Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 493 - Natural Beauty

After about ten minutes of patiently waiting, during what everyone simply sat around and enjoyed the warm atmosphere, the emerald-green amber began to glow slightly before a crack emerged. Though it had appeared to be one solid object, after the crack appeared, an aromatic fluid began draining from the sphere that began to rapidly dissolve the outer 'shell'. Vahn was tempted to collect a bit of it so he stored some of the running fluid into a vial before stowing it away in his Inventory. It would take a little while for the system to analyze it, but Vahn could sense an incredible amount of vital energy coming from it and assumed it would be useful.

Though they could see the 'person' within long before it had completely drained, it had taken a little while for her to be completely revealed. Contained within the sphere was a mature looking woman with swirling runic formations covering her body in a strange pattern. They glowed with a subtle green glow and Vahn found them reminiscent of the 'veins' that ran along the roots that had surrounded the 'cacoon' she had been contained within. Her most striking features were the leafy-green hair that fell from her head in a free-hanging and elegant manner with slight curls and the small pair of wood-like horns that grew above her temples.

As if to emphasize her existence as a Dragon-Avatar of the Earth and Guardian of Nature, there were actually leaves growing within her hair and incredibly fine scales covering her forearms and legs that were almost indiscernible from her normal skin if not for their gradient coloration. Though Vahn couldn't see it directly, he could see a green tail growing out of her backside that had the same type of scales except they were a much deeper green in color. The most surprising thing of all, however, was the fact that two extra appendages loosely hung from her lower back and it was easy to understand that they were a pair of wings that were distinctly different from any dragon Vahn had ever seen. Instead of leathery skin and scales, the wings actually looked closer to something that a bird would have except that the plumage was predominantly green and the looked more like long leaves instead of normal feathers.

By the time the liquid had drained completely, Terra had fallen to the bottom of the root-like nest and her lower body was concealed by the remnant pool of fluid that remained behind. With the incredible vitality coming from the pool, Vahn likened it to a 'spring of life' and it seemed like Terra was absorbing it into her body as the emerald green liquid slowly turned transparent like water. Before the process had finished completely, she lifted up her body somewhat weakly and revealed her figure that had previously been curled up in a fetal position. Though Vahn would describe her as a mature woman based on her facial features, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were somewhat smaller than his initial speculation. Though they were still a larger B-Cup, Vahn had felt like they should have been larger for some reason but it was still interesting to see that the runes covering her body had left the somewhat plump looking mammary glans unscathed and there were small rosy protrusions marking their center.

Terra eventually opened her eyes and revealed a pair of stark-blue eyes that glowed slightly and had a pair of vertical slits like a dragon. With the bright eyes and bronze skin, framed by the leafy-green hair, she was a strikingly beautiful woman that had a distinctly exotic feeling with her dragon-like qualities. Though he had missed it earlier, her nails were somewhat larger than normal and looked like the petals of a lily as they transitioned from pink to white. They came to scary looking points and Vahn could sense that they carried medicinal properties, which was a little strange since he had somewhat expected it to be closer to a poison. Most notably, however, was the incredible fragrance that was almost intoxicating and seemed to make everyone that smelled it somewhat reminiscent. Even Vahn was briefly reminded of the memory of his mother and it wasn't until Terra began speaking that his awareness returned.

Seeing everyone around her in a very different light, as her own perspective had changed from a giant dragon to a woman around 175cm tall, that was currently sitting on the ground, Terra smiled and said, "I feel like everything about me has changed...it is a very interesting feeling..." As she spoke, Terra was inspecting her own body with interest and noticed that she had taken on several humanoid traits. However, she had a feeling like this was a 'temporary' thing and her instincts told her she could become much larger if she desired. Following this instinct, the runic lines on Terra's body began to release a brilliant light as another sphere of green emerged and expanded in size. Moments later, her form had changed to a dragon that was more than 14m long and had distinctly different features than the previous Green Dragon.

Vahn had been somewhat caught off guard by the sudden transformation as he had been planning to greet Terra and welcome her into the world. He quickly recovered his senses as a wide grin appeared on his face because Terra was indeed able to transform, seemingly at will. Her dragon-form was 14m long and her wingspan looked like it reached close to 20m with massive feathery wings that almost looked like a canopy of leaves. Her body became covered in beautiful green scales that were slightly different in coloration and the small wooden horns on her head had grown into a branching crown around her head.

She was so vibrant and full of life that there was even a layer of moss covering her back and flowers had started to bloom on her body that was exceptionally streamlined and thin compared to Fafnir. As for her eyes, they retained a similar look except for the fact they had increased in size and seemed to possess a great deal of compassion and wisdom. She was a quadripedal dragon that had five claws on each hand with similar lily-like claws and the aroma she emitted had increased in intensity by a fair amount. Everywhere her claws touched the ground, grass would begin to grow thicker and flowers would start to bloom shortly thereafter.

Terra released a pleasant-sound from her long and slender neck that sounded like a soft purr as she said in a similarly gentle voice as her human form, "It seems like I can still become a dragon...this is a very pleasant and familiar feeling, though it seems my body has undergone several changes..." Terra stretched her body and all the scales stood up slightly as they began to vibrate in different directions as they emulated the sounds of nature. It sounded like leaves being rustled by the wind and it actually caused her aroma to spread even further, to the point where Vahn could actually see a visible mist emerging from beneath her scales.

From the side, a childish voice suddenly rang out in everyone's head as Fafnir said, ("So beautiful...little sis is so beautiful~!") Hearing its voice, Terra turned her head to Fafnir and c.o.c.ked her head to the side before releasing a pleasant-sounding laughter as she said, "It is an interesting thing, to be called 'little sis' by such an adorable sounding dragon..." To clear up any misunderstandings, Vahn commented, "Fafnir is a little over four years old, while Fenrir is slightly over twelve. From what I can tell, you're only seven months old..." Terra shifted her attention back to Vahn by swiveling her head in a gentle arc as she said, "Perhaps, but I had lived more than thirty years in my previous life...though I suppose that doesn't mean much. Very well, I will become the little sister, even though my big brother seems somewhat cute~."

Though Fafnir wasn't actual male, it had referred to itself as the 'little brother' of Fenrir and Tina in the past, so it wasn't incorrect for Terra to call it as such. Fafnir seemed to be very pleased as it stamped its feet up and down, but Fenrir seemed to want to clarify something as she stepped forward and raised her paw before saying, "Terra, I'm Fenrir, you can call me Big Sis~! Let's look after Master properly from now on, okay!?" Terra traced her gazed over to Fenrir and looked down at the small girl that made her feel an incredible sense of danger previously. Even after her body had undergone such a drastic change, Terra still felt intimidated by the small girl so she nodded her head and said, "Very well, Big Sis...it's good to have two dependable older siblings to watch over me..."

Fenrir smiled and patted her chest proudly as she said, "That's right, Fenrir will protect you from now on! As long as you are a good girl, Fenrir will always be nice to her siblings!" Terra seemed to want to ask what it meant to be a 'good girl' but decided to leave such questions for later as it felt like her energy was draining rather quickly. Though she didn't feel any discomfort in her dragon form, as it was closer to what she was used to, Terra realized the energy consumption was much greater than normal and she felt somewhat 'empty' at the moment. It wasn't an incorrect feeling either, as her transformation from the Green Dragon into her current form had actually consumed a massive amount of her energy while the rest had 'escaped' into the ground below to nourish the plants around her.

As she was feeling tired, Terra emitted the same green light for the third time as her body rapidly shrank and returned to her 'human' form once again. This time, however, she was standing on her own two feet without any feeling of shame or discomfort. Vahn could now see that runes extended all the way down her legs but seemed to leave her abdomen untouched while there was a strange pattern around her groin that looked like a laurel leaf pattern. She didn't have any pubic hair to speak of, and her lower body seemed surprisingly muscular with slightly wider h.i.p.s than normal. Vahn wanted to see the rest of her body so, after a small hesitation, he asked, "Terra, do you mind turning around so I can look at your wings and tail?"

Hearing Vahn mention her wings and tail, Terra spread them out and they reach nearly 4m wide, more than twice her height at 175cm. She then whipped her tail as if testing its feel before commenting, "It feels very strange to have wings and a tail in this form...it's like all my weight is centered around my lower body?" as she turned around to let Vahn get a better view. Even though he earned some strange looks from the girls, Vahn couldn't help but swallow slightly when he saw the somewhat muscular and plump butt of Terra. She had a light layer of scales covering the outside of her legs, but her butt itself was entirely untouched and was slightly paler than the rest of her body.

As for her wings and tail, Vahn was somewhat shocked to see how muscular her back was and how developed her lower-back and abdominal muscles were. Instead of growing from the shoulders, Terra's wings had supporting bones and musculature located underneath her ribs. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that she had nearly three times the amount of muscle groups in her torso and it was obvious she could exercise a lot of power from her lower body and wings. Her tail itself stuck out from her back slightly instead of following a natural curve and she had a line of scales that covered her lower back and continued up her spine.

Vahn thought it was a very interesting sight that only enhanced her exotic beauty, and he was somewhat interested in the structure of her body in general. Unlike the bones of birds, which were somewhat light and hollow, Terra actually had a lot of segmented bones that likely made her body incredibly flexible and the energy in her body, though Vahn could see it was diminishing, was full of vitality and what he could only describe as 'life elemental energy'. Walking forward, Vahn asked, "Can you spread your wings again?" before carefully watching how the muscles stretched out as she extended her wings. Vahn had a slight urge to pluck one of Terra's feathers but decided against it since he didn't want to give her any bad memories so soon after she obtained a new form.

Since it would be 'bad' to let Terra continue walking around in the buff, Vahn looked through his shop and purchased a green robe-like dress for her to wear. Since he had purchased it with her in mind, it actually had various layers of fabric that dr.a.p.ed over her wings comfortably with clasps and belts that secured around her tail. Vahn was always amazed how the system could adapt the items for use by other races and it was exceptionally useful for times like this. Handing the robe to Terra, Vahn explained, "Since you can take on a human form, you should stay like this and try to get used to it as much as possible. There are various girls located at the Hearth Manor, which will become your new homes, and they will teach you how to behave like a woman and what to take into consideration when you associate with others."

Terra received the robe from Vahn and inspected it with curiosity before a vibrant smile appeared on her face and she said, "This is the first gift I received from Master, I will cherish it always..." Having a beautiful girl say such words to him, Vahn felt a bit of pressure rise in his nose as he looked to Naaza and Haruhime before saying, "Please help Terra get dressed...and make sure not to teach her anything strange, okay?" Unless she died, Terra would be accompanying Vahn for a very long time and he had some expectation that she would eventually grow closer to him. For now, however, Vahn wanted her to just focus on adapting to a normal lifestyle and receive an education before things like that became an issue. Though she had lived for more than thirty years in her previous life, Terra was inarguably the youngest girl Vahn associated with, and he even planned to take her into the orb in the future so she can 'mature' a bit and study magic with Eva. She seemed like a very intelligent girl so Vahn had high hopes for her future, especially since it seemed like she would become a powerful guardian that could watch over the Manor, or potentially even 'Haven', in the future.

After the girls finally figured out the 'mechanics' behind the robe, Terra was now clothed and Vahn couldn't help but nod his head as he gave her an appreciative look and said, "That kind of clothing suits you, though I'll leave it to you to decide the type you like to wear in the future. I may not look like it, but I'm actually a capable [Master Smith] that also specializes in making clothing. When the time comes, I'll make you a personal outfit that can bond with your soul so you can wear it between your transformations. In the societies on the surface, it is 'inappropriate' to be walking around n.a.k.e.d in your human form, so please keep that in mind."

Though Terra felt somewhat uncomfortable in the new clothes, she simply smiled in response to Vahn and said, "Yes, Master, I understand..." as she stretched her wings in an attempt to adapt to her new body. Vahn understood a few her concerns and walked forward before placing his hand atop her head and infusing energy into her body. Terra's eyes opened slightly before she closed them with a pleased expression on her face. Vahn took this time to inspect around her temples a bit because he was somewhat curious about the 'wood' horns that were coming out of her head. He could see they were attached to her skull but there were 'veins' running through them that actually connected to the patterns on the rest of her body.

With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could tell that Terra had two different types of energy in her body that intermixed with her normal source energy. It was difficult to tell what they were, but Vahn defined them by his feelings and labeled them as 'Life Energy' and 'Nature Energy'. The largest flow was that of the Life Energy, as it was the basic structure of her body that was fueled by her source energy, which pooled near her heart instead of her navel, similar to Fafnir. As for the Nature Energy, it was contained in the runes and the subdermal 'veins' that covered her entire body. Even in her human form, as she was currently barefoot, the grass was constantly growing underneath Terra's feet and it was very obvious it was an effect of her Innates.

One thing Vahn was curious about was her [Healing Sap] ability, as it was the only thing he couldn't make sense of at the moment. He assumed it had something to do with the plants she grew, which would be very beneficial if they could cultivate it, but he decided to ask since she should know the answer 'instinctually'. In her new form, Terra could consume a ridiculous amount of energy now so it was taking a while for Vahn to replenish her reserves. He even had to ingest a few mana recovery potions in the process. When he was nearly finished, Vahn asked in a casual manner, "You have a unique ability called [Healing Sap], and I was curious about how it's produced. Can you tell me?"

Terra opened her eyes and didn't seem to mind the question at all as she smiled slightly and said, "I've never used it before, but I believe my body naturally produces it and stores it in an organ located in my lower body. I can try excreting some if you'd like." Though it might have been a 'slip' in her choice of words, Vahn had an eerie premonition and turned his [Eyes of Truth] back to Terra and inspected her lower body. Though she had a specialized stomach, Terra was more plant-based than truly human and she didn't have the common digestive organs at all. Instead, Vahn traced her metabolic processes and could describe them as a 'filter' that compressed the ingested nutrients as it was converted by her body into a pool of purified Life Energy...located near her butt. Her organs were fundamentally different than a person's and it looked like, rather than actual excrement, the supposed 'honey-like' liquid was 'secreted' from Terra's butt...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Just according to Keikaku','I wonder if she can fly with those wings?','Red Alert, Keikaku has gone awry!!')

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