I recreate a rock I enjoyed in my past life, which doesn't appear to exist on this planet. For some reason. Marble! However, it's much stronger and lighter than marble ever was.
I decide to call it 'dragon marble.'
...
So a dragon made it?
I'mma dragon!
"Rawrh!"
Rah, reh.
I reform the top of the large platform underneath us into a slab made entirely of this new dragon marble. My orange reptillium is good as it matches my former coloration, but marble is much more aesthetically pleasing. I think the orange would've been calming, though. At least for a dragon.
Hra.
Non-dragon and dragon alike watch this wonderful stone transformation with awe and horror, respectively.
I've kept an eye on my dragons. Reh, I don't think anything I do is going to comfort them. Greh.
I next create more dragon marble and begin building my massive palace. It needs huge exterior and interior pillars. I'm talkin' three hundred meter tall pillars— heckin' yes.
Each surface receives powerful, sharp lines. Many aggressive, dragon-inspired scales and spiked corners go wherever they happen to look proper.
Then, I decorate every appropriate location with ornate draconic carvings. I line the decorations with brilliant gems, little ornate castings, and... Well, more gems.
I mean, after all; I'mma dragon.
"Rawr!"
I definitely enjoy doing that. I smile toothily.
I next accent every aesthetically pleasing location with a thick sheet of pure obsidian. This is, of course, to represent myself without turning the place into a dungeon. Its gem-like shine contrasts and complements the glossy dragon marble even better than I expected.
Hrreh, I need A LOT more gems. Of course I do.
I transfer myself outside. I place one huge dragon statue at each corner, coloring and decorating them so they become life-like. They don't look like me— that would be weird. Instead, they're generic dragons, though with slightly larger claws.
I put a lot of gems and different precious metals on their bodies, because, yanno, dragon. Treasure is our thing.
I also secretly toss an invisible golem inscription. I'm sure nobody will notice. If they do notice, it'll be because their face is being bashed by stone dragon claws. Oops!
I transfer back to the center interior of my palace.
I create more dragon marble and use it to form an immense roof. It consists of many tall pyramidal spikes. These pyramidal spikes scale in size from small at the edge of the palace, to huge at the center, where by far the largest spike sits high above the palace floor. The smaller spikes are angled toward the center spike like how our coat of dragon scales and spikes tend to interlock. Well, mine do anyway. I think. The shapes and positions of my horns, scales, and so on keep changing, to say nothing of my colors. Clearly I haven't admired myself enough lately since I don't know for sure.
I cast my spells again, lining the interior section of each palace spike with random artworks of treasures, dragons, and glorious conquest. They're made from manually designed swirls within the dragon marble. Some of them jut out from the surface like 3d carvings. I can make the rock itself, so why the heck not? Each artwork is finally lined by a thick decorative border of obsidian.
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Hrah. I need more natural light in here.
I transfer myself out to my palace's roof.
I alter the peak of each pyramid, so they're lopped off by a skylight. I then protect each with a shield inscription.
Said shields, of course, are pyramidal and opaque from the outside but transparent from the inside. They're all one-way, meaning they prevent rain, but one can pass through them to get access to the roof. Presumably, we dragons can fly out of these skylights for whatever reason. The shields' color mimicks the dragon marble around them, but that coloring then flows onto the exterior marble itself.
I watch them connect and coordinate with each other. They should keep their various effects consistent.
...
Indeed, the spikes seem to sliiightly warp and flow, giving the field of spikes a mysterious 'living' feeling. Still, I didn't go overboard and make it look like a medamn marble parade. It's very subtle.
Hraw, medamn.
I transfer myself back to the center interior of my palace.
In the largest spike's interior area, I create four fully-gemstone artworks of myself. They're not merely gem-encrusted; they're made entirely from thick slabs of gemstone. This is something only I can do! Naturally.
To the east, one of me as a hapless kaizen. To the south, a beautiful render of my first meeting with Aitos. To the west, my huge blast destroying the bulb in Shridenia.
The northern one? It's sort of metaphorical, but I might actually be able to do this? It's a render of me, the same size as this planet, reaching toward the planet with with a blueish sun in the background. I gotta try this!
Ruah. Safely. Reh.
I cast a shield around the planet for a moment then transfer myself out into space.
Rawh, our sun really is blue? I thought so, but I never checked until now. Wonder why it doesn't look blue down on the planet. And, why... Does its exact color happen to match my art? That's... Weird.
After taking in the sights for a moment, I scale myself up.
Waaaaay up.
Except, I'm forced to stop.
...
...
Because I'm stunned.
...
...
...
Holy shit.
image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/089.png]
I'm BIGGER than the artwork. I'm literally a planet-sized dragon. A planet much larger than this one.
This is crazy...
Crazy awesome!
I feel like I must praise and admire myself, buuut I toss that feeling aside. I think being stunned by my own immense power is good enough. Let's stay focused on building my palace.
I shrink down, drop the shield, then transfer myself back to the interior center of my palace yet again.
I look up at the northern artwork, then shrink its representation of this planet a few sizes. I'm not really 'reaching' anymore so much as holding my claws around the planet itself. I'm still bigger than that, but if I make the planet's appearance too small relative to myself, nobody will know what I'm grasping.
I examine the four artworks in their proper sequence. Clockwise.
The positions here were chosen to represent time on a mechanical clock. We don't have mechanical clocks in this world, but I can't and won't give any craps.
Dragons do as they damn well please. I'mma dragon!
"Rawr!"
Happy roar. Rawah!
As I put on the finishing touches, I realize everyone has at some point rushed over to the center of the palace and is ogling at what I'm doing. And I mean: everyone. Damn, there's close to a million of you here. What are you all doing?
Taytha— I recognize him from earlier. He meets my gaze and drops to his knees.
"My lord, this grand temple to your greatness is beyond anything we have witnessed! Please, give us your divine mandate!"
Hraw! He dared to speak. Good for him. What changed exactly? But. Temple?
I look around. Hreh, I guess it is. Palaces usually have rooms. I didn't build any because it'd detract from the flow.
A random human child touches my huge foot. Apparently, the former Dragon God treated them pretty well if they're willing to do that. I don't feel anything so much as recognize he's touching me, though. Actually, how do I know that? How did I know the others were working on my legs, or my tail earlier?
Is it that goo stuff?
I hear the child.
"Lord, what's that one?"
He points to my kaizen artwork.
His mother, presumably, looks a tad concerned. But she's not scared. Amazing.
I kneel down. I'm still towering high above him, but this is the best I can do for such a small creature.
"Hey, kiddo. What's your name?"
His eyes go wide. He smiles brightly.
Rawwwwww, that's so cute.
"I'm Jari!"
"Well, Jari. That's me before I awakened my draconic lineage. I was just a normal kaizen!"
A few people and many dragons around us breathe in, likely stifling a gasp.
"Fwwwwwhhhh."
He continues.
"Wow, you looked neat back then, just like now!"
"Rawh. Why thank you, Jari. Now, go back to your mother. I have many things that need doing."
"Yes!"
The kid runs back to his mother.
He turns and beams at me.
Rh, isn't he precious?
I'll protect him.
I stand up.