Carpy's senses extended across the entirety of Avalon Island, allowing him to perceive everything from different timelines, and he could sense even the bugs crawling underground. Although it was somewhat bewildering, he managed to handle this vast amount of information without straining himself too much.
The sensation of possessing such extensive senses and a mind capable of processing such input was strange. Moreover, he could detect something indefinable in each living creature, something beyond words.
The closest analogy he could come up with was that every creature had multiple strings attached to them—potential paths their lives could take. Some strings stood out more prominently and were more likely to be realized than others. Carpy dubbed them "Strings of Fate" and found that he could even catch glimpses of a creature's future and ultimate destination, although this ability didn't extend to foreseeing his own fate.
Nevertheless, Carpy wasn't bothered by his inability to see his own future; he was far more interested in the fates of others, especially a woman whose sole string was a vivid crimson red.
Descending to the island without relying on water to levitate, Carpy realized he had grown too large, even larger than creatures like Uwabami. This size would be quite inconvenient for getting around.
As he approached the island, Carpy contemplated his lack of knowledge about turning into a human. While Uwabami could transform herself to human size, Carpy remained unsure if this was a skill he could learn or if it was unique to her.
Despite being a dragon, he found himself capable of various minor abilities, which he deemed peculiar. Water manipulation was expected, given the legends of dragons causing floods, but breathing out clouds and controlling the seasons were rather unusual. He could even temporarily bless a human to enhance their luck or create a sword or shield from one of his scales as a gift.
Shaking his head to clear such distracting thoughts, Carpy acknowledged that his newfound curiosity and fascination with everything were partly influenced by Master Kon's memories. He had inherited the late Master Kon's inquisitive nature.
Unlike others who might fear being overtaken by someone else's memories, Carpy welcomed the possibility of Master Kon's influence taking root within him.
Amidst the molten rock created by his blast, Carpy swam unfazed by the heat, as it felt no hotter than a comfortable bath for him. During this moment of reflection, he reached a realization: Though he lacked the knowledge to transform into a humanoid form, perhaps Perfect Me could help him figure it out.
{Perfect Me}
As soon as he activated the ability and gave detailed orders, something in Master Kon's memories caught Carpy's attention.
His bones creaked as his body slowly morphed into something else, causing him great pain. Nevertheless, Carpy remained calm and counted silently in his head. After about fifteen minutes, he found himself standing knee-deep in lava. His eyes had turned red with cat-like slits, and long silver hair flowed above the fiery surface. Carpy examined his new human hand, clenching and unclenching it into a fist.
Having a human body felt strange, even stranger than transforming from a fish into a dragon, as at least they moved somewhat alike. With the Perfect Me ability, Carpy quickly adapted to the new form, though he could only use about 15-20% of his power in this state.
"Should still be more than enough," Carpy muttered under his breath, extending his senses. Previously, he could easily sense the entire island and beyond, but now his range was limited to barely half of that, although the entirety of the island was still within his reach.
Despite everything, one thing stood out to Carpy the most. Perfect Me had a time limit, but he had already used it twice beyond that limit. This feat was impossible for Master Kon, even if he were to become the strongest, as the limit on his special ability would remain fixed.
Perfect Me was a versatile ability, governed by only one rule — 'I can only use Perfect Me for five minutes every week.'
Master Kon later discovered that giving a timed command allowed him to use less time and save more for the rest of the week. Towards the end of his life, he seemed to gain better control over the ability, almost being able to turn it off at will. However, Carpy noticed from Master Kon's memories that he was always in a rush, barely acknowledging his own improvements.
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But that was how Master Kon lived, always hurrying from one threat to the next. It was one of his many regrets — not taking things slower.
Carpy pushed such melancholic thoughts to the back of his mind; now wasn't the time to dwell on such matters.
As his thoughts cleared, Carpy realized something crucial about Master Kon's special ability. The wording of the ability had a significant loophole! When Master Kon said, "I can use Perfect Me for only five minutes a week," that 'I' referred only to Master Kon himself!
What if someone else used that ability?!
It was a loophole that even Master Kon had not considered before! If someone else used Perfect Me, they would have no time limit.
A chill ran down Carpy's spine. He understood just how overpowered Perfect Me was, even with a five-minute limit. But without that restriction, the ability became something that Carpy considered one of, if not the most dangerous special ability in the world.
But despite all the power at his fingertips, he didn’t have the energy to be excited. Using his sensory powers, he honed in on his target within the lava.
Amongst the molten rock, he spotted a red gem struggling to stay afloat. A woman began to form around it, but she couldn't fully materialize before getting scorched by the intense heat. Carpy, determined, approached the red gem, picked it up, and observed as a black-haired woman emerged from it, crying out in pain as her legs touched the scorching lava.
With no solid ground to stand on, she tried to steady herself by extending her palm, but it only prolonged her suffering. "Aghhhh!"
Carpy watched all this with an impassive expression. He crouched down just in time to prevent her from falling face-first into the molten rock, grasping her by the hair to pull her up. The woman looked at him fearfully, tears streaming from her eyes as the burns prevented her limbs from regenerating.
"You were quite confident about your ability to bring people back to life. Can you revive someone?" Carpy asked.
The woman quickly nodded and replied, "Yes! Yes, I can!"
Carpy gave a slight nod and dragged her body by the hair, submerging everything below her chest in the lava. The woman's agonizing screams filled the air as she pleaded and made offers, but Carpy paid no attention to her words.
Perenelle, or whatever her name was, had been responsible for Master Kon's death. Yet, Carpy still adhered to Master Kon's ideals and wasn't going to resort to torturing her. However, that didn't mean he would go out of his way to make her comfortable either.
Carpy walked briskly through the lava, relishing the woman's cries like a macabre melody until they finally reached some scorched land. Here, the rocks were boiling hot but survivable for an Ord-using creature like him.
He carelessly tossed her to the ground like a lifeless puppet. Perenelle's face bore tear streaks, and her throat was charred from the experience of being engulfed in lava, another painful death.
"Useless," Carpy snapped his fingers, and the woman's barely living body disintegrated, only to regenerate as a new being. She looked at him warily, her naked body trembling whenever their eyes met.
Though they didn't share the same soul, this new creation seemed to inherit the feelings of the previous one.
"As you were saying. You can revive people, right?" Carpy inquired.
"Y-yes," the woman stuttered, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "As long as the body is intact."
***
Perenelle felt her body and soul trembling as she stared at the silver-haired man before her.
[Kon, Dragon King of Broken Fate, Breaker of Worlds]
The scroll above his head seemed almost on the verge of realization. This man standing in front of her emanated an aura of immense danger, unlike anything she had ever sensed before. There was something deeply unsettling about him, even though none of his power leaked outside like when he came out of the cocoon.
"Good, if you can do that, then I will kill you painlessly," the humanoid dragon stated, almost as if his offer was already too generous. He turned his back and began walking away from the blast. "Follow me. We need to retrieve Master Kon's body."
However, the moment Perenelle glanced at the back of his neck, she crouched down and leaped toward the dragon without hesitation.
Though she had claimed she could revive the dead, it was a lie. If she truly possessed that ability, she would have brought her husband back to life. Yet, under torture, people would say anything the torturer wanted to hear.
Activating her special ability, the time around her body moved faster, she maneuvered with such incredible speed that the world around her turned black and white, with no other color visible.
Dragon or not, he would never be able to react to an attack this fast!