Chương 626: B9 - Chapter 4: Subspecies

"This…" Zeke stared at the thing standing in the heart of the valley. For a long moment, he could do nothing else. Heat rolled across the basin like a living tide, licking at the cliffs and crawling over the stones. The ground around Vulcanos had already begun to soften, glowing a deep, angry red beneath the heat. Streams of molten rock trickled down the slight incline, hissing whenever they met patches of colder stone. And in the center of it all stood a… beast.

It looked nothing like Vulcanos' original form, but neither did it match his new, more human appearance. This was something else entirely. Scales covered its body from head to tail, each one smooth and dark, swallowing the glow of the surrounding fire. Four powerful legs dug into the melting stone, claws sunk deep into the earth. A long tail coiled behind it, its tip twitching slightly as if testing the weight of its new body. Great wings were folded against its back.

They were too large for the narrow valley, their leathery membranes veined with lines of molten gold. Those same fiery lines spread across the creature's entire body. They wound around its limbs and chest in intricate patterns, circling its neck, ribs, and spine like burning chains. With every breath the creature took, those lines brightened, then dimmed again. The air itself seemed to bend around it. No, Zeke realized a moment later. It was not merely bending. It was burning.

The heat gathered and contracted, pulling the air tight until the world around Vulcanos shimmered. The stones beneath his feet blackened, cracked, and sank. Even from a distance, Zeke felt the heat press against his skin like a furnace door had been opened in front of him. The beast had not moved since the transformation finished. It simply stood there, head lowered, body surrounded by fire and molten rock. Then it raised its gaze. Zeke met those eyes.

They were no longer set in a human face, but he recognized them all the same. The shape had changed. The body had changed. Even the presence had become heavier, wilder, and infinitely more dangerous. But the eyes were familiar.

"Vulcanos?" Zeke asked. The great head dipped.

"Yes, Master." The voice was deeper than before. It rumbled through the valley, carrying with it the sound of distant thunder. Yet beneath that weight, Zeke still heard the same tone. The same unquestioning respect. The same man. Or at least, the same being. Zeke took another moment to study him. Scales. Claws. Wings. Fangs. A body like a living catastrophe. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"…Why do you look like that?" Vulcanos blinked. It was a strange sight on such a monstrous face. Zeke gestured at him.

"Why is your true form that of a Dragon?" The beast tilted his head slightly, as if considering the question for the first time. The movement was small, but the effect was not. One horn scraped against the haze above him, and his folded wings shifted against his back. The molten lines across his body flared for a heartbeat before dimming again.

"I don't know, Master."

"You don't know?"

"It simply turned out this way." Zeke stared at him. For several breaths, the only sound in the valley was the crackling of fire and the slow, wet hiss of stone turning liquid. Then, piece by piece, his mind began to move. The answer was obvious, wasn't it? Vulcanos had not always been like this. He had been a Chimeroi without even the slightest hint of reptilian heritage. His transformation into a Progenitor had not been the result of his own Bloodline.

Something had pushed him past the limits of his original nature. Draconic blood. That drop of power Zeke had given him. The same substance that had allowed Vulcanos to break through his limits had also shaped what he became after doing so. But the scale of the change was absurd. One single drop. That was all it had been. Could one drop of blood truly rewrite a creature so thoroughly? Could it turn a Chimeroi into a new species?

"It was not blood that you gave him." The answer came from within his mind. Khai'Zar's voice was low, having chosen this exact moment to exit hibernation.

"It was Essence." Zeke's gaze remained fixed on Vulcanos, but his attention shifted inward.

"What is the difference?"

"If blood is the result, then Essence is the origin," Khai'Zar replied.

"Your blood is determined by what you are. Your Essence determines what you may become." Zeke's eyes narrowed slightly. Khai'Zar continued, his tone dry.

"In simpler words, Draconic Essence is the material from which Dragons are made." Zeke fell silent. He had known the substance produced by Khai'Zar's heart was extraordinary. That much had been obvious from the first time he used it. It could strengthen him, preserve him, save him from wounds that should have killed him. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. But now Khai'Zar was telling him that it was something even more fundamental. A building block of existence.

Before Zeke could ask another question, Vulcanos shifted. It was barely more than a tightening of his claws. Yet the valley reacted as if struck. The half-molten stone beneath him split open with a wet crack, and a fresh stream of lava spilled from the wound. Heat surged outward in a visible ripple, bending the world between them. A nearby boulder blackened, sagged, and burst apart. Vulcanos froze. His wings pressed tighter against his back.

The molten lines across his body dimmed, and the heat retreated by a fraction. Zeke watched the display in silence. Vulcanos lowered his head slightly.

"Apologies." Zeke said nothing for a moment. Then his attention returned inward.

"Do all dragons have this… Essence?"

"Not only dragons," Khai'Zar said.

"All Ancient Races possess Essence of their own." Zeke's thoughts accelerated at once.

"Does that mean the Ancient Races could mass-produce Progenitor Beasts?" A scoff echoed inside his mind.

"Do not confuse possibility with certainty," Khai'Zar said.

"Essence is not some potion that grants miracles to anyone foolish enough to consume it. Most creatures would die. Others would twist themselves into something useless. A rare few might change in a meaningful way. Fewer still would survive that change with their minds intact."

"And even if it were possible," Khai'Zar continued, "I doubt many of the Ancient Races would be foolish enough to waste their Essence on such an experiment."

"Why not?"

"Why would they?" Khai'Zar asked in return.

"Essence is the foundation of our power. It is the means by which we refine ourselves. My kind produces it, consumes it, and grows stronger. More complete. To spend Essence on another creature is to stall one's own progress." Zeke's fingers twitched. A faint, unpleasant understanding settled over him.

"Doesn't that mean…"

"Yes," Khai'Zar said before he could finish.

"Every drop of Essence you have wasted so far could have elevated you. Had you not squandered so many opportunities, your body might already possess the strength of an Archmage." Zeke's mouth tightened. Memories flashed through his mind. His battle against Leo in the tournament. His fight before the Treemother. More than once, he had consumed Draconic Essence simply to win fights he had no business winning. But often enough, it had been the only reason he was still alive. Still, a pang of regret passed through him.

It was sharp, but not deep. After all, potential was meaningless if he died before using it, and most of those choices had not been choices at all. They had been the difference between survival and death. Besides, his path was not that of a Dragon. He was human. His strength came from Mana, calculation, will, and the countless foundations he had built with his own hands. Draconic Essence was useful. He would not pretend otherwise. But it was not the center of his existence. Not yet, at least.

With that thought, Zeke focused once more on the creature in the valley. The molten glow around Vulcanos had spread further. The basin floor shimmered now, and thin streams of red light ran through cracks in the stone. Heat rose in waves so fierce that the mountains behind him appeared distorted.

"So," Zeke said slowly, "Vulcanos has truly become a Dragon?"

"No." Khai'Zar's answer was immediate.

"He is a Wyvern." Zeke blinked. He examined Vulcanos again. Four legs. Two wings. Scales. Claws. Fangs. A massive body capable of making stone melt simply by standing there. By every classification Zeke knew, that should have been a Dragon.

"Don't strain your eyes, whelp," Khai'Zar said.

"They might burst, and you would still not see the difference." Zeke ignored the insult.

"Then what is the difference?"

"Wyvern is a term my kind uses for all our subspecies," Khai'Zar explained.

"The shape is irrelevant. Two legs, four legs, wings, no wings. Those crude distinctions do not matter, and neither does strength. Some may even grow powerful enough to challenge lesser dragons. But no matter how similar their forms appear, they are not the same."

"…Because of Essence," Zeke said. For the first time, Khai'Zar did not answer immediately. The brief silence was more satisfying than Zeke cared to admit. Then the dragon spoke again, his voice as calm as before.

"Correct." Zeke's lips twitched.

"No matter how strong a subspecies becomes. It cannot produce its own Essence. You may feed such a creature all the Essence in the world. You may strengthen its body, refine its blood, and reshape its form. But it will never become the origin of its own line." The final piece clicked into place. He finally understood what separated the Ancient Races from the creatures beneath them. It was not merely power. Not lifespan. Not size. Not even potential. It was the ability to refine themselves endlessly from within.

No wonder they were so arrogant. In a sense, they had every reason to be. But Zeke did not feel the reverence Khai'Zar likely expected from him. Humans had their own path. They had Mana, Will, and knowledge. They could not refine themselves through Essence, but they had carved their own road upward. The Exarch realm alone could halt aging to a terrifying degree. Beyond that, there were still Monarchs.

If he ever reached a point where his own lifespan no longer mattered, then the cost of giving away Essence would become much easier to bear. And if that happened… Zeke's gaze drifted back to Vulcanos. The massive black Wyvern stood in the center of the valley, surrounded by fire and molten stone. His existance now meant far more than the addition of a powerful combatant. He was a precedent. A treasure. Vulcanos shifted under his stare.

"M-Master," Vulcanos rumbled.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zeke blinked, then smoothed his expression at once.

"Like what? I am simply admiring your new form." Inside his mind, Khai'Zar made a sound of contempt. Zeke ignored him. He wouldn't give up on the idea of elevating his followers just because the Dragon disaproved of it. A faint crack rang out below. Heat rolled outward in heavy waves, strong enough to make the air tremble between them. The thought of future Wyverns faded, replaced by a more immediate concern. The heat was worsening.

The air between them trembled violently now, and the blackened ground around Vulcanos had begun to sag. Even at this distance, Zeke felt sweat gather beneath his robes. The sensation was uncomfortable, which said a lot. His body was far from ordinary, and he could endure conditions that would have killed most people outright. Yet standing near Vulcanos in this form was already unpleasant. That had not been the case with Winter. His Progenitor Beast form had been powerful, but controlled. This was different.

Zeke studied Vulcanos carefully.

"Are you unable to control your power at all?" The Wyvern's head lifted at once. Its fiery eyes widened slightly, and the lines across its body flared. For a moment, the heat spiked so sharply that one of the nearby stones burst apart with a crack. Then Vulcanos seemed to notice and lowered his head again.

"I am controlling it, Master." Zeke looked at the molten puddle spreading around his claws. Vulcanos followed his gaze. His wings pressed a little tighter against his back.

"This is already far better than during my earlier attempts," he added. Zeke said nothing. He looked at the glowing earth, the burning air, the smoke curling from the cliffs, and the rippling streams of liquid stone. If this was already an improvement, he preferred not to imagine the first attempt. For several breaths, Zeke remained silent. Then he nodded as if this were entirely within expectations.

"I have a new mission for you." Vulcanos stilled. The valley seemed to still with him.

"In ten days, we set out for the capital," Zeke said.

"Before then, I want you to be able to control this form properly." The Wyvern lowered his head.

"What level of control do you require, Master?" Zeke considered the question seriously. He had no need for perfection. Not yet. Expecting Vulcanos to fully master such a body in ten days would be unreasonable. But there was a minimum standard, a practical one. Zeke looked at the valley floor again. Then at the smoking cliffs. Then back at Vulcanos.

"It has to be good enough that you don't set trees aflame by walking past them." Vulcanos froze. For a moment, the Wyvern looked almost offended. Then he turned his head slightly and glanced at the burning ground beneath his own feet. A faint rumble came from his chest. It took Zeke a moment to realize that the sound was not a growl, but something closer to embarrassment.

"I understand."

"Can you do it?" Vulcanos hesitated. It lasted only a single breath. Then he lowered his head until his great horns nearly touched the molten stone.

"I'll do it." Zeke nodded, content with the answer. After leaving a few more instructions, he left the Progenitor fledgling to his training and headed back to camp himself. For the entire way back, he remained lost in thought. Vulcanos had given him a surprise today, one that might reshape many of his long-term plans. More importantly, this new revelation could influence how he would play his cards at the capital. Maybe he could be even bolder than he had initially planned.