Chapter 271: Chapter 269: Dragon Transformation
"Come."
Little Fish transmitted the command to all its clones.
"Fall in behind me."
Lingyi was the first to press close. A light emanated from their bodies as they fused tightly together.
This was an ability they had discovered after studying the "Swarm" authority.
Just as Lingyi had said, the school of fish hadn’t even fully understood its most basic authorities.
The other clones slowly pressed in, sticking close together. A faint light glowed at their touching edges, bonding them like glue, holding them firmly in place.
More and more clones swam over, falling in behind their companions. Their combined form grew larger and larger, and Little Fish’s field of vision began to expand.
At this moment, it was both a member of the school and the entire school itself.
The reflective membrane mirrored the gradually assembling, colossal body.
The school had previously destroyed many creatures. To sustain their massive form, they had assimilated the authorities those creatures possessed.
Deer antlers, an ox’s head, a snake’s belly, a bird’s talons...
The clones in the school were like individual dragon scales, fitting together tightly to form an immense dragon. The powers of all those other creatures were jumbled together within it.
Once the last gap at the tail was filled by a clone, Little Fish’s voice once again spread through the school.
"Let’s go."
The great dragon let out a roar that shook the void, causing the soft membrane to tremble violently. It swung its body, accelerated, and plunged through the membrane.
"Success."
The great dragon entered the scene unimpeded, meeting no resistance at all.
A familiar sight appeared before it: a bright moon in the sky, waves and sand, trees and earth all joined together. But in the great dragon’s eyes, these things were now minuscule.
It merely breathed out gently, and the authority of the sun activated. Searing dragon’s breath surged forward like a tidal wave, consuming everything.
After the heatwave passed, only a stretch of scorched earth and embers remained. The school of fish had already destroyed this fragile scene once before; they didn’t mind destroying it again.
Even the sea, which had once been able to extinguish the sun, was swiftly evaporated by the flames.
The school didn’t just have the authority of the sun; they also had the authority of sand.
Sand represented desiccation. They had used this authority to destroy the sea before.
When both were used at once, the seemingly endless sea couldn’t hold out for long. It was soon evaporated completely.
The great dragon represented the combination of all the authorities the school had acquired. It was now a symbol of absolute power. They didn’t need to know where they were or what authority this place represented—they just needed to destroy it.
They would certainly acquire the authority in the end, anyway. They could just study it then.
Little Fish watched as the great dragon obliterated the beautiful scenery, and everything around it was once again reduced to ruins.
It had been a long time since it had gone out conquering with the school, and it was clearly shocked by their current power. ’Those once-weak clones... they can actually do something this terrifying now.’
While Little Fish was still in shock, the great dragon had already completely destroyed everything and soared into the sky, gazing down imperiously upon the world.
Moonlight spilled down. The great dragon slowly turned and looked toward the last thing remaining in the scene—the moon.
"Awaiting your command," Lingyi’s voice drifted over slowly.
Little Fish was frantic. As the moonlight shone on its body, it suddenly felt less gentle than before. A restless heat from an unknown source seeped into its body, agitating it.
"Those things aren’t real," Lingyi suddenly added.
"What do you mean?" Little Fish asked hurriedly.
"This scene—or rather, everything here—is an illusion. We didn’t gain any authorities after destroying those things. They might just be some kind of phantom or reenactment."
Lingyi explained seriously.
"We used our other authorities to test it. We found that everything here breaks with a single touch. It’s extremely fragile and much easier to destroy than a real scene..."
Little Fish froze, staring blankly at the distant moon.
’An illusion?’
But as the moonlight shone upon it, Little Fish still couldn’t bring itself to make the decision, even if it was an illusion.
"Let’s wait. The sun here is hidden. We’ll destroy the sun first, then the moon."
At this point, all it could do was stall for time.
And so, the great dragon floated silently in the air, waiting for the moon to slowly set.
Little Fish cherished this last bit of time, savoring the feeling of the moonlight wrapped around its body.
It was just like the first time it had seen the moon. Ribbons of light coiled around it, dissolving into motes that slowly sprinkled down. An indescribable peace soothed the restlessness in its heart.
The moonlight also shone down upon the ruins.
After a shower of light, the beautiful scenery reappeared.
In that moment, Little Fish forgot about the school, basking peacefully in the moonlight, letting it envelop it completely.
Everything returned to how it was at the very beginning.
Back then, it was all alone. There was no school, no knowledge of authorities. Back then, it had the whole world to itself, and it had the moonlight that belonged only to it.
The responsibilities that came with the school now vanished like smoke.
Little Fish thought back on its journey. It didn’t know when things had started, but its mind had become crowded with concerns, a tangled mess.
The school, responsibility, conquest, authorities, development...
In the process of exploring the world, it seemed it had lost some of its purity.
The it from before would never have considered so many things. Just swimming around was enough to make it happy.
It had obtained authorities and learned more.
But those authorities had also changed Little Fish, transforming it into something else entirely.
It was a transformation, but it was also a corruption.
Only the moonlight was eternal, unchanging.
Under the moonlight’s glow, the sea also returned to its original state.
Little Fish looked at the great dragon’s reflection on the sea’s surface, feeling a bit dazed.
The hegemon of the world, an imposing body, god-like abilities, control over the authorities of all things, and a mighty power more terrifying than the sun.
’Is this... what it wanted?’
On the sea’s surface, the moon’s Shadow was also reflected.
Little Fish had never imagined that these two things it was so familiar with could combine to create such a beautiful image.
It controlled the great dragon, carefully floating down to the surface of the sea.
The ferocious dragon claw gently scooped up the moon in the water.
Water trickled from the gaps between its talons, glinting and sparkling.
A surging wave rolled in, drenching the great dragon’s body and shattering the moon into pieces.
Little Fish stared blankly at the shattered moon as the spray of the wave snapped its thoughts back to reality.
"Did you discover something?"
Lingyi’s faint voice came from beside it.
The dragon’s claw froze, then slowly retracted. The great dragon rose into the air again, not looking back at the still-rippling moon.
...
"It’s nothing."
"I just thought... it was beautiful."
