The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 160

Chapter 160 – Ascendant

“Kaori? Is that you?”

A voice came to me, sounding small and afraid. My sister’s voice. I looked over to her, and saw empty space. Then, I looked down, way down. The mortals were there, along with my soldiers and the Magelords, and they were all looking up. At me.

“Yes, it is me. Though it seems I’ve changed a bit more than some of the others who went through the rite.”

With a thought, I conjured a plane of ice, to act as a mirror. It was a simple spell, but, even taking the amplifying nature of the stone around us and the fact that we were standing next to the very wellspring of mana on Earth, it was too easy, came too naturally. I should have had to do mor than just think it for the mirror to come to be, especially one at this size.

I knew the image in front of me the moment I saw it, and everything fell into place. Especially the fact that I had reflexively spoken in Dragonspeech. There was no mistaking what I was. I was a dragon.

Well, a dracolich, to be precise. In other words, a dragon that had undergone the transformation into a lich. The skeleton on display, and my crystal heart hanging in my chest, along with the same blue flames lighting my eyes as I had in my lich form made that abundantly clear. My bones were now those of an ancient dragon, strengthened by adamantine, and further enhanced by the enchantments upon them, which carried over from my original form.

From the looks of things, I was equal in size to the undead dragon that I had made into a mount back in Onerth. Four legs, though I knew instinctively that I could easily stand upon two. My forelimbs had ‘hands’, after a fashion, with three clawed fingers and an opposable thumb, while my hindlegs had massive three-clawed feet. My tail was long enough to wrap about a bus with ease, and strong enough to crush a tank like a tin can. My wings held no skin or sign of flesh, but the magic in them would allow me to fly as if I were born to it.

A purplish-black aura hung around my bones. Not the pitch black of Shadow, but rather the velvet black of Death Mana, in its rawest, most visible state. But, as I thought of Shadow, the velvet became pitch. I thought of Life, and it became green, and then each of the other elements in turn. Each coming as easily as the last. My affinity with Death Magic had grown, which I expected, but, surprisingly, all my other affinities, even Life, now matched it.

I turned my head away from the mortals, and thought of Fire. Dragonflame burst from my mouth as I breathed out, but then it froze into a freezing spray as I pictured Water, before turning to a sandblaster of Earth, and then a pure laser of Light. This was completely beyond my expectations.

Yes, I was a dracolich. That much was easy enough to understand, since the dragon’s flesh being caught in the mix no doubt affected the ritual somewhat. But a dracolich of every element in one, with even Life mana having no downside? Even the myths and legends of the other world had never heard of such a thing.

“Um, Kaori? Are you stuck like that? Or are you going to need to dig a bigger tunnel to get out of here?”

My sister’s words brought knowledge to me, unbidden. With a thought, I breathed out black smoke, and changed. I was a dracolich, now, but I was still me. Returning to my comfortable form as the Lich Queen was difficulty. Opening my pocket dimension once more, I withdrew my equipment, and stroked my ankh, donning my armor once more.

I looked in the mirror, now comically oversized for my form, and ran through the elements once again. They all came just as easily as before. The only difference between this form, and my dragon form was that it had the greater strength and power a creature of that size ought to.

I breathed black smoke again, and returned to my dragon form. As they were enchanted to, my gear transformed with me, becoming an appropriate size and shape for my new form. Even my staff. I had originally enchanted them to grow and change with me, to use with various shapechanging spells, as well as those that cause a person to grow or shrink, but it had been a long time since I’d used any of them, save for my Mortalform spell. Hmm. Would it? Could it possibly?

I cast the spell. And flesh grew upon my draconic bones, with dragon scales of adamantine covering it. I looked in the mirror, and I was a dragon. A flesh and blood dragon!

And then, with a thought, I changed, scales becoming skin, flesh and bone contracting within me and transforming, so that now I was in my human form once more, with not a change to be seen. Anyone who looked upon me in this moment, if they hadn’t seen the previous display, would think me unchanged from before the ritual. I laughed, and cried out, “Wonderful! Simply wonderful!”

The clattering of bones applauding reached my ears. My Master ceased his clapping as I approached. “Well done, my Queen. An ascension like any other.”

I smiled, and clapped him on the shoulder. “Indeed, Master. And I am glad you could be here for it. But, there are two last things which need doing, before we turn the page on this chapter.” I looked to the Crown Princess, and nodded. “For the first, I believe you should do the honors, Princess. It is your role by right of seniority, I believe.”

The Princess nodded, and drew herself up. “Akagawa Kaori! As Second Seat of the Athelian Spire and Magelord of Fire, Crown Princess of Athelia-That-Was, I, Iseult Ermina Wynifreed ro Athelas, declare you to be the Dragon Ascendant, Hero of the Elements Undivided! Through you, all elements flow in equal measure. Let Murena’s arrows find your foes swiftly, for none shall stand against you and live.”

I nodded my head, before reaching into my pocket dimension once more. This time, I drew out something I had not worn since the day I won it. A circlet of burnished gold, with eight gems set upon the brow in a circle, the Athelian Sigil was the ceremonial badge of office for the High Magus of the Athelian Spire. The only enchantments upon it were that it would always be unmarred and repair any damage done to it, and that the gems upon the brow changed their order, depending on which element the wearer was the master of. The Princess stiffened visibly as I held it up before me.

“Hear me now, Magelords of Athelia. I am Akagawa Kaori, High Magus of the Athelian Spire, and Magelord of Death. But I have transcended Death. Therefore, I surrender the seat of Magelord to Thom Deathspeaker, naming him the Magelord of Death, and I bestow the rank and title of High Magus of the Athelian Spire upon the Second Seat, Magelord Iseult Ermina Wynifreed ro Athelas! Let any who would challenge this decree prove thy power in combat against them!”

The Princess, and now High Magus, bowed low to me as I sat the circlet upon her head. The hematite gem for Death, which had been in ascendance when I wore it, shifted places as I watched, replaced with the ruby of Fire. I nodded, once it was done, and said, “Now, we have finished all that needs doing, here.”

“Thank you, your Majesty.”

I nodded once to her, before turning my attention to the nearby mortals. “My apologies, Eri. There were a couple things I needed to take care of, before we could move forward. I trust things didn’t get too bumpy out here?”

“N-no. But we knew something big was happening, when that egg began forming, and then started growing in size!”

Naya nodded at my sister’s side. “Indeed, Mistress. We knew you were going to change, but when that egg began swelling beyond even the Troll Patriarch’s height, we began to get a bit worried. After all, none of the others changed quite THAT much in size!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “It surprised me, too. I expected changes, but I was not prepared to be looking down from that height, I must admit. At any rate, the deed is done. The seal has been safely released, and everyone is alive and well, save for those of us who are dead.”

Lieutenant Hughes cleared his throat. “What does this mean for this area, your Majesty?”

“You may tell the governor that the immediate danger has passed. Naturally, as mana levels rise around the world, you will see more plants and animals developing powers. Some will just be things like a wolf that can blend with shadows, and others will rise to the level of true monsters. However, since the alternative was cataclysm, I believe this is the better outcome.

“As for the wellspring itself? I will leave it, as I have the others. Without the dammed-up power caused by the seals, the wellsprings are, in essence, just especially potent power sites. Someone attempting to recreate the seals would need access to all nine wellsprings at once, and that is something I believe we can rule out as ever being possible in the modern age.”

“So, the Wellspring is not a threat, right?”

“For most, the Wellspring is as much a threat as a powerful river is. Stand on the shore, and you are fine. Wade in the waters, and you may get swept off your feet if you aren’t careful. Go out in a boat drunk and stupid, and you may drown. That you might drown does not make the river dangerous, but rather it is simply less forgiving of mistakes than a tamer waterway.

“Of more import to your government is the stone of the mountain itself. A stone here or there, small enough to hold in one’s hand? This is fine. But attempting to quarry and harvest the stone of this mountain in any significant way could damage the wellspring, especially if some fool uses magic to aid in the process. I can erect a barrier over the entrance to the cave, to keep people from entering, here. Do that, and it should be safe enough to allow tourists to explore the mountain once more. Well, as safe as hiking in the mountains ever is.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Though the news that we might start having squirrels that can throw lightning or whatever like some sort of video game is troubling, it beats the hell out of having beachfront property in Colorado. Is there anything else that you’d like me to pass along to the Governor’s office?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing beyond my appreciation for the professionalism of the National Guard in this whole affair. If they had chosen a less intelligent person to lead the mission, here, then this could have gotten ugly. As it stands, California will be one of the first places in the US to benefit from the higher mana levels. With that in mind, I would ‘suggest’ to the Governor that they review all logging, mining, and quarry permits, as natural growths will become far more important in the coming years.”

“Meaning that ‘magic’ lumber and the like will be more in demand, especially for crafting things like those focuses you talked about before?”

“Simply put, yes. Though modern industry will never go away, this world is going to change, as people find new ways of doing things. Magic will circumvent problems that people thought too expensive to devote resources to solving, and combining magic and technology, as you have already begun doing, will allow for many wondrous things to be made. However, that is a double-edged sword, for magic will also enhance the tools of war and terror. Bombs that explode with greater force, or using magic to enhance the toxicity of poison gas, to name just two possibilities. The world will never be the same as it was, for good or for ill.”