The bedroom faded into darkness and Derek found himself in a vast expanse of the cosmos, surrounded by galaxies. Formless, his consciousness floated in the void. A pulsating white mass of energy, smaller than the celestial bodies yet immense, hovered nearby.
‘What are you, Derek Irisson?’ The entity’s question echoed in the void, prompting Derek to pause.
Was it God? Or a god? The absolute silence of this place and the fact that his own consciousness was floating in this realm spoke of something divine. A mix of curiosity and uncertainty flickered within him as he pondered the question.
“I’m a human?” Derek responded, his voice tinged with the uncertainty of the question.
‘That much is apparent, human Derek Irisson. What are you? What separates you from the remainder of your species? Do you fail to comprehend my question?’
“I don’t know. I’m not special. There are thousands of people out there who are like me.”
‘Incorrect.’
“I don’t have the ability to define who I am.”
‘This is the truth. Derek Irisson, how do you wish to define yourself?’
“I want to be impossibly strong, strong enough to slaughter the monsters. So strong that monsters fear me.” Derek paused, a fleeting image of Marie crossing his mind, grounding his resolve. “Strength to protect.”
‘This is your evolution, the evolution of your body. Choose how you evolve. Show me what you want to be.’
His body appeared before him, stark naked, like a real life image. Derek, having never seen his body like this before, wanted to walk around the image, but instead of him moving, his body turned as if he were walking around it.
“So, any modification is possible in this form?” Derek clarified, seeking to understand the boundaries.
‘Yes, there are limitations, but I shall explain those as they arise.’
Derek mused, considering the gravity of shaping his own evolution. He mentally summoned his interface, a familiar screen materializing in this surreal space. He started to pull up a search engine, but hesitated. A mental image of body builders and strong men flashed through his mind. With a mental command, the body standing before him expanded in height and weight until it looked like a beast of a man and wide as a door.
It wasn’t enough. Even though he already surpassed the earth’s strongest, it wouldn’t be enough. The orcs and trolls he fought were still strong, he couldn’t determine who was strong, he hadn’t exactly had a competition with them. Still, based on the videos from all over the world, he only fought against the weakest and had lost. Orcs were supposed to be nothing in comparison to more serious threats, like the demons from Arizona or the elementals from Iceland, or even the monstrous aquatic creatures from the Pacific Islands.
He would have died twice in as many days if it hadn’t been for those around him. He was failing at protecting them. He was the only person in the house that accepted the role of a weapon. He wasn’t even good at it. A sense of inadequacy surged within him, evolving into a cold fury aimed at his limitations. Grabbing onto it, he embraced the rage. If he couldn’t kill the monsters as a human, then he would become what they are and beat them at their own monstrous game.
Mythical heroes like Hercules or fantasy heroes like Conan wouldn’t cut it. Even the superheroes of fiction wouldn’t match his determination. They were too heroic, too saintly. No, he would become a monster, he would become the villain if needed.
Even the massive form that his body assumed from the change wasn’t enough. What are the strongest beings in existence? Gods… well, he couldn’t become a god. He browsed through a mental list of the universe’s mightiest: galaxy-spanning monsters, Cthulhu Mythos entities, demigods, powerful wizards, dragons, archangels, and demon lords.
Some of the monsters were too monstrous, too animalistic to be useful to him. Every religion, novel, game, tv show, and subculture held these being as gods or beings of such vast power that they weren’t much different. What resonated with him the most was dragons, being depicted with wisdom, strength, intelligence, and power beyond human capabilities.
With a thought, his body was covered in scales, horns, wings, claws, and talons of blood red covered his body. His eyes changed to draconic slits and his spine grew small spikes. The power of such a form couldn’t be contained in the body, and the eyes glowed red with an aura of strength that was nearly tangible.
‘This form is beyond the limitations of this evolution.’ The cosmic entity said without a hint of emotion.
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With its words, the body of Derek that stood before him reverted to a huge beast of a man lacking all hints of a draconic nature. It gave Derek an opportunity to gain some clarity over his goal and also question his own logic. What happens if his body becomes so monstrous that he is unable to live outside of the violence? How would Marie react to such a transformation? Would she even be able to love him? Would he be more monster than man?
Back on task, he made changes one at a time. He covered the hard parts of his body with thick scales. Those same parts were where he would receive impacts. He left the more sensitive areas alone, but his joints were covered with tiny scales covered by a thick, calloused layer of leather like skin. As the maroon scales grew from his body, a set of horns erupted from his head, twisting and rolling around toward the back of his head like a crown. Apparently, there were some consequences to modification, as if the more non-human modifications, the faster he lost his humanity. He added a set of blood red wings, then a tail appeared as a consequence, confirming the thought.
He opened the torso to see the inside. His human organs were exposed and fragile compared to the draconic features. He morphed his heart into that of a dragon. Power flowed through it with each pulse. He covered it in a bone cage for protection. He enhanced his blood vessels to prevent them from exploding under the pressure. He thickened his own bones and morphed them into the hardest biologically created material that his imagination could conceive.
He reinforced his muscles and joints so that they would hold up under the strain of abuse. He reinforced his skull with a lattice cage of rigid bones that would protect his skull. He increased his muscle to protect his organs. Then closed his body up and looked it over, satisfied with his creation.
He changed his view of his mana channels and compressed them into a core that lied in his heart cavity and infused his hearts with the mana that would pump mana saturated blood through his arteries, just like it did oxygen and nutrients. When he returned to the normal view, his body had changed. There was now a dull glow of power behind his eyes, and there was something intimidating about him.
Derek looked at the white hole. “I think I’m done.”
‘There will be no shape shifting at this level. This is your permanent form. Adjusting form to enhance biological efficiency and establish natural homeostasis.’
His body blurred as it changed and shifted. When the body stopped blurring, and he wasn’t really sure that he was looking at himself anymore, but the face was his. His features were almost intimidating in their newfound intensity. His skin retained its original texture, but the maroon scales now overlaid high impact areas in a manner that was more natural. His eyes glowed with a hard, ethereal light from behind his blue eyes. The wings and tail shifted and swayed in a natural motion.
His transformed body was muscular, with a broad chest and thick legs, designed for power and speed. Derek looked nothing short of a warrior, a sentinel, standing at the intersection of myth and reality.
‘Your wings are insufficient for flight. To fly, double the wingspan and increase torso muscle mass. Do you accept this as your evolution?’
Derek nodded in pleased with the results so far, but wasn’t satisfied. The wings were a problem. The muscle mass needed to use them would offset his balance and kinesthesis. Iit was also missing something. “No, it’s missing something.”
Derek removed the wings and tail. Despite the obvious humanity, there was something missing. He looked strong, but maybe he could enhance his existing human anatomy with something stronger. Then started digging through his interface until he came across the form of an archangel. That should help offset the draconic aspects and give him a more human appearance.
“Can you add the aspects of an archangel?” Derek asked, then explained what he wanted instead of making the changes himself.
‘Integrating as requested. Please wait.’
His body blurred again and when it finished, the maroon scales lost their color, taking on a silver color infused with gold, almost making them look like they were sourced from some kind of divinity. The horns that had been maroon were likewise transformed into silver and gold. The horns themselves were thinned slightly, making them look almost elegant. The light in his eyes changed to a clear bright blue, but they dimmed after a moment, leaving his blue eyes flaked with gold. His body was a combination of a divine angel and a dragon, all wrapped in an almost human form. His body looked like an angelic being, but the aura of restrained violence ruined the look.
‘Do you accept this as your evolution?’
Derek looked inside and found that the changes were more than skin deep. His heart had been improved, as it was now speckled with gold and silver veins of angelic power. His bones and muscles were also entwined with the angelic anatomy.
“Is there anything else I can do to make it stronger?”
’Yes, but it seems that you are attempting to retain your humanity. By sacrificing more of your humanity, you can gain more strength.’
Derek pondered that, wondering how much of his humanity he was willing to give up to protect his family. The answer was easy, ‘all of it.’
“I don’t care if I am human. I just want to look and function like a human.”
‘Are you willing to sacrifice your capability for reproduction?’
“Do you mean that I can’t have sex?” Derek asked, concerned. That would have side effects on his relationship with Marie, and in a way that he wasn’t sure he would give that up.
‘No, your reproductive anatomy will function as normal. Your changes will affect your DNA resulting in your compatibility with humans will no longer resulting in offspring.’
He relaxed. That was a side effect they could live with. Marie wanted more kids, but she couldn’t have kids if she were dead.
“Yes, I’ll make the sacrifice.”
The form blurred and shifted again as the scales adjusted themselves around powerful muscles. The previous scars and blemishes on his skin faded until it was like a flawless canvas. The blue veins under his skin looked like it was almost glowing. The light in his eyes changed from blue to silver, leaving his blue eyes backlit by a silver glow. Observing his transformed reflection, Derek took a moment to absorb the sight. The amalgamation of dragon and angelic features was striking. He nodded, an acknowledgment of this new phase of his existence.
‘Do you accept this as your evolution?’
“Yes,” He replied without a single instance of hesitation.
‘Acknowledged. Congratulations on your evolution.’