Once the city lords of the four major cities fell, it wasn't difficult for Salem to set up a technological revolution for the people.
He was able to skip the introduction of firearms and went straight for information technology.
Why would they need firearms and the like when they had the Shadows?
During the time it took for Salem to develop technology that the residents of the cities could mass produce, he retreated into a new bunker and investigated both of his classes.
It took two entire years for Salem to fully grasp the implications of adding elements to his nanobots.
Before, he could have attached nanobots to a tree and made them stimulate nutrients, causing the tree to grow faster, just not at a noticable rate.
Now, with earth element fusion with nanobots, he could turn a sapling into a massive, hundred meter tall tree in ten seconds, even at a relatively low psyche cost.
His Shadow Lord class was also able to be used in ways he could never have imagined before.
Shadows could be manipulated for almost negligible psyche costs, allowing him to essentially use telekinesis for free.
During those same two years, Alina's hunter class evolved into night stalker, which allowed her to pass between shadows, Ruby got the Nanomancer class, and Salem was able to enjoy relaxing with them.
....
It had been two years.
No one had heard from the man they had christened the Black Dragon for two years.
Jane was fed up with people's fanatic worship of the Black Dragon. Sure, she had written a book, alongside Maya and Rose, but she didn't expect people to turn it into a religion.
It took two months for the fanatics to convert almost the entire population into dragon worshippers. When the Shadows were asked about the Black Dragon coming back, it grated on their nerves, causing them to be short-tempered and less lenient.
She couldn't blame them, either. Her normal life in society had been boosted massively by her fame from her book.
No longer was she a small apartment-dweller who got her money from unknown sources, (She had been taught by Salem how to manipulate shadows.) and lazed about during the day.
Now, she was an incredibly famous author, along with Maya and Rose, who co-authored the book.
She hated the fame. It reminded her of the attention she had gotten when she was twelve, before the Black Dragon had saved her.
Sighing, she glanced out her apartment window and saw the daily crowd that had gathered outside of it.
A Spark, as the people called them, stood in front of the door to her building, safeguarding her. Many famous people had a single Spark guard them to prevent accidents.
It was common for famous people to try and bribe Sparks onto their side, but as far as she knew, (She knew a lot.) not a single one of her Shadows had taken a bribe.
Sighing once more, she went down the stairs and left the building, steeling herself for the daily 'sermon'.
A 'sermon' just repeated what she had said a million times over.
"When will the Black Dragon return?"
"I don't know."
"Will he return?"
"Probably."
"Have you seen it recently?"
"No."
"Could you give us a picture of the Black Dragon?"
"Yes."
"Will you?"
"No."
It was horribly tiresome to do the same task every day, repeating herself over and over again.
She was never free from these people.
Opening the door to the complex and began her bothersome routine.
....
"The human mind never ceases to amaze me." Salem remarked, as he did almost daily. "Without rest or reprieve, they gather to listen to the so-called 'prophet' answer with uncertanty to their questions they know she can't answer."
He was observing the happenings of Jane's life through a bug that he had enchanted with the space attribute.
"You used to be human, though." Alina said, draped accross his chest, reciting their almost-daily ritual.
"I know." Salem said.
"It's arguable that you're more human than a human." Ruby said, breaking their tradition.
"How so?" Salem asked, intrigued.
"You have human decency, you're kind, and you show more love than most other humans I've met." Ruby said, wrapped by one of his arms.
"Fair enough." Salem said.
He enjoyed their embraces for a while.
"I think I'm going to give them their second coming and leave behind another legacy." Salem said, after giving it a lot of thought.
"How about you do that after you spend some time with us?" Ruby said, tracing her hand from his shoulder to his groin.
....
After the morning passed, Salem prepped the three of them for the ride of their lifetimes, which he planned on giving them often.
[Aurum: Giggity.]
"I would recommend just holding onto the spines on my back." Salem said, worried that they would fall off. "I'm going to give you glide suits so that if you fall, you'll be fine."
The girls, accustomed to his genuine concern for them, accepted the updates he gave to their clothes.
Transforming, he laid down in his now-familiar body so that they could easily mount him.
[Aurum: I think he's doing this on purpose.]
Verifying they were safely nestled against his spines, Salem took off towards the distant city.
....
As Jane finished her patience-thinning 'sermon', she looked to the sky, almost out of habit, gauging the weather for the day.
In the distance, she saw a massive black figure gliding in the clouds.
It (Understandably.) took a few seconds for her to register what the massive figure signified.
Once it registered, Jane slowly raised her arm and pointed to the rapidly expanding silhouette of the dragon she knew to be her savior.
Following her finger, every head turned, curious to see what would elicit such a response.
Once people registered what the sillhouette signified, there was utter chaos.
Some people ran to shelter in their homes, fearing the coming of the end times, some stared in awe, but a majority knelt on one knee, resting their elbows on their raised knees, and bowing their heads in respect for their entire world's savior.