"Argh!"
Roland let out a muffled groan and fell to one knee. His fingers dug into the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He felt as if lava was flowing beneath every inch of his skin, forcibly reshaping him with a savage Power.
This wasn't a superficial change to his skin. It was the agonizing process of his deeper structures being torn apart and rewoven by some incomparably tough substance.
Sweat instantly soaked his bangs, dripping down his tense jawline.
He clenched his jaw, enduring the waves of pain that washed over him like a tide. He could clearly feel a dense, elastic network spreading, forming, and solidifying along his dermis, resonating with the Dragon Blood coursing through him.
The process seemed to last an eternity, or perhaps only a few heartbeats.
Finally, the terrifying, sharp pain slowly receded like an ebbing tide, leaving only a warm, ember-like numbness and a sense of...
...unprecedented solidity.
