Chapter 32: Questions of the New Power
A heavy, stunned silence hung in the damp cavern after the overwhelming aura had slightly faded with the disappearance of the black sword, which had turned into a coiling dragon tattoo on Tian Heng's arm. Lilith, Faela, and Lyra remained kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath, the shock, fear, and incomprehensible power still evident on their faces.
Tian Heng stood still, calmly examining his new transformation. His right hand, now bearing the black dragon tattoo, looked strikingly pale compared to his memory of its previous color. He felt his new skin—smooth and cold like snow. With his other hand, he touched one of the small black horns protruding from his temple. They were hard and smooth like polished stone. Then he caught a slightly warped reflection of himself in one of the nearby crystals—the silver hair, molten golden eyes, black horns, snow-white skin. He was looking at a stranger, yet somehow, he still felt like himself in essence—analytical and cold.
He focused inward. Did he still feel the cold ether of the "Frozen Star Refinement Style"? Yes, it was there—a deep and calm current in his dantian. But now it was surrounded or intertwined with another energy—something darker, ancient, and possessing raw draconic force. The two energies didn't seem in conflict; rather, they overlapped or were beginning to merge.
[Core, analyze my current physiological and energetic state. What is the nature of this transformation?] he sent the mental inquiry.
The response came from the core after a moment of intensive scanning:
[Analysis... Bio-energetic fusion with unknown entity detected (preliminary classification: symbiotic? mutated parasitic?). Extensive physiological changes: dermal pigmentation, keratinous structures, visual modification... Internal ether levels appear stable but are affected/encased by an unknown energy of draconic and dark properties. Ether affinity unchanged significantly, but potential control has drastically increased due to fusion. New abilities undetermined; testing required. Core unable to fully analyze the fused entity with current data. Extreme caution advised.]
Fusion. Draconic dark energy. A massive increase in potential control. These were huge variables in his equation.
Finally, he broke the silence. His voice, now slightly deeper and carrying a faint resonance, addressed the figures still kneeling before him: "Stand."
The three rose slowly and cautiously. Lyra, the elven scout, was visibly trembling and had retreated to the farthest point possible, her eyes wide with open terror. Faela, the dark elf, stood with more careful grace, her earlier hostility now replaced with a complex expression—shock, deep caution, and a sharp curiosity she couldn't hide. Lilith, on the other hand, rose and rushed to him, stopping right in front of him, her crimson eyes glowing with worship and obsession more intense than ever before.
"What is this... by the lower shadows... what are you?" Faela muttered first, her voice laced with remnants of her earlier defiance mixed with real disbelief. "You're no longer just human."
"An unexpected transformation," Tian Heng replied calmly, inspecting the dragon tattoo on his hand. "Apparently a result of that machine's internal component. The core calls it a fusion." There was no confusion or weakness in his tone.
"Master! Dragon Lord!" Lilith whispered with feverish excitement, nearly dropping to her knees again. "Your true power has finally revealed itself! Whatever this entity is, it has made you more perfect! More glorious! More worthy of my eternal worship and service!"
He ignored her excessive fervor and worshipful gaze with a cold look, which made her step back slightly, hesitating. Then he turned his glowing golden eyes toward Faela. "Since you know the legends of the 'Builders,' do you know anything about these 'parasitic entities' or 'dragon seeds,' or sudden transformations linked to their experiments?"
Faela hesitated, as if turning over dark memories. "The legends speak of 'dragon echoes' or 'shards of their souls' that the Builders tried to bind to other beings to grant them power... or control them." She shook her head. "But those were cautionary tales of power that consumes its host and transforms them. None survived them, or so the stories say. This..." she gestured toward him cautiously, "I've never seen or heard of anything like it."
As they spoke, Tian Heng was subtly testing his new power. He focused on the cold ether of the "Frozen Star Refinement Style." The ether responded immediately, forming a faint icy-blue aura around his left hand, completely distinct from the black tattoo on his right. The two energies coexisted. Then he thought of the black sword; it appeared instantly in his right hand, its heavy aura pressing on the atmosphere for a moment. He willed it to vanish—it did, and the tattoo reappeared clearly. The control felt instinctive and surprisingly easy.
[Core, can you analyze the energy of this tattoo or the sword linked to it?]
[Unknown energy, exceeds current analysis capabilities. Appears linked to the fused entity. Manifestation and withdrawal seem to depend on user intent.]
"It seems this fusion has granted me access to a different kind of energy—and a weapon linked to it," Tian Heng stated coolly, as if commenting on the weather. He directed his words primarily to Faela, but loud enough for all to hear.
Faela stared at the tattoo, then at his golden eyes. Calculations were clearly running behind her cold exterior. This being before her had just become unimaginably more dangerous—but perhaps also more valuable.
Tian Heng shifted his focus back to the original mission. "This transformation does not change the immediate objective. The purification unit still needs activation. The risk of detonating the amber 'Heart Pulse' may now be even higher due to my unstable energy." He looked at Faela. "Is there a safer way to use its energy, or to discharge it in a controlled way based on your knowledge? You mentioned glyphs—could they help?"
Faela seemed to come to a decision. "Possibly," she said slowly. "There are ancient safety glyphs etched into the capacitor's casing. They require a precise and complex activation sequence in the Builders' language... a language I don't fully speak, but I know some of its basics. It might allow for slower and more controlled discharge... might."
The Builders' language. The key might lie in the data slabs waiting for him in the central chamber. And accessing them required the core to reach 15% energy.
His decision became clearer. Risking the amber capacitor now, in his newly transformed and not fully understood state, would be foolish. But his new power—especially his increased control—might make the option he previously ruled out viable now.
"Our plans have changed," Tian Heng announced. "We won't attempt to activate the amber capacitor now. We're returning to the crystal cave. Immediately."
The three looked at him in surprise.
"Return? But the purification unit—" Lyra began to ask, fearfully.
"Obtaining knowledge from the data slabs is now the highest priority," Tian Heng cut in coldly. "My new power may allow for more efficient and stable energy transfer from the Ether Cavern to the core. We need to reach 15% as soon as possible."
No one argued. Tian Heng turned, his small black horns faintly gleaming in the ethereal light, his silver hair flowing over his shoulders.
"Follow me."
He strode back toward the passage they had come through, leaving behind the silent, mysterious purification unit, still waiting for its turn. Lilith followed without hesitation, her eyes blazing with absolute loyalty. Faela followed more reluctantly, her mind spinning with questions, doubts, and her own plans. Lyra brought up the rear, silently afraid—caught between two terrifying powers in the forgotten depths of the earth.