TSSSSSSSSS!

As soon as the 2 essences came together, a loud sizzling sound broke out into the air with deafening force. It was as if somebody had put 2 different volatile solutions together and they were about to detonate.

The Essence of Wrath besieged the Mana Core with the violence that was innate to its nature, but it was definitely not prepared for the appearance of the equally violent (if not more so) Essence of Destruction. The Essence of Destruction immediately put up a fierce defence and the 2 essences ended up in a fierce struggle, much to Aeshma’s misfortune.

The pain he was experiencing was just too much. The feeling of the 2 violent energies fighting it out in his Mana Core and Mana Circuits caused him to feel as if his life was coming to an end.

‘I’m about to die!’ He thought, but not with words. The assault that his mind was enduring didn’t allow him to form any. What he was feeling was something akin to a freefall. He was falling down from the sky without wings, and any moment now he would collide with the ground and die without resistance.

Absolutely horrible.

As helplessness descended over him like a heavy blanket, his last few thoughts before everything turned black was a desperate yearning for help. The distorted faces of Gaia and Calmilla disintegrating into nothingness.

…

Meanwhile, on the outside of Aeshma’s cave, an assortment of Dragons were hovering in the air as they tried their best to observe what was happening inside. All shapes, sizes and colours could be seen; However, despite the domineering sight that they collectively provided, the mood was clearly one filled with dread.

They had all heard those harrowing screams before they had fallen silent. That alone was enough to shock them, but to know that those shrill, terror-filled screams had belonged to Aeshma? The hegemonic and dauntless Aeshma?

Their blood had long chilled. What kind of unspeakable things was the strongest Dragon of Destruction experiencing that it could force those kinds of noises out of him?

At the head of them all was of course the golden goddess, Gaia, but she was the most worried of them all. Ignorance was bliss and the wise were burdened. She knew that everything occurring inside of that cave was the doing of the new 3rd sin and that no matter what happened, whether Aeshma survived or not, he would not be the same little brother that she knew.

For some reason the new Sin had managed to thoroughly sink its claws into Aeshma. Before now, it had been pretty obvious knowledge that those who were enthralled by the Sins were those with weak wills or those with excessive affinity with the specific Sin. However, even in the latter case, those with strong wills were easily able to shrug off the enthrallment of the Sins.

Aeshma, the arrogant Dragon of Destruction, should have been more than capable. But what was the situation? If those screams were filled with any more horror, even the gods of death and darkness would be shifting their feet.

This situation was clearly unique, that could not be refuted. But Gaia was not the littlest bit happy. Quite the opposite. Whatever this new Sin was, it did not work like the others. The effect it had on people was too sinister. Unlike the prior 2 which would at least allow an individual to retain their mind (even if they did undergo a personality shift), this new Sin caused those that it had enthralled to go completely crazy.

Most of them were a few steps away from mindlessness, and the only thing they wanted to do was kill. They had no regard for the strengths of their opponents and attacked without any hesitation.

Disregarding the abnormal abilities that they seemed to gain as an exchange, the ruthless mantra that this 3rd Sin represented was not something she wanted anywhere near the already temperamental Aeshma. It had taken her years to teach him how to control his innate rage but now, it looked like all of that effort was about to be destroyed.

2 minutes later, the dual energies within the cave flared even higher as they entangled even more, causing the Dragons watching from the outside to put even more distance in between themselves and the cave, but then all of a sudden, the voice that had fallen silent long ago suddenly squealed out loud with such force and ferocity that they all knew his throat was ruined. That unholy sound was not something that could be produced without sacrifice.

But more than that, each and everyone of them felt an instinctive tingling on that 1 special scale beneath their necks, their one and only reverse scale. It was such an odd feeling that caused them to feel repulsed, but it didn’t take them long to figure out why.

A few of them felt a shiver run down their spine.

Aeshma’s reverse scale had been brutalised. They didn’t know how or why, but they could instinctively feel it. For some reason, the more powerful a Dragon became, the more intune they were with their fellow brethren, but it had never reached the extent that they could feel each other’s suffering.

But thinking about it, It could be that the pain that Aeshma was feeling was so high that it met some kind of requirement, or perhaps the mutation or evolution that Aeshma was clearly undergoing had caused him to have a higher connection with other Dragons. Something that surpassed even their connection with the goddess.

What a ridiculous evolution.

Having known that of the 2 energies they were sensing, one of them belonged to Aeshma, it didn’t take much to guess that something was happening to his Mana. But it was only when his reverse scale had been savaged that they knew he was gaining a full-body makeover.

But still, a number of them had felt the pain over shedding scales, including the reverse scale. But it had never caused them to… make that kind of sound.

Suddenly, the energy within started to recede. It was over. However, before they could let their guard down, their great goddess yelled out.

“Retreat!” And then she flew off extremely quickly, almost becoming a golden streak in the air. And so, not daring to disobey, they all flew after her. However, some of them still yearned to learn of what had occurred to Aeshma, and intentionally slowed down their speed whilst looking back. That would be the last mistake they made.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!