I reactivate my spatial compensation Origin program and once more take some time to admire myself.

...

Speaking of me, I'd better stop admiring myself. I already said so, didn't I? I gaze over myself yet again.

...

NO, STOP! Bad monster dragon. Stop. Sotp. Rokay? Rokay. Rawah.

Admiring myself is addictive. I'm starting to feel like I did when scratching my tail, except, all I need to do is look at myself.

Perhaps I should find something to distract my attention. Hra. I'll go visit the elves to see what they think of my new form. I should gather more admirers, after all!

I nod my impressive dragon head.

I walk into the waterfall. The water seems to pass directly through my body as though I'm not even being hit with a waterfall. Woo, Causal Conduit! It works perfectly. I then alter my size back to my desired 50 meter form.

I proceed to mentally struggle for a split second so I don't once again start admiring my own amazingness. Ragh, stop that!

I walk out from the waterfall and glance around.

Hreh, wait. Is that the group of elves? Did they actually show up on time after all? Did I leave them waiting?

Crap. Too much self-admiration and not enough sensibility.

I did this all wrong.

My huge 50 meter body absorbs the sound of my footfalls as I walk over. I stand next to the group and look down at them. Way down.

One of them finally notices something is off about the dark night and looks up. He falls to the ground, not taking his eyes off mine. He's sitting on his butt, hands behind, staring up. Terrified.

The other elves notice his strange behavior and also look where he's looking. Several are spooked, but Todrian realizes who he's looking at. He pulls himself together.

"Why, hello, Chronomet! You... Certainly look different than I remember."

"Yes, hello Todrian. I had a run-in with a rather large insect. You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"

He looks momentarily confused. Either he's a brilliant actor, or he really didn't plan our encounter.

His expression brightens.

"Ah, did you meet lord Zath? He's something like a mascot for our Qventeria. He doesn't harm the forest and is frankly quite powerful. We've never had... Nor wanted to have any issues coexisting with him."

Several of the council members nod while looking at each other.

Alright, I can't tell, and Dracosect is a very desirable treasure. I'll let it go. These guys don't deserve my ire over something so minor.

"He's renamed himself Dracosect and is now a top member of my divine hoard."

Todrian shows surprise.

"Lord Za— I mean, Dracosect, has joined you? He's always been a loner. Then again, he was constantly pestering the Dragon God back in the day. Wanted to become the Dragon God's right-hand bug. If I recall, the Dragon God said he was an inferior insect and rejected him."

One of the council speaks up. He's the one who was sitting on the ground earlier.

"Aha, yes, lord Chronomet! Dracosect told me he was sad he could never become a dragon. He said his body was too small, despite his great power. I remember the Dragon God told my father he'd raze Qventeria if Dracosect dared bother him again."

Todrian looks annoyed.

{"You two never told me any of that."}

He says quietly.

"HRAHRA!"

Too funny. Also, these guys remember the Dragon God? Raha, isn't this interesting!

"You remember the Dragon God? Weren't you sciolated?"

"Oh, no, lord Chronomet. The god who sciolated the dragons was an ascended human. He got permission from several other gods, but our elven god is too proud to allow us to be sciolated. She refused the god's demand."

There's politics and infighting amongst the gods? Good to know; I love crushing nonsense with sheer power!

"Isn't there a draconic god aside from myself?"

I smirk a little.

Todrian looks intrigued by my 'mistake.'

"No, Chronomet. If there is, I don't know of it. Our god treats us—"

*koff*

"— well and is generally decent. Unless we destroy the forest. Then she gets a bit smite-y. But I think all gods are like that, regardless of their species."

I tilt my head.

"I'm not."

"Y—."

He shows a mix of emotions, but then settles on a 'wow, I really fucked up' expression. He continues speaking.

"You've become a god? I've never seen one. That's a lot. A lot for me to process."

A bit of fear in his response. Rokay, I get it.

"No, I should apologize. I kept you waiting and wrongly assumed you guys tried to get Dracosect to kill me. Then I show up as a higher being and expect you to recognize my newfound power. Ultimately, I think Dracosect is going to be an important member of my hoard, so I'm grateful I got a chance to meet with him. I also can't expect a mortal to innately understand my status. I've been unduly imposing; my sincerest apologies."

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I put my clawed hand to my chest, then regally nod my head to show my sincerety. I then drop my hand.

"Oh. Uh. Chronomet, we can't make him do anything. Frankly, he's beyond us, never mind yourself. I'm also, um, sorry? For not realizing you've become a god. Since the moment I saw you, I've always treated your power as beyond my comprehension."

Hrah! He's definitely dealt with dragons before.

"Since your mascot has joined my hoard, would you also like to join? I'll first review your governing documents and merchant audit logs. Unless you all have been killing each other left and right, you'll get to enjoy some of the same benefits as Dracosect. Though, my dragons do get better treatment."

Todrian again shows a mix of emotions. He gestures to the elven council. They all huddle up and hushedly discusses amongst themselves. Todrian is waving his arms as if he were yelling. He gestures up at me several times.

I could listen in on their conversation if I wanted, but eavesdropping is much too crass for a dragon.

He then turns to look up at me again.

"We'd like to see Dracosect. I know we don't have any right to demand a single thing from a god. But, since he's a fellow member of our Qventeria Forest, we respect him greatly. We want to know he's okay."

Is he? Roh, they're gonna be surprised.

"Sure thing. Let me check with him."

I mentally contact Dracosect.

"Hey, Dracosect."

"Yes, my irreproachable god?"

Rehm. Where'd he get that term from? I'm far from beyond reproach.

"The elves want to know if you're satisfied with being a part of my hoard."

"HOW DARE they doubt your grace and goodwill?! Please, my god, bring me there so I may right this wrong!"

I didn't even need to ask? Rawh.

"Your wish is also mine. Here goes."

I transfer him back to Qventeria Forest.

image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/104.png]

To my surprise, he's much bigger than earlier. Not to mention, he's barely even recognizable as an insect; he looks like a lithely armored dragon. Is this a result of the midnight array?

I look down at the elves. They're petrified. Which makes sense: it appears like a dragon of even more imposing proportions has appeared. This is so much fun!

"As you can see, Dracosect has undergone a much greater change than myself. He's become one with my draconic hoard."

I look back up at him.

"This— this is incredible, Dracosect. You keep impressing me in ways I never expect."

"T... That's Dracosect?"

Todrian is terrified and confused.

Dracosect's voice booms.

"I— am Chronomet's claws! His light guides me through the endless darkness, which he consumes to guide my way!"

Reh? Chronomet's claws? Did they decide something while I was out? I'll ask about that later.

Sounds neat, though.

"I can't let you go like this, Dracosect. I've gotta take a second crack at you. I'm more eager than ever to see just how far you can go."

He looks down at me somewhat curiously.

I put my clawed hand on his huge torso and activate Causal Conduit. I force more of my power into his already huge form. His body swiftly swells even larger. My clawed hand silently slides down his torso as his impressive stature expands.

"OH! Thank you, my god! As your claws, I must become endlessly sharper! And so— I shall!"

I see the elves looking up at this terrifying development with a mix of fear and... Interest? How surprising. Maybe they want to know what I'm willing to give my followers.

Let's show them. I push yet more power into Causal Conduit. Dracosect gains meter after meter; his body continuing to transform slightly.

From 70 meters, he's already at 80. But this isn't nearly enough. I don't know why. I find myself enthralled by his burning desire to become something greater than he already was. Not merely to throw away his body— but to grow into a more perfect being.

He chose me, and I accepted him. I feel like I must continue accepting him.

I force much more power over Causal Conduit. He grows in equal response. His body isn't changing so much, now, but he's scaling up quite quickly.

Soon he's 100 meters tall.

If I go too far, Dracosect will become a bona fide skyscraper. I'd prefer if he surpassed that mark on his own merits. Still, I'll give him a bit extra. I send more power.

"My god, you've made me more than I could've ever dreamed! I feel shame for the bug I was just hours ago, and yet endless pride, for that same bug was able to earn your favor!"

He reaches a truly wonderful stature of 120 meters, and so I taper off my Causal Conduit.

He kneels.

*THOOM*

"My god, please! Tell me your demands, so I may carry them out with renewed vigor!"

He bows, his huge form covering the night sky.

"Live proudly, and properly, in my name."

I wave my scale-covered dragon arm.

"My god, your wish was already my command! But I shall reaffirm it, nonetheless."

I proudly nod my dragon head.

"As it should be."

I turn back to the group of elves. They're staring up at the enormous Dracosect, who towers over all of us with ease. Even though he's kneeling and bowing.

"As you can see, he's doing amazingly well."

He chimes in.

"I am! I LIVE for my god!"

Jeez, what a fanatic! I like it, though.

"You must understand, Chronomet. Since you're a god, if we join your hoard, our god may become jealous. Other gods might themselves not be overly forgiving— but our god would simply smite us. She doesn't bother with sciolation. You can't easily protect us like you did your dragons."

"I take it that means you've agreed to join, assuming I can do something about your god?"

"Yes. Us elves, well. We're all about pride, dignity, and family. The forest is our home. We take pride in our home, so our god aligns with us on that much. But dignity? Family? She cares not for such matters. It may seem strange, but a dragon like yourself represents the elves far better than she, a deified elf, ever has."

He seems to consider something for a moment, then continues with a clear tone of disdain.

"Whatever dignity or affection she had has become mere jealousy. Spite, even. We do not speak of this for fear of angering her, but many of us think she's turned into a vicious old hag."

Roh, these guys are too funny.

"Then, your thoughts on my sermon?"

"I can't speak for every elf. As for myself? I was awed. You showed me that superiority comes from within, not from oppressing and disparaging others. I'd unwittingly adopted a bit of our god's personality. I'd... Become weak."

I nod my dragon head.

"Alright. I will accept your kind into my hoard."

I spool out one of my Origin Threads.

"This— is an Origin Thread. It attaches my Will to yours. Since you all are not dragons, I'll keep our Wills separate. I'll normally never contact you or read your thoughts via this thread. Not even if you're swearing at me, mentally. However, it will be used for such purposes if any of you were to commit heinous crimes."

The elves look at each other with a bit of worry.

"I'm telling you this is because it's necessary. The other thing my Origin Threads do is 'eat' the eyes of the gods. At least, that's what the god whom I consumed said. Centrail Primia asked him why I was never noticed by any of the gods, and thus was his reply. Centrail's many contributions to our bright future are why he's the honorary leader of Shridenia."

They all look surprised.

"I can't do anything directly about your god. Not yet, anyway. However, to her it will appear as though you all suddenly vanished. She won't be able to see, nor harm you. If she tries to smite you, her power will be blocked by mine. It'll appear as if her smite went nowhere."

Several of the elves nod. Todrian smiles.

"So that's how you've escaped their notice for so long. Brilliant! You're not only powerful, Chronomet, you're an intelligent god, too!"

I shake my dragon head.

"I didn't come up with this. It's a weapon that was bestowed upon me by my patron. He died, but before he did, he bestowed upon me a grand weapon that can kill the gods. That weapon is why my true color is spatial black."

Todrian's eyes widen.

"You possess a godslaying weapon?"

The matter about me being spatial black seems to have flown over his head. Roh well.

"That's right. If you're still worried about your god, just know that, well— I intend to eat her. That's what we dragons do, after all. We eat anyone whom disturbs our hoard."

*THOOM*

Dracosect stands from his bowing pose. He throws one clawed limb heavenward.

"That's right! She is but an INSECT under our grand claws! All gods but mine shall submit, or PERISH!"

I turn to him.

"Dracosect, you are an—"

His voice booms.

"I AM DRACOSECT, MY GOD!!!"

Roh.

Right he is. In appearance, in form, and even in mindset. In these he is a dragon. He's an insect only in species. I feel my draconic instincts urging me to reward him further, but I can't keep handing him everything. He might feel ashamed.

I nod my dragon head at him.

"You're more of a dragon than most. Dracosect, how did you originally reach such a level, anyway? The Dragon God had a token. Rah, it looks like a rock, but it enhanced my draconic power."

He puts his arm down and nods.

"My god. I, too, possess one of these tokens."

My eyes widen. What? Where do deification tokens come from? Another mystery.

"We'll discuss that later. I need to finish helping the elves deal with their crotchety god. You may do as you please until I finish."

"I am most pleased to observe your verisimilitude, my god."

He stands without moving.

Rokay...