More Than A Body Novels & Stories

"Pain is just a tool. Useful in the right doses, counterproductive in excess." I heard the clasps on the leather case click open. "The goal is to teach your body who it belongs to." She appeared at my side, holding something I couldn't identify in the dim light. Her fingers trailed along my arm, feather-light. "Your mind is strong. I knew it would be — you survived twenty-one years alone. You have discipline. Willpower." She traced up to my shoulder, across my collarbone. "But bodies are simpler than minds. Bodies can be trained. Conditioned. Taught to respond to the right stimuli."

I heal. Between ceremonies, my body repairs itself. The marks fade, the bruises yellow, the cuts close. But something always remains a thin scar here, a more sensitive area there, a pain that reappears when I move a certain way. My body becomes a book where my story is written, night after night. And I love him.

“I do not want the same water that has touched your body touching mine. The thought of it turns my stomach.” I rolled my eyes. “Then why do you keep staring at this body, hmm? Because you are.” I expected him to deny it. And quite vehemently too. But he actually looked at my body again and cocked his head to the side. “I am still trying to understand what it is about this body that drives these males insane. Is this all of it, or do you keep another one hidden in a closet somewhere that only they get to see?” I struck a pose for the infuriating male, arching a brow. “Perhaps it is less about my body and more about your poor eyesight.”

“You are like a golden statue of some artist’s perfection…” “No body is less than perfect in itself,” Harry replied. “Every body has a beauty to the right beholder. Maybe a person likes thin, or fat, hairless, hairy, muscled, or weak, scarred, or unscarred… There is no right and no wrong body – just whether that body has found the right audience to appreciate it. My body,” they laughed under their breath. “Yes, it is one that many appreciate. And I like that. But they wouldn’t matter to me if my body didn’t make you want me… Whether you want to touch me…” They closed their hand around Jules’ and stroked with him. “That’s what matters most of all.”

Upon seeing that, Youcef said, “She walked straight in. Isn’t she afraid there will be more traps and…” “She has the Consummation Hongrome Body,” Yaretzi sighed. “It’s different from James’ Limitless Body. She isn’t vulnerable to all tribulations. She’s also shapeless and shadowless. Even the light of the Supreme Path can’t locate her, let alone a mere trap.” Upon hearing that, Youcef looked envious. “Mom, I…” “You can’t cultivate it.” As though Yaretzi knew what her son was thinking, she smiled and said, “The Hongrome Body and Limitless Body are one of a kind. Without the providence to become a Holiness, one can’t cultivate them.”

They didn’t care whether others were dead or alive, but when it involved their own interests, they had to consider it. At this moment, Gardner said, “I said from the beginning that these seven body parts are not essential. Our bodies will not die without those parts. Even if these seven things all came from one person, that person will not die.” “Hehe…” “Hehehehe…” They felt relieved after hearing Gardner’s words, and all of them laughed sinisterly. “Ah! You bunch of scum! You can just kill me!” Belina screamed shrilly as her body was ruthlessly pressed against the cold ground. The intense pain stimulated every nerve in her body, and her entire body grew numb due to the intense pain.

I wasn’t just the woman who died alone. I was more than pretty. And this time? They were going to see every damn bit of me.

Like maybe I could take it back. Maybe I could reclaim my body. “I used to think my body was the problem,” I admitted quietly. “Like it caused everything. Like it made people hurt me.” He shook his head. “Your body’s not the enemy. It’s a survivor. It’s been protecting you the best way it knows how.” Tears came again, but softer this time. “Sometimes I hate my body.” Lane didn’t flinch. He just nodded. “That’s okay. Many survivors feel that way. But your body deserves love. It deserves peace. And so do you.”

“Because this isn’t the first time it’s happened.” I shift uncomfortably. “I don’t know.” I could really do without this conversation right now. She watches me closely. “You said you couldn’t. That you weren’t in the right headspace or whatever. But it felt like more than that.” I say nothing. She presses on, gently. “It’s not… a physical thing, is it? Like, not a medical problem?” “No,” I say too fast. “No. It’s not that.” Her gaze sharpens. “Then what is it? Because you kiss me like you mean it, and then your body just… it just shuts off.”

“What, like five mil per year? And that’s the minimum package that Tetragrammaton Tech offers. The base package comes with three clone bodies total. To get more, you’ve gotta upgrade.” Miko nodded resolutely. The cost was ridiculously steep. But that wasn’t why it wasn’t attractive. “This sounds amazing, right? However there is more to it. Human life is rooted in our individual consciousness. Once this body dies, so does its consciousness. It will not suddenly transfer to the clone body. She will have the same memories, but her own consciousness.” The third EyeCast circled around them until they were silhouettes painted against Sol’s light. As they spoke, it recorded what seemed to be like a