Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 171 Old acquaintance
In the dark room, as the candlelight flickered, a strange feeling like ants gnawing at her bones kept crawling over certain parts of her body, constantly attacking Claire's sanity.

"That bastard is definitely not far away from me."

Claire endured this abnormal feeling, remained rational, and thought of a solution.

Claire knew that since she was under the influence of the reincarnation ritual and could see the scene of the woman Ziwei, the other party must also be able to see her current embarrassment.

But the murmur of "stop" did not stop the crazy woman from blaspheming.

In this situation, whispering for mercy will only make the other party take advantage of you.

The only way to get out of this predicament is to save yourself.

Claire's face gradually flushed, and she tried to calm herself down. Although it was not easy, it was easier to stay rational in the midst of desire than to stay rational when on the verge of losing control.

The experience of fighting against the evil god's whispers and regaining her self-esteem from the brink of losing control had made Claire's spirit far more resilient than that of an ordinary person. Tessa's little trick could only make Claire's legs weaken a little, but it wouldn't completely deprive her of the strength to resist.

From the scene that appeared in her mind, Claire saw Tessa, who was wearing a waiter's uniform and panting with a dazed expression. In addition, Claire also saw that the room Tessa was in had a similar layout to her appraisal room.

She saw the candlelight on the table in front of Tessa.

Not far away, the flames flickered.

Claire narrowed her eyes and used her spiritual power to activate the magical earrings hidden under her robe.

Flame jumps!

The flames in Tessa's room suddenly shot up and took the form of a human silhouette.

Claire suddenly jumped out of the flames, and stepped directly on the face of Tessa, who was lying on her back and blaspheming!
But what made Claire frown was that when she stepped on the ground, the emotion reflected by the woman under her feet was even more excited at that moment?
This sudden surge of intense emotion overwhelmed Claire's consciousness like a tide, causing her legs to go weak and she almost collapsed onto Ketaisha.

Fortunately, due to her mastery of martial arts, Claire was able to control the strength of her leg and abdominal muscles and avoid losing her composure.

"Is that enough?" Claire looked down at Tessa coldly.

Tessa was not embarrassed at all. She withdrew her hand calmly, and her whole body melted into the shadow. Then she withdrew from the shadow. The black flames from the inside out burned away the messy and wet parts of Tessa's body that were revealed due to lust.

Tessa, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, has long since removed her disguise, and now her true appearance is exposed.

However, unlike the cold and elegant look of the classical dolls Claire had seen before, Tessa's cheeks were still flushed, and her eyes were as charming as silk. She looked charming and moved Claire at the same time.

Claire was just living the life of an ascetic for various reasons, not a real ascetic. Seeing Tessa like this, she secretly cursed her as a witch in her heart, and the beautiful scene that she had just remembered could not help but emerge in her mind.

"If I don't do this, how can you reveal your identity to me?" Tessa seemed very calm. It was obvious that she had expected this kind of meeting. She rubbed her cheek where Claire had stepped on it with a hint of nostalgia, but there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes, as if she regretted that Claire didn't take off her boots.

Claire considered that she couldn't use up all of the woman's spiritual energy in its complete state, otherwise she would have to turn on "Burning Spiritual Energy" to beat her up again.

Taking a deep breath, Claire calmed herself down. "You even resorted to such despicable means to get me to show up... And then, what about seeing me and confirming my identity?"

Tessa smiled slightly and said, "I missed you, so I did it. And seeing that you can move freely, I feel relieved."

Hearing the phrase "I'll do it if I think of you," Claire recognized the double entendre in the woman's words. She raised her head and frowned, glancing at the woman in front of her: "You have such frivolous desires. Sooner or later, you'll stumble over something like this."

"Claire, I'm the Witch of Pleasure. This kind of wonderful thing helps me digest the potion." Tessa said calmly, "If you had interrupted me a little later, the 'Pleasure' potion in my body would have been completely digested. But you left me in this state, and now I have to figure out how to deal with it myself."

Claire said with a dark face, "If you don't want to fight, just speak human language."

Tessa sighed, looked at Claire, whose face was hidden by the hood, and said seriously, "Give me a chance, a chance for us to start over."

Tessa spoke with emotion, her attitude sincere and even a little humble, but Claire responded with only one word: "Get lost."

Seeing that soft tactics weren't working, Tessa, having anticipated this, decided to act rogue: "Then I'll pester you. You can't hide from my methods of investigation anyway."

Claire frowned upon hearing this. Tessa's methods of investigation really left her with a lingering fear. Being tormented by this woman all day would surely drive her crazy. "What I hate most is being blackmailed... And what on earth is this reincarnation ritual? It's so filthy."

Tessa's lips curled up slightly. "The reincarnation ritual itself is very serious, but I just applied it in a practical way."

Why is this guy so proud of it? Is this kind of "applying knowledge to practice" something to be proud of?

Claire remained silent.

It is true that the shameless are invincible.

Especially a shameless beauty.

Just as Claire was complaining in her heart, Tessa suddenly produced a roll of parchment tied with silver thread.

Tessa tossed the parchment to Claire and said, "This is the most detailed explanation of the reincarnation ritual. With it, you won't be bound by my methods. But be sure to keep a clear mind while studying. This knowledge comes from a hidden sage, and there's a possibility of it being contaminated during the learning process."

Claire untied the silver string, and the knowledge recorded on the unfolded parchment scroll proved that Tessa had not lied. It recorded the method of shielding the mutual influence between the souls and bodies of both parties in the reincarnation ceremony.

Seeing Claire so recklessly unseal the parchment and study its contents, Tessa observed Claire's condition with concern. What made her feel a little relieved was that Claire did not show any abnormality.

In fact, in a place that Tessa couldn't see, a black bookshelf rose from the ground in the memory library. The few black books that appeared on the bookshelf were all related to the "reincarnation ceremony".

Claire was now confident that her mastery of this ritual surpassed Tessa's.

But at the same time, Claire also confirmed that it was impossible to use the "reincarnation ritual" to exchange their bodies!
Let’s not talk about the mysterious connection between their souls and bodies created by the reincarnation ritual.

Claire's spirit, which had been promoted to "Appraiser," was no longer suitable to return to her body, which had been promoted to "Joy." The mismatch between the spirit and the body was enough to drive her mad and degenerate into a monster in an instant.

Unless she and Tessa tried their best to eliminate the extraordinary characteristics, the second reincarnation ceremony would be successful. But even if they found a way to eliminate the extraordinary characteristics, Claire knew that "Tessa Poslan" would never be able to turn back into "Ty Poslan".

As for finding another male body to perform the ritual, Claire was first worried that another ritual might have unpredictable consequences. More importantly, she had already adapted to her current identity, and gender no longer mattered to her.

Now she only wants to climb to the top of the power in this world step by step. If possible, she also wants to travel back to her original world with supreme power.

Especially after gaining some divine knowledge, Claire realized that if she successfully ascended to Sequence 4, she would essentially no longer be human, and gender would no longer matter. Besides these two factors, another minor factor was her complicated feelings for Tessa...

Tessa took the opportunity to say, "Am I sincere enough?"

Claire glanced at her sideways and didn't respond.

The betrayal of the initial reincarnation ritual, the beautiful memories of Tai Perslan's youth, the false truth of the town of Omlet, and Sharon's companionship during the time in Tingen...

Claire was silent for a moment, her thoughts racing. She finally spoke, "The question I've always been most concerned about is why you kept saying you loved me, yet you used me as a 'sacrifice' in your reincarnation ritual, changing my gender and rewriting my life..."

Listening to Claire's calm question, Tessa's heart sank, and she even found it difficult to maintain her composure. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "You seem to have found out a lot of things, even the things about Omlight Town..."

After saying these words, Tessa's entire being took on a gloomy air, even revealing a faint sense of despair, a sorrow greater than despair. "Of course, no matter what excuses or hidden secrets I come up with, they can't get around my true thoughts at the time... What I really wanted to do back then was to take your male body and gain the conditions to join the Witch Cult. At that time... I was truly tired, exhausted, and wanted to give up my obsession with you..."

"During the more than half a month I imprisoned you, I hesitated." Tessa's face was filled with regret, yet also with a hint of confusion: "In the end, I did this out of selfishness..."

Tessa's spirit was clearly fluctuating. Claire could tell that the woman in front of her was not in a stable mental state.

This woman seems to be going crazy...

Claire frowned, paused, and then asked the question in her mind:

"What happened to my false memory? In the real memories I recovered, I seemed to have known you before I enrolled at Tingen University? What happened during my time at Tingen University that caused me to be paralyzed for such a long time?"

"Most importantly... why was this memory of mine replaced with a false one?"

"If Tai Poslan's memories are fake, then who am I?"

Facing Claire's string of inquiries, Tessa's expression of struggle and pain gradually turned into a calm silence. However, her shoulders, which were always straight in front of others, slumped, as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on her frail shoulders. "It seems you still haven't remembered that the name 'Tai Perslan' was chosen by you and me together..."

"I no longer expect you to recall all your memories. I once felt pain because of your amnesia, and even took the initiative to let go of your hand... but I regret it now. Even if you have lost your memories, I find that I still can't bear to leave you. I just hope it's not too late to regret it."

"Past memories? What memories?" Claire realized that this "memory" was the key to everything.

Faced with this question, hesitation and fatigue flashed in Tessa's eyes, which seemed to be the despair, giving up and despair after a long period of perseverance.

But Tessa still held a glimmer of hope and nostalgia as she asked Claire, "Do you still remember the name of that strange speaker... Jiang Zhe?"

Jiang Zhe?!
Claire was startled.

That's her name, isn't it?! It's her name on Earth!

Tessa pronounced "Jiang Zhe" in a clear and loud voice, and she did it very skillfully!

and!

Although the voice had changed, the tone and the emotion in it made Claire feel particularly familiar, as if she had been called that countless times before!
Claire suppressed the shock that was churning in her heart. At that moment, she heard many voices calling her name. These voices included the voices of young children, the voices of young girls, and the voices of mature women... belonging to "Claire Meazza".

No... these voices are all "Claire's" voices, the voices of Claire at different stages from her childhood to her adulthood!

I, "Jiang Zhe", have known "Clea Meazza" since childhood?
"Are you a time traveler too?" Claire thought for a moment and asked this question.

In this strange, crazy world with strange and powerful things, Claire knew she wasn't the only "traveler." Could it be that Tessa in front of her was also a traveler? And was she someone she knew on Earth?

But as Jiang Zhe, I don’t know this person in my memory...

"'Traveler'?" Tessa chuckled and shook her head, saying, "You once explained this term to me... I'm not a traveler. I'm the opposite of a 'native.'"

She wasn’t a time traveler, but she knew the words “time traveler” and “indigenous people”… Claire had more and more mysteries in her heart, but she also knew that she was getting closer and closer to the truth.

"You told me about 'game consoles' and 'televisions', and later about 'handheld game consoles', 'computers', and 'mobile phones'..."

"You talked to me about the 'Industrial Revolution' and, after studying it, you explained to me what 'capitalism' is and told me a lot about the historical development process of your country..."

Tessa's tone was filled with deep nostalgia, as if simply recounting these memories made her feel happy.

Following Tessa's words, a vague idea gradually became confirmed in Claire's mind.

Claire thought for a moment and asked the question: "Do you know I'm 'Jiang Zhe'?"

All of Tessa's chattering came to an abrupt end at this moment.

She looked up at Claire.

His eyes were filled with astonishment.

His eyes misted with astonishment.

"Do you remember?" Tessa asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Meeting Tessa's expectant gaze, Claire felt an inexplicable surge of pity and compassion in her heart.

Is it due to the influence of the love memory of "Tai. Perslan"?

Claire, however, vaguely sensed that the emergence of these emotions might be more than just that.

She chose her words carefully and said, "I don't know what you want me to remember. I did have the name 'Jiang Zhe'. But unfortunately, in my memory, when I was Jiang Zhe, I didn't seem to know you..."

The light in Tessa's eyes dimmed again after hearing Claire's words. She stared at Claire blankly and bitterly and said, "You remembered the memory of 'Jiang Zhe', but not me?"

Seeing Tessa's fragile state, Claire didn't feel any joy in her heart. She had thought that she would enjoy seeing Tessa like this out of revenge...

Claire sighed softly in her heart and added slowly, "In my vague memories, I do seem to remember you calling my name. From when I was little to when I grew up, you heard it at various times."

(End of this chapter)