??? - Late Summer : The Acardi Laboratory | Siratha

-----

*Vwooom* The mana in the air reverberated slightly as I studied a short optical cable in a different room while recreating it in front of me. It was a pretty simple optical cable only about a meter long and compared to many of the things I had already made, it was unbelievably simple, but it was something that would quickly be a huge help.

"So, if I plug this in here, you can update everything?" I spoke with a bit of skepticism as I gently grabbed the fragile end of the cable and connected it to a small magnetic pad on the back of the monitor.

"That is correct."

-Well.. I guess I have no reason to doubt it...- *tap* Quickly connecting it, I tapped the other end on the top of the Acardi satellite mapping device I thankfully brought with me and almost immediately was presented with an archaic-looking prompt: 'Unknown Device Connected' *Ding*

"Connection detected. It appears to be an outdated ETBM, an extraterrestrial body mapping and communication device rather than an OOM, an Orbital Object Mapper. This means it is quite outdated as OOM's replaced ETBM's close to 500 years before my hosts left this place. However, it can still be updated. Would you like to update from Version 23.58.7 to Version 493.17.1? This will take some time."

-So, the OOM came after the ETBM? What's the difference?- "As long as the hardware can handle it." Currently, I was allowing the laboratory's AI to give the device I had a proper recalibration and update. Over the past hour or so, I had managed to repair most of the remaining damaged modules in the device while speaking to the AI about what it was, however almost all the 'features' that should have been unlocked by the repairs were mostly nonfunctional because the software was still corrupted and broken. "How long will it take?"

"Unable to determine currently."

Thankfully though, the AI was confident it could repair the software side of things for me. "Then, just keep it and work on it while I'm gone." -I need to get back for Lief's ceremony...-

It was a bit of a shame that I had to leave already. The last few days had been extremely productive, even if it came at the cost of things weighing on my mind. I managed to learn of the existence of a city on the moon, acquired the knowledge to understand and fix almost any Acardi technology I came across, and even obtained the absolutely horrifying knowledge that a creature with the mass of a moon was living beneath my feet.

But while some of that information was quite pressing, and with it, my curiosity was piqued, I knew I wouldn't have time for any lengthy expedition for quite a while.

-First is Lief's ceremony, a month after that Hera will return to Bahamut, and not long after that will be the Prayer, waking up Father and even the Coming of Age festival all in the span of a year.- Obviously, at that time, I wasn't aware of everything that would wreck that already busy schedule, so ideas of shorter trips like repairing the Ping Tower in preparation for a trip to the moon or a trip to the liquid ice sheet did cross my mind, but thanks to the void, I didn't have time to even think about it.

*vwoop* After quickly making sure nothing was going to malfunction with the reactor while I was gone, I jumped into the void and reappeared in the afternoon sky over the foggy canopy of the Tree of Prayer, promptly changing to my fenririan form and diving into the fog in one swift motion. *vwoop-Flash-Fwoosh*

Knowing the fog was simply an accumulation of lost souls made it a bit of an ethereal experience, but after a moment, the odd sense of comfort I felt far outweighed everything else. -A place safe from every living being and even the gods... It's no wonder the Ancient Fenrir liked this spot...-

*tap-tap-tap-tap* Swiftly hopping down through branches and winding my way through the seemingly endless graveyard that was the canopy, I eventually made it to the God's Abode, letting Ilios hop off my back and wander off while I used my aura to overlook those below.

To my surprise, even though I thought the ceremony was still about half an hour away based on the sun's position, Lief was already kneeling at the foot of the tree with the other apostles lined up about twenty meters behind her. -They sure sensed my presence quickly...- It seemed like my appearance started the ceremony.

Behind them was a crowd of about a hundred thousand people, dragons in both humanoid and draconic forms, elves, and demihumans, all donning religious garbs and jewelry, silently kneeling with their heads bowed.

They seemed to be higher ranking members of the church, as all of those that looked like common folk or even nobles were lining the inner branches of the surrounding treants, watching from afar.

-What an odd feeling...- Finally walking up to the opening in the God's Abode directly above Lief, I laid down, gently crossing my wrists while overlooking everyone below like a god watching over its subjects. It felt a bit odd and foreign at first, but it didn't take long for me to become quite fond of the sensation. -This spot really is a nice perch...-

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sensing Ilios cloak himself and bolt out of the tree, I looked over and watched him leap all the way to one of the nearby treants before passing over the crowd and coming up to two people standing on top of a small building at the end of a branch that was reserved for nobles.

It was Krystallo and Hera, excitedly watching over the crowd at the base of the Tree of Prayer and anticipating my arrival, even though Hera knew exactly where I was, staring in my direction with a soft smile.

But it didn't last forever. *tap* "AH!" She let out a yell and sent the artifact in her hands ripping through the canopy as Ilios's brushed past her side, completely hiding his presence from her until that moment.

"Pffft-hahaha." I couldn't help but laugh even as Hera looked down at him with a baffled and slightly horrified expression. -I guess I'm not the only one Ilios baffles.-

But unfortunately, after enjoying watching Ilios and Krystallo happily reunite, the fun eventually came to an end.

Not far away from them, a large, almost 95-meter-tall silver-scaled dragon glided out of the forest of treants with a small glass resting just above his head, filled with a slightly viscous black liquid.

It was the elixir that resulted from my horn.

Quickly coming up to the Tree of Prayer, the huge ancient found his way up to Lief and the apostles before making a gentle landing and handing the glass bottle off to Alva, the strongest apostle behind Lief.

*pat* Humbly taking it from the air with her aura, she gently took hold of the bottle before walking up behind Lief and holding it out over her with a bow.

It was my signal.

*vwoop-FWOOOM* In an instant, I relinquished control over my aura and appeared behind her without so much as causing a slight breeze.

Moving so fast that only the oldest of dragons watching could notice me before I reached the ground, it seemed as if I just appeared out of nothingness.

But everyone, no matter where they were looking, what they were doing, and what they were thinking, knew I was there.

-So this is the elixir, huh...- Swiftly lowering my nose next to the bottle presented by Alva, I picked it up with my aura and quickly began inspecting it.

From what I could tell, it was an extract of my genetics, mixed with an oddly specific balance of every type of mana and separated into specific sections by unattributed mana, as if waiting to mix in the gut of the host when consumed. It seemed like they planned to use the mixing of mana to shock the body into an evolutionary state. -But is this enough?-

Looking down at Lief, I spoke through wind magic. "Did the alchemist mention any shortcomings in the process of making this?"

She jolted slightly before speaking so softly that only Alva and I could hear it. "It was mentioned that they couldn't infuse enough mana into it for it to take full effect because of how much mana I have, but-"

-So it isn't enough...- "Alright." Cutting her off, I looked back into the elixir and immediately began infusing a huge amount of mana into it, essentially injecting as much as I could without it being too dangerous for her. -I may as well add a small amount of space mana too...-

Until finally, I arrived at a balance that felt more right. After my experience with Father, I could more-so estimate the effects the mana would have on her body and reserve, and while it would certainly deal some damage, that was just part of the reconstructive process. -Thankfully, her soul should be more than enough to handle what will be her new body...-

"This will hurt quite a lot. Just don't fight it and follow your instincts. If something goes wrong, I'll save you." Pulling the vial away, now acting more like a liquid with a colorful tinge of mana floating through it, I lifted Lief's chin with my aura and opened the bottle with a pop. *pop*

She was completely relaxed, unlike just a moment ago, now putting her whole faith in me.

But I didn't plan to intervene.

"Brace yourself..." As she opened her mouth, I carefully pulled the elixir out of the bottle and took a moment to look over the disheveled crowd.

It was the first time since before the Great War that a true apostle of the Ancient Fenrir would be born and that the greatest gift to be bestowed upon a Sirathan would see the limelight. No one wanted to miss it, no matter how hard it was to stay awake within my aura.

-But I can't deny that for me.. this will be a bit of an experiment...- The first of many I would undertake to learn about the new realm of mana science I wanted to finally properly dip my toes into.

The interactions of genetics, mana, and evolution.

*plop-glug* Dropping it into her mouth, the liquid flowed into her stomach without even slowing down for the air in her throat to escape.

And almost instantaneously, she lost consciousness, and her aura, which had remained calm and controlled until that point, erupted outward. *VWOOOOOM*

Before anyone could react, her robe, lined with priceless artifacts and runes, began to melt, burn, and freeze simultaneously, exposing the discolored skin around her stomach as it hastily began destroying and reconstructing itself to an ever-changing blueprint, no matter how incomplete or corrupted it was.

But as instants turned into seconds, the changes spread through her body like a simmering fire and eventually began to stabilize like a forest reduced to ash after a wildfire, simply waiting for the opportunity to regrow.

It was the beginning of a metamorphosis the likes of which the world hadn't witnessed in over ten millennia.

The first step of a humanoid reaching beyond mortality.

-----

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read up to 5 chapters ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon!

(In case Embedded Link doesn't work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD )

-------------

Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TDOD releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v

All are welcome!