I Can Assimilate Everything

Above the Primal Neon Tower, the sky pulsed with cerulean light.

The Sacred Pools of Thalassara shimmered in suspended brilliance, their oceanic hues reflecting across the ancient visages gathered far below. Those from the Lineages of myth and legend- all beings whose very existence once shaped the weavings of the Plane- stood quiet, eyes trained upward toward the pools that had descended like celestial offerings.

And then, toward the man seated beneath them.

Achilles sat still.

His golden robes, woven from starlight, rested against the radiant throne as calmly as his breath. He did not smile. He simply gave a light nod, slow and deliberate, in answer to the question that lingered in the air like a charged storm.

"These waters," one voice had asked, skeptical and sharp, "are they truly the source of your power? Of how you've come to manipulate Destiny to such a terrifying extent?"

He met their eyes with quiet certainty.

"One among you can step forward and see for yourselves," he said, his voice calm. "All that's required is to enter the waters and accept the evolution they present. Let those who change speak for themselves. Let them tell you what it means to hold this strength."

The tone was composed. As though he were offering silver to beggars. As though it were nothing at all to him!

The Ancients exchanged wary glances.

And then, the dragons moved.

A flick of a wrist. Cold. Commanding. The motion came from one of the higher-ranking Mythical Dragons, his gaze ancient and impassive.

One of their own stepped forward.

A humanoid figure, sleek and strong, with vibrant crimson hair that rolled down her back like flames unfurling from a furnace. Her eyes were narrow and fierce, her steps steady. There was a pride in the way she carried herself, in the way her chin tilted ever so slightly skyward. She did not hesitate.

With one leap, she soared upward and landed with grace within the center of the Sacred Pool.

Silence reigned.

Everyone watched and waited to see what would unfold!

The moment her body met the radiant blue waters, a soft shimmer began to trace along her skin. She stood still, solemn, and raised her gaze- not toward the crowd, but toward the skies. Then she gave the smallest nod. Not one of submission, but permission. Her acknowledgment. Her will to change.

And the Sea answered!

HUUM!

A grandeur of blue radiance erupted.

It bloomed across her form, swallowing her silhouette in pulsating energy. Her body trembled as her jaw clenched. Her eyes widened first in shock, and then in something else entirely.

Euphoria.

Power flooded her being. Starlight- real, tangible starlight- cascaded from the Sea of Thalassara above, flowing into her like rivers of wonder.

Her crimson hair was overtaken, strands dyed blue from root to tip, a mingling of flame and ocean. Blue wings stretched from her shoulders and feet, translucent and radiant, like light refracted through a diamond sea.

Runic markings began to carve themselves across her skin. Intricate, ancient. Oceanic.

And her eyes, now glowing with a serene blue luster, snapped open just as her body shot downward, slicing the sky until her feet slammed onto the platform beneath the Primal Neon Tower.

BOOM!

She landed kneeling.

Starlight still flowed into her, tracing around her like a second skin.

She stared at her hands in disbelief, opening and closing them slowly. Testing the new existence pulsing through her.

The Mythical Dragon who had sent her forward stepped close, his voice as cutting as before.

"How do you feel?"

She looked up.

And in that gaze, the fire still burned, now tempered by awe.

"My starlight… its concentration has risen more than sixty-five percent." She paused, watching the blue light still streaming toward her. "No, it's still rising. Even now!"

…!

Gasps echoed through the gathered Ancient Lineages.

"The rate at which I process and cycle energy... it's- vastly increased. I feel supercharged. Five…no, ten times what I was!"

She placed a hand on her chest.

"In this state, I believe… I could reach Empyrean Star Nexus Transcendence with confidence in the near future."

The words struck like heavy thunder.

The dragons stared. The Fairies fluttered in place, wings beating faster. The Panthera Lions narrowed their eyes! The Ancient Titans rumbled quietly among themselves!

A High Elf stepped forward, their steps quiet and graceful, but laced with caution.

"And your mind?" he asked. "Your psyche? Are you still you?"

The newly transformed dragon straightened as she scoffed.

"I am the pride of the Mythical Dragon Lineage," she said sharply. "I was born to burn through skies, and I remain myself. My thoughts are my own. My will is mine."

Achilles did remained calm.

Beside him, Rose glanced sideways. The corner of her lip curled upward, just barely.

Because they both knew.

Achilles could, at any moment, speak a single word and shift her path with ease. She was Thalassarian now. And he held the Heart of Thalassara.

There was no need to compel.

Not when the lure of the Pools would do all the work.

He merely watched as the grand game unfolded.

The Sacred Pools of Thalassara were not of this world. They had been born from an inheritance, one locked within a Lineage Memory that had traced itself through a sunken empire whose name once shattered the silence of the Star Seas.

The Lineages of this Plane, no matter how ancient, could not fathom such might.

And now, they would kneel to it. Not in chains. But through desire.

As the Mythical Dragon affirmed again her mind remained unaltered, murmurs spread. Murmurs turned to movement.

One by one, the Ancients began stepping forward.

A Royal Panthera Lion padded across the platform before leaping into a pool.

A High Elf, his robes trailing silver light, walked forward.

An Ancient Slime floated upward, translucent tendrils quivering.

An Ancient Titan followed, golden veins gleaming under obsidian skin.

More and more followed!

Above the Neon Tower, flashes of radiant blue light erupted again and again, each transformation painting the sky in streaks of awakening power.

The Sacred Pools boiled with new life.

And Achilles sat unmoving.

Watching.

Waiting.

The tide had begun to turn!