"My lady, what you plan to do? Shouldn't we be attending the festival?"
"Oh yes Saarfi, we will, but there is something urgent I need to get done before heading there."
Darius heard in his sleep. Hissing voice of two girls. He heard the rustling sound of something slithering on the ground. The voices bring him back from his fainting. His body shivered with the thought of getting caught. But then he successfully covered himself with the leaves of climbing plant. He tried his level best to conceal his breath. He tried to peak a little from the leaves, to see what he might be needed to deal with in near future.
Two gaint snake humanoids, their long thick tails having colourful patterns, their upper body of human female. Their slit like pupil shining with colours. Their whole body covered with snakes upper scaly skin. One was same thirty feet long similar to those he found in the forest, but with her upper half like a human female, her skin pale green, and long olive green hais. The other longer then her, with the aura of a mighty predator. She slithered on the ground, reaching towards the pond. The glow of her firy elliptical snaky eyes were enough to light up the gazebo. She dropped a crystal in the pond, and started getting into it. Darius was having hard time imagining the depth of the pond, if it can fit such a giant snake in it. In his mind it was here as some spring of decoration a few moments back.
"Pardon my insolence my lady, but what are you trying to do?" Saarfi seemed confused with her master's action
The pond water formed ripples as she shuffle and roll her body inside the pond. Then she picked the Violet crystal, it's center glowing navy blue, and started rubbing it on her head, her elongated navy blue hairs, then her face, and she kept going on, like someone would do with a bar soap.
She stopped to admire the crystal, lifting it in the air in front of her eyes, her firy gaze penetrating through the central navy blue glow. "Father granted me the dragon crystal, he had obtained. I will absorb it before going to cazador festival. It's power will multiply the affect of cazador by five times." She finally answered in evil voice.
"This is the treasure of dragon clan, indeed his highness is the most powerful and worthy of being the leader, or this wouldn't come easily."
"Dragon clan had no idea, that this cazador festival will be bringing their demise." She splashed the water of pond with her heavy tail in anger. "I am done with being oppressed by such fools. Serpentine will fly soon, There will be no dragons left on the land of BANAFSHI, to ever blow fire."
The scales of her navy blue ecdysis started glowing. She took deep breaths. "Hsss! Hsss!" Sounds of her hissing growing in the gazebo. Now she was glowing like a lantern, but blue in colour. Her long hair floating on the surface of pond.
"AHH,,, I am going to more powerful then the dragon high king. That old, arrogant, foul beast."
"Indeed you will be my lady, You are the only hope of serpentine clan. We all are here to serve you and heed to your command."
She took few more deep breaths, and the crystal vanished in her hands.
"Congratulations! My lady, you successfully absorbed the dragon crystal."
She coiled and coiled in the pond, then she jumped out of it, throwing herself in the air. Her body floating in the air, she moved her head out of gazebo, and her elongated body started circling it floating in the air. Coiling like a cyclone in air, she reached double her height, still glowing like a blue lantern.
"YES!!! I did." She screamed in pleasure.
Landing on the ground, she command Saarfi.
"Now I am ready for the festival, lets go with me, my friend."
Saarfi bowed her head, and both slithered towards a direction, Darius was sure will lead to the cazador festival.
"That was near." Darius tried to bring his mind to normal, but after so much of taking in, it was getting hard to be normal any more. He took heavy deep breaths. His body was still tiered and weak.
"If the crystal gives her power, a tiny of its residual may be helpful for me to heal." He build up courage, and when he was certain that there is no one around. He moved silently removing the leaves cover from himself. Dragging him to the wall of pond. He lift himself holding the edge of the wall, and looked into the pond. The water was still as clear as it was when he arrived.
"It is so clear, no trace of any dilute." He stated disheartedly. As his focus shifted, he saw his reflection.
"What on earth happened to me?" He screamed in shocked. Moving his hands from his forehead, to his cheeks, which were supposed to be like two apples, were now gone.
"My face?" He trailed his fingers lower and felt his jawbone. He moved more forward, to look himself more clearly.
"My neck?" His bulky muscular neck was vanished, and his throat and neck bone was visible.
"Man!! What happened to my body?" He looked on his arms and legs and it was like someone had butchered out the muscles for steaks leaving the skeleton behind. He was sure, that if anyone who knew him before saw him now, won't be able to recognise him. In other circumstances, he might be happy with that. After all he have tried so much to shape his body like those gym going boys in his school. But he wasn't exactly looking in shape right now too. It was more like he has been going through some serious illness from a long time. The energy drain from the use of magic have only left him with skin on bones.
Darius moved his hand inside the pond to feel the water. It was warm, he don't know if it is because of the power of the crystal or the serpentine Princess. But the water feels so good to his skin, that he decided to take a bath in it. His previously sweaty clothes were dry by now. He put off his shirt and trousers, leaving himself only in boxers. He washed his clothes, squeezed them out of water, and leave them to dry. He went inside the pond holding the edge of the wall, as he was scared to get drowned in it. Suddenly he felt the floor touching his feet, which were hanging until now. The depth of the pond magically fits for him. He relaxed and lay his back on the wall.
"Can't this transition be in a better way? Why it has to be shifting from the complex of being overweight, to the complex of looking like a dying patient?" He pondered while soaking his body. Darius felt like the force of power is working if there is any residual left of that crystal. His body was recovering from weakness.
"Why not try cultivating in it! That might bring better results." He dropped his head inside the pond, closed his eyes, and started cultivating. Regulating his energy from inside out. He felt like something is mildly diffusing into his body through skin from his surrounding. The power was so soothing, that his pain started fading. He came up on the surface, catching his breath, though he couldn't figure out how he was able to hold his breath so long.
Darius kept repeating the process, until he was sure he is able to move enough to find his way out of this palace, and this world. Before this all really kills him instead of just turning him into a dead waiting patient.
"Shouldn't I just see what is this cazador festival. After all it's not everyday you get to live in an alternative universe." His decision changed by his curious nature.
"Then I should move fast, that bitchy serpentine Princess won't be gone too far by now. I could follow them to the festival." He came out of pond, wore his clothes, which were almost dry by now. And planned to follow the serpentine Princess.