Liam felt a bout of pain he had never experienced before. He felt his bones tremble as they were pressed down by an invisible force, the blood in his veins sped up and steadily rose in temperature. His blood was heating up, his internal organs too.
Liam's eyes turned bloodshot as the surface of his skin itched.
"AHHHHH!"
Tears streamed down his eyes. Every single cell in his body was on fire. It was as though his body was being broken down to the cellular level. The dragon essence was infusing with his genetic makeup. Breaking down the foundations on his body and building them back up to an even sturdier degree.
Crack!
The bones finally could no longer withstand it. They shattered and were crushed. The edges of his skin was baked and riddles with cracks. His skin dried up to the point it looked like scotched desert sand.
More of his bones shattered.
The pain sending his mind in a spiral. His blood shot eyes had completely turned red with not a shade of white to be seen.
His body bent awkwardly almost as though he was being folded before he snapped back upright. the shattered bones, began to reform. Normally the process would have been slow however…
A greenish hue emanated from the depths of his skin. His ability kicking in to speed things up. The bones that formed this time however were unlike what they had been before. They were thicker and they were sturdier.
Next were the nerves and tendons. As they attached themselves once more the amount of feedback Liam's brain received was far greater as well as faster than he could comprehend.
Next were his internal organs. They were tempered and cleansed, impurities taken out of them and released through the cracks in his skin, the corners of his eyes and even his mouth. The taste was bitter but Liam had no mind to pay any of that attention.
However, that was just the beginning. Next were his muscles, they had been shredded and rebuilt and now they were more durable and carried more power than before. Following that was his skin, the dry skin peeled off to reveal a batch of fresh new skin underneath.
It looked like things were finally calming down. And Liam could finally use his thoughts.
'That hurt but…that wasn't so bad' he thought to himself thinking it was over.
The thought barely had a second to settle before his senses were on fire once more. The pain amplified due to his improved nerves. His bones though sturdy didn't seem to mean much.
The dragon essence may have submitted to Immortal Flame's will and had obediently been transferred to Liam, there was no way it would be satisfied with how weak and fragile his body was so it was changing him.
Shifting his entire constitution and raising it to a level fit to carry such a legacy. But such a process of rooting out one's foundations and rebuilding it, was painfully and never streamlines.
Liam's screams intensified as the grueling process repeated itself in a cycle of pain that left Liam's mind paralyzed. Veins bulged across the surface of his skin.
The golden glow of the dragon essence as well as the green hue from his Self-healing ability danced across his skin. A sight that was beautiful in comparison to the what Liam was experiencing at the moment.
'C-can't…this…end…sooner!?' that was probably the only coherent thought he could form before his mind went to oblivion.
…
Immortal Flame watched Liam roll and spasm in pain with a focused gaze. The essence integration was going smoothly, so far he had integrated about 0.5% of it. It was good but Immortal Flame couldn't help but hope for more.
"You have to fight through the pain little one. The longer you fight to stay conscious the further you can take in my essence" Immortal Flame encouraged.
He wasn't even sure the mortal could hear him. All he got in response were his agonizing screams that bounced throughout the walls of the cavern.
Immortal Flame truly wished there was more he could do to help smooth the essence infusion but that was impossible. The changes that were happening to Liam were on a foundational level. One that broke past the boundaries of race.
The more essence Liam successfully infused the more he would be stepping away from his race and become closer and closer to that of a dragon.
An olden ritual used by the dragons to pass on their bloodlines to none dragon species. It was sacred as it was dangerous. Sacred because dragons only passed down their bloodlines to those they deemed fit and dangerous because the sharing of a bloodline came with a reduction in not just power but lifespan.
"I wondered why master sent me here so suddenly" a voice rang out, foreign and abrasive and yet airy at the same time.
Immortal Flame's head snapped upwards to find a figure standing there and his eyes narrowed.