Location: Albedo's Laboratory (Cave), Dragonspine
Current Form: Medium Dragon (Drake)
Status: Evolved, Hungry, Articulate
The darkness lifted, replaced by the sterile, soft glow of alchemical lamps.
"Notice. Evolution to [Medium Dragon] successful. All stats increased by 200%. Mana capacity doubled. Intrinsic Skill [Dragon's Voice] acquired."
Raiden opened his eyes. The world looked sharper. The flow of elemental energy in the air wasn't just a feeling anymore; he could see it—ribbons of Anemo and Cryo drifting like smoke.
He stood up. The stone floor cracked under his weight.
He was no longer the size of a wolf. He was now the size of a small car, roughly three meters long from snout to tail. His scales had hardened into a glossy obsidian armor, and the blue bio-luminescent patterns running along his flanks pulsed with a rhythmic heartbeat. His horns swept back sharper, darker, looking like jagged crowns of black crystal.
He felt heavy, dense, and incredibly powerful.
"Remarkable," a voice said.
Raiden turned his massive head. Albedo was sitting on a stool, a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a quill in the other. He didn't look terrified; he looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Your mass increased by approximately 400% in six hours," Albedo noted, chewing thoughtfuly. "Yet your caloric intake was zero during hibernation. You draw energy from the ambient Ley Lines, don't you?"
Raiden opened his mouth to project his thoughts, but then remembered the system notification. [Dragon's Voice].
He cleared his throat. It sounded like rocks grinding together.
"I... draw energy... from everything," Raiden spoke. His voice was deep, resonant, and echoed with a metallic timbre, like a knight speaking through a helmet, but far more bestial.
Albedo dropped his sandwich. "You can speak."
"I can do a lot of things, Chalk Prince," Raiden replied, testing the articulation of his new jaw. He walked toward the alchemist, his claws clicking rhythmically on the stone. "Evolution is a wonderful thing."
"Chalk Prince..." Albedo narrowed his eyes, though a smile tugged at his lips. "You know who I am. You know my title. You are definitely not from Teyvat."
"And you are not from Mondstadt. Not really," Raiden countered, sitting on his haunches. The cave felt cramped now. "Let's just say I'm a... traveler. Like you."
Albedo stood up and walked over to a shelf. "A traveler who eats Fatui and evolves overnight. I suppose I should be terrified. But my master always taught me to seek the truth of the world." He picked up a flask containing a shimmering, unstable yellow liquid. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving," Raiden admitted. "Evolution burns a lot of fuel."
"This is an experimental Solar Isotope potion. It's supposed to mimic the energy of a Sunsettia concentrated ten thousand times. It usually explodes." Albedo held it out. "Care to try?"
Raiden sniffed it. It smelled like ozone and lemons.
"Analysis. Substance: Concentrated Elemental Nectar (Unstable). Effect: Massive Stamina recovery. Side Effect: Minor explosion in esophagus."
"Pass it here," Raiden said.
He crunched the glass vial and swallowed the liquid. A muffled THUMP sounded from inside his chest, and a puff of yellow smoke drifted out of his nostrils.
"Spicy," Raiden grunted. "Tastes like lemons."
Albedo furiously took notes. "Resistant to internal combustion. Noted."
"Now," Raiden said, leaning down so his silver eyes were level with Albedo. "I need a real meal. Something big. And I need you to tell me where to find it."
Albedo pointed toward the lower slopes. "There is a legend of a Great Snowboar King. A beast that has survived in these mountains for centuries. It froze several adventurers last week. It is... substantial."
Raiden grinned, exposing rows of serrated teeth. "Perfect."
The blizzard outside was raging, but to Raiden, it felt like a pleasant breeze. His [Cold Resistance] had evolved into [Cold Nullification]. The ice simply didn't register as temperature anymore.
He tracked the scent. It smelled like old musk, frozen pine, and raw, angry Cryo energy.
He found the clearing. A massive plateau covered in ice. Several frozen boars stood like statues around the center.
And there he was.
The Great Snowboar King.
The beast was massive - larger than Raiden's current form. It was a mountain of muscle and fur, with tusks made of pure permafrost. Its red eyes glowed with territorial rage.
"Analysis. Target: Great Snowboar King. Rank: A- (Field Boss). Ability: Cryo Charge, Minion Summoning. Threat: Moderate."
"Hey, Bacon!" Raiden roared, his voice cutting through the wind.
The Boar King snorted, pawing the ground. It didn't hesitate. With a squeal that sounded like a train whistle, it charged.
The ground shook. The Boar King was a living tank, moving at terrifying speed.
Raiden didn't dodge. He wanted to test his new strength.
"Activate Skill: [Steel Scales]."
"Activate Skill: [Herculean Strength]."
Raiden braced his legs, digging his claws deep into the permafrost. He lowered his shoulder.
BAM!
The collision created a shockwave that cleared the snow for twenty meters.
The Boar King stopped dead. Raiden had caught the charge. He slid back two meters, leaving deep gouges in the rock, but he held his ground.
"Is that all?" Raiden taunted, struggling against the massive weight.
The Boar King roared and shook its head, summoning three smaller snowboars from the ice. They charged at Raiden's flanks.
"Annoying," Raiden hissed.
"Great Sage. Auto-Battle Mode. Target the adds."
"Acknowledged."
Raiden's tail whipped out with calculated precision, faster than his conscious mind could track. The tail—tipped with obsidian spikes—slammed into the first small boar, shattering it into snow dust.
Simultaneously, Raiden opened his jaws.
[Magma Breath].
A concentrated stream of liquid fire poured over the Great Snowboar King's face. The beast shrieked as its ice armor melted. It reared back, trying to shake Raiden off.
"Oh no, you don't," Raiden growled.
He leaped, his powerful hind legs launching him onto the Boar King's back. He dug his claws into the thick fur.
[Predator: Contact Initiated].
Black mist began to ooze from Raiden's belly, fusing him to the Boar King.
The King bucked wildly, slamming into cliff walls, trying to dislodge the dragon. But Raiden was like a tick. The black mist spread, covering the Boar King's eyes, its tusks, its body.
"Become my strength," Raiden whispered.
The Boar King let out one final, frozen wail before the black mist swallowed it whole. The massive body collapsed, dissolved, and was sucked into Raiden's shadow.
Raiden landed on the snow, panting slightly. He felt bloated. That was a lot of meat.
"Notice. Massive biomass ingested. Analysis complete."
"Skill Acquired: [Cryo Charge]. Skill Acquired: [Thick Fur] (Integrated into scales). Passive [Stamina Recovery] increased."
"Unique Item obtained: chilled Meat x50."
"Wait, I have an inventory?"
"Affirmative. [Stomach] acts as an infinite storage dimension."
Raiden burped. A small snowflake floated out. "Excuse me."
Unbeknownst to Raiden, atop a distant peak, a figure was watching.
She wore a nun's habit modified for combat, with fishnets and a silver polearm. Her pale skin blended with the snow, and her eyes were cold and calculating.
Rosaria.
She had seen the whole thing. The strange, obsidian dragon. The way it spoke. The way it didn't just kill the Boar King, but... erased it.
"That's not a normal vishap," Rosaria muttered, gripping her spear tighter. "It moves with intelligence. And it's getting stronger."
She turned and vanished into the shadows, heading toward Mondstadt.
"I need to tell Varka. Or perhaps... I should handle this myself before it grows any larger."
Raiden returned to the cave, dragging a regular frozen boar he had saved for Albedo. He tossed the carcass at the Alchemist's feet.
"Payment," Raiden grumbled, curling up by the fire.
Albedo looked at the boar, then at Raiden. "You grew again. Your horns are sharper."
"I ate a King," Raiden mumbled, closing his eyes. "Wake me up if the Knights of Favonius show up. Or if you figure out how to make a potion that turns me human."
Albedo paused, his quill hovering over the paper. "Human? Is that your goal?"
One of Raiden's silver eyes cracked open. "I have hands to shake and waifus to—I mean, alliances to forge. Being a dragon is cool, Albedo, but have you ever tried to hold a pair of chopsticks with claws? It's a nightmare."
Albedo smiled. "I see. Transfiguration. A difficult branch of alchemy. But... not impossible. We shall begin research tomorrow."
Raiden grinned, letting the sleep take him.