprouted on her ass which made her head ache with all the strange angle she was seeing from at the same time. She tried to ignore it mostly. Her hair had fallen out and was now comprised entirely of fingers bound together. She was fortunate it wasn't worse. Some of the creatures around her couldn't even move properly.

Her musings were interrupted as pain erupted in her left hand. Her fingers began fusing together, forming a shovel-like shape. Blood seeped out from the deformed digits before being healed by the eldritch energy in her. Ulvandia let out an unintelligible cry of misery, cradling her misshapen hand. The pain was gone a minute later, and she was left cradling what was left.

Well shit, Ulvandia thought glaring in disgust at the appendage as she got back to her feet. Well foot. Her right one had become a misshapen hoof. Did they still count as feet? She wasn't sure. With a hobble, she continued onward deeper into the mists. If she had any hope of revenge, it would be further in. The thought of all those who wronged her was a constant burning spike in her mind. Once again, the events over the past year replayed themselves in a never-ending loop.

First was the Magebane who crippled her mana pool. That violation was far worse than anything she had ever done. Her play things might have disagreed, but fuck them, they didn't count. Worse was the indignity her fellow elves had wrought. They had no sympathy for her plight. No kindness for a wounded elf. They treated her like… a null. Bile surged upwards, and she would have spewed everywhere if there was anything left in her stomach. Fortunately, the corruption infesting her fueled her body. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ever managed to leave her bed.

The elves had violated her in ways that even impressed her. They wanted to know what the Magebane did, so they experimented on her… over and over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER! Ulvandia pushed the madness away and focused on their crimes. Despite all their… tests, they found nothing other than a crippled mana pool. She couldn't contain any mana at all. It just leaked uncontrollably into her body. She had been in constant danger of mana poisoning. She would've died if they hadn't embedded runes into her flesh to drain the mana. It wasn't out of kindness. After that, they used mental spells to extract her house secrets, as the last scion of her house, she knew all its inner workings. The elves had used that knowledge mercilessly. They pillaged all she had. The holdings she had back home were gone. The wealth and alliances she'd forged were a distant memory. Faithful retainers, freed of the bindings that held their loyalty in check, gleefully assisted in dismantling her life's work. The worst part was the mocking the elves in Deepmere had done as they told her of their deeds.

By the end, she was ready to die. Wanted to die. Begged to die. She wailed at her fellow elves, asking for a last bit of dignity, for her to die and be buried in the elven lands alongside her ancestors. The fuckers laughed at her. 'Why sully our soils with a null?' They had said. That had been the final piece. After she just lay on her mattress. Not bothering to get up, even when she soiled herself. She waited to die. Then, the elves were gone. Still, she waited. A few mages broke into the house and took what they could. When they found her, they thought she was a corpse and left. She didn't have any will left to correct their mistake. She just waited for release. It wouldn't have taken much longer. Then the mists came.

She expected to die. Or become one of the many horrors that dwelt in the mists. Except… it hadn't happened, not exactly. There was no commanding voice in her mind. No impulse to serve whatever created the mists. The corruption couldn't reach her mana pool. Instead, the eldritch energy leaked into her body just like mana did. However, unlike the mana, which was being released by the runes, it built up. Her body had greedily absorbed the energy, and the changes came quickly at first. Now the process slowed, and only after enough eldritch energy leaked into her body did the mutations occur. Now she was following the abomination as they migrated, hopefully, they were traveling to the source. Perhaps there she could find the power to take her revenge.

Ulvandia took another step on the fleshy road as swifter abominations passed her. There was no speech, no talking. Most of the creatures were mindless, nothing more than flesh golems. A loud rumbling interrupted her musing. Ulvandia used the eyes on her ass to look behind her. A surge of terror shot through her. A massive… thing… was running down the flesh road. It looked like a towering centipede, its many legs crushing the smaller abominations, which was about to include her. Ulvandia threw herself to the side barely in time to avoid the descending appendage. She rolled multiple times to evade the remaining crushing legs as the monstrous creature continued down the path, unaware or uncaring of the destruction it left behind. In its passage lay trembling bodies that didn't scream or clutch their ruined parts. Instead, they tried to continue down the road, leaving bits behind. Madness.

Ulvandia deviated from the path of flesh, going off to the side. It would be better to follow the path at a distance. This was far from the first near-fatal accident she had. As she went further to the side, Ulvandia immediately noticed that the amount of eldritch energy she absorbed was reduced. Curious, she wandered further and immediately noticed that the mist had thinned considerably. A glance down showed bare earth rather than the fleshy road she'd followed. Then the mists parted and warm light struck her from above. The sun… how long had it been since she had seen the sun?

Ulvandia stood her face raised to the sun for a long moment, enjoying the warmth on her skin, when an uncomfortable sensation started deep inside. Her limbs felt heavier, and each breath felt less fulfilling. She frowned as she focused on the sensation. Did she develop a sun allergy? It took her several minutes to find the source. The eldritch energy in her was being drained away. She could feel the eldritch power within her, but was unable to control it. She guessed it was because her damaged mana pool wasn't able to be converted into whatever the eldritch creatures had. That must be the source of their strength, but also their shackle that bound them to whatever will drove the creatures. The lack of such an 'eldritch core' did allow her to keep her mind, but the lack of control with this new energy rampaging in her body was worrisome. She needed to fix it. There had to be a way.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Hesitantly, Ulvandia retreated into the mists and instantly felt better as the drainage stopped.

This is a problem, Ulvandia mused. She walked further into the mists, closer to the fleshy road. It made sense that they couldn't convert all the land. There was only so much corruption to spread around. They must make these paths to contain the mists and the eldritch energy, so they… Ulvandia stopped as the realization of her own thoughts caught up to her. Contain… The fleshy road contained the mists and the power it held. How? If she could find it, it might be part of the solution to her problem. She eagerly rushed back onto the path, ignoring the abominations who did likewise.

Where would it be, Ulvandia thought as she searched for anything on the flesh road that might be responsible. It was hard to tell. The entire road was a twisted, amalgamated mass of body parts. There were eyes, large mouths, and tentacles. So many tentacles. If she still had her pets, it would have been a glorious fun time. Alas, she lost them like everything else. Would she have to dig into the road? Would the abominations stop her? They didn't seem aware, but if she damaged the infrastructure, that might change.

Ulvandia was about to move on to look elsewhere when she saw it. An eerie green mote was floating away from the path when what looked like a flower of meat opened. In its center was a small illuminated gem. The green mote altered direction toward the gem, where it was absorbed. The flower then closed, sinking into the road.

Ulvandia smiled, then frowned as she gazed down both sides of the path. The abominations seemed endless. They marched constantly back and forth. She didn't know what they were doing, but this appeared to be a logistical system. Would they attack her if she dug up the road? She would have to risk it. Ulvandia retrieved a knife from a small pack she gathered and approached the spot where the flesh flower had been. The place was unremarkable except for a pattern in the flesh that she would've never noticed otherwise. Ready to flee if anything attacked, she dove the knife into the flesh. Blood welled up from the incision, and she quickly glanced around, her heart hammering. Nothing. The abominations continued on like nothing was happening. Ulvandia dug the knife in deeper, cutting the petals free. All the while, she expected something to go terribly wrong. It was exhausting work as she had to be constantly aware of any threat. With a final slice, the gem was exposed, its green light refracting in the mists. The effect was muted as blood pooled around the gem. Ulvandia gently worked the blade under the gem and sawed it free. Gem in hand, she stood up and froze. The abominations all had stopped looking directly at her. Ulvandia's heart hammered in her chest as she was sure she was about to die, when all at once they moved on like nothing had happened.

Ulvandia didn't move for another five minutes, a deep fear that any motion might trigger a response. Not daring to believe her luck, she scrambled away to the far edges of the mists, where she collapsed to the ground.

That had been too fucking close. Way too fucking close. Worse, she didn't even know if it was worth it. Ulvandia examined the gem. It looked odd. It was like it had grown, a type of organic crystal. More importantly, she could feel eldritch energy in it. Now it was time for the risky part. So much could go wrong, but if she did nothing she was fucked already so might as well go all the way. Ulvandia steadied her breathing as she placed the blade to her side. With a steady hand used to carving flesh, she made a precise incision in her flesh. Not waiting to doubt herself, she pushed the gem deep inside as blood oozed.

Immediately, she felt the eldritch energy in her body gravitate toward the gem, and as it did, her strength began to fade.

SHIT! Did I fuck up? Ulvandia frantically dug her fingers into the cut but couldn't grasp the gem. She only succeeded in pushing it further in. Desperate, she stumbled toward the fleshy road where the corruption was thicker. Her vision faded as she reached the edge, and she knew no more.

***

When Ulvandia woke up, she felt the pain of another change overcoming her body. This time, her legs were fusing into a single snake-like appendage.

FUCK! Ulvandia instinctively reached out to the eldritch energy. Not in the hope that it would achieve anything, but desperate to do something. Surprisingly, she could feel it. It felt like decaying mana, but with a more physical quality than before. It didn't matter. With a force of will, she pushed the energy away. The eldritch power settled in her pelvis, which then began to change.

OH, HELL NO! Ulvandia sent the corruption somewhere useful, her mouth. The change began, focusing on her tongue. The three fleshy tendrils became one while the extra bits receded into her body. Then, because she always wanted to, she forced the tip of her tongue to fork.

A manic giggle escaped her lips. It wasn't the baying she had been doing, but a pure elven laugh that bards described as music of the divine.

"Oh, this will be fun!" Ulvandia shouted, gleeful at the sound of her voice after so long. With a broad smile on her face for the first time in over a year, she mentally dove inside herself. She didn't go to her mana pool, that was a ruined mess, although she might be able to repair it now… but with the eldritch power in her, that would be ruinous. Instead, she inspected her new eldritch core. It was filled with corruption. To the point that it couldn't contain any more, and it was leaking out. Ulvandia frowned.

How long was she out for? Days? Weeks? It didn't matter, other than it was another obstacle to her revenge. Ulvandia reached for that eldritch power, directing a portion to her breasts, which then swelled in size. She let out another giggle. Then, she swayed as her eldritch core began pulling on the particles within her. She quickly clamped down on the pull, slowing it to a crawl. This would be a balancing act. She needed some eldritch power in her body to function, but too much of it would cause her to mutate. It would work for now.

After several more hours and many changes, Ulvandia resembled her old self with long blonde hair, pointy ears, and, of course, a physics-defying breast size. Ulvandia felt much better about her chances of survival as she continued down the fleshy road, skipping while whistling a merry tune. It would have been an odd sight if anyone had been present to see. A nude, busty elf skipping along on a road made of meat surrounded by twisted abominations while whistling a children's song as she made her way into the depths of the mists.