It's done. I've changed the fate of my entire species and informed them of my changes. Dragons are no longer mere lizards who happen to grow stronger with time.

Instead, our strength is now dependent upon our choices. Our intellect, our fitness, our Will; every aspect of a dragon is amplified or destroyed based on how well we fit my draconic ideal.

I didn't tell them, but their subordinates' behavior contributes. A good subordinate will push a dragon's fate up, while a bad one pushes it down. Similarly, gathering hate from an evil opponent strengthens a dragon, while tainted appreciations bring weakness. It's surprisingly easy for a brilliant draconic leader with many thousands of devoted followers to elevate themselves from mere whelp, to literal god. All I ask is that they're genuine.

This may seem absurd. It is. But I love dragons! I love my kind as the kin they are. I want to see every single one prosper and grow. If they can do so and encourage their non-draconic brethren to praise their every action, is that not an ideal future for everyone? Hardworking gods tending to their loving people?

If gods are a thing in this universe, and they are, I cannot be satisfied to sit on top and rule with impunity. My Will may be vast and undeniable, but I'm still a single god. I shouldn't personally guide every being's future.

Though I could.

I similarly shouldn't impose my toughest strictures on every species. Would some of them prefer to be strong like dragons? Of course, but that's the problem.

Some.

No other species is like a dragon. We possess a drive for power which flows through our bones. As the strongest lighthouse guiding us, it determines our future, like fate.

Like myself.

What better species to shape, mold, and form, into a tight-knit group of loving gods?

Some may resent dragons. They may resent me, merely because we're powerful and prideful. So what? They know not the burden we carry. Speaking of which.

image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/160.png]

Dracosect fixed the hole I made, conquered the entire planet, and is back in my temple. That was... A few hours?

And this.

"Dracosect, have you been training like a mad dragon?"

"Whatever do you mean, my god?"

"You have a win streak of nine hundred and seventeen in the arena. How is that remotely possible? Do you not go out and help people in my Shridenia anymore?"

"Oh, no, my god. I simply defeat my challengers quickly— very quickly. If my match lasts a few seconds, I can win many dozens of matches before going back to work!"

This maniac! Even I don't want to fight him in the ring. I mean, I can't, because Void Fate would probably cause some new freakish evolution if used on my mind. But still.

Alright, let's do what I'd already planned. He deserves it now more than ever.

"You might be a twenty-two kilometer tall dragon, but there's still a long way to go. Which is why, from today, you'll become an actual god."

"My god, I—"

I raise my clawed hand to stop him.

"You're still part of the group, but no longer a small part. You— are a leader. Your exceptional draconic nature has made you into the sole exception. Dragons already at the top,like the sins, are not favored by me merely because they happen to be extremely old. I myself was born with a powerful birthright. We're each different from you; your choices are the reason behind your exceptionalism. You've exceeded all others via merit alone."

He bows and kneels.

"Thank you! Thank you so much my god!"

He stands tall.

"I'm sure you heard my announcement. This applies to you as well. I have a hunch you may rise further than any other dragon. But that is neither now nor relevant. Today, I am fulfilling my promise. Today, all of these dragons are gathered to watch you become a god. Congratulations, Dracosect. You've more than earned it."

I mean it. I'm gonna give him extra.

I didn't reward those other dragons who had tokens too much, but I compensated them fairly. I also based it on their standard as dragon. As for non-draconic demigods, I gave them almost whatever they desired, unless they were vile, but that never once included godhood.

I've realized the tokens are not worth anywhere close to what I'd promised Dracosect. They can't be used by others the way I've used them. It's nonsensical to reward someone for gathering gold if, from their perspective, I'm buying their pyrite. Value is relative; I've rewarded them fairly.

"Ahhh! My god! I've so excitedly waited for this!"

I can't understand how he's getting so much work done and has a 917 win streak. Originally, I thought he was just conquering the planet and building that hydroelectric dam. Nope! He's been managing multiple other teams at the same time, too. It doesn't sound possible. Except for me: the literal god of fate. Yet, somehow, he's doing it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

He's also kept building cities, continued farming, and I just now learned he's been overseeing an underground construction project for Chronometric City. Apparently, they want to reinforce the bottom of the underground lake to make mining safer in the region. That's pretty smart. It's also apparently meant as practice for excavating the bulb's roots, which still tunnel underneath most of the continent.

Project manager for all five projects: Dracosect. He's been doing it with communication arrays and a few highly-motivated subordinate dragons. Even Aitia and his team are now working directly under Dracosect. What do I even need to manage with him taking on so much responsibility? He was already multitasking many times over when I brought up the idea to him.

My promise has nothing to do with this reward.

His own behavior's why he's getting extra.

"Form a clean image in your mind of your favored form. Pick a form that suits you, not one which suits others, rokay?"

"Absolutely, my god. However, I would still change myself to suit your needs even if I changed every minute. You are why I fight and why I live. You are my fate itself."

Ooooof. Dracosect. Oof. Rokay, tone it down. Hitting a little close to home with that fate bit.

I search Dracosect's thoughts.

He's finally not mirroring me! Roh boy, is he not. His color, despite also being white, has a very different overall appearance.

He's picked a metallic white scale design with black horns and white spikes. Only the largest spikes, though not his horns, have tips coated in a metallic black sheen. His eyes are sharply defined neon blue slit pupils backdropped by a sea of deep matte red.

Interesting choices!

As for combat, he moved his toes. He'll now have three in front and two in the back on each foot. They're also spread a little more, and are a bit larger than a normal dragon's. This'll make him far more deft at gripping and maneuvering. Plus, he can still use these repositioned toes as a hand.

His tail is longer, making his center of gravity slightly lower, both of which increase his swiftness and dexterity.

His claws are much longer and thicker. However, they add to the ends of his fingers like bones jutting out rather than a typical dragon's fixed growths.

His hand bones possess a locking hinge which shifts the finger bones. It's a complex mechanism! This allows him to retract his huge claws to a more normal length. No less than normal, though; it's either long daggers or short daggers.

Finally, the underside of each claw gains a fine-toothed serration, like a... Bonesaw? I'm reminded of my own claws, except his are even more violently jagged.

You want battle prowess that badly, hruh? I smirk my dragon maw but mentally roll my eyes. It's surely overkill; these things would all too easily cut into dragonscale. Except... I did dictate that no dragon should ever be satisfied by 'good enough.' Rah, that just means he's right to add such features. I can't argue.

His horns and spines are the next upgrade, and these are a big change. They've gained ripsaw serrations facing away from his body along the full length of any bladed section. Those serrations are evenly spaced, but unlike a bonesaw, each serration is notched. They're meant to grab and shred rather than cut.

Impressive. I like this idea a lot.

His outer pair of horns now possess three rows of ripsaw blades: one on the outside and one on each front and back. The blades don't look like those on a wood saw, though, roh no. They're thick and wide; they spread along the sides of the horn, almost meeting up in the middle. Except along the flatter inner side, where they only travel a fourth of the distance inward. It makes his horns look oddly like antennas when looked at from the correct angle. As though there's deep cuts sliced into each horn along their entire length.

The inner pair also has three blades, but the third point is instead directed inward. Thus, the spot between the two horns is mostly flat and smooth. I suppose this helps avoid getting things caught between his horn pairs?

The rest of his spines each possess an opposing pair of ripsaw blades. They all follow the exact same flow and composition, which gives his form a unique sense of violent serenity.

Those retractable spikes on his arms likewise gain multiple ripsaw blades. The scales that cover the containers for his retractable spikes gain a broad and scaly armor from his wrist up to his elbow. It seems this dragon's 'reverse scales' aren't his weakness. They're deadly weapons.

Finally, he wants a large five-bladed retractable and flexible spike added to his tail. Its sawteeth can be pulled inside his scales, which I thought was to prevent accidental injury.

Except, this spike's ripsaw is reversed.

It'll catch and grab— not tear.

The teeth move so he can let go.

Are you becoming a living weapon?

These things are INCREDIBLY vicious.

Don't mistakenly kill anyone, Dracosect.

Next, there's a large, glossy, gold-colored ring of scales on his head which looks like a halo. Thin bands of gold travel upwards from this halo onto the underside of his outer two horns, but not his inner horns.

Another combat trick, I suppose?

Two more gold bands, about half as wide as the golden halo, travel down the back of his head and neck from the bottom side of said halo. When they get to his trapezium muscles, they splay outward and connect with the locations of his wing roots.

Switching things up a little, his wings possess metallic white frames with ultraviolet white membranes.

The gold band from his back runs across the top of each black wing frame. It then splits into a thin triangular wedge running down each of the membranes' white bracing frames. This demure golden accent adds a little class to his otherwise too-white wing membranes.

Hooo-lee dragon. He's out there working a hundred and twenty hours in a hundred hour day. Yet, he still found the time to think this up. The more I look at this gold band, the more I like what I see. It deeply appeals to my draconic pride.

Rh, if I thought he looked good before?

He's gonna be a god and look like a god.

Roh, plus he wants a structural change, too.

Aside from getting rid of the 'dragon head form,' of course. I knew he picked that to comfort myself. Seems I was right— but it was a magnificent gesture. I appreciate his solidarity.

Also, I'm gonna make some of my own changes to his wings. His wing membranes don't shine, they're instead a blazing ultraviolet white color that's difficult to look at even under moderate light.

This is a brilliant combat technique. It doesn't use any magic, making it perfect for all kinds of tough situations.

So, I'm gonna upgrade his wing membranes to reflect the entire spectrum: radio to gamma. I'll also use metamaterials to redirect photons into the side he's trying to reflect with.

Whenever he Wills it, his wing shall become void black on one side and impossibly white on the other. Moreover, since metamaterials can aim light, he can also choose to direct the light like a magnifying glass. He'll find his combat trick wildly effective and not even know why. Reh, actually, he'll probably notice the black shift right away. Rah well.

I love my exemplar dragon so much. I want him to feel my care for him, even if it's an open secret.

What he changed, though, was he moved his hidden Mana rockets almost up to his shoulders. The top of each rocket is now nestled by the sides of his dragon wing roots, so said top is no longer blocked. He also made them larger and added a reverse mode. These changes are likely why they needed to be moved. Seems he wants to get more use out of his Mana rockets.

What use? I don't know!

I've never seen him use the things.