Path of Dragons-Chapter 23Book 8: : Scales

Elijah looked at his forearms with no small degree of consternation twisting his expression. Part of it was the power he felt coursing through his body. Strength unlike anything he’d ever experienced flowed through him. He had no idea how to quantify it, but he knew that taking the step from Iron to Bronze had been the largest leap he’d taken in terms of body cultivation. Even without buffs like Wild Infusion, Elijah felt much stronger than ever before, suggesting quite a large step forward.

However, the bulk of his attention was on the emerald scales covering the top of his hand and twisting around his forearm to end at his shoulders. He ran one finger over them, tracing the line of scales until it terminated in a point near his neck. The scales themselves were pliable – much like normal skin – but they were also firm and unyielding.

There were similar lines of scales twisting up from his feet and along the length of his legs to his hips.

Elijah felt a slight panic grip his heart. He was used to transforming into various beasts, so he was no stranger to growing scales. However, this was his natural form, which was vastly different from taking on a bestial shape. It was an assault on his identity as a human, and one that brought with it mixed feelings.

Suddenly, Elijah became aware of another presence in the submerged cave, and he whipped around to see a familiar face staring back at him.

“You have grown, little dragon,” Kirlissa said, her perfect form flickering. “I did not think it was possible to progress to the fourth stage of body cultivation on such a weak world, but I am happy to be proven wrong. You impress me, child.”

She reached out, and though Elijah knew she was more like a hologram than a solid creature, he felt her run her own fingers down the scales on his shoulder. “Emerald. A fitting development, but unexpected for an adopted member of my family,” she said with a tight smile. To Elijah, it was as if she was beset by a bittersweet memory. “Why does this trouble you, child? It is a cause for celebration. Even without the context of the Empire of Scale, you should understand the depths of this new level of physical power.”

Elijah opened his mouth, trying to speak, but only bubbles emerged. With how easily Kirlissa spoke, it was easy to forget that he was still underwater. She had an answer for that, though, and after a lazy wave of her hand, she created a bubble around Elijah’s head.

“Speak freely, my son.”

Elijah took a breath, noting that the air smelled like freshly cut grass. “I…I’m troubled because I’m not supposed to have scales,” he stated. “I’m still human.”

“That is debatable,” she said with a more genuinely amused smile. “You are a dragon. Dragons have scales. This is not the first change you will undergo. Each step forward on the path of cultivation will bring you closer to your true form. Once you reach the Lord stage of overall cultivation, you will have established yourself as a true dragon. A small and underdeveloped one, but a dragon nonetheless.”

“So, I’ll look like Saraalinisa?”

“She is a gold dragon. You are an emerald dragon.”

“I’m talking about shape. General characteristics. Like, four legs and wings and all that.”

“Of course.”

Elijah sighed. “What if that isn’t what I want?” he asked.

“You would choose a different form?” Kirlissa asked.

Elijah nodded. “I like the way I look. I don’t want to change. Not the base form, at least. I’m fine with transforming into a thorned sentry or blight dragon, but I’m still a human.”

“You are a dragon.”

“Yeah. I guess I’m both, then,” he stated. “I’m not trying to be ungrateful here or anything. I’m really not. It’s just that I didn’t know about all of this. When you said that I would become a dragon, I thought it was just metaphorical. Or maybe just about my core. I don’t know.”

What Elijah struggled to articulate was that his entire identity was wrapped up in being a human being. Sure, he could shapeshift, but his anchor was that he would always go back to being the man he’d always been. Now that it seemed he was changing into something else – and permanently – he found that his sense of self had begun to waver.

Thankfully, Kirlissa picked up on that, even if he struggled to put it into words, and her next statement lifted a weight from Elijah’s shoulders. “Then change it,” she said, waving her hand. Immediately, a notification emerged before Elijah’s inner eye.

Natural Shapeshifter

Dragons have ever been natural shapeshifters, and you are no different. Establish a humanoid form that you may adopt at will.

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After Elijah read it, he looked at Kirlissa, taking in the beauty of her form before asking, “So, this isn’t what you really look like?”

She let out a small laugh. “No, my son. If I appeared on this world in my true form – even using a projection – the weight of my presence would destroy it,” she answered. “The same is true of my world. Only a few planets in this universe can remain intact in my genuine presence. The only places I can truly let myself free are in the other realms, and even they tremble when I fly overhead.” ȒάＮȏBĚȘ

“Sounds…difficult.”

“Do not pity me, child,” she said. “We are natural shapeshifters for a reason. I am just as comfortable in skin as in scales.” She looked away. “Remaining in my natural form would be a lonely existence.”

Silence stretched between them, lasting for a few more moments before Elijah chose to change the subject by asking, “Did you give me that ability?”

“No. I merely gave you the ability to see it.”

“How does that work?”

“You are not ready to understand the inner workings of the system. When you reach Transcendence, I will show you more.”

Elijah nodded. He’d only barely ascended, so he knew that day was a long way off. By then, he might have figured quite a lot out on his own. So, he said, “Thank you. You’ve eased my mind.”

“That is what mothers do, child,” she said.

Elijah wasn’t certain if he liked her referring to him as her son – or herself as his mother – but she was far too powerful to contradict. Besides, for all he knew, draconic society might attach different – or broader – meanings to such terms. Regardless, if she wanted to think of him as family, he certainly wasn’t going to argue with the world-destroying dragon, even if he felt that doing so trampled on the memory of his true mother.

He refused to consider that, though. Kirlissa had only ever been kind to him, supporting him in ways that ensured his survival. She didn’t want to replace the memory of his mother. She merely wanted to be there for him.

But deep down, Elijah wondered what her true motive was. He’d heard stories of Gabriel – the angel – from Sadie, and he couldn’t escape the notion that elder races, for all their power, were a manipulative bunch. Was Kirlissa the same, only using a different tactic? Maybe. But Elijah hoped not.

Regardless, he said, “Thank you.”

“My time here grows short. Do not forget the invitation I extended the last time we spoke. The Empire of Scale awaits.”

With that, she disappeared, and Elijah felt the pressure he hadn’t realized enveloped him dissipate. The bubble around his head dissolved, and the water rushed in. He barely noticed it. Instead, he concentrated on the new ability, firmly establishing in his mind what he wanted.

Oddly enough, there was no swirl of ethera accompanying the ability. Instead, the scales simply retracted into his body, and skin grew in its place. At first, it was difficult to hold the form – it kept reverting to scales when he lost concentration – but after only a few minutes, it grew easier. An hour later, he didn’t even have to concentrate in order to maintain it.

There were no more notifications, though. And even when he pulled up his list of abilities, there was no listing for Natural Shapeshifter. It was as if it had never existed.

However, he soon found that it only took a flick of his mind in order to bring the scales back. He practiced with it for a little more than an hour, going back and forth until he felt comfortable with the process, which felt more like forcing himself to blink than casting a spell.

In any case, it wasn’t that long before he turned his attention to the devastation he’d wrought upon the cultivation cave. Any notions that he’d use it to quickly fuel another step forward in cultivation were dashed when he saw that, aside from a single nodule of Leviathan’s Bones, no life remained in the cave. Indeed, his efforts had dissolved everything, using it all for fuel, which left Elijah feeling more than a little guilty. Was that the fate that awaited after every cultivation improvement he made?

That certainly seemed to be the case, which was regrettable but ultimately necessary – a thought that gave Elijah chills when he considered the ramifications of thinking like that. Sure, it was easy to justify killing innocent creatures when they were just a bunch of marine plants and non-sapient sea creature. But considering how far above normal humans he’d become – especially given that, with every step forward in cultivation, he would be less and less one of them – how long would it be before he thought of Earth’s population the same way?

It was easy to believe he’d never think that way, but he recognized the dangers nonetheless. And they were horrifying.

Not wanting to shortchange that thought process, Elijah spent a long time just floating in the cave and letting himself feel the ramifications of his own progress. So much death, just so he could take a single – if large – step forward.

Once he’d wrapped his head around it, he retreated to the open sea and began the process of repopulating the cave. Thankfully, the pearl remained intact, and the Leviathan’s Bones would regrow from that single polyp. But a thriving ecosystem required more than that, so he transplanted huge strands of kelp and led a bunch of small fish inside before spending an entire day flaring Nature’s Design. He didn’t attempt to manipulate the plant life into any alternate forms. Instead, he just wanted to repair the damage he’d done.

However, he couldn’t afford to spend any more time in that endeavor, so after a single day, he fled the cave and returned to shore. Soon enough, he was back in the grove, where he saw Sadie going through her sword forms. She stopped when she noticed his arrival.

“How long was I gone?” he asked.

Sadie told him that he’d been cultivating for eight days. “You’re stronger,” she said, her notched sword dipping to the ground. “It worked?”

Elijah nodded. “I reached Bronze,” he revealed. Then, he explained the process as best he could. Some of it had blurred together – especially when it came to the chrysalis he’d undergone when the cocoon of ethera had formed around him – but he told her everything he could remember. Finally, he let his scales return.

“Pretty,” Sadie said, her gentle fingers tracing the outline of the emerald scales on his forearm. “Is this going to continue? Are you going to turn into a true dragon?”

“Eventually,” Elijah admitted. “But I can go back to being human whenever I want.”

“Human. I don’t think that term really applies anymore. Do you?” she asked.

Elijah shrugged. “I want it to.”

“Check your status,” she suggested.

Elijah did, and aside from the line labeling his body cultivation as having reached the Bronze stage, there was another change:

Alignment

Empire of Scale (Dragon)

Elijah let out a long, slow breath, then told Sadie what he saw. “I don’t feel like I’m aligned with anyone but Earth,” he added. “What do you think it means?”

“It means that our cores are far more impactful than we were led to believe,” she answered. “You’re a dragon, and when the time comes, I am going to be an angel. If I can figure out my cultivation, at least.”

“You will,” Elijah said.

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“Maybe,” she offered. Then, before Elijah could respond, she asked, “What now?”

“We need to complete our preparations,” he answered. “Soon, we’ll need to go to Seattle. After that…I get the feeling our little vacation is going to end.”

“But not tonight.”

“Not tonight,” he agreed. Then, they embraced, coming together in a fit of passion.