The following days were spent indulgently as Zachary allowed himself to be drawn into a series of intense lovemaking sessions. His mental clock continued counting the time, and he knew roughly how long he had been "connected" to the alien mommy with a killer body.
Nearly three days were spent entangled and wrestling atop the altar, yet he showed no signs of fatigue. The cloud of lust that had blurred his rationality three days ago had faded. He had been in a rational state of mind for quite some time now, yet he still did not stop what he was doing.
The pleasure of the flesh was something Zachary had not experienced for a span of time no one could count or track, and the awakening of his emotional and desire faculties after the incident in the void had changed him significantly.
This was especially true in how he now thought, and in his "new" ability to show empathy. That said, while he now possessed the capacity to understand social behavior, that alone did not mean he had complete control over it.
As could be inferred from his current situation, Zachary was on cloud nine. He had completely forgotten the very reason he had chosen to sever his emotions in his last life, nor did he care anymore.
After some time, however, when clarity slowly replaced his horniness, he began thinking about Reshanxra—the Synod hive queen he was currently pinning down—specifically questioning why she had directed a "mating call" toward him.
Reshanxra had easily lured Zachary into sharing his seeds with her, and the reason behind her actions was not merely basic instinct. Not entirely. Rather, his ability to shrug off her psychic power had been the true trigger.
A Synod hive queen possesses individuality, the ability to think independently, and the freedom to act on her own decisions. However, the larger hive-mind linking her to other queens imposed a defining species trait: the evolution and survival of the hive always came first.
That trait was what led Reshanxra to deliberately lure Zachary into giving her his seeds.
Obtaining Zachary's seeds meant gaining access to his genetic sequence and map. Conceiving them was her highest priority, as doing so would elevate the Synod Hive's evolutionary level by leaps and bounds, pushing it toward an entirely new ceiling.
Conceiving his seeds would allow her to produce SyBroods capable of generating drones with Zachary's genetic data and map. In simple terms, it would spell the end of the universe unless there existed forces capable of completely eradicating them.
The universe would be rapidly overrun if Reshanxra succeeded in producing SyBroods in large numbers.
As clarity returned, Zachary used their intimate interaction to accomplish two objectives. First, he sought to master her Life Code, which consisted of four Edicts. She possessed an additional Edict within her Material Code, and that was where her divergence from other humanoids began. Second, he harvested the excess psychic energy she passively emitted. The absorbed energy was used to enhance his own mental power, functioning like a step-up transformer in theory.
After mastering her Life Code in its entirety, Zachary understood all too well that allowing Reshanxra the possibility of producing multiple SyBroods carrying his parameters would lead to catastrophic consequences.
This left Zachary with several choices. The first and simplest was to kill her once he was finished. Had he still been the same person he was before the incident in the void, he would have done so without hesitation. He had once been someone devoid of remorse or empathy—but that had changed.
There was only one viable choice left: altering her Life Code. Doing so would sever part of her existence from its original nature, but it was far preferable to allowing the universe to be overrun by swarms of creatures capable of annihilating everything.
From her memories, Zachary learned that countless civilizations existed across the universe, including those wielding extremely advanced technology and powerful magic.
Yet so far, none had managed to defeat the Synod species. Which meant he absolutely had to prevent his seeds from becoming a universal existential threat.
As time passed, Zachary noticed that Reshanxra repeatedly attempted to establish a mental connection with him through her psychic abilities, a clear demonstration of her individuality and intelligence.
When she succeeded, messages flowed directly into his mind. The gesture felt intimate on an instinctual level, though his rational mind understood its true purpose.
A Synod hive queen possessed emotional sensory functions, but she could not actually feel pleasure from sexual intercourse. From a biological standpoint, it was brilliant; from a social standpoint, it demonstrated her intelligence in manipulating prey.
The personality she displayed also indicated that this was far from her first attempt, a fact confirmed by the memories he sifted through.
The fates of the males who succumbed to their instincts varied. The mental connection she established also served as a cold, intangible defense against retaliation once their rationality returned, imprinting her as deeply significant within their minds.
Very few ever escaped the trap. Most had their sentience stripped away entirely, reduced to biomass for extraction or consumption by the drones.
The Synod was a cold and brutal species, but that very nature made them exceptionally effective on the path of evolution.
Zachary carefully devised a plan to alter her Life Code, remaining mindful of triggering a pushback response. If that occurred, any chance of a peaceful resolution would vanish.
The only outcome then would be his forced eradication of the entire swarm.
He began by altering how her mind was wired, even though it was the most difficult step. There was no avoiding it, as improper handling would immediately trigger resistance. He adjusted several aspects, increasing her emotional sensitivity while splicing her psychic instincts from the hive-mind without fully severing the connection.
Once that was complete, Zachary addressed issues within her Material Edict, reshaping parts of it to allow her to experience pleasure during sexual acts.
While this incidentally improved his own experience, it was not his priority. The real purpose was to grant him more flexibility as he continued altering her Life Code.
He started with minor adjustments to her Mind Code, then proceeded to tweak portions of her Material Code. Once the second phase was complete, Zachary allowed a buffer period, giving Reshanxra time to fully sink into her first genuine experience of sexual pleasure.
That moment marked the optimal time to initiate major alterations to her Material and Mind Codes.
He saved her Soul Code for last, as it was the linchpin of the entire operation. It was also the most sensitive. Even with successful changes to her Material and Mind Codes, failing here would cause Reshanxra to send psychic alerts to the other hive queens.
If that happened, Zachary would be hunted by the Synod species for as long as he remained in this universe.
At the dawn of the fourth day, according to his mental clock, he completed the covert Life Code alteration. Reshanxra had been transformed into a standalone entity, still retaining a mild connection to the hive-mind.
She retained control over the drones and SyBroods she had produced, as well as access to the queens-only hive-mind, enabling discreet information gathering.
Externally, her appearance remained mostly unchanged, but her internal biosystems had been almost entirely rewritten.
Zachary also imprinted himself as her biological superior, one she was compelled to obey over the hive.
Hijack mission: complete.
With everything settled, Zachary finally allowed himself to truly relax, snuggling deeper into the soft, warm bosom of the alien mommy.