Significance

When he returned home on his bike, Su Mian discovered that he was actually hungry again. This wasn’t to say that he hadn’t eaten enough while he was out, but rather that the appetite of his demonic side had become noticeably intense once more.

This caused him to frown slightly. “How long has it even been?”

Based on past experience, the effect of his last “meal” should have lasted at least half a month; he shouldn’t have felt anything substantial within the first week, after which the hunger would gradually grow stronger. Yet here he was, only a few days later, inexplicably hungry again. It was truly strange.

Feeling that something was wrong, Su Mian walked through the door and went straight to the bathroom. Someone who didn’t know better might think he was obsessed with washing up, but in fact, he was only there for the large mirror.

“Should I just buy a full-length mirror for the bedroom? It might be more convenient.”

The thought popped into the youth’s head instinctively. Running to the bathroom or the washroom all the time was too much of a hassle. He hadn’t considered it before because he didn’t used to have many matters that required his other self’s help, and he felt it would be creepy to be able to see himself just by rolling over in bed.

But lately, the chaotic incidents had clearly increased.

While Su Mian was contemplating buying a new mirror, his other self had already quietly opened her eyes within the glass. Those blood-red pupils stared at him as she spoke: “Did you summon me just to discuss whether or not to buy a new mirror?”

“Save the nonsense.”

Su Mian ignored her teasing. Because she was him, he didn’t actually need to explain his problems; she likely knew exactly what had happened.

However, the girl in the mirror was clearly dissatisfied with his attitude. She knitted her brows slightly and couldn’t help but let out a soft huff. “You’re the one who needs my help, yet you have this kind of attitude?”

“Isn’t it what you always say? You are me. Why does one need a ‘good attitude’ to ask oneself for help?”

“You win.”

The girl felt a wave of wordlessness at Su Mian’s sophistry. She shook her head but didn’t argue further; there was indeed no need for formalities between them.

After a brief silence to organize the situation, the succubus spoke slowly: “Back to the main topic. There are currently two matters: first, regarding the demon; second, regarding our body. I’ll address the first one first. The answer is yes—using demonic power to search for traces of a demon is obviously a hundred times more efficient than wandering around blindly like you’re doing now.”

“But…”

“You’re worried about losing control, right?”

The other self voiced his concern before he could finish. The girl in the mirror nodded her small head in acknowledgement and whispered, “There is indeed a high probability. After all, power comes with desire. Recovery is easy, but wanting it to recede afterward will be ten times more difficult.”

“Furthermore, once the power awakens, the cravings for all sorts of things will become more intense, which could ultimately lead to uncontrollable consequences.”

These weren’t even the main issues. The key was that Su Mian worried he wouldn’t be able to change back for a long time—he would have no way to explain that to others, and his life would be completely upended!

It was based on these various considerations that he had been hesitating, hoping his other self could provide a useful alternative.

The girl in the mirror pinched her chin, thinking for a good while before speaking slowly: “Since full recovery of your power isn’t what you want, perhaps you could use it… in a limited capacity?”

“Limited capacity?” Su Mian didn’t understand.

The other self didn’t seem to know exactly how to explain it to him either. After hesitating for a few more seconds, she blinked and said, “How about this? I’ll demonstrate it for you. Don’t resist, okay?”

“…Fine.”

The girl in the mirror snapped her fingers.

In the next second, Su Mian found his height had instantly shortened. His short hair, which originally just reached his ears, now fell to his shoulders, though the color remained a pure black. His delicate face became feminized—it could be called beautiful, but it was far from the eerie, demonic beauty of before. Even his pupils were only covered by a faint layer of red.

Looking at the familiar yet strange short-haired girl in the mirror, Su Mian raised a hand and pinched his own face. Watching her mirror his exact movements, he frowned slightly. “Is this the ‘limited capacity’ you mentioned?”

“Exactly.”

The black pupils of the girl in the mirror instantly turned crimson, and her black hair turned silver-white. Maintaining her full demonic image, the succubus nodded again. “By releasing only a tiny amount of power, you can use that power to find potential demon traces while maintaining better control over your body and desires.”

“And the downside?”

“The downside is also obvious: the power you can use in this state is limited. The effects of many abilities will be greatly diminished, and some won’t be usable at all.”

“…”

Su Mian fell silent, thinking for a few seconds. With a single look from him, the girl in the mirror snapped her fingers again, and she immediately turned back into him.

From this point of view, it was indeed much simpler than before.

Su Mian then tried to operate it himself. However, his control over the power was far inferior to his demonic self. The result was several failures, and once, he nearly triggered a full awakening.

After all the exertion, he felt even hungrier.

Then, he remembered the other matter.

“Speaking of which, the duration of the ‘full’ state… why has it suddenly become shorter than before?”

Su Mian stopped his attempts and looked at his other self. She glanced back at him and said as if it were common sense: “To be honest, I find it strange that you’re even asking this. It’s a very simple principle: can the amount you ate as a child compare to the amount you eat as an adult?”

“…”

“I’ve said it many times: the demonic part of our body will recover faster and faster until it completely overwhelms the human part. In this process, we will obtain stronger abilities, and naturally, our appetite will grow larger and our digestion speed will become faster. Not to mention…”

“Not to mention what?”

“Nothing.”

Seeing his other self shake her head like a rattle, Su Mian couldn’t help but look suspicious. But the girl gave him no chance to pry further; she vanished from the mirror in the blink of an eye, leaving only one final sentence behind.

“Becoming a demon is our ultimate destination. Your struggle isn’t exactly ‘meaningless,’ but I can only say you are wasting your time.”

To this, Su Mian merely curled his lip in disdain. “If it were meaningless, why would my body still have a human part? If its existence were only to waste time, it would have been easier to just let me be born as a pure demon from the start.”

This time, there was no response from the other side.

Only the youth remained standing alone before the mirror, whispering softly.

“I was born as a human, and I live as a human. I don’t deny the demon part, but don’t you deny the significance of humanity either.”

“…”