[Location: The Guyun Stone Forest – On top of Osial]
[Time: 9:05 PM]
The world was blue. Blinding, crushing blue.
I was inside the Hydro beam. My [Motorcycle Eradicator] had disintegrated seconds ago, unable to withstand the pressure of a God's breath. Now, it was just me, falling through a tunnel of pressurized water that felt like liquid concrete.
"Eat... EAT IT ALL!" I screamed mentally.
The vortex of [Predator] in front of me was spinning wildly, sucking in the hydro energy.
[Great Sage]
"Expand the storage! Burn my MP! convert it to body mass! Just don't let me explode!"
My skin was peeling off. [Dragon Scales] were cracking under the pressure. [Pain Nullification] was the only reason I hadn't passed out, but I could feel my HP bar plummeting.
60%... 40%... 15%...
CRASH.
I slammed onto something hard and slippery. The scales of Osial.
I was on the central head. The God stopped firing, shaking its massive neck in confusion. It felt... a tickle? A parasite?
I scrambled to my feet. My clothes were shredded, revealing dark blue scales spreading across my chest and arms. I didn't summon a weapon. I didn't need one.
I was a Dragon. I was the weapon.
"Thanks for the meal," I hissed, my eyes glowing with a feral silver light. "But I'm still hungry."
I drove my hands into Osial's hide. [Steel Strength] allowed my fingers to pierce the god's divine scales like wet paper.
Osial roared—a sound that shattered windows in Liyue Harbor miles away.
I bit down.
I ripped a chunk of glowing blue flesh from the God of the Vortex and swallowed it whole.
[Great Sage]
"More!"
I was a blur of violence. I wasn't fighting Osial; I was devouring him.
The God thrashed, trying to shake me off. Tentacles of water lashed at me, but I absorbed them on contact. The more I ate, the larger I grew. My human form began to unstable, flickering into my true draconic shape—but bigger. Much bigger.
From the Jade Chamber far above, the Qixing and the Adepti watched in horror.
"Is that... Raiden?" Paimon squeaked, looking through a telescope. "He's... he's eating the God!"
"An abomination," Mountain Shaper muttered, though his tone held fear. "To consume the flesh of an Archon... that is a taboo of the highest order."
"He is buying us time," Keqing said, her voice shaking. "Drop it. Lady Ningguang, drop the Chamber! Now!"
Ningguang closed her eyes. She made the hand signs. The Jade Chamber groaned, its suspension arrays disengaging.
"Goodbye, old friend."
[Location: On Osial's Head]
The sky turned gold. I looked up, blood (or rather, blue ichor) dripping from my mouth.
The Jade Chamber was falling. A meteor of wealth and rock.
[Great Sage]
"Not yet... just one more bite..."
I dug my claws deep, ripping out a core-like cluster of energy near Osial's neck. The God shrieked, paralyzed by the pain.
BOOM.
The Jade Chamber slammed into Osial.
The impact created a tsunami. The shockwave was powerful enough to flatten a mountain.
I was crushed between a falling palace and a dying god.
Darkness took me.
[Location: Liyue Harbor – The Docks]
[Time: The Next Morning]
The storm had passed. The sky was a clear, innocent blue.
The harbor was a mess of debris, but the city still stood. The people were celebrating. The Age of Contracts was over; the Age of Humanity had begun.
In a secluded cove near Guyun Stone Forest, a figure washed ashore.
I gasped, coughing up seawater.
I tried to stand, but my balance was off. I looked down at my hands.
They were clawed. Sharp, obsidian claws.
I looked at my reflection in a tide pool.
My human disguise was gone. I was in my Dragon Form, but it had changed.
I was no longer a "large wolf."
I was massive—about the size of a Geo Vishap Hatchling, but sleeker. My scales were a deep, iridescent midnight blue. A mane of silver fur (like Razor's hair) ran down my spine. Two curved horns jutted from my head, crackling with faint Electro and Hydro energy.
[Great Sage]
Species: LesserDragon → Greater Dragon (Storm-Tide Variant).
Rank: A-Rank (Calamity Class).
New Intrinsic Skill: [Amphibious] (Movement speed in water increased by 200%).
Unique Skill [Lust] has reacted to the evolution. Pheromone output increased.>
"Great," I groaned, my voice sounding deeper, vibrating in my chest. "I'm a growing boy."
"Indeed you are."
I froze. I knew that voice.
I turned my long neck to see a tall man in a brown suit standing on a rock above me. He held a polearm, though he leaned on it like a walking stick.
Zhongli. The Geo Archon.
He looked down at me, his amber eyes glowing faintly. He didn't look angry. He looked... fascinated.
"You possess a chaotic aura, young one," Zhongli said calmly. "You carry the scent of another world, the blessing of Barbatos, and now... the flesh of Osial."
I growled low in my throat—instinctively defensive—but then forced myself to relax. [Great Sage] told me I had a 0% chance of winning a fight against him right now.
"He tasted like salty calamari," I replied (telepathically). "Would not recommend."
Zhongli blinked, then let out a rare, genuine chuckle.
"A sense of humor. Good. That will serve you well in Liyue."
He descended the rock, stopping just inches from my snout.
"You are a variable I did not account for in my final contract. But... you saved the city. In your own, grotesque way."
He reached out.
I tensed. Was he going to kill me? Seal me?
He placed a gloved hand on my snout. A warm pulse of Geo energy flowed into me, stabilizing my raging internal energies.
"Consider this a payment for your service," Zhongli whispered. "And a warning. The fatui have noticed you. The Abyss has noticed you. Grow strong, Raiden Ragnvaldr. For the storms ahead will not be so easily eaten."
He turned and walked away.
"Oh, and please put some clothes on before you return to the city. Miss Keqing has been pacing the docks all night looking for you."
I watched him leave.
I looked at my claws. I clenched them.
I felt power coursing through me. Hydro, Electro, Anemo. Three elements down. Four to go.
"Status Window," I muttered.
Name: Raiden Ragnvaldr
Species: Greater Dragon
State: Hungry.
"Let's go find some food. And maybe a pair of pants."