POV David
I gently combed Shyora's messy hair. I chuckled a bit when she closed her eyes and purred. Her face flushed a bit and she looked away. Her wings quivered a bit and I noticed her tail slowly coiling about her leg. It was kind of cute, in a weird kinda way.
My hand tucked a loose strand behind her ear and she leaned into my hand slightly, chasing the warmth… I stopped, frozen as she nuzzled my hand with her cheek. She opened her eyes and stared at me. A slight flush crept up her cheeks as our eyes met.
We stared at each other. Her golden eyes were mesmerizing, they seemed hopeful, giddy almost. They reminded me of… a girl. It was the same look. I leaned back, noticing the slight disappointment in Shyora's eyes, how her lip pouted.
You're… Just as human as I am.
The realization overcame me and my mind raced. She obviously wasn't human. She had wings, a tail, and devilish horns. But she had the same look Isz had… that Veina had. I looked at the other Succubi. They smiled as I looked at them, but the look of jealous anger they had directed at Shyora…
My head began to hurt. They were people too! They had feelings, emotions, everything that could make them human, they had. It was my own prejudice. That demons couldn't have a society, build bonds that went beyond mutual gain. I closed my eyes for a moment before I looked into each of their eyes. They had dreams, hope, desires. Of course they were shaped by their own society, how they had been raised… but they were people. Just like me.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself. "Isirith, Vylnara. Come here for a second."
The three Succubi looked at me as I looked back. They had small polite smiles. But I tried looking beyond it, and I saw exactly what I'd refused to see. "I'm sorry. I'm such a piece of shit."
The three of them grew alarmed and exchanged glances. Shyora began "Master,…"
I cut her off. "I should have seen it a lot sooner. I'm sorry. I should have realized you are people, just like me…"
They stared at each other. I took a breath and continued. "You probably had dreams, hopes, desires… yet I treated you like slaves… little more than tools."
I felt disgusted with myself. I looked at each of them. "I'm truly… sorry. I'll right my wrongs."
They looked at each other with panic in their eyes. Like this was some elaborate scheme to test their loyalty. I'm sure telepathic messages were flying between them like bullet trains. I chuckled at the irony. I'd asked them about the daemon realms to learn as much as I could about it. It just hadn't clicked that their society was fundamentally different.
"Shyora, what was your dream?" I asked.
She froze for a moment. "I wanted to evolve, to become stronger."
"What about you Isirith?" I asked.
"I wanted to grow a powerful cabal." She said.
"Vylnara?" I looked at her.
"I wish to create a pure, strong bloodline." She blinked, her face flushing as she looked at me.
I wanted to cuss at myself. But I held it back and sighed. "How can I help you with that?"
"Master?!?" They cried.
"I suppose this is my fault…" I looked at the far wall as the three of them started shaking me. They stopped after a minute and looked at me with pleading eyes. Their society… it still affects them. I'd facilitated that belief too. They were slaves, they didn't see themselves as anything else. They still had dreams, but it wasn't something they had the freedom to pursue anymore.
"You all think of each other as sisters?" They nodded at my question. I bit my lip. This was… perhaps I should give them a bit of freedom?
"I want you all to start showing me your potential. What makes you different instead of the same. Wear clothes you like, pursue hobbies you find interesting." They stared at me.
"Make sure your sisters know." I muttered and looked away. I was their master. Did they even understand what I'd asked of them? I stood and walked over to the window and stared through the crack in the curtain. I couldn't see much, just the afternoon light reflecting off the vibrant waters of the Lobau.
A pair of arms cautiously encircled me and I felt a pair of horns against my shoulder. I turned my head a bit, Shyora had buried her head in my back. The others watched with shock as Shyora spoke with a shaky voice.
"Master… Can I…" I smiled, waiting patiently for whatever she wanted to ask.
"I want…" her hug tightened for a brief moment. She trembled, her hands shook. I slowly took her hands and covered them with my own.
"I want to stay by your side. Don't send me away." She whispered, she trailed off and I barely heard her by the end.
"Alright…"
She looked up, eyes wide as she sputtered. "Mas… Master?"
"I'll try to honor your request." I replied. She blinked incomprehension as tears began to slide down her face. I turned around and pulled her into a hug, letting her cry. My shirt was quickly stained with tears as Shyora sniffled. I just held the daemon, unsure of what to do. After a few minutes she looked up at me.
"I'm happy you are my Master." She backed away and wiped the tears from her face and muttered an incantation, cleaning my shirt. She dropped to a knee and bowed.
"Please accept my undying fealty Master!" I cringed as she made her declaration.
"There's no need." I replied and tried pulling her to her feet but she refused to budge. Isirith and Vylnara joined Shyora.
"Please let us serve you forever Master!" They shouted. I swear I felt a massive headache come over me. I blinked at the sudden pain and my vision swam for a few seconds. Letters and symbols flew across my vision. Slowly various bars and tags appeared like I was in some MMO game. A large gray slate appeared before me and slowly filled with text.
'Title achieved! Succubi Princess, title incompatible, changing… Title changed to Succubi Prince! Several powerful Succubi(5) have proclaimed you their master, you are now a heir to the Succubi Queen!
Relations changed with all Succubi from hostile to neutral. Lesser Succubi can no longer charm you, charm resistance upgraded to greater charm resistance! +25% to all charm skills, skills unlocked! (Seduce) (Telepathy) (Charm) (Draining Kiss) (Command)!
You can now take on a (Daemonic) form! (Daemon form) Succubi Prince +4 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +3 Charisma! In (daemonic form) all demonic abilities are strengthened by 20%.
Would you like to accept?
Yes/No'
I blinked away the headache and looked at Shyora, Isirith, and Vylnara. They looked at me expectantly, though I had a feeling that their 'sisters' were looking towards me as well. Another wave of pain shot through my head and I accidentally hit the 'yes'. The yellow tags next to the three succubi turned a deep green. They bowed their heads again. I blinked a few times to get this crap from my eyes and it disappeared.
I rubbed my temple and looked at the three Succubi. Their tails curled excitedly as they looked at the ground. I felt as if they were waiting for me to say something. "What the fuck was that?"
"May we gaze upon you Master?" Shyora asked with a quiet reverence.
"Stop this crap, treat me like you always have." They nodded and rose to their feet. They smiled at me, practically beamed in fact.
I stopped to think about what just happened. What had that stuff been? I tried calling it back and instantly I was bombarded with information. I blinked and cut it down to nearly nothing. Didn't I get skills or something? This was no game but how in the world could I quickly check them? A sort of interface would be nice.
Several things quickly appeared,they moved to the edge of my vision, it sort of reminded me of WoW's player interface, or maybe that was what my mind created because it was most familiar with it? Several of the slots were occupied and I picked one.
'telepathy. Shyora?'
She smiled wider. 'Yes Master?'
I nodded to myself. I would probably have to practice with this a bit to get the hang of. Though it was sort of intuitive? Like a phone I had to mentally point at someone to send a message to. I focused on the ability that caught my eye, daemon form. I took a deep breath then imagined selecting the 'skill'.
For a heartbeat nothing happened, then horns grew from my skull, as large leathery wings sprouted from my back and a thin tail snaked from my waist. The Succubi stared at me with amazed reverence as I looked at myself in the mirror. I stared at a figure I wouldn't have recognized as my own if it didn't mirror every move I made.
My eyes had become a solid light blue, my hair had grown to about shoulder length and my skin had taken on a reddish hue. Those changes were startling, but not the most dramatic. I'd become a bit taller, but lost much of my muscle mass, taking on a leaner visage. I looked androgynous, my chest had filled out a bit and my waist had thinned. With an annoyed click of my tongue I decided to revert back to my normal appearance, thankfully my clothes reappeared…