"In the churning abyss of transformation, fear is the crucible where resilience is forged, and the unknown births its own horrors."
"A Terrifying sight, isn't it, my lord?" Enitan's voice echoed in my mind, chilling me to the core. I had expected her to have a physical form, but this ethereal communication sent shivers down my spine. "Indeed, a strange thing to see. How goes the absorption of knowledge?" I hesitated, delaying the question about her changed mental state, sensing an unsettling shift in her presence.
"My lord, I must inform you that our minds are fused. All your thoughts are shared between us. I understand your fears, but the watcher did not do this; you did," she replied ominously.
"How is that possible?" My memories were still a jumbled mess, a storm of confusion and uncertainty. "In spirit years, I am considered a juvenile. The moulding of our minds has aged my psyche."
"Consequences of my choices," I replied, my mind racing through the implications. I peered in the murky water, finally confronting what I had become, my new body could be considered otherworldly I could already glimpse the watcher's hand in my new form there was nothing human about it.
The exoskeleton that encased my body glimmered with a dark elegance, a tapestry of shifting shadows and iridescent hues. The carapace seemed alive, each movement causing it to ripple and flow, as if animated by malevolent intelligence.
Raising one of my hands to touch the segments, I was surprised to find that I could feel the touch through my sharp claws. The segments reflected in the moon light, eerily. As I gazed at my reflection, I noticed my face had a vertical small slit for a mouth, devoid of a nose, and multiple blue eyes.
My new face held an eerie beauty within its eldritch features. The circular arrangement of glowing, azure eyes gazed back at itself, reflecting a celestial mystery that seemed to transcend the bounds of reality. The mouth, a mere vertical elongated slit, appeared almost like a scar, a rift in its chitinous visage, revealing the glistening, crystalline teeth within.
The tendrils that sprouted from my back undulated with a ghostly grace, their glow refracted by the water's surface, creating an entrancing dance of light and shadows. They seemed to reach for the abyss, seeking a connection with the unknown trying to control the tentacles from my back proved to be easy—just a thought, and they would move in any direction. Moving them closer, I observed sharp barbs attached to their ends.
The four sets of arms, varying in size, extended from my robust frame. The uppermost arms were massive, muscular, and intimidating, designed for raw power. The ones below, while still strong, were nimbler, suggesting a dexterity necessary for intricate manipulations.
I couldn't help but marvel at my new form, at the horrifying creature I had become. The realization struck me that this was how my new life would begin in this new world. That strange clam effect still affecting my mind to see the logic to it overwhelmed any emotion of panic or stress, two emotions I would not need at this moment of time.
"Entian what am I?" was the first thought that popped into my mind. Nothing about my appearance resembled anything I could have imagined. "Do not fear, my lord. What you are now is suitable for this realm, and there are benefits," her tone carried a twisted sense of humour.
"Please explain." Stepping onto the riverbank, I noticed my height was now closer to three meters, freezing at the revelation before knowledge of this realm's human measurement system flooded my mind.
"It will be easier not to dress up for social events. Remember the social attire of the Milwa kingdom? You called them flightless birds when you were forced to wear the attire," she replied, the memory laced with a disturbing nostalgia.
I chuckled at those memories, recalling the outfit with feathers of rare avian beasts sewn into it. The headpiece a large crown of feathers and the shoes created from rare gemstones infused with antigravity matrix, making the wearer float above their peers, a bunch of flightless idiots, the upper class.
"If we meet a power with such customs again, we must avoid them at all costs. I will not be seen as an abomination in such a ridiculous get-up," I replied, masking my unease with determination, "I'd rather wipe them out".
"That the price of wealth and power to set the rules that all must follow, as for your current form yeah not an abomination, but a fusion of organic and inorganic matter. The watcher created this form to act as the central core for your creations." My mind focused on the creature I had been moulded into.
"Unfortunately, your mind is still jumbled. I advise we return to our arrival point," she replied, I didn't hesitate and dove back to the river's murky depths swimming against the river's current back to the bottom of the river. As we neared the bottom, I discovered a large object beneath the murky water, its appearance like an egg as I got closer, I could see the black shell cracked open on one side.
"Is that an egg?" Swimming closer and touching it, I found the surface rough with small hairs on the outside. "Strange to have hatched from this." Rooting myself to the riverbed, "you mentioned something about a central core Entian.
Care to explain everything?" My vision blurred and darkened before returning to the library. Looking around, the collection had grown, and I could see no end to the shelves looking above the towers' ceiling was replaced with that black mist bringing a shiver down my spine before that strange calming effect took hold again.
"Of course, my lord. If your mind had been powerful enough to grasp all this knowledge, my existence here would not be needed. But the watcher saw fit to have me here as your mind is in a state of growth," she replied, her words sending chills down my spine.
"And your reliance on mana has hindered you here. The watcher has planned for your expansion to rely on constructs as you would on Illiv." She waved her tail, and the vast library disappeared, leaving us with nothing but the floor and an image of my grotesque form.
"Your body is still in its growth phase. Any changes you wish to make before the growth completes?" she turned to face me, walking around and studying the projection, I could see that my vision hindered me, only focused forward. With mana, I could have easily viewed anything in a wide area and mentally pictured it.
"Vision needs to be improved, including the other senses, especially hearing and smell. If I can at least hunt my enemy, that would be better. But I doubt this large form can move quietly through the landscape," I replied, contemplating my limitations.
"I have designed a smaller form that could act as our scout." A small creature appeared, covered in the same black chitinous shell. It lacked any distinct face but the same configuration of orbs for blue eyes doting its face with a few more on the back of its head, the same vertical mouth hiding the crystalline teeth within.
Its body was more lean and agile, its hands ending with longer and sharper claws. Its back had a large shell hiding its large pairs of wings, the design reminded of the fast courier insects used by the Tu'ran nomads of the Nythral marshlands.
"There are no tendrils on this one." A small projection of the scout appeared in my palm. The more I observed, the more I saw it as a combination of me and aspects of creatures from Iliv, I could estimate its height at 1.2 meters. Its arms suddenly raised, and two blades emerged from its wrists, making me suddenly raise my head.
I could hear her chuckling behind my projection. "Glad to see your sense of humour is still there. I hope, in the wild, you won't yip at everything in sight." Her laughter ceased, replaced by an unsettling seriousness. "I am mature now, my lord."
"Sure, you are. Now, how will I control these constructs, and is there a limit to their number?" I asked, feeling a mixture of awe and dread at the choices that lay ahead.
"That will depend on your choices, my lord. Choose wisely. Your decisions will affect our future growth," she replied, her words carrying an eerie weight in the newfound reality of our existence.