Chapter 410: The Transformations
"Well, is there anything else I should work on before ranking up?"
I thought for a few seconds, but nothing important came to mind.
"Alright... we’re good to go."
I looked at the glowing notification in my vision.
[Initiate Rank Up?]
"Yes."
The moment I spoke, a deep vibration ran through my chest. Essence burst out of the air around me, like an invisible flood, rushing into my body from every direction.
But as it reached near me it slowed and then sank into my skin, muscles, and bones. It was warm and heavy, yet strangely light, wrapping me from head to toe.
I could feel it changing me, bit by bit, making my body stronger, cleaner, and sharper. My bones felt denser, my muscles more elastic, my blood heavier with energy.
This was the first part of reaching Grandmaster: rebuilding the body so it could handle more Essence, more laws, and more power without breaking.
Then, the changes went deeper.
One by one, the laws I had mastered came alive. Space, Elemental Convergence, Devour, Polarity, Assimilation, Stormfire, Froststorm, they each flared inside me like living flames.
The Minor Law of Space filled my senses first. I felt every grain of dust in the air, every tiny shift in distance, every stretch of the horizon. The feeling wrapped around my bones, embedding itself there, making movement and perception sharper.
Next came Elemental Convergence, a tide of heat, chill, light, and wind surging through my blood. My veins hummed with it, and I could feel how easily I could pull different elements together now, like they were all parts of the same song.
Devour came after—a cold, shadowy presence curling around my heart. I felt its hunger sink into my flesh, not as a weakness, but as a power I could call on whenever I wished.
Polarity arrived in a flash, the push and pull of invisible forces shaping the marrow in my bones. Attraction and repulsion now felt like extensions of my will, as natural as moving a hand.
Assimilation followed—a calm, steady flow that whispered of change and growth. My skin tingled as I realized I could now blend what I absorbed into myself without waste.
Stormfire burst in next, crackling heat and roaring lightning mixing into a single violent storm inside my chest. My muscles thrummed with destructive potential.
Froststorm was last, a sudden breath of freezing wind and sharp ice, twining together until they hummed like a quiet blade inside me.
Each law found a place in my body, as if I had been built to house them from the start.
The restructuring didn’t stop there, my head suddenly felt heavy. My brain was being remade too. I could almost see it: Essence flowing into every fold and line, strengthening the connections, sharpening thought, quickening reaction. My Psynapse pulsed brightly, fed directly by the rush of laws binding themselves to me.
Then something else appeared in front of me, my staff.
It hovered in the air, still and silent, but the moment I reached out, it cracked apart. Pieces of it broke into dust, scattering like violet ash. The dust began to swirl, and slowly, a new staff took shape.
Violet light glowed inside it, running along its length like rivers. One by one, the laws I had mastered flowed into it, engraving invisible patterns deep into the material. Space wrapped around the shaft. Elemental Convergence lined the surface in a shimmering wave. Stormfire and Froststorm bit into the metal with heat and cold, while Polarity and Assimilation fused into the core. Devour’s shadows curled at the ends.
When it was whole again, I took it in my hands. It felt heavier, but also perfectly balanced, like an extension of my arm.
And then, my heart lurched.
The null core inside me, usually calm, trembled violently. Before I could react, Essence rushed out of it in a wild stream. My summons appeared around me one by one.
First came Lyrate.
She moved gracefully, her feet landing gently on the grass. Her red hair caught the light, and her red eyes locked on me.
She held her sword in one hand, the blade glowing faintly. The crimson mist wrapped around her like a cloak.
Then, a bright green light rose from her body, almost like roots and vines made of Essence. It spread across her arms, her sword, and the ground around her. I could feel her Law of Creation pulsing stronger than ever.
Her beauty shifted, becoming sharper and more vivid. Her elven heritage made that change even more striking. The dress she had formed through her own Law of Creation changed as well, the flowing cape behind her deepened into a rich black, rippling gently in the air.
I felt Essence surge into her head, reshaping her mind. But before that process could finish, the chain that linked us appeared out of thin air. Strange runes lit up along its length, carving themselves into the metal.
A heartbeat later, those same runes shot into Lyrate. Her body rose slowly from the ground as she let out a sudden gasp.
"Ahh." A pained moan escaped her lips.
My eyes widened slightly.
"Did... she just speak?" I muttered.
Before her transformation could finish, Knight stepped out of the mist.
A deep rumble shook the ground as he stepped out. The black panther’s coat shone like liquid night, his red eyes glowing brightly.
The space around him seemed to bend, like he wasn’t fully part of this world. His body grew larger, muscles shifting under his sleek fur.
Shadows poured from him, covering his back and legs like living armor. The air around him felt colder, sharper. His head lifted, and his eyes met mine.
Just like before, the chain linking me to Knight appeared, glowing as runes raced along its length. In the next moment, they surged straight into his body.
Then, with a sharp burst of wind, massive wings spread wide—Silver’s transformation had begun.
The wind picked up before I even saw him. A sharp cry cut through the air, and he burst out of the crimson mist in a flash of crimson.
His wings spread wide, larger than before, each feather gleaming like polished steel.
The laws of wind and sound swirled around him, making a low hum in the air that I could feel in my bones. He landed hard, talons cutting into the earth, and his eyes locked on mine.