Chapter 315: Thawing A Frosted Heart
N/A - N/A : The Mallory Area | Lunar Derelict District
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One hundred and three years—just over a century.
For a creature barely over twenty, it was an eternity—an amount of time I couldn't fathom.
-But.. even if I want to deny it... How else would I have grown this much...- Now towering nearly 61 meters, I grew nearly 23 meters taller, with my wingspan growing to match and my tail growing far longer with some frills appearing on the end. With the additional height, I also seemed to grow out of my young, stocky stature, looking far more balanced while still maintaining a more muscular form.
-It seems my scales are somewhat metallic now, too...- Although they were far from mirrors, considering they were completely matte previously, any hint of sheen was quite a change, even within the fog of hydrogen surrounding me.
Among other changes, my horns had grown quite significantly, with many more spikes sprouting around my body as well.
But somehow, even though I looked like an entirely different dragon, my looks weren't the part that changed the most.
That award, at least then, was held by my aura.
Now stretching outward almost a hundred kilometers in every direction, I went from having complete control of my aura to essentially nothing, only being able to roughly control it out to about 12 kilometers and read it for about... "ACK-FUCK!" I yelped in pain the moment I tried to read my aura out to just a kilometer.
-Holy shit, that hurt...- Before my dragon sleep, I had no issues reading my entire aura, spanning about a kilometer in every direction, but now, the moment I tried even half of that, it felt like my brain was overloaded with information. -What the hell?-
Momentarily slowing my thoughts to let my aching brain catch a break, I isolated a microscopic portion of my mana to read, but the moment I looked through it, my confusion only worsened. -What am I even looking at?-
On a scale much smaller than atoms, I was seeing an inexplicable fuzz, sort of like static, that seemed to originate from nothing. -No fucking wonder it hurt when I tried to read it out to a kilometer... But why?-
I was at a complete loss, but the moment I tried to look at it with some space mana, it became extremely obvious.
-It's.. space mana?- I furrowed my brows in confusion as I pulled my head back.
All throughout my aura, there was now space mana present, constantly exuding from my body, just like normal mana. -The hell?-
Quickly looking toward my reserve, I tried to find my attribute nodes but only found 6, all tightly clumped while now touching my reserve itself. -What the.. where even is my space mana node?- But after seeing the space mana within my aura flowing straight from my reserve, I noticed it. -What the.. did my reserve itself blend with it?-
To some, it was a change that may not sound like it'd do much, but it was actually quite the opposite.
On one hand, space mana was so fine that even when spread into a thin layer like it was in my aura, it would increase the detail of whatever I was reading to such an extent it hurt. -I can't hardly read any of my aura anymore without feeling like my head is splitting apart because of it...-
But on the other hand, with space mana now integrated within my aura, I could create gates and spells that used it with unrivaled speed and efficiency. -It's a bit of a monkey's paw.. a curse with a blessing.. but just having to figure out a new method to read my aura feels a little cheap for such a benefit...-
Looking to the horizon, I got ready to test it out by creating and detonating some antimatter, but before I could even start, I was stopped by an odd hint of discomfort. -Huh?- It was a discomfort I hadn't felt in a very long time, but I recognized it instantly, regardless of that.
-Is this.. my third form?-
Fresh at the forefront of my mind was a transformation spell nearly identical to what I used to switch to my true humanoid form, with only the smallest of details differing. -It's a natural transformation spell?- Essentially, it was a spell that followed genetics like the true humanoid transformation spell. -But don't dragons only have two sections to their genetics?-
Deciding to simply go for it, I fed the spell mana just as my instincts instructed and closed my eyes.
*FLASH* Almost instantly, a blinding flash exploded out of my body, and my mind was filled with a horrific mix of warm and tingly sensations.
However, as time passed, I seemed to settle into a more comfortable form.. one that somehow felt both foreign and familiar simultaneously. "Hooh..."
As I finally opened my eyes, the first things I noticed were that my vision had improved substantially, now more similar to how I saw the world as a simple soul, and that I was quite a lot shorter, only standing at around 40 meters tall, but as I used my aura to get a better look at myself, I understood why.
*Vwoom* My body, much like the form my soul had taken, generally resembled that of Dagr or Ilios, except with a much longer and heavier tail, elongated neck, massive wings layered in fur, and two large horns stretching up from just behind my ears, akin to my humanoid form. -The glow under the scales of my draconic form is present in my fur and under my wings still as well...-
The only way I could describe it was the inverse of my draconic form, with my Fenrir and Draconic genetics inverting over one another. -But besides my vision.. what possible benefit does this have?-
To be frank, the only changes that felt apparent were that I was smaller, had far less mobility in my arms, and the biggest issue, had no hind claw to use like a thumb if I wanted to grip something. -I can't imagine I'm any stronger either... I lost a lot of mass...-
But as eager as I was to put my new form to the test, that was something I had to save for another time.
*Vwowowoom* Looking toward the noisy mana ripples, I immediately saw Ilios, still growing and evolving, desperately trying to absorb mana through my sea of aura before finally surrounding him with a gate.
*vwWWOOOM* The vortex around his body instantly grew in strength several fold.
However, as I sat there and watched.. waiting for him to break out of the gate, a wave of anxiety washed over me, and my chest started to ache.
I had no idea what to expect. Trusting my instincts, I could tell it was Ilios's soul within his body, but at the same time, I was still nervous.. I was doubtful.
The more time passed, the more questions appeared and weighed on my mind. 'What if it isn't him? What if he lost his memories? What if he.. isn't the same Ilios I know...'
They loomed over me like a dark storm cloud, each carrying the weight of a mountain and filling me with an ever-growing web of anxiety and doubt.
But while the following few minutes were nothing short of a miserable eternity, like all things.. it eventually came to an end.
*Whirring* As the vortex finally died down, the gate was violently split and shredded by the being inside, leaving me to watch with frozen breaths as the 24-meter-tall Fenrir inside was exposed before eventually turning to match my gaze.
His eyes were bright, reminiscent of a star burning brightly within the abyss of space, and his stature was tall and confident, but his expression was indifferent.
At that moment.. that instant.. time seemed to stop.
However, as if I had simply zoned out, before I even realized, he had disappeared, exposing endless cracks in the ground behind where he previously stood. -Huh?-
*fwo-WHAAAAMMMM* Before my mind could even defrost, an indescribably massive force slammed into my neck, instantly hurling me out of the moon's atmosphere.
Feeling claws trying to dig into my chest, I didn't even want to look down.. I didn't want to face reality...
*CRACK-WHAAAM* As I was driven back into the ground, I simply closed my eyes and tried to brace myself for whatever reality was to feed me, struggling to hold back the tears welling in my eyes at the same time...
But as the dust settled, I felt something somewhat soft and wet gently touch my nose. -What the..?- Jolting my eyes open, I was instantly met with Ilios's gaze.
*Fwoosh-Fwoosh-Fwoosh-Fwoosh* Wagging his tail with enough force to cause wind in the nearly non-existent atmosphere, he gently pressed his nose into mine while digging his claws into my chest.
"I..Ilios?" At the time, I wasn't sure how to even react. "Are you really-"
*LIIIIIICK* He immediately cut me off as he licked my comparably huge nose before pressing his nose back into it and staring deep into my eyes with a seemingly limitless excitement.
A wave of relief so immense it made tears come to my eyes instantly washed through my body. -He's.. really back...- "You're really back!" Using my aura to pull him closer, my tail began to wag uncontrollably. "I thought I lost youuuu!"
As I nestled my snout against him, he climbed up, licking away the tears streaming down my face as if to tell me I shouldn't cry.
But in that moment, nothing else mattered.
I was lost in the moment, wrapped up in the emotion of having him back. His familiar presence, his warmth, and even the rhythmic wagging of his tail brushing against my belly comforted me in a way that words could hardly capture.
But after just a moment, he suddenly pulled back slightly, his piercing gaze analyzing mine with a sense of relief, longing, and.. mischief?
The next thing I knew, he hopped up in the air before slamming his face into my chest, nuzzling his head into my fur like a fox trying to burrow before playfully rolling onto his back.
"Haha." My chuckle immediately lifted the weight of a mountain range off my mind. "You like my fur?"
He immediately rolled back over after squirming for a moment before looking me straight in the eyes and nodding with determination, only to continue rolling around again immediately after.
"Pfft, you little-" *Fwip* Rolling over, I moved him off of me before rubbing my face into his belly as he did mine. "Now it's my turn!"
But rather than simply letting me get away with it, he reached up and started gnawing on one of my horns. *knack-knack*
"Hey! Those aren't for chewing!" Quickly standing up, I picked him almost completely off the ground while he held onto my horn before looking at him with a pout.
But rather than feeling any negative desire, I was thankful, limitlessly thankful to have him back. -And well.. I guess even if this form doesn't end up having many real benefits.. at least Ilios likes it...-
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