“Sometimes we wonder what separates the good swordsman from the true masters.

Is it talent? Mastery? Skill levels, or secret Fighting styles? Artifacts?

Although all these above are important components of a fighter’s prowess, they are only pieces of a puzzle.

The true answer? Experience. The simple truth of the world is that the longer you repeat an action, the better you become at it. This is why you’ll never find a young master in Nortanis, nor anywhere else. Unfortunately, age is an unavoidable barrier for most of us.

But not all.”

-Battlemaster Sarhanna, a Metal dragon under a human guise.

Nashariel pov, a month later

Nashariel walked among the melted snow, for once not caused by her flames but by the coming of Spring. The sun caused an interesting contrast between her joy and her Ice form's irritation at the heat.

Elven Fel sat on a rock beside her, uninterested or oblivious of her internal paradoxes. “The Equinox is nigh.” She murmured.

“Indeed it is.”

They remained in silence for a while. “We shall miss your company, Nashariel.”

“Me too, Fel, but I miss my home.” I wonder how’re they all doing back there.

“We understand. Would you be willing to remain for the full Equinox, instead of a mere day?”

The dragokin nodded. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss a party for any reason!” She chuckled.

Fel echoed her with the usual playful whistling of her winds. “We have noticed such tendencies in you and your companions. Is this an Astillian trait?”

“We do like to have fun. Actually, why don’t you come with us? It’s not overly hot outside of Winter and Autumn.”

“Mother forbade it to us. We can watch, even travel for a time, but never leave completely, lest we wish to be exiled in our Court for a century. We are saddened by this; however, such rules are forged in cold iron for us."

“I’m sorry to hear.”

“It is how things are, we find no meaning in opposing our Mother.”

The duo enjoyed the light breeze in amicable silence.

“Do you mind a personal question?”

“Ask, but we might not answer.”

“Why do you speak of yourself in plural?”

The Omen paused for a while.

When Nashariel turned to look at the fairy, she saw that her eyes were lost in time, her lips curled up in a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine, we simply didn’t expect it.” The elven-shaped fairy sighed. “You taught us so when we were a young little wisp that wandered without aim. We found a home and you a companion, for a time.”

Oh.“How was I in that… life?”

“You were more… formal, in a sense. You told us that you had been raised within a noble house, and raised to be part of the high class. You rarely talked about that time of your life.”

To think that I once knew economy. Cody would be proud of me!“Changing topic, do we need to hunt something else?”

“The forest abounds with beings to hunt, but you’ve done your part. It is time to upgrade yourself, Empress.”

Nashariel practically vibrated on the spot.

She had trained with all her forms, but them being without attuned skills always itched something deep inside her. Finally! “And about the elements that I’m missing?” There weren’t many left, thanks to Veliel’s Omni-attunement, but Nashariel didn’t ask her fellow monstrous friend to go out of her way to give her a hand. Or, in this case, an earful.

"We suggest using your points. Our part of the Deal implied to best develop you, and we shall deliver.”

Nashariel nodded, a smile fixed on her face.

Felassiah opened the Shortcut to her home, and the dragokin quickly followed.

Once on the snowy peak, the now spectral fae ended the storm with a gesture. “Let us begin.”

Nashariel sat on the ground, took a breath to center herself, and fell inside her status.

She and Fel approached her slate, exchanging a friendly glance. Nashariel selected all the remaining affinities, stopping briefly on Darklight. This attunement has been called heretical by my status. I wonder why… pushing through her hesitation, Nashariel confirmed her changes, starting her evolutions.

For a moment, everything kept going as usual. Then, just as Nashariel was feeling something wrong rising, everything stilled.

The fog hiding in the corners…

The doors, proudly showing their attunements…

Even her etheric self couldn’t move.

And then, her status rumbled with an earthquake.

For the first time since her Awakening, the dragokin fell unconscious.

Nashariel awoke some undefined time later, still in the plaza.

Although, nothing was quite the same, aside from Felassiah, who was also admiring the new… decorations?

The previously gloomy room had undergone a deep… remodeling.

The smoke-like fog had turned golden, as if under the sun’s rays. It floated in the room giving everything a precious sheen, instead of wrapping everything under a thick sad blanket.

The walls had been polished into a lustrous marbled-white grained with gold. Red banners swished, following a nonexistent wind, their stemma being that of a dragon looking at a multitude of monsters and mortals from above. Judging or else, Nashariel couldn’t tell, but the figure seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

Finally, the statue had shed off the dull, crude stone, uncovering pure, transparent diamond. It periodically changed into a different dragon, like Nashariel did when shifting between attunements.

The omnidragon remained speechless, sweeping her gaze among all room. “Holy Astill and her Eternal Chorus…”

“This is what we thought the status of an Empress should look like. We approve.”

Nashariel gulped. “I… I guess?” It’s beautiful… is it really mine?

The slate pulsed with an inviting light. Under Fel’s mute invite, Nashariel approached.

*Evolving…

Evolutions complete!

Destruction Unlocked!

May your enemies crumble as they oppose you, young omnidragon.

Passion Unlocked!

May you find joy in battle and revel in your fury, young omnidragon.

Flow Unlocked!

May the mysteries of the Flux reveal themselves to you, young omnidragon.

Wood Unlocked!

May the life running within you always prosper and abound, young omnidragon.

Stone Unlocked!

May you stand unyielding for eternity, young omnidragon.

Sound Unlocked!

May you forever be heard loud and clear, young omnidragon.

Space Unlocked!

May the beauty and mysteries of the stars above inspire you to greater heights, young omnidragon.

Hunger Unlocked!

May your hunger never be sated with a meager meal, young omnidragon.

Shadow Unlocked!

May you leave no undesired trail behind, nor any who have slighted you, young omnidragon.

Lava Unlocked!

May the blood of the planet protect and destroy those you wish, young omnidragon.

Ember Unlocked!

May the flames who have wronged you be suffocated to fuel your fire, young omnidragon.

Illusion Unlocked!

May the world you envision become the only truth, young omnidragon.

Blood Unlocked!

May the lives you harvest be always many and bountiful, young omnidragon.

Sand Unlocked!

May the fury of the deserts entomb your foes for eternity, young omnidragon.

Force Unlocked!

May you lift your allies or take down your foes with ease, young omnidragon.

Crystal Unlocked!

May luck and abundance always shine upon your path, young omnidragon.

Darklight Unlocked!

May the sun and the moon help you to forge your true center, young omnidragon.

All elements have been unlocked.

Omnidragon kin replaces a line:

Absorbing enough energy from an unknown attunement may lead to unlocking it ->Proficiency and ease of learning all elements have been improved.

Welcome to your first, true steps to glory, young omnidragon.

Two free skills with all the new attunements have been granted. *

“That’s useful.” The girl commented.

“Indeed. Let us ignore your points for now. We presume that you’re already familiar with merging skills.”

“I am. My –Body skills have all been the result of a merge.”

“We are relieved. We see that you’ve followed our recommendation and saved up your free skills. Now, we shall ask you to invest them in two skills per element, ones that are shared between each one of them.”

Nashariel lightly slapped her cheeks a few times, shaking herself to attention. “Ah, to the big merge into a racial skill.”

“Precisely.”

The dragokin scrolled through her status, thinking. Empowerment is nice to have permanently, and it would be the most efficient. And, by the same logic, the Infusion.

/I suggest mixing up all the additional resources. As of now, we have to charge them in some way, but they are unusable most of the time/

Good point. Plus, the skills can't just keep up with the damage I'm dealing with, so a racial boost could be the solution. “The resources first.”

“That would’ve been our recommendation too, Nashariel. Go ahead.”

Fingers shivering with excitement, the omnidragon recalled her first Resource skill [Voltage generation] and opened it up with [Omnidragon kin]’s ability. She willed hers all the skills there listed, then started the merge.

*Merging skills:

Voltage generation

…

Balance generation.

Are you truly willing to proceed?

Y/N

Merging commenced…

Resulting skill-> Omnidragon supply

Omnidragon’s supply Lvl 1

As an omnidragon, you find common fourth resources insultingly limited, completely opposite of what you represent and are. And, of course, such a thing had to be fixed. You gain the ability to make those conflicting resources work in harmony for your goal, in a way never before seen outside of you and those you blessed. Beware, for even miracles sometimes cannot save your life.

You gain a new, truly permanent resource called ‘Omnia’. This additional bar acts identical to Mana, Stamina, and Health.

The amount of this resource is equal to your level x10, depleting with use.

You can use this resource to empower any unique aspect of your current form, such as Durability for Stone or Ethereality for Spirit, increasing your damage output, reducing the cost of skills and spells, charging magical items, and shaping Omni-Cores, and more.

The efficiency and efficacy of the exchange rate improve with level.

You can refill this bar by absorbing elemental essence or consuming your other resources. As an extreme option, you can sacrifice the bonus points that you would gain by absorbing the surrounding essence. For every point sacrificed this way, you gain ten times the normal amount of Omnia.

Emptying this bar greatly weakens you for a while, automatically starting the essence-leaching process. You’re also forced into your elementless form until 10% of this bar is refilled.

Upgrade cost: 15 points Lvl. *

“Holy duck. I feel I say it every time I unlock a Racial skill.” To think that this could be my first choice… No, without the Body I would have died many, many times.

“We can hardly blame you for that. What’s your next choice?”

“I thought about the Empowerment line, but now that I think about it, I have the same problem with my Armors as with the resource skills I just merged. . They cost a grand lot, but I waste everything if I change form.”

“But we’ve seen you wearing your metal in different forms.”

“Well, that’s the only exception that I know of. Probably because it had [Metal creation] and [Metal manipulation] as prerequisites. Perhaps is something unique to the Earth's attunements? Mhmm…”

“Ah, that is an advanced skill, then. We suggest getting rid of all the basic skills first to unclog your sheet, if nothing else.”

Makes sense. “Those are going to be lots of points, though.”

“That is merely our vision. Feel not bound by it, for we have been wrong many and many times before.”

Nashariel smiled. "Thank you, Felassiah." The girl asked her status to present all the common skills between the elements in a few separate lists. She noticed that some were barred, recognizing some skills as those consumed by her advanced ones. She said so to Fel.

“Merging is an interesting science. The more advanced the merged skills were, the better the resulting skill will be. You must assess if you need a worse skill immediately, or a better one at a later date. Knowing that, in the end, you shall be forced to merge the worse ones together, we suggest going for the long game.”

Nashariel nodded, returning to her lists. So, basically, I need to ignore the skill's components. The –Blood and –Scales lines were, for example, components for the –Body ones. Off they go. She closed those lists with a swipe of her fingers.

After a glance at her overabundance of points, Nashariel decided to follow her fairy friend’s recommendation, starting from…

…

…

“Damn it, I can’t decide!”

Her secondary mind sighed in resignation. /Tell me something new/

No need to be snarky! It’s just… Empowerment and Infusion seem both amazing, but Manipulating and Creating sound crazy strong… And I can’t just buy all four at once!

/May I remind you that, perhaps, taking your Aura to the third tier might turn out to be a good alternative?/

More choices! Nashariel scratched her head, glancing again at her points. Having fought things above level 200 for months was paying off, but not to the point of emptying the entirety of the chambers. One of her goals was the merge between the –Body line, instead of upgrading [Omnidragon physique], but that was a dream set in the far future.

“Fel, I have several racial skills capped, but you saw how costly they are. Free skill aside, what do you think I should do? I can’t decide.”

"We suggest building strong foundations. We have seen your dance, Empress. The benefits of your entire arsenal's empowerment would be… noticeable, to say the least." After seeing the lines that the omnidragon was considering, she added. "Your first two choices have the best effect for the lowest investment. We recommend starting from them. We shall consider the other alternatives later."

Nashariel nodded, relieved. She pushed some buttons, spent some gifts and points, and then…

*Would you like to merge the Empower and Infusion lines?

Y/N

Merging commenced.

Merging…

Merging completed.

Resulting skills:

Omni empowerment

Omnidragon Infusion

Omni Empowerment Lvl 1

Elements wielded by monsters tend to become more than what they should be, simply thanks to those being's deeper attunement. They pay for this mastery with an astounding lack of flexibility, finding themselves helpless against the wrong opponent. As the omnidragon, you don’t share this weakness. Your unparalleled mastery is unmatched by all and envied by many, standing as a shining example of what a true peak looks like. Beware, young omnidragon, for brilliance always attract shadows.

In your hands, the elements become tools of change. All your attunements are empowered, always manifesting their side effects for no additional cost. Should they already manifest those, they shall receive the same boost.

Maximum efficiency for minimum expenses. When used, your resources' consumption empowers your skills and spells’ effects with greater efficacy.

Fighting an enemy of your opposite attunement further empowers your skills and spells.

Upgrade cost: 10 points Lvl.

Omnidragon infusion Lvl 1

A weapon is always as strong as its wielder, but, sometimes, this difference can be reduced by allowing the latter's essence to seep through their body and into their weaponry. As a dragon, you are naturally producing such essence in excess, and this skill turns that waste into a resource usable in combat. However, your kind has the innate ability to sap away surrounding essence, taking away from your foes yet another tool to challenge your Empire. Remember, a tool is no substitute for wisdom.

The intent you’re attuned to infuses your weapons, regardless of their nature, increasing the damage dealt and applying side effects for free.

The unique nature of the omnidragon allows this skill to strike true blows. You sap the enemy’s resistance against your current attunement the longer you fight, down to a third of the original value. Effect greatly reduced against enemies completely immune to an attunement.

In areas of overwhelming essence, this skill will be further empowered. The opposite is also true.

Upgrade cost: 12 points. *

“What a synergy.”

“As expected. Perhaps investing more in your power stat will be helpful, from now on.”

“My thoughts exactly. Next is…” Nashariel valued her other most used skill, her aura. That will make a significant dent in my reserves…

Which she was more than okay with, remembering the massive difference that her third-tier breath made in all her fights during these months.

With only a small pang of regret at seeing her prize rapidly exhausting, she marveled at the new and improved changes.

*Draconic aura evolves into-> Omnidragon territory

Omnidragon territory (III) Lvl 1

Advancing along your path takes patience, power, and, more often than not, allies. You know these rules pretty well, considering that you've unlocked this skill. From now on, the power inside you seeps freely, no longer a mere uncontrolled force, but a tool to build an Empire worthy of this name. Such a place will need to both handle your enemies and care for your people, especially during a battle to the death. This skill will help you with the fighting part but beware, the responsibility to distinguish which is which falls upon your shoulder.

Your aura’s damage, elemental side effects, and purpose grow with you.

Size: 1-100 meters +20m Lvl. You can exude your aura from your entire body or a singular limb.

Cost: 1-10.000 /s. You can expend any resource to upkeep this skill.

The elements always manifest themselves for no additional cost, and side effects are more than likely to happen on your targets.

You decide your own prey. Your aura no longer damages allies or heals foes. Your allies, if willing, can be infused with your element’s intent.

Skills and spells passing through your aura are weakened or empowered, depending on the users' being a friend or a foe. Should an enemy’s offense be considerably weaker than you, this skill will consume it entirely, using it in place of your resources.

The longer this skill is activated, the more the damage and size grow, up to 30% of the values selected, and the less mana is needed to upkeep it. The aura must be kept at roughly the same intensity level for this effect to activate.

Should this skill remain active for more than ten seconds, the surrounding environment will be infused with your essence. The specific effects will depend on your attunement, but this zone will try its best to aid you.

Upgrade cost: 15 skill points Lvl. *

Nashariel nodded. She didn’t expect much less, considering her breath’s improvements. The best part of this skill was the one regarding the friendly fire or, rather, its absence. Finally, I can give my all together with the others!

/Almost, Nashariel. Don’t forget your breath weapon/

True, true, thanks. What’s next…? The omnidragon glanced at Felassiah, seeing her looking at the skill with her head cocked. “You like it?”

“Seeing how much your racial skills improve by Tiering up is inspiring, Empress.”

“Yours don’t?” Nashariel asked.

The Omen remained quiet for a moment. “We have forgotten. Our last evolution was… many years ago. We remember that we gawked at it, but no more.”

Nashariel fidgeted. “I always wanted to ask you, but… why are you still in the second Tier? If I’m not being rude, obviously.”

“No offense taken. We could evolve right now, but…” Fel’s gaze grew distant. “Ice tends to care less about things. When we feel an emotion, our inner cold quickly suppresses it. We fear what we could become if we progress further.” Then, almost whispering, she added. “We fear what could be lost…”

“Do you… want to talk about it?”

"We… we'd rather not, Nashariel, but thank you. Have you thought about any other skills that you want to be added to your arsenal?"

Playing along with the drastic change of topic, Nashariel looked at her slate once more. "I was considering upgrading my fighting style, but I’d need two other… Now that I think about it, let me check…”

*No possible merge detected. *

“Bummer.”

/Perhaps your other skills have sufficiently improved our damage enough? What about defense, or mobility?/

Right. I could upgrade my growth skill to the Third Tier.

/I suggest Tiering up [Omnidragon adaptability]. It would free up more skills for us to choose from, and the points saved could be invested in those new skills/

Nashariel hesitated. That’s… a good point, but the growth skill is a big reason why I'm as powerful as I am now, and I don't see coming 250 points at once anytime soon.

/… fair/

You really wanted that, uh?

/It was the result of my first task… so yeah/

I’ll unlock it after this, promise!

/Thanks/

*Evolve Omnidragon might for 250 points?

Y/N

Evolving…

Omnidragon might evolves into-> Omnidragon superiority

Omnidragon superiority (III) Lvl 1

Life after life, the being known as omnidragon has shaped the known world following only her wishes, and, each time, only the combined power of thousands of beings or the overwhelming one of a singular champion has been able to repel them. What they didn’t know was… that all their efforts were for naught.

You have reincarnated since the world started and, life after life, you lived and died experiencing, fighting… learning. The wisdom of the ages supports you in your eternal quest, young omnidragon, but remember to not be bound by it. After all, you have earned this knowledge by paying the ultimate price.

All stats are doubled. Stats' efficiency between all forms is equalized on their strongest point. You no longer suffer penalties for being in a determined attunement.

You seem immune to death itself. Limbs, organs… every part of your body regrows within mere minutes. Skills and spells designed to restore your body, mind, soul, and resources are three times as effective on you. Your natural regenerations are so potent that you can restore resources even during combat.

Healthy body, efficient mind, enduring soul. You become immune to natural illnesses, toxins, curses, and possessions. You are extremely resistant to their magical versions. All effects designed to reduce your regenerations are considerably weakened.

A child no more. You no longer receive increased points, but Omnidragon kin’s tolerance is improved considerably, and you gain more experience against enemies stronger than you. Merging and Tiering up skills are cheaper, and the last level of a skill doesn't cost more. Points already stored aren’t reduced, but the points you have spent aren’t refunded either.

Points received from challenging, hunting, killing, or submitting other draconic creatures are doubled. Should they kill you, they shall be rewarded with only half the prize.

Your ancestral memories are your most precious treasure. You remember all your past lives, from the moment of your birth until your last breath. Time will be needed to process all of them.

Repetition is the mother of learning. Skills and spells that you’ve already endured in your past lives are weakened against you, and you know how to better react against an opponent’s fighting style. Also, all skills level faster, and you can see a brief description before buying them.

Upgrade cost: 50 points Lvl. *

Nashariel clutched her head in agony, getting instantly ejected out of her status.

In the real world, the dragokin rolled on the snow, uncaring of the massive changes that her body was going through.

A continuous ocean of flashes, sensations, sounds, smells and everything in between tore through her very soul and mind. Nashariel saw people dressed in clothes only seen in history books, fought monsters long gone extinct, and infinite faces looked upon her in both terror and awe.

She remembered the parents she had during all their lives. Their teachings, beliefs, treatments… everything and its opposite mixed within her mind in a blur of memories.

Then, as soon as the ocean started, it ended.

Nashariel shivered in the snow, blood flowing out of her ears, nose, and mouth. “Well, I definitely did not expect that.” She chuckled, coughing a few times.

The reassuring cold of the fae was pressing against her head. “We neither. Are you well, Nashariel?”

The omnidragon needed a moment to remember that that was her name. “Yeah, I think. Thanks, *****” A sharp, loud, ominous whistle came out of Nashariel’s mouth, startling the fairy.

Fel slowly blinked her eyes. “Could you repeat that, Empress?”

“I’m fine, thank you for helping *****” The sound was repeated again.

Felassiah shuddered. “You remember… Nashariel, that is our true name. None outside of the Courts knows it. Except for you, in that far, far life of yours.”

The dragokin widened her eyes. Like two images on the same layer of reality, she saw both Fel in her spectral form and a blue lonely wisp. Scenes of that young fairy flashed through her mind until that life's premature demise. "Fel… I'm sorry to have left you alone.” She almost didn’t feel herself while pronouncing those words.

The other shook her head, floating a little higher. “A Princess wanted you dead. It is not your fault.”

Nashariel scratched her head. “I remember that you asked me something, right before I died. I just… I can’t remember what it was.”

Fel froze. “It is… it doesn't matter anymore. We suggest you rest for a while, before upgrading further. We shall be back before tomorrow." The fairy vanished in a burst of snow.

Nashariel scratched her pulsing head, wondering what had bothered the fae. You good?

/Yes, I haven’t felt anything except for your pain. So many memories… did you keep any?/

A few, but most have faded into the background. I thought you had full access to my memory.

/I do, but these are not in your brain. I believe that they are stored in your soul/

Likely. Nashariel moved away from the bloody snow, calling off her armor. She shifted to Water, cleaned herself with the aura, then shifted back into Metal to dress up again. She decided to follow her fairy friend’s advice and got comfortable, reading carefully through the skill that made her faint.

“What do you mean no more double points!?!?!”