The heat didn't remain around him.
It settled into him.
The moment the transformation completed, Dexter stood still for a fraction of a second, armor humming faintly as energy coursed through every layer of the suit. It wasn't overwhelming but precise and controlled.
Like a system booting up with perfect clarity.
Then it hit.
A flood of understanding poured into his mind, not learned in the moment but remembered, like recalling something he had always known. The Dragon Talisman, its nature, its function, its limits. Combustion, fire generation and ignition at will.
Dexter's eyes narrowed slightly as another layer clicked into place. Memory overlapped with instinct.. In the cartoon "Jackie Chan Adventures" from his past life, he already knew what it could do, knew how it behaved, how it reacted.
That familiarity fused seamlessly with the knowledge now embedded in his mind.
His fingers flexed slowly. He raised his hand.
"Combust."
The word left him calmly.
Above him, the descending fire spears froze for a split second then detonated all at once.
A chain reaction rippled through the air as each construct erupted prematurely, collapsing into explosions that lit the chamber in violent bursts of orange and gold. The shockwave rolled outward, heat folding into itself before dissolving into smoke.
Dexter clenched his fist, watching the aftermath with quiet focus.
When the haze thinned, he stood firm, arm still raised, faint trails of heat curling off the edges of his armor. The power no longer felt foreign. It had settled into place like it belonged.
Across from him, the reanimated statue of Quetzalcoatl hovered, wings shifting as it studied him. This time, it did not strike immediately.
It observed.
Dexter lowered his arm slightly, adjusting his stance.
"Let's test the rest," he muttered.
The reanimated humanoid dragon moved.
Its wings snapped open and in an instant it closed the distance, its massive form cutting through the air with unnatural speed. A clawed hand swung down toward Dexter with crushing force.
Dexter reacted on instinct.
His arm came up, armor shifting as he caught the blow head-on. The impact drove him back half a step, stone grinding beneath his feet as force traveled through his body.
He twisted, redirecting the strike just enough to break the momentum before stepping in. His other hand rose, fingers curling as heat gathered rapidly in his palm. Instead of releasing it immediately, he compressed it, tightening the energy into a dense, unstable core.
A sphere of fire formed, small but violent, its surface flickering like it could erupt at any second.
Dexter drove it forward into the dragon's chest.
"Ignite."
The explosion burst outward at point-blank range, forcing the guardian back through the air. Its wings flared as it stabilized itself, sliding across the space before halting.
Dexter didn't wait.
The ground cracked beneath him as he surged forward, propelled by a burst of heat from his feet. The motion came naturally, almost instinctive. He closed the gap and struck, his clawed gauntlet slamming into the dragon's side, sending a ripple across its scaled armor.
The counterattack came immediately.
The dragon's tail whipped around in a wide arc, aiming to catch him off guard, but Dexter shifted low, ducking under it with fluid precision. He slid across the stone floor, pivoting to the side as the tail passed over him.
His mind was already moving ahead.
Fire wasn't limited to blasts. It could form, shape and construct.
He extended his hand, focusing as energy gathered and stretched outward. Flames condensed, sharpening, lengthening until a blade formed in his grasp, its edge flickering with unstable heat.
A weapon.
Dexter stepped in again, the fire blade carving across the dragon's arm as sparks and embers scattered on impact.
The guardian pulled back, rising higher into the air. Flames gathered around its body once more, larger this time, more concentrated. The temperature in the chamber spiked instantly as multiple points of fire formed around it.
Dexter tilted his head slightly, analyzing.
Multiple constructs, linked energy.
That meant one thing.
He raised his hand again, this time not focusing on a single target but on all of them.
Every flame.
Every unstable reaction holding them together.
The reanimated humanoid dragon released its attack.
A wave of fire surged forward, sweeping across the chamber in a wide arc.
Dexter stepped toward it instead of retreating.
His hand extended.
"Explode."
The entire wave ignited prematurely.
The flames collapsed inward before detonating, erupting into a massive explosion between them. Fire devoured itself, shockwaves rippling outward as the chamber lit up in a blinding flare.
For a moment, everything was heat and light.
When it cleared, Dexter still stood.
Hand lowered slightly, faint heat rising from his form like smoke from cooling steel.
Across from him, the Quetzalcoatl hovered once more but this time, it didn't attack.
It watched him not with anger.
With recognition.
Dexter straightened, flexing his fingers as the fire around him responded subtly, alive and waiting.