Chapter 111 The Draecath
Evernya slept like a baby submerged in the warm mana rich liquid, not waking until the start of her Draecath evolution almost twenty-four hours later.
Evernya’s eyes sprung open as the seventh layer dissolved, allowing even more potent mana to rush into her mana veins, burning their way through her body at dizzying speeds. Paralyzed with pain, all Evernya could do was endure the fluctuating pumping of mana through her body. With each cycle, more and more mana seeped into every cell of her body.
Finally, after three hours of constant agony, the last of the extra potent mana dissipated, returning her mana system to a slow idle speed.
Another hour later, the exhausted and raw girl regained awareness of her surroundings. She cracked open her dilated, brightly glowing eyes to take in the room. Just outside her tank was a large screen displaying her naked form with her hair somehow regrown. Her body tensed as her eyes landed on an orderly lined up audience of over a dozen robots.
“Umm, why are the robots here?” Evernya inquired, while eyeing the robots with suspicion and fear.
In a chipper but proud tone, her AI explained, “my lady, a Draecath’s evolution is an important event usually celebrated with a big party just before and during the evolution. Unfortunately, it is only you, me, and a bunch of mindless robots here, so this is the best I could do. Think of this awakening as a rite of passage into adulthood. Most Draecath evolve between the ages of fifty and one hundred, so I suppose it would be safe to say most are adults already. According to my records, you are the youngest Draecath to awaken, though my records are over 50,000 years out of date.”
“So I am sprouting early? That’s kind of cool.” Evernya commented.
“We will see there’s a reason most Draecath don’t evolve until fifty years or older.” Her AI said with a hint of worry.
Suddenly, even more nervous, Evernya asked, “and what is the reason.”
“I will tell you when it becomes relevant. My current calculations project more harm than good if I warn you ahead of time.” The AI denied.
Evernya pouted while begging, “Oh, come on! At least give me a hint. I’m sure you know firsthand from violating my privacy by peeking through my memories I do not do well with surprises.”
Her AI returned to its formal speaking protocols as it replied, “I’m sorry, my lady, but I must insist, all I will reveal is beware of control issues.”
Stupid AI, aren’t they supposed to be helpful? This world’s version of Google would be more useful. Evernya ranted mentally before giving up and asking, hoping to gain someone she trusted. “I have people I consider family. Why not bring them here?”
With a hint of hurt in her tone, the AI replied, “I am sorry, my lady, but your awakenings are using a majority of the facility’s mana reserves. My calculations show we only have enough to send you back.”
Grasping at straws, Evernya suggested, “What about having that old man teleport them here?”
Her AI sunk lower in her depression as she responded, “I don’t know how to contact him or even who he is. All I know is he is an ally.”
Unaware of her AI’s mood, Evernya continued to prod, “Where are we that it is so hard to reach?”
While trying her best to mask her growing depression, the AI answered, “I’m sorry, my lady, but I don’t know where we are, only how to get here and back.”
“It must be somewhere near where I live because that’s where I ended up,” Evernya commented.
Her AI refused to let her dark mood interfere with her job as she promptly replied, “no, as far as I know, the location was random.”
“So, I just got lucky?” Evernya questioned.
“Extremely. What you did could have sent you anywhere, including between dimensions.” Her AI revealed, causing Evernya to shiver, prompting her comment, “Damn, I’m glad I ended up where I did then.”
After her comment, the room descended into silence for several minutes before Evernya asked, “Anyway, am I done now?”
With a chipper tone banishing her previous depression, the AI replied, “Not even close. The first burst was just the prep. The show is going to begin shortly.”
“Crap, I had a feeling you would say that,” Evernya grumbled.
“Try to relax. You will not have many opportunities for the next 12 to 24 hours.” Her AI suggested.
“I don’t think I can handle that long. I’m barely holding it together as it is,” Evernya whined, giving a few futile tugs on the chains stretching her taut.
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“You don’t have a choice. It has already started. No matter what you do, your awakening will happen and soon.” The AI stated.
Giving in to the inevitable, Evernya closed her eyes for a few moments of rest, but before she could doze off, her body abruptly seized up. A strangled scream escaped her spasming throat as burning pains assaulted every inch of her already exhausted body. Her claws and fangs shifted back and forth uncontrollably, while all her muscles clenched and unclenched faster and faster. The pace continued to escalate to blinding speeds as the mana absorbed into her cells changed her at a molecular level.
The pain and seizing continued nonstop for over six hours, receding for a moment. However, before she could catch her breath, stabbing pains originating on her forehead and eyes manifested, causing her already blurry vision to blacken. With her world plunged into darkness, Evernya became incapable of witnessing the changes occurring to her body.
Unable to cope with the never-ending pain beyond anything she had ever experienced, Evernya’s mind eroded, quickened by the steadily worsening stabbing pains assaulting her eyes and forehead.
After several hours, two sharp sapphire dark blue points emerged through her hair just above her hairline. Her barely coherent mind felt as though she were trying to force a knife through her skull as the points slowly pushed further out.
Another six hours pass with the poor girl in a near-constant state of unbearable pain before the points finally stopped their advance. Just above her hairline, poking through her hair, two small translucent sapphire blue horns proudly displayed themselves.
Abruptly her eyes sprung open, revealing crazed vertical pupil with brightly shining sapphire eyes. She let out a bone-rattling roar as the mana in the tank’s liquid flowed into her.
“Oh, no! Evernya stop! Don’t do it! You are not ready!” The AI screamed, but unfortunately, Evernya was too far gone to hear it.
In a panic, the AI controlled the robots to drain the tank, but the thrashing and roaring newly evolved Draecath was absorbing the mana too fast. Within five minutes, she consumed all the mana from the liquid in the 80,000-liter tank, leaving only clear water behind.
All movement abruptly stopped as the last mana trace of mana disappeared into the animalistic, petite girl’s body. On the outside, the girl appeared serene, secured to the walls of the half-empty tank, eyes closed. However, inside mana violently rushed through her mana veins, stretching them to their limit. With each cycle, the mana diminished as it absorbed into her cells, nourishing them for what was to come.
Over five hours later, the mana fully absorbed into her body, leaving behind abused mana veins barely hanging on. Before her poor body could recover, she seized up once again, roaring in animalistic pain. Painful pinpricks forced their way outward, assaulting every nook and cranny of the poor girl’s skin from the neck down.
Unable to stop what was coming, the AI watched her host’s abused body force itself to evolve a second time.
Similar to the formation of her horns, something manifested just beneath the skin from her neck down. After an hour, the pinpricks turned into millions of stabbing pains as something excruciating slow forced itself to the surface. Another hour later, black and sapphire blue specks poked out of her ashen skin.
With each passing hour, the blue and black specks emerged further as they coated the seizing and thrashing girl’s skin. By the sixth hour, the specks now resembled tiny sapphire blue scales and black fur near their max extension only a few millimeters past the surface of the girl’s skin.
Now fully extended, the scales and fur revealed themselves to be a natural armor, contrary to their delicate and beautiful appearance. This natural armor covered every bit of skin from her neck down in an elaborate formation of tiny sapphire blue scales with silky soft black fur poking out around the edges of the scales, balancing out the shiny nature of the beautiful scales with inky black fur.
After an hour of exposure, the natural armor receded in a motion only slightly less painful than its emergence. Her body twitched in pain, but otherwise, no sound or movement came from the beyond exhausted girl.
Ten minutes later, the natural armor disappeared into the girl’s ashen skin, as if it was never there, only to yet again emerge five minutes later.
This pattern of natural armor emerging and receding continued for the next six hours, completing the cycle a little faster each time. By the sixth hour, the cycle completed in less than a minute before emerging another time and staying put as the girl’s ravaged body hung limply from her restraints spent.
Unfortunately for her, after only a few minutes of rest, the evolution restarted, this time with the stabbing pain focused near her shoulder blades. Mentally blanked and physically drained, Evernya at first showed little reaction, with her head slumped forward.
Under the surface of her skin, on her shoulder blades, something big materialized, causing a painful bulge to grow. This bulge continued to grow until it traveled down both sides of her spine to near her butt.
Her muscles seized, causing her to arch her back, straining against her unyielding restraints. A moment later, a grotesque tearing sound resonated through the room as something scaly and furry bursted out of the girl’s back. Still underdeveloped, the new appendages remained folded behind her back as her back continued to arch further, almost dislocating her shoulders from the strain of pulling against the wrist anchors.
Gradually, over the next twelve hours, her new appendages filled out, growing bigger and bigger by the hour. By the thirteenth hour, the appendages grew too big to hide behind their petite owner. An hour after that, the appendages halted their growing before forcing the ragged girl into another painful back arch as they unfolded themselves.
After several minutes of expanding, the new appendages finally revealed themselves in all their glory. The appendages stretched to a total length of three meters, turning out to be wings. Connected at her shoulder blades with a membrane running down each side of her spine near the small of her back, these beautiful sapphire blue and black wings presented an awe-inspiring sight. The wings consisted of a fine black-furred membrane supported by a skeletal structure covered in sapphire scales and black fur along the top edge of the wings. Razor-sharp looking sapphire blue spikes protruded out of the skeletal structure near the wingtips.
A few minutes later, the wings tucked themselves away behind her back before they receded into the girl’s abused body. Over the next twelve hours, her wings and natural armor continued to shift back and forth, becoming more efficient each time.
Out of nowhere, she stopped shifting while fully shifted. Her wings shot out to their full length, with her head tilting back as a loud tank rattling roar escaped her throat. With renewed vigor, she violently thrashed at her bonds, but they held her stretched.
After only a few minutes, her struggles weakened as the last of her energy dissipated. With a whimper, her shifted parts receded as her body fell unconscious, putting an end to her suffering.