Taking refuge.

Ishtar noticed a bit of her power lingering inside someone and followed it without question. That it was visible at all meant that it had to be someone who had been directly affected by her magic, meaning anyone Will had sex with. Whoever it was she found, their mental state and magic resistance weren’t in a state where Ishtar could fully possess them, so instead she did the second best thing she could and simply took refuge in their mind. The tiny vestige of her power still in this woman made that possible, easy and painless. Unnoticed, she was finally able to see and feel the world again, and the very first thing she felt was… Oh, very nice.

Ishtar definitely hid herself inside a woman. Through her, she felt a hand on a large breast and fingers inside a wet, aching pussy. The hand, her own. The fingers as well.

“Fuck… Oooh…! Mmmm!” The woman gritted her teeth, drove her own fingers deeper inside her pussy and pinched her nipple harder. “Please…! Just a little more…!”

The woman came, but it was a hollow orgasm. A split second of pleasure that got washed away just as quickly. She breathed out, tired, tense. Too much effort for such a pitiful climax. If Ishtar had any strength left, or if her connection to this woman was stronger, she would’ve been happy to lend a hand, but alas, their connection was weak. Barely hooked pinkies compared to the full embrace she shared with Will.

Good, her consciousness was stabilizing. She could remember everything now. Last time, as she wandered the open world before finding Will, Ishtar had forgotten all her past. A relief to see that wasn’t the case again.

How much time passed? Where was Will? Ishtar’s heart hurt at the thought of leaving him alone. Would Helga kill him?

…

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS WOMAN, ANYWAY!? She wasn’t Aoi, or Nanami, or any of Will’s girls. Ishtar could sense everything she did, but it was weak. She could tell the woman was naked, at least. Alone. She was laying in bed in a small bedroom.

Ugh. Messy. Clothes on the floor, nightstand full of disorganized cosmetics. Unmade bed, too. The lights were on, so it had to be dark outside.

Damn. Ishtar barely had the strength to keep herself conscious. She couldn’t even read the mind of her new host, let alone improve her body like she did with Will.

The woman sat up, groaned loudly and jumped off the bed, stomping her feet to the bathroom in her room. A couple of wet towels were on the floor along with a set of underwear.

“It’s not any better! Fuck!” the woman cursed. “Toys, fingers… It’s just as bad as normal sex!” She walked directly towards the toilet and sat down to pee, elbows on her knees and head down.

Just as bad as normal sex? What?

Oooh, she’s one of the unlucky ones. Well, one of the many unlucky ones. Women who have a hard time orgasming. That seemed to be tragically common among human women. At least in the sense that every woman should be able to experience a good fucking orgasm.

The woman stood up after finishing and went to the sink to wash her hands. Thank fuck. Ishtar feared she wouldn’t even do that. It was when she looked at herself in the mirror that it hit her.

Good-looking girl, young. About Will’s age, actually. Sharp blue eyes, full lips, long blonde mane and a voluptuous body with great curves and an ample chest.

Ishtar remembered this girl! She was the woman in the bus who thought Will had grabbed her ass!

…

Oh. Ooooh man it’s almost a good thing Will isn’t here to see her. Poor guy would have a breakdown in the state he was in.

Back then, when they had their encounter with this girl, Will was struggling with sexual energy affecting his mind and emotions. His lust, his anger, his happiness, his sadness… Everything he felt, he felt tenfold. He ended up charming her, but when she admitted to having a boyfriend she was very willing to break up with, guilt set in as he realized what he had slept with a woman in a relationship. He had done to someone what others had done to him, and it made him sick enough to throw up.

Yeah, that would explain why there’s a signal of her own power inside her. Will did have sex with someone other than his girlfriends at one point.

Wait, is that it? The reason she’s so frustrated? Someone who can’t reach orgasm easily yet tasted the full, mind-blowing pleasure of sexual energy…

“Why can’t I fucking find him…?” the girl muttered.

Yeah, that checks out, then.

Well, setting all that aside for now, Ishtar needed to come up with a plan. Finding this girl was the worst-case scenario if she didn’t count still flying around aimlessly as the actual worst-case scenario. Ishtar had no way to talk to this girl, no way to influence her action. Again, the connection was too weak. She was merely taking refuge inside the mind of someone who happened to have a link to her powers.

If she happened to have sex of her own accord, that’d be ideal. Ishtar would be able to feed from it and maybe recover enough strength to leave and find one of the other girls. But that was leaving too much to chance. If the girl kept masturbating, then maybe she could get some strength back, but energy from masturbation was always very little and the orgasms she was feeling were too weak. Resting would help, but it wouldn’t be enough. Ishtar needed to feed.

The sound of a phone rang from the bedroom and the girl, whose name she still didn’t know, went back to get it, still fully naked. She had to look for it, though, tossing aside shirts, pants and skirts as she tried to find her phone somewhere on the floor. She found it in the back pocket of one of her jeans.

Ishtar was already missing Will even more. The kid was super neat. But reminiscing would have to wait, because seeing the name on the phone’s screen made Ishtar’s heart skip a beat.

“Hey, Ruth,” the girl greeted with a short sigh before smiling. “What is it?”

“Sorry, Mel. Just… letting you know I won’t be back for lunch. Actually, I probably won't be back tonight, either. I’m staying with a friend, so don’t worry.”

It really was Ruth! Will’s Ruth! This girl knew Ruth! Holy shit, some good luck for once! That said…

The girl, Mel, frowned. “Are you okay? You don’t sound good.”

“...Yeah. I’m worried. We… We can’t get in contact with our boyfriend. It’s why I’m staying.”

“Shit, is it serious?” Mel asked. Ishtar could feel a knot in the girl’s throat.

“...Maybe. I want to believe he’s okay, but…”

“Fuck, Ruth… Tell me if there’s anything I can do.”

Ruth let out a humorless chuckle. “Could you clean up the apartment, then?”

“...Sure, I’ll do it. Get some rest, okay?”

“Thanks, Mel. I… might not be back for a few days, actually. I need to be here with the others.”

Wait, what?

“Yeah, yeah. Do what you need to, but at least send me a text every once in a while, okay?”

“I will. See you soon, hopefully.”

No, no! Come here, Ruth! Nooooo!

Ruth hung up.

Shit.