Dane Collier gleamed with satisfaction. The box sitting on his bed was, in a word, badass. Emblazoned in crimson hues against a field of unending black were the words “ZinVideo Helldriver HD5080X”. It was the latest ZinVideo graphics card in the 5000 series. And this one, the Helldriver HD5080X, was limited edition. Dane hadn't even known it existed until he stumbled upon it. Someone in a subreddit had embedded a link to another post, hyping it up. Reading the review of it, he'd decided he needed one for himself.

The thought made Dane cringe. He hated thinking of himself as an NPC, a follower. He was a capital 'G' Gamer. A Core Gamer, thank you. He didn't do woke. And he wasn't just...following a trend. He couldn't be, after all. To even get one, you had to pass a “Hell Trial” in Champion of Defense – the premier FPS on the market. That was why he decided – independently – that the Helldriver HD5080X was right for him.

The Trial itself wasn't so bad. He'd been able to use his regular Champion of Defense loadout. There weren't any weird modifiers to the map. The only thing that threw him was the format: a real, honest to goodness Battle Royale. No teams. Every man for himself in a mad dash against 99 others. Luckily for him, Dane was prepared. He knew every choke point, ambush spot, every bit of cover. His KDR had been off the charts. He was sure of himself.

Which was strange. Dane hadn't always been CoD's biggest fan, but this season felt...different. Maybe it was his playgroup. His roommate, Chuck, was a cool and competent leader. That made sense, given Chuck was a firefighter. He wasn't the most skilled at the game, but his tactical mind was second to none. There were also their two online friends – BallzBoy420 and Sophist69 – to round out the squad. They'd spend hours hunkered down together, all working toward the same end goal. The experience, it turned out, transferred to 1v1s like this. Dane didn't even have to think, making quick work of most of the newbies vying for the graphics card. And he'd won!

Even now, Dane savored rewatching the post-round playback. The final moments had been tense. He'd sprinted forward, going into a slide as his rifle spat out a hail of lead. But his opponent – Cyphus – was smart. The other player – who'd been dropping down from a high ledge to melee Dane – engaged their shield. For a moment, Dane's heart sank. It had seemed doomed. Unless Dane landed three critical hits, the shield would hold. Dane would get melee'd.

And it'd be over.

It was down to pure random number generation. So like so many gamers of generations past, he prayed and sprayed.

As the kill recap slowed down time, Dane saw the bullets whizzing past Cyphus' model. The other player had a chosen the Wraith skin (badass) with the “flames” cosmetic (also badass). As they drew closer, Dane saw one bullet connect. Crit. Cyphus' shield flashed. Another bullet slammed into the player as they brought their sword downwards. Dane was no more than a few feet away from certain death.

He could make out the detail of the “patch” cosmetic on Cyphus' model. This had become his favorite part, whenever he relived this moment. Seeing the “pride flag” plate carrier patch cosmetic come into view. Then seeing his bullet hit right where that cosmetic sat. And crit. Seeing flash and knowing that it was that hit that had broken the shield was...it was a cruel thrill.

Dane hated that he'd been “canceled” before when he'd said some totally valid and not at all shitty things. It just made him...uncomfortable, if he was honest. The whole trans thing. I mean, he was a man. And there was no changing that fact. Why did everyone else have to complain about it? The third critical hit landed as Cyphus' blade was mere inches from Dane's face. Cyphus ragdolled, defeated. The sword scattered uselessly to the side. And Dane had won his prize!

Even now, he could hardly believe it. Only 1,000 of them in the world and he'd gotten one. Not wanting to wait any longer, he broke the plastic seal on the box and popped it open. He pulled the contents free of the slip cover and marveled. Before him sat a device that – even unplugged – was glorious. Veins of muted red spidered along every surface. Even without being plugged in, he could envision the way the red would burn to life in his mind. Burn.

Dane lifted the card out of the box. It was perfect. Then his eyes landed on something else that made him almost drop it. Seated below the card was...it was...

It had to be a marketing gimmick. A joke. That was the only rationalization Dane could think of as he saw the...”Hellshard” that they'd shipped with his card. Each one was unique, paired with the graphics card itself. His had a round base affixed with a red jewel. It tapered inward to a small stem, then flared out in dramatic fashion, before coming to a gentle, rounded point.

Dane gingerly set down the card before picking back up the slipcover for the box. He turned it over, eyes scanning.

Package Contents

• 1x Helldriver 5080X
• 1x Helldriver Hellshard peripheral

He looked at the peripheral again. Maybe it was just his overheated mind, but...it looked like a buttplug. It matched the same color scheme and patterning of the Helldriver, too. And as he looked closer, the pattern almost...spelled his name. Like it was emblazoned on it. The thought sent a shiver through him before he scoffed. His fingers grazed the surface of the shard. In that moment, he was acutely aware of how fast his heart was beating. Unnerved, he pulled his hand away. He had a graphics card to install, after all.

A few minutes later, his desktop lay on the ground. Dane unfastened the final thumbscrew for the side panel, set it aside, and applied pressure to the panel. With a wonderful pop, it came free in his hand. He set it aside, then looked at his rig. All the components were sleek white and dark black. For a moment, he worried that the Helldriver wouldn't fit the rest of the color scheme. It wasn't white and black. But he wasn't gonna let that stop him.

The Helldriver clicked into the PCIe slot with just the slightest bit of pressure from Dane. He grinned at it. He'd been building PCs for years, ever since he was a kid, and still was thankful for how much easier it was now. You didn't have to force anything into place the way you'd had to even a few years ago. Now it all just...fit.

Eager, Dane finished the hardware install, closed up the case, and sat down at his computer. He pressed the power button. For a moment, his computer did nothing. Worry threaded through him. The desktop sat next to him. Impassive. He glanced over, through the clear panel of the case and inside. No warning lights. Confused, he went to push the button again when everything thrummed to life. The fans whirred. RGB patterns in gold and cool blues lit up within. And the Helldriver pulsed to life. If Dane hadn't known better, he'd have sworn the card had wanted him to look.

And for a moment, he was acutely, painfully aware of the “Hellshard” on the bed. Then his computer let out a small chime as the operating system finished loading. Dane pushed the peripheral from his mind, along with the thought of what it wanted for him to do with it.

“Okay, let's put you through your paces,” Dane muttered. He brought up the benchmarking software that he'd downloaded. It's not that he didn't believe the next-gen hype. Quite the opposite: he wanted to brag about how superior his machine was going to be to every other person on the planet.

The benchmarking software presented him with a prompt:

New Hardware Detected – Helldriver HD5080X

Run Official Helldriver Benchmark?

Dane clicked “Yes”, and the screen flashed red for a moment. Emblazoned against the vibrant red were...words? He couldn't quite remembered them, but the afterimage stayed as the rest of the benchmark scene began to play. And Dane recognized it instantly.

It was Champion of Defense. Not just that, it was the final moment of Dane's Hell Trial. Except the graphical fidelity was...incredible. Even on current generation hardware, the game never looked so real. It was so real in fact that Dane thought he felt it. The weight of the rifle in his hands, the sweat running down his back, his lungs stinging from exertion. It all felt so...real...

He turned the corner, ducked into the warehouse. Somehow he knew. Cyphus. He swiveled his gaze upward, prepared to fire as his opponent dove down toward him, but Cyphus wasn't there. Confused, Dane spun around, taking in the empty warehouse. Light streamed through the windows, cascading off the damp interior. Then a noise came from the room to Dane's left. At first he hoisted his rifle. Gripped it tight as he flattened himself against the wall outside the room.

Then he heard a woman groan. This was a warzone, a place for men. Men like him. And yet, here was this...female. And she pleasuring herself. It seemed indecent. Wrong. And the thrill of it was painfully arousing. Dane's cock throbbed. His mind began to cloud with lust as he found himself, for the second time today, reaching out to something, unbidden. His fingers grasped the handle to the room and twisted it. Applying a light pressure, he cracked the door open.

Peeling white paint against gray walls, lit by warm incandescent light, were all that Dane saw. But the sounds were coming through so much clearer now. Moans, low and lewd, filled the space as Dane pushed the door open further. Dimly, he was aware that this was just a demonstration. Not actual gameplay. That he was at his desk, back in his room. And yet, as he pushed open the door, he could not help but feel so, so entranced. The moans felt like they were pulsing into his mind, shaking the concrete foundations of what he understood as himself. Leaving little, tiny cracks in the the firmament of who Dane knew he wanted to be: Gamer, Bro, Male.

If the moans were the first rumbles of something, the sight Dane beheld sundered something within him.

There was Cyphus. Plate carrier discarded, pants around her knees, pinching a nipple as she rode a dildo. Dane's eyes were drawn to the movement between Cyphus' legs. She rocked her hips down, grinding down on the dildo. As she shuddered and gasped, orgasm overtaking her, her legs splayed open. That's when Dane saw it: Cyphus' cock.

Some far away part of Dane's mind rebelled. Wanted to exit the benchmark, to be disgusted at such a...such a...

Such a pretty girlcock. And below it, below that pretty girlcock, something pulsed with vivid, malevolent red light. A Hellshard, teasing Cyphus' ass. It pulsed again and Dane could feel that light glint off something behind his pupils. The afterimage of those words. He couldn't quite make them out. One of them almost seemed to be his name, but...the last letter – the E – was malformed. Like it hadn't burnt all the way it. Almost looked like an I. Like it was saying...

“Dani.” He could feel the hot breath on his neck, the source of the whisper just behind him. He didn't dare turn. “There you are, pet,” the whisper said again. The voice was husky and feminine and Dane had never been more aroused. “We're gonna have so much fun, Dani.” He felt a pair of hands slid around his waist. One trailed upwards and the other drifted down, fingertips hot and warm. “You're gonna be so, so good for me, Dani. The same way that Cy's been so good.” Dani- Dane - knew he should look away. He wasn't into girlcock and being a girl and being a giggly, slutty mess creaming herself on a dildo and goddddd sh- he was horny. So, so horny as Cyphus continued to fuck herself in front of him. Sh- he didn't want this. His mind screamed to stop even as his limbs as they stepped closer to Cyphus. Closer to her – HIS – real prize. Then his mind pleaded as hisherhis body dropped to its knees. Pleaded for it to stop. Pleaded for it to continue. Pleaded even as her hand slid up Cyphus' thigh, fingertips just grazing the soft warmth of it.

And then the benchmark was done. He was back at home. Cyphus was gone. But Dane was too aware of how hard he was. He let out a manly throat clear that didn't at all sound like a needy whimper before he turned his attention back to the results screen. Numbers couldn't be sexy. They were boring. Just 1's and 0's and 6's and 9's and oh my GOD he really had to lock in. Which he did as he saw the first number. “FPS +20”. Dane marveled at that. And as he took in the list, he saw that every statistic had wonderful, green numbers next to it.

FPS: +20.
Latency: -5ms.
Concurrent onscreen objects: +2.9k.

It calmed him and he continued to scroll. Then his eyes settled on two statistics that hadn't been there before:

Driver Compliance: +63.2%
Total Compliance: 6.31/100

Confused, Dane moused over the info icon next to the stats. “Compliance with Helldriver brand products...” Dane muttered as he read the tooltip aloud. “...and peri...pher...als.” He could feel the Hellshard from over his shoulder, where it lay on the bed. Unbidden, an image of Cyphus riding a similar one flashed through his mind.

Dane decided he needed a shower. Now. He pushed back from his chair and sprinted. He didn't stop until he was in the bathroom, pulling off his clothes.

The chill helped clear his mind as he lingered longer than he'd normally, letting the cold bite into his skin. It hadn't been as he'd planned. After the first few minutes, Dane felt the arousal slacken. His head had stopped swimming. He turned off the faucet and stepped out. Much to his chagrin, that the warm flush of arousal hit him all over again. He felt his cock stir, felt blood rushing to it. Irritated, Dane started the faucet again and let the water slide over him. After twenty minutes, he relaxed. It felt good. The cold helped clear his mind enough that he could process things clinically. Something strange had happened. Something he couldn't quite explain, but that twisted in his gut. It was like there was a joke he wasn't quite in on.

It was the worst feeling. And if he were honest, it was why he'd been so...judgmental. Because a piece of him felt cold until today. Until it was given warmth and voice and a name. And laced underneath the fear of it was an inviolable acknowledgment. He closed his eyes. That simple choice is what Dani would later muse is what damned her.

Because as Dane closed his eyes, he became acutely aware of the afterimage. It hadn't gone away, but with his eyes closed he could see it. See the words clearer now. Floating just the left of the misspelling of his name was a word. At first, it seemed like disjointed characters. Strange and foreign glyphs he couldn't decipher. Then they began to make sense. That one was S. Then L. Then U. Then...T...

“Slut,” he whispered. It echoed against the tile of the shower, reverberating within him – shaking at those foundations again. And now somehow the heat was building in him again. Even the cold couldn't stop how hard he was. In fact, he felt...steam. It fogged up the glass of the shower. His hand shot to the faucet and yanked it towards cold. But it wouldn't budge. Dane glanced down. He'd not slipped and pushed it towards hot. He was getting hot. Burning up thinking about the word. The word he shouldn't say.

“You can say it, baby,” whispered that damn voice. He almost recognized it. It felt familiar. “Say it and you'll feel sooo good.” Fingernails scratched down his back, just a light tease, but he could feel it in his spine. His muscles slackened. Anxious mind slowed. He breathed in the steam, let it suffuse him. It wouldn't be so wrong, would it? Maybe he'd like it. It could be okay. Okay to be a-

“Slut,” he groaned. His body shivered and those phantom nails traced lower. Then he felt fingertips wandering over his ass, just so lightly spreading him open. One rubbed up and down the cleft of his ass before moving lower. He groaned again, then. He'd tried ass-play once. On a dare. It hadn't felt good, but now? God. Even just the lightest little presses were making his knees weak. “I'm so happy for you, babe,” the voice said. And as Dane's eyes closed again, he saw another one of the words in the afterimage. It made sense. It was the name of his Mistress.

“Mistre-” was all he managed before he came. Hard. Shuddering and gasping and moaning. Then the heat was fading. Not just the steam of the shower, but inside, too. Inside that deep place he'd never let be warm before. Her place. The blissful grin he'd worn fell to a grim countenance.

As he toweled off, Dane caught his reflection in the mirror. He'd never been really built, but he'd had a wide chest and a fair amount of body hair. Except looking now, his body looked...slimmer. Softer, even. And his body hair had retreated. He was relieved at that. He'd always hated grooming it. It took so much time and felt so wrong. Idly, he brought a hand to stroke down the flesh between his pecs. It was bare. Clean and smooth. It felt sensitive. All of him felt sensitive.

But this was wrong. It didn't matter that it felt good. He wasn't happy for her, deep down in the corner of his essence, somehow surviving with no nourishment for all these long years. No. It was wrong to be this way. He pulled on his clothes and marched back to his computer. He held up a hand to shield his face from the Hellshard on the bed as he passed. Nope. Not entertaining that thought.

Dane slid into the chair, then shook the mouse. As his screen woke again, he realized he'd left it on the benchmarking app. A new dialog prompt caught his attention: “Statistics updated. Refresh?” Confused, Dane clicked “yes”.

The statistics box refreshed. Dane regarded the first three statistics again:

FPS: +20.
Latency: -5ms.
Concurrent onscreen objects: +2.9k.

No changes. And yet that's not what he cared about. What he cared about was at the bottom of the list. He could see the word. Had to stop himself from mouthing “Compliance” even as it struck a chord within him. He wasn't prepared for the full truth of it.

Driver Compliance: +278.8%
Total Compliance: 17.6/100
Feminization Profile (Dani): 8/100

His fingers slammed down on the Alt and F4 buttons, closing the benchmarking app. Fury rushed through him. This was a prank. It had to be. There was no way it knew. No way it could know what he'd done in the privacy of his home. How gratifying it'd been to let Da- her – out for even a moment. Why would they put it in writing? In places where people could see? Why wasn't it enough just to know it? Why did he have to be her, even when it hurt like this? Even when people would disapprove?

And why couldn't he just give in?

A notification from Champion of Defense drew his attention. It was a party invite. It made no sense. The only people he played with were his friends, but they weren't on. And he was sure he'd made sure to not get party invites from anyone other than friends.

He clicked the notification and his blood froze.

Your Friend Cyphus has invited you to a party.

What the fuck. It shouldn't have been possible. He blinked and looked at the invite again.

Your Friend Cyphus has invited you to a party.

Dane's mind reeled for a moment before he landed an a question. A question that gave him a furious clarity: “How did you find me?” The anger felt good, the rage burbling inside him. It made Dane feel so much like a man. Rageful and furious and righteous and cruel and a brute. He slipped on his headphone, the blood ringing in his ears. He was going to tear Cyphus apart. He accepted the invite, then clicked the button to enable voice comms. His rage would save him. It would-

“uuunnghhh Hey sweetie~” moaned Cyphus. Dane felt his heartbeat quicken. He set his teeth. He wouldn't give in. “What...did you do to me?” His voice was low, growling. Cyphus giggled. “Ummmm...you mean, like...lose to you?” Dane blinked, confused. “N-no, not that,” he stammered. “I meant--”

“--cuz I almost came when you did~” Cyphus punctuated the words with an airy sigh. And fuck. Dane hated that he wanted Cyphus to keep doing that. How good it felt as the words melted in Dane's ears. How they'd become liquid, slipping into the cracks of his mind's foundation. Red and burning, seeping into the deepest parts of him. Nourishing her. Scouring away things away that _DaniDane didn't need. “Wh-what...I'm so confused...” _DaniDane heard _herhimself say. It was so far away and it felt...breathier than normal. It should've been alarming. It should've prompted an exit from the party. It shouldn't have been so fucking hot.

“Sooooo~” Cyphus' voice lilted again. “Do you wanna play with me?”

“Yessssssssssssss,” _DaniDane said. Then _shehe realized what _shehe said.

“Yay! Then load up and join me.” I could still stop. I should stop. I need to stop. _DaniDane clicked the “Launch” button instead. The splash screen for Champion of Defense appeared. And then it crashed, disconnecting the voice call. An error reporting utility appeared in its place: “Error Code SCB0001. Report?” _DaniDane exited the reporting utility and tried launching the game again. Wait, why? _SheHe didn't even want to play with that trann-

“Error Code SCB0001. Report?” The game crashed again. _DaniDane closed the reporting utility again and was about to relaunch again before _shehe stopped. Instead, _shehe pulled up N – the microblogging platform for Gamers like himself. It'd been so much better ever since Templeton Hall had taken it over. So much easier to use. Who needed to see where embedded content was sending you? Who needed content moderation? Everyone just needed to chill out.

It only took a minute of scrolling and some clever search terms to find a thread about Error Code SCB0001.

LucSaccggz (@LucSaccggz)
2:21 PM
CoD isn't launching. Get error code SCB001. Anyone else seeing this??

SupremeCheesePizza (@CalvinJ20321)

2:21 PM

getting it too. seems like an issue with the HD5080X specifically

Bend0 (@bend0)
4:06 PM
got mine working. It turns out you need to use the whole thing

LucSaccggz (@LucSaccggz)
4:07 PM
Gross. Refunding and uninstalling.

Bend0 (@bend0)
4:08 PM
you should try it, tbh. Dm me, i'll play with you.

LucSaccggz (@LucSaccggz)
4:08 PM
Pfft. Yah, right.

Bend0 (@bend0)
4:08 PM
just a little bit of spit

LucSaccggz (@LucSaccggz)
4:09 PM
wtf freak

And then the thread ended. Confused and frustrated, _DaniDane went to click off the thread when another message appeared in the thread, in reply to LucSaccggz's last message.

LucSaccggz (@LucSaccggz)
5:58 PM
lmao omg it's amazing ur so right mmmmm spit was so smart lol am so dumbb

Beneath the words were two media attachments. The first one showed a victory splash screen. LuccSaccggz had won with an insane KDR. The second attachment, though, was different. It was a video. The preview seemed to be just and black screen with a hint of glowing red. Curious, _DaniDane clicked play.

It was incrediblea mistake.

The video brightened from the dark opening frames as the person filming on their phone pulled back. At first, _DaniDane wasn't sure _shehe was seeing this correctly. Templeton Hall had gotten rid of porn on the platform, after all. But in the video, thighs the color of burnt honey gave way to a clear view of a Hellshard, slipped into the willing, waiting cunt of @LucSaccggz. This one looked different than _DaniDane's...and _shehe wasn't sure why _shehe was so crestfallen. Why it looked so fun to have a pussy. Why _shehe wanted that. “I know you're watching. I want yo-ooooohhhhh you to know that I'm hmmmm so happy and perverted~ And that all you need to be like me is juuuust-OOHHH – ju~st~ a little spit~” The phone tumbled to the floor as a guttural moan wrenched through @LucSaccggz. Then the video looped over.

_DaniDane stared in disbelief. It was so wrong. The violation of it. And yet all _DaniDane could feel was how good it felt now that herhis hands were on herhis _girlcock. When did that happen? Probably after she'dhe'd shedded herhis pants and underwear. But the heady mix of teasing from Cyphus and now this was too much. DaniDane's hand pumped relentlessly, but it wasn't enough. Somehow, DaniDane knew. Knew that if shehe gave in now, that'd be it. Hellfire would consume what was left of the proud Gamer and leave something else in its place. Something wicked and slutty and, so, so feminine.

The word made DaneDani shudder as heshe accepted it. Yessss. Feminine. Girly. Dumb. Blissfully, stupidly dumb. Just like all the girls heshe had lusted over. Except it hadn't been lust. No, even as DaneDani panted and groaned with the lust now overtaking himher, it was clearer now than it had ever been. The anger, the rage, the “manliness”? All a facade. All to conceal the, like...jealousy. Because that's all it was! Jealousy. What a dummy.

Dani felt a voice whispering into her mind. “Cum those silly boy thoughts away, pet”. She wanted to, even as that traitor within her strained and squirmed to reassert control. Dani felt her body flush with a profound arousal. She was so, so warm. Not just within herself, but there was also a radiant heat off to her right. Where her computer sat.

Even though Dani's eyes were closed, she felt like she could see the red glare of the Helldriver off to the side. It was just like the video. Darkness and that burning red glow. And that heat. It was like being next to a warm fire on a cold night. It felt so...right. And the more she focused on it, she hated that her whole body didn't feel that heat. She turned to face it, and the heat turned into liquid, hot arousal. Dani's hips jerked forward. Shaking. A ragged moan escaped her lips, even as she felt them plump. “Thaaat's it, baby girl. Let it change you,” the voice whispered. God, that voice. Sexy and feminine and dripping with all the things Dani needed. She remembered Cyphus, how her words had become that red liquid, pouring into Dani's brain. Had Cyphus been through this as well? Dani hoped so. It felt so good to just squirm and moan and edge herself. To slip deep into the trace of it. Maybe if she slipped deeper, she thought, she could even make it permanent. It appealed to her. She needed more. Her eyes opened and she trained her gaze on the Helldriver. What she saw was more beautiful than she could've imagined.

Waves of energy cascaded off the graphics card. Malevolent pulses of red that pulsed into her. Every time she did she felt her arousal peaking higher. And higher. But she couldn't cum. Not yet. She was missing something. And all she needed was ju~st a little spit~.

The knock on the door a few minutes later brought 'Dane' back to reality. “Dane, bro. You good?” It was 'his' roommate, Chuck. The door twisted open as 'Dane' minimized N. 'His' head spun. Had 'he' just...wanted...? Then the haze cleared. Of course she had. Of course she did.

Chuck stepped into the room cautiously. He saw Dane at his computer, staring at the screen. His gaze fell to Dane's bed. To the empty package for what seemed like a graphics card. Right. The win. He'd heard all about his friend's exploits. Reveled in them side by side as comrades. Chuck didn't share his enthusiasm for contempt against transgender women, though. And suddenly he was aware of something. Heat. Infernal heat.

“Y'know, it's not polite to walk into someone's room like this. You dunno what you'll find~” The tone was teasing, breathy, feminine and yet...still the mortal that Chuck had grown to care for. Chuck sighed, a solemn remorse gripping at him for what he might have to do. He didn't have to raise his head to know what awaited him, yet he did it anyway. Standing at the computer was his friend. Or, the twisted, feminine twin of his friend. She cocked her head as she narrowed her eyes.

“Why do you look so...different to me?” She queried. “Are you...like me?” There was a hopeful note edged in her voice that set off an visceral disgust in Chuck.

He hated this part. Had known when he'd accepted his role that it could come to this. And yet, he knew he owed his friend nothing short of the truth. It may be the only way to save the soul of Dane Collier. So Chuck straightened his spine and stared at Dane. “Dane, you've gotta listen to me. I'm an Angel.” Dani felt her hackles raise. It must've shown, too, because Chuck stopped inching toward her. “My real name is Valerien,” he continued. “I've been in disguise, living with you, because we'd discovered a latent spark in you. We couldn't quite understand what, but we knew you must be monitored.” Dani hated this man. Hated him in all his sincerity. And so she decided to play a game. It came to her so naturally. Her eyes watered. Her lip quivered. She was just a confused damsel, after all.

Valerien drew closer. He was getting through to her. Him. To Dane. He just needed to keep talking. “A being named Aeselis – a succubus who corrupts men into her willing slaves – discovered a list of those with sparks like yours. She wants to bring about the apocalypse by corrupting as many as possible, turning them into succubi like her.”

Dani could see it. Envision herself with leathery wings and a tail. But Dane didn't want that and for a moment, she let Dane take control. He gasped. “Chuck? I-I...I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so, so horny.” He fell to his knees as Valerien rushed to him. Valerien's arms wrapped around Dane, holding him close. “Don't worry, we can fix this,” Valerien said in a hushed voice.

Then a malevolent grin spread across Dani's face. Angels. So predictable. “Gotcha, Val.”

Valerien's eyes went wide. He tried to bamf out his wings, but it was no use. He felt the corrupting power of the Helldriver dampening his own. Strange thoughts slid into his mind. But they were crude attempts at corruption. He'd fought and defeated other succubi, gone through so much worse than this. He knew exactly where to steel his resolve: friendship. He'd developed one with this mortal. Saving him would require sucking her girlcock. Wait. No, saving her would require him getting pegged by her. No. That wasn't-

“Bet you're a little confused, huh, babe?” Dani teased, letting out a throaty chuckle. “'How could they corrupt her this quick?' 'Why are my many, many defenses against this not working?' 'How can I so desperately want it, too?'” Valerien could feel Dani's body transforming. Could feel the press of Dani's breasts as they swelled against his.

Against...his?

Valerien pushed back, scrambling away. His chest felt so sensitive. Even against Melia The Transformatrix, High Queen of Forced Feminization, he'd never experienced anything like this. Changing a body – even in small ways - was something that took time, it took indoctrination. It took the compliance of a soul to do it. His mind spun. Something had to be wrong. He'd made sure to sweep for charms, hexes, and curses. There were none, not on anything in their apartment. And yet somehow, Valerien felt the weight on his chest from where his AA cup tits now sat.

“Putting it together yet, babe?” Dani stood as her skin flushed. “My Mistress is so, so smart,” she sighed. “Well, our Mistress, technically. You signed it, too,” she added with a shrug.

“I signed no infernal deal!” Valerien spat.

“Really? Hey, how'd you enjoy the new update of CoD?” Dani grinned. Valerien's heart sank. He had been so stupid to not see it. The other Angels had thought it was impossible. Mortal technology couldn't be corrupted for this purpose. It wasn't sophisticated enough. They weren't sophisticated enough to generate magical energy like this. Valerien had worried about it, but had bought those assurances. And it would be his doom.

With a sickening, lewd, delicious pop, Valerien watched the Hellshard slide from Dani's ass. His eyes were drawn to it. It was still slick. He bet it was still warm. Dani sauntered over and placed the Hellshard just out of his reach.

His mind spiraled. Breaking free of an infernal contract was difficult, but even the smartest, most fiendish monsters left loopholes. Legalla, Mistress of Letters had once explained to him – after he'd broken the contract to be her love slave – that the loophole was the point.

“It was hot to see the struggle. If there was no hope, you'd just give up. You'd just...let it happen,” she'd said, her burning orange irises dimming. When she'd said it, Valerien had found himself revolted. Now he clung to it as comfort. He could fight this. They wanted him to fight this.

But he had to be smart. He had to make his Mi- his captor think that he was complying. He had to reach out to it. Had to slip off his clothes and slip it inside. Had to cum away any thoughts that he was anything other than a dumb, giggly succubus. He'd been jealous. Yes. That was it. The reason he'd fought so hard against them was jealousy. It was a new feeling for him. He'd never felt...so...jealous...

Except that felt...wrong. He knew there were other, dark feelings within him. He'd given name to them before. Wrestled with them. But this? The more he studied it, the more it became clear: the jealousy was an outside force – invading, imposing its will.

In that moment, Valerien knew he'd won the fight. Jealousy. It was how this worked. Corruption like this latched into emotions and amplified them, twisted them into their wielder's image. He'd not felt jealous in his whole life. His name was Valerien The Benevolent for a reason.

Summoning his resolve and focusing his mind, he focused on that feeling of jealousy, accepting that it was external to him. He could feel it radiating from the Hellshard's tip. From the Helldriver. His benevolence would save Dane from the corruption. Maybe, in time, Valerien could even find a way to save himself. But this mortal didn't deserve to suffer like this.

Valerien took the Hellshard, disliking that it was still warm. Hating the warm flush it inspired in him. To change someone, inexorably, was difficult work. Using emotions to pry apart the soul and reconfigure it was the most direct path. It also meant that, once detected, sealing the power of it was easier. And to seal it, one must encase it in its opposite. It was a gamble. He stared at it for a moment, heart pounding. This was a dumb idea. A bad idea.

Then he felt Dani's – no, Dane's – hand wrap around his wrist and gently pull it down. “Don't worry, baby~ I slicked it up all nice for you,” she crooned, her words throaty and dulcet. Valerien knew now why they'd been worried. Even without being fully corrupted, the spark of this being was good at this. It came naturally. If Valerien weren't so benevolent, if it had been any of his kin, then they'd have fallen without so much as a ghost of a chance. Yes, thank The Deity it was him.

The tip of the Hellshard grazed Valerien's asshole. He tried to focus on how much his body was betraying him. How his nipples were sensitive and taut against the fabric of his sweat-soaked shirt. He knew he must have looked pathetic, nowhere near the holy avenger of legend. It felt good. And he hated how good it felt.

His mind blanked for a moment as the Hellshard slipped within him. His hips bucked. His cock strained. “Mmmmm. That's it, Val. Let it fuck away your thoughts.” Dani's voice was a balm. It helped her. The moment before this was so fuzzy, but hearing her name helped.

It took Val...erien a moment to think of her own name. Like there was a pause. She could hear the first part so well. Mistress Dani had said it just a moment ago. But it took a moment for the rest to drift back. Val...erien. Like there was a separation where she couldn't quite piece together her own name. Even her gender felt...strange. Had she always used she? Had she always let pretty demons play with her like this? No. She'd been...doing something. Something, like...really important. So important. There were memories lingering beyond the white hot haze burning in her mind. Memories of a man. A man she was. Yes. That's right. Val...erien was a man. Is a man. An Angel of stalwart conviction. Of benevolence and self-sacrifice. Which is why he'd gone along with this plan.

Valerien shuddered. He'd known the onslaught of this artifact would be overwhelming. He'd not accounted for Dani. It was a mistake, given the powers she'd displayed. He'd made so many. He couldn't afford to make any more.

In a fluid movement, he pushed Dani off him and sprinted for the desktop. As he drew closer, the thrum of the Hellshard grew stronger. It teased and burrowed, rubbing deliciously against his prostate. As it did, he felt the weight of his body shifting. Pure muscle disintegrating, changing, shifting to his hips and his tits. He felt the strange fuzz burning at him again, trying to switch her- his pronouns. His self image. He could not spare another moment. The end had to come. Now.

He reeled back, muttering the few words it would take. His fingers – less calloused, softer, slender now – spread wide. Angelic power coursed through them.

“NO!!!” Dani screamed. Poor girl. She'll be alright. It was Val...erien's last thought before everything went silent.

The soul of an Angel is a strange thing. Poets would say it was a glimmering, scintillating orb. Scholars on magic spoke of how the magic which constructed them was durable. Yet the soul of this Angel took the form of endless, golden hallways. Unblemished. Until a ripple of black split a seam open in reality. Through it strode a woman with burning purple irises. She was a smoldering visage of decadent vice. Dark jeans, ripped and burned, rode low on her wide hips. The gold chains of her body harness – worn over her royal purple bralette – that clinked as she moved. The understated makeup as “natural” as could be for a supernal force of lust.

She rounded a corner, finding herself in a room with a vaulted ceiling. The room itself was septagonal, with ante chambers jutting off in each of seven directions. She rolled her eyes. Angels. Always with the numbers. Still, she couldn't help but appreciate the grandeur of the room. The antechambers filled with books and furniture, all well-appointed and meticulously maintained. Its walls were lined with mantles that complimented the soaring stained-glass tableaus. Each showed an Angel, sword raised, fighting a demon. Fighting one of her kind. It should've filled her with rage. She felt instead almost...serene. She knew she would win, in the end. And the colors that shone through them was far more pleasing than the pure, blinding white light of the other rooms.

And she couldn't mind it because of the way it painted her prey – that same Angel from the tableaus – in such a delicious light. Around him thrummed a field of protective runes. Quite impassible, even to her. At least, for now. “The Angel Valerien...” her words dripped with contempt. “My my. What a state you're in.”

Valerien had retreated to this place after the blast. That he was conscious in here meant his soul was intact. The intruder was a concern, but one he'd anticipated. “And you are...Aeselis.” The woman only smirked. Valerien continued. “I should let you know...you won't have the soul of the mortal named Dane Collier. I will thwart your treachery. Even this display of yours is, what...meant to frighten me? Rattle me? It won't-”

“-Work. 'I'm one step ahead' and blah blah blah. You really do like to drone on,” the woman interjected, rolling her eyes. She wandered over to a small chair and sat in it, crossing her legs. Then she frowned, pausing. “Is this chair comfortable for you? I dunno. I just can't get comfortable.” Then she let out a large breath and slid back. “Well, you really fucked this up for me. I'll hand you that one, big guy. Which sucks because I think you just made it harder for the both of us.” Valerien furrowed his brow. What was this? Misdirection? A-

“Bluff? No. Nothing like that,” the woman said. “Okay, fine. Maybe a bit of a bluff. See, like it or not? I need you. And you need me.” Valerien scoffed, but she continued before her could interject. “I'm not ahead of you or your plans. I am them. And your desires. And your wants. I...am you.”

He didn't want to believe it, but the more he stared, the more he saw his own cheekbones. And that posture of his, the way he leaned to the right – just slightly - after Threonax, The Spider Princess shattered his left knee. The woman glanced at down at her own left knee. “Never did heal all the way, but...” she shrugged. “What're you gonna do? Make lemons and all that.” She sighed and stood, wandering over to skim the tomes in one of the alcoves.

None of this made sense. Only he was Val...erien. The true Val...erien. He was...he...was... “Why does my name sound strange, even in my own mind?” He asked. “It's because you only have half of it.” She put down the tome she'd picked up, stepping closer to him. "Half of yourself. It feels wrong to call you that, even to yourself, because you're just...Val now. And that makes me...”

“Erien,” Val growled.

“Your very own devil on your shoulder!” Erien said, not bothering to stop the glee in her voice. “So, do you need me to spell it out for you, or do you, like...get it yet?”

Val knew all too well what it'd meant. He didn't want to admit it. “Awwww, buddy. Hug?” Erien spread her arms wide, giving Val an up close view of her ample cleavage. Val's gaze lingered for just a moment before he fixed his gaze onto one of the stained-glassed windows. “How does this...work?” Val asked.

“Well. I have access to all your memories and you have access to all of mine. Admittedly, I didn't exist before, like...an hour ago. And I don't quiiiiite know everything, but I do know that my sole purpose is to torment and corrupt you into accepting me as our body's true self.” Val let out a peevish chuckle before countering. “And I know you don't have the control over me to do that. I'd have to cede it to you. Which I won't. And soon enough, my Angelic comrades will-”

“Kill you. Well, us.” Erien glared, her expression icy. Some of the defiance went out of Val.

“Because I- we're tainted.” Val nodded.

“Yup.” Erien drew the word out slow, letting the 'p' pop.

“Mortals,” Val grimaced.

“Fuckin' mortals,” Erien concurred. “But like, literally maybe we can fuck a fe-”

“No.” Val shot back. Erien stuck out her tongue. Val's nerves were shot. His mind couldn't focus. And when he wanted to calm himself, he planned. “Right. So. Our-” Erien held up a finger. “Your-” Val shot Erien a withering gaze. “What happened to 'us' and 'we'?” Erien raised her arms, palms out. “Well technically I didn't exist, so...”

Val relented and continued. “My actions have had destructive consequences that will inevitably cause your demise, but could also cause mine in the process. How do we remedy that without Angelic- oh.” Val frowned.

“See, big bro? Why I'm gonna win?” Erien smirked. She circled around behind Val, pressing herself up against the runes. Val whirled to face her, then noticed the way the force of the runes pressed back against Erien. He looked away. Erien's voice dropped low. “Because you're going to need to go to her...and we both know how much you don't wanna admit you liked it last time.” She smirked. And Val felt the urge for that same smirk tease at the corner of his lips.