Chapter 1

"If you wish to be spared, then one among you, a female, must volunteer to be my wife."

My consciousness stirred from among the agonizing darkness. I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at the man who had caused me such pain I had wished to die.

The star pirate captain, Black Mamba!

The evil in those eyes, the familiar greed and lunacy.

Had I been reborn?

Had I been transported back to when the space pirates were boarding our ship?

As the end of the Earth approached, my parents had sold everything to buy passage for my sister and me on this ark.

But the ship had been intercepted by animalistic space pirates.

Before my rebirth, my sister had sacrificed me to the space pirate, Black Mamba.

Afterward, she had thrown herself into the arms of the astral admiral sent to rescue us.

In a twist of fate, due to us humans' greater ability to bear children, she had been used by the astral nobility as a tool to provide them with offspring.

All the while, the space pirate captain had treated me with kindness and care.

Out of spite and resentment, my sister killed me.

I had then been reborn at the moment when my sister had shoved me in front of Black Mamba.

This time around, I decided to hide at the back of the crowd.

As I did, a familiar figure strode past me and threw herself in front of the space pirate, whose great, black serpentine tail was coiled behind him.

"Captain, I volunteer to be your wife."

My sister's voice was devoid of its natural haughty and willful tone; she had imbued it with a deliberate allure.

My skin prickled as goosebumps covered my flesh.

This must mean she too had been reborn.

Seeing her eyes, staring up at Dirk and full of admiration, I couldn't help but want to laugh.

Despite having lived this moment once already, she was still as selfish and stupid as ever.

"Very well. Seeing as you're so eager, let's get right to it." Dirk gave a maniacal laugh.

He grabbed my sister with his massive hands and started groping her wantonly.

Even by the relatively unrestrained norms of astral society, this was extremely degrading—never mind the more conservative standards of humanity.

My sister's body went rigid, but after a while, she pulled herself closer and pressed her body tightly against his.

He was clearly pleased by her enthusiasm.

He threw her over one shoulder and prepared to leave, his crew of pirates cheering bawdily.

"Wait!" My sister shouted, suddenly.

She stuck out her hand and pointed straight at me, a triumphant look on her face.

"Dearest, I want my sister to bathe me first. That way I can be clean when I attend you."

Dirk did not object.

He fixed me with a cold look and I followed my sister, not daring to disobey.

My sister slipped out of her clothes, with Dirk still watching, apparently unashamed.

She went so far as to slip him a wink.

"Good. Make sure you're nice and clean. I'll satisfy you soon." Dirk said, his voice hoarse.

From where I was standing, I could see that special swelling that only snake-men had.

Horrifying memories from before my rebirth resurfaced. My face turned pale in fear and I immediately lowered my gaze.

Once he had left, my sister gripped me by the jaw.

She forced me to raise my head.

"You've been reborn too!" There was no doubt in her voice.

Her eyes were full of malice and hate.

I gritted my teeth, furiously, unwilling to respond.

She raised her foot and used it to shove me down the stairs.

She stared down at me from above.

"Last time out you watched those astral nobles use me like a toy, all while you enjoyed nothing but love. I'm sure you were more than happy with how things turned out!

"This time, I'm going to be the one who's loved. But don't worry, when the nobles have finished with you, I'll make sure to collect your corpse!"

I couldn't get my head around what she was thinking.

Did she not realize that only the most evil and fiercest dregs of society turned to the life of piracy?

Had she failed to notice that Dirk was a huge black serpent?

Did she not understand how snakes reproduce?

How could a human possibly withstand such torment?

I opened my mouth, wanting to warn her.

But the desire in her eyes was so strong, I closed my mouth again, without saying a word.

Let her have her way.

Who knows, maybe she'll enjoy it.

"Let me help you wash. Dirk isn't a patient man, and you don't want to make him angry."

I knew she was only doing this to humiliate me, but knowing what she was about to face, I wasn't going to cause any trouble.

I got to my feet and made to help her.

She seemed satisfied with my subservience.

She raised her head, haughtily, and instructed me to scrub her entire body clean.

Soon, Dirk returned to the room.

"Get out!"

He didn't even look at me when he said it.

His eyes were fixed on my sister's naked body.

I immediately backed out of the room, watching him change from a half-human, half-snake into a giant serpent.

In their fully-animal forms, the astrals were twice the size of their half-animal, half-human counterparts.

From the other side of the thick metal door, I could hear my sister's blood-curdling screams. The sound sent shivers down my spine.

Before my rebirth, Dirk had been patient with me. Seeing that I was reticent, he had given me three days and nights to become accustomed to him.

And even then, he had stayed in his entirely humanoid form most of the time.

He would only transform into his half-snake form when he was angry. But even that was enough to make me wish for the merciful embrace of death.

And my sister ... Her first time was to be like this.

I let out a sigh, praying that she would prove to have a hidden talent for pleasing him.

Otherwise, his innate cruelty would leave her begging for an early demise.

But she had made her bed now, it was too late to change her mind.

After all, astral males were known to mate for life.

No matter how vicious Dirk might be, he would never allow my sister an easy way out.

In truth, due to the difficulties the astrals had when it came to reproducing, astral females were allowed up to three husbands.

It's just that Dirk's jealousy and need for control were such that his wife would never be given the chance to find another.

As I returned to the part of the ship where the passengers were being kept prisoner, the other humans stared at me contemptuously.

My sister's willingness to please had been a grave insult to our species, so much so that I was an object of disgust by mere association.