"This is a form truly befitting an exceptional dragon such as yourself, Dracosect."
He beams with pride. As he should!
"In fact, it's such an exceptional form, I'll be protecting the golden strip you used to decorate your head and wings. Only the most prestigious and faithful elites among the entire dragon species may grace themselves with this glorious decoration. You are our first Draconic Paragon! With this, your form itself now defines that title."
His whole body tenses with pride and excitement as his eyes open wider. He even starts shivering a little.
"Remember, this is not only a reward to you— it's a massive responsibility. You now embody a cultural tradition that will become known by every dragon across all of existence. You must carry this tradition with the honor it deserves."
The burden of honoring this new tradition didn't quench his excitement. At all. If I'm not mistaken, he's vibrating. Hrah!
You're a model dragon, Dracosect. A model in ways which I can't even measure. Yet, this model dragon didn't even start out as a dragon! Truly amazing.
I walk forward and place my clawed hand upon his chest.
I activate Void Fate.
Dracosect's body and Will both grow in tandem. His Will quickly catches up to his body's stats, then they both expand in lockstep. Within seconds he's pushing 30km, then 50km, rising exponentially with each passing second.
He's gonna be big enough to eat a blue supergiant by the time I'm done. Like I did a few days ago, with my Rank 2 stats. That's about where I'll leave him for now. On the upper end of that Rank, I suppose.
He's swiftly up to 1,000km, then he soft-caps at the temple's limit. It's amazing how fast my talent can transfer my power when compared with a few days ago.
As I evenly press power into his grand body, his form warps into the striking white, black, and gold of our first ever Draconic Paragon. The title I've decided upon for the most dedicated of our dragon species.
It's only been a few days. So what?! I know Dracosect's Will better than anyone except himself. I don't pry into his memories— but he often tries to include me in his thoughts. I know exactly what kind of dragon he's become.
As his immense body internally grows past 8,000km, I stop paying attention. He'll be able to scale himself to planet-sized, which meets one of my personal criteria for being a real Rank 1 god. No other species gets to enjoy the fruits of their labors in such a dramatically showy fashion. Now he just needs to unlock the rank itself.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
I look around at the white metallic scales I'm touching with my hand. I imagine his true size, and it reminds me of that time I was floating next to Pride.
However, Dracosect: you're not a pride of sin. You're the pride of all dragonkind.
Own it.
The moment Dracosect reaches the edge of a proper Rank 1 god— I blast him with a huge shock of power, throwing his form WAY past the mark. Every restrictive flow or impurity is blown from his internal structure by my sheer and immense power.
"WOAH! My god! Woah! Too— too much!"
"Hraw, Dracosect. I may be a god of fate, but some things take time to change on their own. Your supreme name will be announced to all of existence, even to those who are not dragons. I must remove all potential resistance to further growth from your godly body. It will not do if you possess a single subpar feature."
"My god, you've granted too much, I—"
"PARAGON Dracosect! Your humility is admirable, but you must express it fairly. Do not make others resent you; believing your humility false. Accept what you have earned and show it proudly. As a proper dragon should. In fact— I've just decided. Your Paragon Halo shall be henceforth defined as a law of fate, granted BY fate to solely the most worthy. It shall empower a Paragon far above all others!"
Originally, I wasn't going to favor my Paragons directly. But so long as they embody the ideal dragon? They should receive proper benefits for their dedication. Much like how sin and virtue bodies empowered their representations thereof, a Paragon Halo will empower a dragon's already incredible traits. Every single aspect of a Paragon should become utterly unbelievable. Beyond understanding. Irreproachable, perhaps.
That's what it means to be a Draconic Paragon.
Plus, this is the last thing Dracosect needs to get over. A bit of insecurity from his insect past. Sorry, Dracosect. My Draconic Paragons aren't allowed to be insecure. I'll force it out of you with the sheer weight of your responsibility.
I continue speaking, quietly.
"Let your instincts move you as they should. Let yourself live, without fear of inadequacy. Be free."
As Dracosect reaches the precipice of Rank 2 god, I wait in anticipation. Until he finally says it.
"You're right, my god. I must set myself free."
image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/161.png]
He throws out his incredible wings and uses his godly power to roar into the temple's space itself. I've not placed a limiter on space, so his roar makes gravity waves.
###RRRRUUUUMMMMBBBBB###
I quickly protect the Chronometric Temple.
His 'sound' is truly impressive. It's like a world-rending roar which buffets against the concept of existence.
I should've roared like this! How did you come up with it?! How do you keep earning accolades for being an amazing dragon, Dracosect? Always in ways I never expect!
Finally, the moment is here: Rank 2. I blast him with my power once more, throwing off the shackles of fate itself. These are not shackles I placed! The new fate, me, shall treat all dragons far more kindly. Especially my own.
"THANK YOU, MY GOD! I AM— A PARAGON!"
"That's more like it, Dracosect! Bravo!"
Before long he's nearing the upper reaches of a Rank 2 god. His true body can scale far larger than Pride's former sin body. In fact, he'll be approaching the size of the current, empowered Pride, to a small extent.
Hreh, I've decided to grant him a lot more power than I initially intended, but again, so what? As a leader, as a Paragon, and as my first true friend. He's earned it.
I'll shred apart Dracosect's final roadblock; Rank 3 god. It's the last time his former fate will ever get in his way. Every rank after Rank 3 is a realm all its own.
The moment he reaches the boundary:
#RRRUMMMMBBBBB#
Roh, that's merely my power flowing.
‡‡‡‡‡‡RRRUUUMMMMMMBBBB‡‡‡‡‡‡
Now THAT'S Dracosect.
Good show, buddy!