The false sky above the Void Castle shimmered with a brilliance unlike before. Where once the stars had been faint ornaments stitched into a painted dome, now they pulsed as if alive, feeding on her presence, reshaping themselves to orbit around the throne room's sovereign.
Eryn stood barefoot on the black marble floor, her small hands folded before her chest. Her four-year-old body — outwardly fragile, delicate, childlike — no longer trembled under the weight of the power within. The evolution had ended. Her vessel had been reforged. She could sense it in every breath, in every beat of her heart: her body and her soul were no longer at odds.
Yet, even with that harmony, a strange dissonance persisted.
The child in the mirror of polished stone did not match the vast, infinite pulse she carried. She touched her cheek, fingers brushing pale skin, the softness of youth still clinging to her. Four and a half years old. That was the face her family knew — Alfred's little sister, Sally's ward, Leon's daughter. To them, she was Eryn, a gifted child with a bright smile.
But now…
"System," she whispered, silver eyes reflecting the constellations above. "Morph protocol. Hybridization."
---
Ding.
Hybrid Form unlocked.
Parameters: Draconic and Human vessel fused. Age projection recalibrated: 14 years (adolescent form).
Note: Hybridization balances concealment with combat viability. Aura output: Black Mana signature.
---
The air thickened. A ripple spread outward from her body, making the marble floor shiver. Her silver irises bled into black, like ink dripping across parchment, before settling into a deep obsidian hue. Her hair darkened strand by strand, silver giving way to shadow until midnight locks cascaded over her shoulders.
Her small frame elongated, bones stretching, muscles knitting with precision. The child's proportions melted away, reshaped into the lean, graceful figure of a young girl entering her mid-teens. Her limbs carried balance and poise, her shoulders narrow but strong, her waist slender, her posture straight with a quiet authority.
Her aura flared, no longer the suffocating resonance of the Void Dragon, but a subtler, more concentrated pressure. It radiated from her like smoke — black, heavy, yet not corrosive. It whispered of dominance, of something ancient and untouchable lurking behind her fragile human guise.
She raised a hand. The fingers were longer now, slender and elegant, tipped faintly with darkened nails that gleamed like polished obsidian. On her forearm, just below the skin, the faint shimmer of scales flickered in and out of view, veined with thin lines of starlight.
Her reflection in the marble floor showed a stranger: a black-haired girl with eyes as deep as midnight, a presence heavy enough to silence the castle around her. A girl of fourteen years — the age she might have been, had her body grown naturally.
And yet, she was both. Child and dragon. Human and void.
She inhaled. The hybrid lungs expanded more easily than her child vessel had ever managed. Mana flowed into her veins without strain, saturating the body as though it had been designed to carry infinite weight. It was not as overwhelming as her full draconic form — but it was controlled, focused, ready.
For the first time in years, she did not feel fragile.
"...So this is what I become." Her voice was lower now, still carrying a softness of youth, but tinged with resonance, every syllable echoing faintly as though another voice spoke in parallel.
She flexed her hand, and mana responded instantly. A spear of black ice shimmered into being, sharp enough to cut the air with its edge. Unlike her previous attempts, there was no hesitation, no clumsy overflow. It appeared, solid and flawless, as natural as breathing.
Her lips curved faintly. "This body… it can bear my will."
The Domain itself seemed to approve. The false stars brightened, their lattices of energy aligning more sharply. The marble beneath her feet pulsed faintly, resonating with her aura. Even the torches leaned toward her, flames bending subtly as if bowing.
She dismissed the spear with a thought. It dissolved into mist, leaving only the faint chill of void energy clinging to the air.
---
Yet the child remained.
She shifted her focus, willing her body smaller. The black aura withdrew like a tide, the taller figure shrinking, bones compressing, hair paling back into silver. Her skin softened, her hands became tiny once more. In seconds, the reflection reverted: the fragile four-year-old girl, eyes wide and innocent, hair glimmering like crystal under torchlight.
The contrast was jarring.
She touched her chest. The power remained, unchanged, vast and patient. But the vessel was different. This child body was a mask, a disguise. One she could use to walk among her family without alarming them. The hybrid, however… that was the truth of her combat self. A form to wield, to test, to grow into.
Her voice, in that small body, sounded fragile again.
"I have two faces now."
And both would be needed.
---
Her gaze lifted toward the starfield again. She no longer saw it as decoration. Each false star was a node, each constellation a map of her Domain's structure. With her new senses, she understood the balance at last — time flow, mana density, gravitational pull. She could alter them all with a thought. The Domain was not just stable. It was alive, an extension of herself.
Her hybrid body twitched, aching to stretch wings that did not yet show. The child body trembled under the weight of restraint. She stood between both.
"System," she said again, softly. "Confirm combat viability of hybridization."
---
Ding.
Hybrid Form Analysis — Combat Viability
Strength: 70% of Dragon.Compact form
Agility: 90% of Dragon.Compact form (optimized balance)
Endurance: 65% of Dragon.Compact form
Aura Control: 95% precision
Concealment rating: Medium (suppresses draconic resonance, but aura leaks under strain)
Recommended use: Transitional combat; infiltration with authority intimidation.
---
Her lips curved faintly at the analysis. A compromise — weaker than her true body, stronger than her child vessel. Balanced between concealment and power.
She exhaled, allowing the hybrid form to reemerge once more. Black hair spilled down, aura flaring, the weight of a sovereign pressing against the throne room.
Eryn's eyes narrowed, black irises glowing faintly in the torchlight.
"I see," she murmured. "A mask for the world… and a weapon for what lies beyond."
The black-haired figure stood alone in the vast throne room. Her aura bled into the air like smoke, heavy and commanding, until the torches bent lower as if bowing to her presence. Yet Eryn did not move immediately. She simply breathed, feeling the weight of her hybrid form settle deeper into her bones.
Every motion was different from her child's body. Her balance had shifted. Her stride was longer. The weight distribution in her limbs had changed; the muscles were denser, quicker to respond, more explosive. Even the way air flowed against her skin felt sharper, as if her body were cutting through space itself.
But instinct was not enough. She needed proof.
Her black eyes narrowed. "System. Construct simulation."
---
Ding.
Void Construct Arena initialized.
Parameters: Combat evaluation, intensity 60%. Opponents: Adaptive constructs (5).
---
The marble floor cracked, splitting along geometric lines. From the gaps rose figures of faceless obsidian, each humanoid in shape yet radiating a faint pale glow through their bodies. They moved with mechanical precision, forming a loose circle around her.
Eryn tilted her head. They were not alive, but they pulsed with mana, enough to mimic the flow of trained warriors. Their blank faces reflected her dark hair, her aura burning around her like a shroud.
The first construct lunged.
She did not hesitate.
Her right hand flicked upward, mana surging through her veins. A shard of black ice burst into existence, long and razor-sharp, and flew straight through the construct's chest. The impact shattered it instantly, scattering fragments of voidstone across the floor before they dissolved back into mist.
Fast. Precise. Clean.
The second construct swung from behind, arm crackling with condensed mana. She twisted, body pivoting with fluid grace, and her heel lashed out. The strike carried force far beyond her child's frailty — the construct's torso exploded outward, fragments dissolving before they even hit the floor.
A faint smile tugged at her lips. This body obeyed without hesitation.
The third and fourth moved together, one striking high, the other low. She raised her hand. Mana coiled instantly, threads weaving into a disc of black ice before her chest. Their blows struck the shield and dissolved harmlessly, as though they had been erased from existence. She pushed outward — the disc expanded in a ripple, slicing through both constructs at once.
Only the fifth remained.
It hesitated. Adapted. Its body shifted, reshaping arms into long spears, its stance lowering, ready to strike from range.
Eryn exhaled slowly. The black aura around her deepened, thickening until the air vibrated. She extended her palm, and the void responded.
"Voidflame," she whispered.
The construct froze as black fire erupted from her hand, not as wild eruption, but as a focused beam — a Cut. The flame did not scorch. It erased. The construct split cleanly in half, vanishing before it could even fall.
Silence returned to the hall.
The torches flickered, then steadied, as if acknowledging the battle's end.
---
Ding.
Combat Simulation Complete.
Reaction time: 0.03 seconds (hybrid vessel optimized)
Output precision: 92% stable
Mana drain: negligible
Concealment leakage: 11% (aura suppression partially failed during Voidflame emission)
Overall Evaluation: Hybrid form viable for mid- to high-tier combat. Caution: prolonged battle may expose draconic nature.
---
Eryn lowered her hand. The aura dimmed, withdrawing back into her frame. Her breathing was steady, her body unstrained. Unlike her child vessel, there was no fragility, no cracks, no ache.
This was a body that could fight. A body that could stand.
Yet as she dismissed the simulation, returning the throne room to silence, her reflection caught her eye once more — the taller girl with black hair, eyes like midnight.
Would Alfred recognize her? Would Sally? Would Leon?
No.
Her child form was the one they knew. The little sister, the daughter, the ward. The black-haired girl before her was something else entirely — a mask, a weapon, a sovereign.
She closed her eyes. Both forms were her truth, but only one could walk openly among her family. The other… had to remain hidden, for now.
---
She shifted back. Her body shrank, limbs shortening, black hair fading back into silver. In moments, she was the small girl once more, her bare feet barely touching the marble floor, her aura tightly suppressed until only the faintest ripple remained.
Her hand pressed to her chest.
"I am still Eryn," she whispered. "But… not only Eryn anymore."
The Domain pulsed faintly, as if in agreement.
Above her, the false stars shifted, aligning into new constellations. She knew, instinctively, that they mirrored her evolution — the child, the hybrid, the dragon. Three faces of one truth.
And beyond those constellations lay further paths. New powers to claim, new truths to uncover. The world outside remained unaware, blind to the sovereign who had awoken in silence.
But soon…
Her black eyes flickered open once more, silver gleaming faintly at their edges. A small smile curved her lips.
"Soon, I will step beyond these walls again."