"Do you realize what the hell is happening now?! And do you understand what I meant when I said you’re no longer yourself?!"
Michael leaned his back against the wall of the suite they were in, breathing heavily from the mental exhaustion and violent confusion that wracked his mind...
He was going through the ultimate stage of UNCERTAINTY in his entire life; he bitterly wondered: Who am I really?! Is that woman who was speaking on his behalf a moment ago and he the exact same person, or is one of them the original entity and the other a mere parasitic intruder?! Or are they truly a single entity split by HORMONES?!
He no longer knew anything... Thinking deeply about this whirlpool planted a sharp headache in his head that grew worse with every passing second.
Elliot’s harsh words from earlier were painfully accurate to the core truth; his mind had completely changed the moment he transformed into a female, and surely if he returned to that female form now, he would once again feel the absolute reluctance to return to being a man! That in itself was an utterly terrifying NIGHTMARE for him.
Throughout his life, Michael had faced many experiences where the enemy was just an external threat that could be faced or fled from... something physical, something he could see with his own eyes.. But he never expected that the most formidable and dangerous enemy would be none other than "HIMSELF"! Accepting this reality was far harder than any disaster he had faced in his life; he wasn’t fighting another opponent, but fighting his very own "I" that was fighting back!
So.. did this mean there was no way back? And would they just sit in helpless anticipation until their heads were severed by the Alliance between humans and demons while completely resigned to their fate?!
At that exact moment, Michael became genuinely terrified of the mere thought of transforming back into his female version!
Michael spoke in a faint voice dripping with despair: "There’s no hope, Elliot... It’s almost over... Yes, everything is over. I really don’t want this life where I’ve become afraid of myself, wondering in absolute horror who I am!"
Elliot noticed the miserable psychological state and imminent collapse of his close friend, and he didn’t know how to pull him out of this abyss: "I completely understand your suffering, I’m living the exact same nightmare.. But this shouldn’t destroy your resolve! We’ll try and fight until the very end, right?"
Elliot patted Michael’s shoulder lightly, but Michael seemed entirely drained of any spark of hope.. He didn’t know whether to think about how to break this Mark Stone, how to escape, or anything else... But suddenly, a suspicious spark flared in his eyes!
Michael spoke in a tone that shifted abruptly: "I’ve reached a SOLUTION!"
Elliot was taken aback by this sudden shift in his friend’s tone: "A solution?! What is it?!"
Michael touched his forehead, speaking with confident madness: "Yes! This is the only way, and it was obvious from the start.. The PATH OF ABSOLUTE POWER! We were fools to assume the System was lying to us when it declared this was the easiest option! We’re going to sleep together in the end and we just have to accept it.. I am not that female, and you are not that female! We can swap roles.. I’ll take a turn with your female form, and you take a turn with my female form.. That’s fair enough, and this way we can force those female versions to suffer what they fear! We must take REVENGE on them!"
Elliot felt terrified by the sheer madness and absurdity his friend had reached; his resentment toward his female version had driven him to want revenge on her! He literally wanted revenge on "HIMSELF"!
Although Michael’s idea seemed logical from a purely abstract angle—considering those female forms weren’t their true entities but merely alternate personas—Elliot had no desire to violate his friend no matter the circumstances. Even though he was naturally selfish by nature, he couldn’t imagine himself chasing Michael’s female version everywhere to force her into bed!
It was something that would make him feel profound REGRET, even if the male body’s owner fully agreed to it!
Though to be honest.. it was hard for him to deny that the female demon was totally his type; she had a longer and sleeker demonic tail than male Michael, making her excessively attractive and seductive to him!
But Elliot tightly suppressed voicing these thoughts, suppressing his deep desire to be with her; he quickly brushed those thoughts from his mind, for he was not such a bad, vile person to exploit his friend’s collapsed psychological state.
Elliot took a firm breath and said: "Calm down, Michael! There is definitely still a solution.. almost.. I don’t know if it will work, but you mentioned to me before that you managed to convince the college dean that you had a brother on the verge of suicide, just to justify trying to flirt with his daughter who studies with us!"
Michael looked at him in surprise and bewildered astonishment: "What do you mean by bringing this up now?!"
Elliot looked at his friend, trying to utter his words while suppressing his internal burn and absolute reluctance for this path:
"Alright... I will transform into a female once again! And you try to convince her—or convince the ’Female I’ of mine, who I expect won’t be easily convinced—to accept and choose the path: ’Seducing Your Best Friend Is the Ultimate Sin’!"
Michael stared at Elliot in sheer disbelief... Was Elliot offering this massive SACRIFICE and concession so easily for his sake?!