Inner World!

John opened his eyes to find himself standing atop a patch of grass. Green grass brighter and fresher than any he had seen before, the tips of their soft blades kissed by golden flecks of sunlight.

He looked up to see a sun in the sky, a beautiful, golden orb that inspired nothing but hope within John, in brightness not only in the world around him, but for the future.

Yet surrounding that sun was just pure darkness. In fact, the patch of grass that John stood on was a disembodied platform that stood in the midst of a vast and infinitely stretching dark, like it was just one little patch of landscape painted upon a massive canvas of black.

An unfinished painting.

No, to be more precise, a painting that had just begun.

This was John's Inner World.

It was small, but in time, it would grow, and the darkness would fade as the light above grew stronger, the sun brighter and bolder.

"Greetings, my child," came Mel's voice, this time, not from within John, but outside. He raised his head to see Mel.

Mel smiled at him in a mostly humanoid form.

Her bare, green-scaled and black clawed feet pressed gently into the grass as she stood tall with her scaled and clawed fingers interlocked together in front of her stomach. A dress of leaves and bright blue, red, and white flowers wrapped around her tightly, accentuating ample curves that spoke of both beauty and motherhood.

Her eyes were a bright emerald green, as was her hair, and two wooden horns branched out from the sides of her head. A smattering of green scales lined her forehead like a small tiara.

"I thought you would look a lot more…draconic?" said John as he looked down at himself. He realized he was not glowing white anymore. In his Inner World, his scales were golden, reflecting the sun's rays with a bright incandescence.

"A dragon may alter their form freely to suit the eyes of other lesser races through an Arcana known as [Glamrin]," said Mel. "Elsewise, how would we spread our love amongst the lesser races with their fragile bodies?

This form, too, I have taken for I sense one like this is more comfortable to you based on the attraction you felt for the Felid Werefolk female."

"Okay, can we stop mentioning that?" said John.

Mel was not his real mother by any means, but he still felt some instinctive connection to her as a mother figure, and hearing stuff about attraction from what was his own mom was still embarrassing, even as a dragon.

"Certainly," said Mel. She motioned to the field of grass around her. "This is your Inner World, my child. It is a representative of who you are, and unique only to you. You may enter this space with calm meditation, and in here, you may take the time to think, reflect, and, most importantly, decide which Arcana you wish to bear upon your being."

"So am I actually here? My whole body?" asked John, wondering whether he had phased out of the ship.

"Not so. It is only your consciousness, for this Inner World lies within your soul," said Mel. "As you grow stronger, your core fortifying, your body evolving, and your mind shaping itself under new experiences and struggles, this Inner World will grow and change to reflect your soul.

I can tell already that your Inner World is one of warmth and hope. Quite rare among our kind, and yet, perhaps what is needed for our peoples to arise once more.

In time, as your Inner World grows ever more with your might, you will be able to bring forth this Inner World to the Outer, painting the reality around you in the form of a Lair. And in a Lair, a dragon's might is unmatched."

"How far off am I from that?" said John. The grassy patch around him was just a small ten by ten meter square, and there was so, so much darkness around him he needed to paint over.

"It will depend entirely upon you, but when the time comes that you are able to manifest your Inner World, you will know," said Mel. "I also cannot determine exactly the nature of your growth, for you are unique, even among the Great Offspring.

This, I have determined by fully analyzing the nature of the Helic Light vested within you."

"Oh?" said John, perking his scaled head up. Had Mel figured out where Sarael's seal had went?

"Within your soul, there is embedded an Angelic spell. A tenth-tier spell known as [Salvation] that allows for that which is deceased to be resurrected and restored.

The nature of the spell appears to have been tied to an item, and by holding that item at the time of death, one could reform their body and resurrect in a safe location," said Mel. She put a hand to her chin, furrowing her brows as she recalled information.

"Yet, because you are a dragon, and one of the Great Offspring on top of that, that item was incorporated within you, digested and enmeshed into your very being, becoming a fundamental part of your soul.

Thus, you are able to channel the Helic Light, the light of the Angels that can both restore and destroy.

I cannot fully break down and analyze Angelic spells, for Angels in their might are comparable to our own kind.

But I do know that now as a Wyrmling, you must have obtained new abilities related to it. Even now, your golden scales are of a kind never before seen among dragon kind.

You are perhaps the first ever 'hybrid' between Angel and Dragon.

Check your abilities, my child, for I too am curious of how this fusion manifests within you."

John willed his status to appear in his head, and that was when he realized he did indeed have a whole host of new powers.

>>>

Elemental Affinity: Solar

-The dragonborn's elemental affinity is attuned with the sun and the Helic Light whose twin spirals represent both absolute destruction and absolute restoration. Thus, the dragonborn's elemental breath may both rain down scorching destruction upon his foes or gently infuse the wounded with newfound life.

Immortality Matrix Tier 1

-The dragonborn's immortality matrix has now been developed with the full development of proper draconic scales. Any attack below the tier 1 threshold will instantly be neutralized upon striking the dragonborn's being.

In addition, due to the dragonborn's Solar affinity, heat and flame-based attack immunity is granted.

Blessings *NEW*:

War Angel's Hours of Glory

Tier: ???

-The dragonborn has inherited a skill known as the 'Hours of Glory'. When the sun rises and shines in the sky, the dragonborn receives a boost to all of their abilities.

Immortality Matrix defenses rises up a full tier, physical abilities are enhanced, natural healing is boosted, and mana regeneration is enhanced. In addition, all skills derived from creature Origins are enhanced.

For one hour of the day, when the sun shines brightest in the sky, it is possible to enter a state of vastly heightened power known as the 'Zenith'.

During this time, power is massively shunted out from the dragonborn like a star, massively enhancing all of their capabilities even further, but just as the stars that shine brightest burn out the fastest, so too will the dragonborn, causing potentially permanent damage to the dragonborn's being as energy beyond his capacity is channeled.

The one-hour time frame of the Zenith may be shortened to enhance its effects further but doing so will exponentially increase the risks associated with it.

>>>

John read his status screen mentally, and as he read, his body and mind began to become aware of these powers, and he gained a natural sense of how to use them, though they could definitely still be honed further with training and usage.

"Blessings?" wondered John. He knew he had Skills which were like the 'spells' of Wild Magic, costing mana to use abilities he got from evolving other monsters' abilities. He also knew he had Arcana which were like conventional spellcasting magic.

But Blessings? What was this?

"Blessings are abilities that are engraved into your soul. They remain with you regardless of the form you take," explained Mel.

"Gotcha," said John. So, basically they were permanent passives.

So this was where Sarael's seal had went.

John had basically eaten it while he was in the egg, and it had become a part of him.

Not only that, but he also inherited what were likely Sarael's own powers. Incredible powers, to be sure, though he could sense that the boosts they gave were the type to 'scale', meaning they might not be too much now but would only get better and better over time.

"You are not truly my child, are you?" said Mel.

John quickly looked up to Mel, scared at how she would be, but she still gave him her smile.

"I-well, yeah, no I'm not," said John.

"If I had to guess, you were a soul guided by the Angels, but by some great oddity, your soul has managed to enter into my hatchling," said Mel.

"Yeah, you're right…you aren't mad about that?" said John. "I basically took over your child's body, who knows where his normal soul went."

Mel shook her head. "It does not work like that. The offspring within the egg was simply a physical vessel, and your soul was merely the one to inhabit it. You did not take the place of anything; you were fated to be here from the beginning.

Thus, you are still my child, and I guide you as such with no reservations as a true mother should."

John felt relief with a sigh. He was basically an adopted child, but Mel still treated him as her own.

"And your purpose still remains the same. Regardless of what soul is in you, you are still a dragon, and all others will see you as such.

Your heart is warm to others but know well that for you are a dragon, it may be that many others shall not return that warmth unto you" said Mel, her smile starting to fade into seriousness. "Now that you are a Wyrmling, you are recognized as a true dragon, and with it, your purpose becomes ever clearer.

I will tell you of the fate that came upon our kind and the destiny placed upon you."

Mel paused, one of her brows raising. The Inner World rumbled and shook, as if an earthquake had hit it. "But it seems you are under threat. Return to the outer world. Finish your evolution. And prove your strength now as a proper dragon of our kind.