God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 264: Final Internal Skill: Draconic Transfiguration (2).

Cain had pondered about the true nature of the {Burning Spirit} since he had discovered it...

The entirety of the skill could be summarized with a few words. By igniting the latent ability of an element with the host's body, certain special traits are granted. However, it was a double-edged sword.

Flame elemental mana boosted his attack power, but reduced his defenses in turn. Metal elemental mana boosted his defenses, but reduced his movement speed, and so on...

The abilities and 'disabilities' of each elemental enchantment were still bound by reason. Fire was the element of destruction, but everything it possessed would be left brittle, like the transformation of a blood of wood to ash, or the melting of a metal rod to slag.

Metal is the element of protection and warfare. Shields, swords, armor... They are all created with metal. However, metal had the unique property of being heavy in exchange for its defensive property.

By drawing on these concepts, the skill, {Buring Spirit} transcended the realm of ordinary skills.

'If this doesn't work, I just might end up dying...'

Cain's mind was filled with focus as he focused on his body, absorbing every change within it. He didn't know if it would work or not, but he had to try. His reasoning was based on the working principle behind the {Burning Spirit} skill.

'If normal flame mana can boost my attack power so much, what will the flame of darkness do?'

To boost his attack potency, he had to call on the hottest of flames. Flames that could burn through the strongest of defenses, flames that could destroy life itself...

Cain let out a powerful exhale. His bones and muscles were tense. His concentration had reached its peak.

Whatever he did, he could not afford to mess up. The {Bog Serpent Wyrm} was a fearsome for with the powerful ability to regenerate from every injury. This ability was so strong, it recovered completely from every injury Cain and the others dealt in a matter of seconds.

As such, he had to kill the beast with a single strike. He could not allow it to regenerate or it would just heal back.

'Here goes nothing...'

Cain's dark eyes took on an even darker shade as he activated the {Abyssal Dragon Blade: Rakshasa}. His body transformed as he turned from a human to a demon.

His chest rose and fell as he waited for the creature to attack.

Silence...

The skies of the fragmented land were silent. There was no trace of the {Bog Serpent Wyrm}. It was almost as though the thing had been forced to flee. However, Cain was certain the creature had no intentions of doing so.

It wanted his blood, and he wanted its. There was no other outcome to the engagement other than one being the victor, or mutual destruction.

Suddenly, the sky rumbled...

Bolts of lightning boiled within the austere sky, and a vortex of clouds began moving toward a peculiar epicenter that had formed just a few seconds ago.

Cain felt his heartbeat accelerate...

'This is it!'

The creature descended like a furious deity. Its gigantic body resembled that of a dragon riding the clouds as a cataclysmic aura enveloped it. There was a huge glowing ball of water in its mouth. Flashes of lightning and thunder rumbled within this ball of blue destruction as it swam across the sky.

'Focus...'

Cain immediately drew power from his mana pool. His mana had recovered a little so he had more than enough for the stunt he was about to pull. A layer of incandescent flames enveloped him. His right hand held onto the hilt of the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame} as a large amount of Ki and devil essence was being suked away from his body.

The horn of the {Bog Serpent Wyrm} flashed wildly as it kept drawing more and more water elemental mana until an illusory phantom of a water dragon appeared above it.

A deep sense of reverence and fear blossomed in his heart, but he pushed it away.

Right now, a creature of mass destruction was about to descend from the sky with clouds that could crush a city into rubble chasing after it.

Cain was certain he would die if he was unable to stop the creature...

The creature was a few hundred meters to the ground when he made a move. He activated an enchantment of the {Burning Spirit}.

A stream of indescribable anguish suddenly washed over him. It felt unbearably cold and hot at the same time. The incandescent flame surrounding his body was immediately tainted lack like an ink rush sullying a blank canvas.

A scream of pain tore its way through Cain's chest and out his throat as he was completely enveloped with the dark flames.

'Crap! I messed up!'

Cain tried to fight the pain, but he was unable to. His skin suddenly began disintegrating to his surprise and horror. This was the first time he had seen a skill of his hurt him so badly.

He was soon covered in burns that continued to eat at his flesh. Luckily for him, he wouldn't need to endure the torture any longer.

The {Bog Serpent Wyrm} had already reached him. In his panic and misery, Cain had nearly almost forgotten the terrifying creature. On instinct, he swung the sword in his hand horizontally.

The flames surrounding his body suddenly surged to his arm and wrapped around the weapon. The darkness of the Devil's essence became immeasurable deeper once this happened, while the crimson light of the Ki became so bright, it was like a huge, red star surrounded by the infinite darkness of the void.

The {Bog Serpent Wyrm} spat its attack out.

The ball of blue destruction and the crimson and black blade clashed for only a split second before the world-destroying blade cut through the blue ball of concentrated water elemental mana.

Then, the sword proceeded to cut through scales, skin, muscles, ligaments, and bones with frightening ease. The creature's momentum pushed it forward until the edge of the sword exited from its tail. The {Bog Serpent Wyrm} was split into two even horizontal strips.

The mighty creature was dead in a split second, its powerful fleshy body not even allowed to regenerate.

The creature's body fell to both sides of Cain who was now kneeling on the ground, clenching the spot where his arm used to be. The arm he used to attack the {Bog Serpent Wyrm} had disintegrated into nothing by the force of the attack. There was no trace of it on the ground and the sword the hand had held was lying just a few inches away from him.

Cain's face was devoid of blood as he struggled against the pain.

'Lost an arm twice in the span of a few days. Hope this doesn't become a habit.' Cain tried to regulate his breathing but failed and slowly slumped to the ground.

The earth around him was completely decimated, and huge craters had formed around the two portions of the {Bog Serpent Wyrm's} corpse.

A sweet feeling rose from his throat and came out as a mixture of stomach acid and blood. The impact had dealt a bit of internal damage and trauma on him.

All he wanted to do was lie down on the ground and close his eyes. Although he was sad he had lost his arm again, it wasn't. Something he hadn't experienced before. However, he was unable to do that as a system prompt filled his vision even though his eyes were closed.

***

{Congratulations to the host... You have slain a Bog Serpent Wyrm...}

{+ 400 to all stats...}

{You have received the internal skill, Mimic Dragon Physique...}

Cain suddenly felt something stir within him, almost as though a missing piece of the puzzle was finally put in place.

The heartbeat of both his hearts suddenly sped up. His blood boiled excitedly, and the Ki in his body seemed to suddenly have a place to vent.

All the changes happening in his body brought excruciating pain as well. He could feel his body changing on a fundamental level. His bones, muscles, hair... Everything was going through a metamorphosis.

Four silver scales suddenly appeared on his chest. They glowed with a soft, platinum glow that spread ripples around his body. A fifth scale slowly began appearing, flickering between material and immaterial.

He tried to scream, cry, or even groan, but his body was too suppressed by the pain. Eventually, it faded away, leaving no traces behind. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to stand up, but failed miserably. Eventually, he resigned himself and just played down on the ground.

After a few seconds, he opened his status screen. What he saw made him so surprised, he almost ignored the exhaustion in his bones and began yelling in shock.

***

{The skill, Mimic Dragon Physique has been activated. The Scales of Antiquity have reacted to the skill. The Dragon's Gate Ki has reacted to the skill}.

{The host's body is changing to accommodate these reactions...}

{Processing...}

{The Changes have been successfully made}.

{The nature of the skill, Mimic Dragon Physique has changed}.

{Mimic Dragon physique has evolved into the skill, Draconic Transfiguration}.

{Draconic Transfiguration}:

Description: The host's body had absorbed a silver of the Celestial Dragon blood and has begun mutation. This silver of Celestial of Celestial Dragon blood has been affected by the energies rampant within the host's body and has been modified. The host has embarked on the journey to possess a body on par with that of a Celestial Dragon.

***

Cain stared at the string of words for a while, not knowing how to react.

'So strange...'

However, the strange system prompt wasn't over. Just right below the description of the skill was a set of words that followed.

***

{The only way to attain the body of a celestial beast, is by consumption and absorption. To activate the latent power of the Celestial Dragons, consume the body of vanquished foes}.

***

Cain had no idea what type of skill this was. It wasn't an active skill nor was it a passive one. It was sort of in the middle. It was so strange because it didn't state what benefits it would grant him. Only that he would need to consume creatures he defeated to become more powerful, which wasn't giving a lot...

He could feel a latent power coursing through his body, but he didn't know how it had gotten there, or how he was supposed to draw on it. However, there was one thing he could feel quite clearly.

And that was a strong hunger that called from the puts of his stomach, telling him to devour everything...

Although it was subtle it was definitely there.

'This skill...'

Cain's eyes narrowed as he stared at the description. Suddenly, the latent energy he could feel flowing in his body rushed toward his right hand, or the lack thereof...

Cain turned his head and watched as the stump that was left behind suddenly opened up. A stream of blood gushed out of the open wound and began solidifying. He could only stare in awe as his hand was being slowly restored.

His bones were the first to form fully. Then his tendons and ligaments. His flesh began growing onto the bone in layers, and finally, his bronze-like skin rolled back onto his flesh.

Soon, the arm was as good as new...

"What. The. Hell?!"