Rebirth

When he finally came to, everything felt different. The air tasted different. At least the clothes seemed to fit better than before.

There’s nothing like a magical workout to lose weight.

“How do you feel?” Qiin spoke in a warm voice full of concern while he looked down at him.

Oh, I’ve collapsed. Great.

“I think so … ?” His voice raised in tandem with his confusion. There was something wrong about the way he sounded. It was far too high pitched. “Or maybe not?”

“You should probably rest for a bit. The ceremony was very taxing. Both on you and on me.” He sounded very friendly. Overly friendly even. “There were a few unforeseen hiccups. It was almost as if your god was rejecting you.”

Yeah, no wonder. If he really exists, he probably doesn’t want to protect an atheist like me.

“Come. I’ll help you stand.” Qiin reached out with his hand.

“Thanks,” he answered and tried to take the offered hand, only to stop again. His mind reeled. The hand he had reached out with looked much too small. Smoother. There were no hairs on his arm. What was going on?

Qiin took his hand and pulled him easily to his feet. Had Qiin grown during the ceremony? Before he could look him directly into the eyes, but now he had to look up at the monk. Something was very, very wrong.

The monk let go of his hand. It was such a slow motion that it almost seemed reluctant. He gulped.

With even more reluctance, he looked down his own body. There were dainty mounds on his chest.

Why are there dainty mounds on my chest? Don’t tell me these are …

A squeeze confirmed it. He had grown breasts. What was this?

“This wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?” His voice was barely above a whisper. He was barely holding in his panic.

“There were several things that weren’t supposed to happen,” Qiin said slowly. “But the results are still within expected parameters. Mostly.”

“Expected Parameters? Mostly?” His voice managed a really high and really uncomfortable pitch. Qiin and Renard both flinched.

“Calm down,” Qiin tried.

Do you know what happens when you ask a person to calm down? Do you really think they will calm down? This is one of the few things where the opposite will happen!

He didn’t even know why he didn’t scream that at Qiin. But she was sure that she got the message across while glaring at him.

“Reverse this,” she hissed.

“As I said during the ceremony: A blessing given can’t be revoked.”

“You mean I am stuck like this?” Qiin nodded. “What are these expected parameters?”

“Well, our lady is fond of … female servants.”

All he could do was stare blankly at the monk.

Had Qiin just told him that they had planned to turn him into a girl from the very beginning?

“Are you not at least interested in how you look?”

He didn’t react to the question at all. His mind was frozen. It just couldn’t count the levels of indignation he felt as well as the countless ways he wanted to kill Qiin. And this goddess that was so fond of female servants.

Deicide sounds really nice right now!

“I understand that this is quite a shock for you,” Qiin began.

“Quite a shock you say.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Just let me shove you into a different body!” Winding up she tried to hit Qiin with her fist. Which he simply caught with one hand. Her fist fighting abilities hadn’t become any better. If anything, they had gotten weaker.

“A priestess should never act in anger.” Qiin looked down at her. Like a figure of authority. “You have to get used to how you are now.” He didn’t raise his voice, and yet she felt as if he had slapped her in the face. She felt powerless in that moment. Tears prickled in her eyes.

She forced the tears down, and tried to summon her anger once more. She succeeded only in part, enough to feel a little defiant. Pulling her fist out of his hand, she turned around.

“Show me to a mirror,” she commanded. “I should at least know how I look now.” She wouldn’t look that different now, would she? Even if there was no magical way back, there were options she could explore back in her own world.

“Brother Renard please show our priestess to a mirror.” Qiin walked past them without turning around. “I’ll have to look after our other guests. Come find us when she’s ready.”

She ground her teeth. If these people were supposed to be the good guys, then maybe letting the dark lady win was the better option.

“Follow me, priestess.” Renard walked past her and back into the temple.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself somewhat, then she followed after him. “Can you get me some shoes now? And maybe different clothes?” She pulled at her robe. Where it had been too tight before, it was now slightly loose. “And maybe some underwear?”

“We’ll provide appropriate clothes for you.”

She would’ve said ‘thank you’ normally, but that was the least they could do after changing her into the opposite gender.

She followed the monk silently through the corridors of the temple. It was surprising how clean the stones were. There was almost no dirt at the soles of her feet.

A carpet would’ve been nice, though.

When her feet started to feel cold and were hurting at the same time, Renard finally stopped. He opened a door for her and motioned her to go inside.

A sideboard and a few closets greeted her. Then there was the large mirror that stood off to the side. Its surface wasn’t as plane or clear as the mirrors she knew from her world, but it was enough to get a glimpse of how she looked.

Oh boy. This is worse than I thought. My old identity is gone. I can’t even prove that I am me anymore.

The face that stared back at her was … cute. Young. It had lost its edges and there was no shadow of a beard. Her hair was silvery-white and had definitely grown a few inches.

In midst all of that were her eyes. Eyes the color of an amethyst.

Great. I look like I am from another world. For my world, that is.

From what she had seen, she even looked unusual for this world. Though with Qiin and Renard as the only samples she had seen, there was at least a chance for her to fit in here.

But I don’t want to fit in here. I want to fit in back home. In my old life. My old job!

“There are clothes in the closets, as well as shoes. You can use this room to change.” Renards words interrupted her train of thought. When she turned around, he was already closing the door behind himself.

Well, at least I can figure things out in private.

She opened the sash of her robes, stared at herself a few moments and quickly closed them again.

Okay. That will take some time to get used to.