Months After the Gremory Party and his 16th Birthday
It was late into the night, and though Issei was supposed to be asleep, he had once again found himself atop the roof of the Gremory mansion. This time, he'd come with no book in hand, no training exercises in mind, no secret plan to work on his skills. Tonight, he was simply there, gazing out at the quiet landscape under a blanket of stars.
The night air felt heavy, mirroring the uneasy weight in his chest. Tonight was much like the last few—restless, tense, as if some unseen shift were just on the horizon.
In the supernatural world, sixteen was more than an age; it was a turning point, a rite of passage when the last barriers of potential broke down. For Issei, this meant that his draconic nature, the part of himself that had always felt just out of reach, was now close, waiting for the right moment to take hold.
However, that didn't mean he knew exactly when such would be the case, when the urge to finally transform into his draconic form would come for the first and final time.
I say first and final because what he was experiencing, this uneasiness in his stomach that was quite similar to the feeling of wanting to puke but never actually reaching the point of doing it, was a one time thing.
He felt it in the day but since he was awake it proved no issue. Where he to need to transform he would simply do so. But he also felt it during the night. . .and that alone was just another excuse not to sleep.
After he transformed for the first time it would then automatically become second fashion to him. His draconic DNA would kick in, a few changes in his body would occur and then he would truly be a dragon. Mostly so.
His affinities would finally pop, his touch with mana would improve even more so, his senses would kill him for a few minutes but would ultimately prove to be much better than any sensing magic around and a few more minor things.
In normal Issei fashion he was not one to really wait around and as he. . .waited around he begun to lift a few of the objects he could sense nearby. Chairs, tables, books, teacups, all in rooms that were empty of course.
The feat alone was quite the accomplishment but since only he knew about no one was there to tell him so. And so he thought it was nothing more than just a neat little trick he could do. Such had become the case for a lot of things.
In these late times where he didn't sleep, even if he should have been doing so, he was learning things and testing things that were admirable and at some times fascinating.
Since no one knew however, it didn't matter. He didn't see anything special in being able to do oh so many things and so why would anyone else? After all, what was so special about a man that could not silent cast from the age of sixteen?
What was so special about a man that was unable to crack a book that has never been truly deciphered? What was so special about him?
He didn't see it. Even if Grayfia, Venelana, Sera, Sirzechs, Zeoticus and oh so many tried to hammer it into his brain. . .he could not see it. He only saw an average dragon boy, that had the funds and help to get better training than most.
Hence why he was rather excited for his first stray hunt that was coming up. . .a chance to actually do something proper. To prove to them. . .that knew what he was capable of, what he could accomplish.
As time passed and he got more and more sore from holding up almost everything inside the mansion a silly idea popped into his head.
Dragons, need space to transform. Something that he had clearly not given to himself, given that he was standing on the roof of the building that he gladly called home.
His tongue clicked and soon he was flying well above the mansion, the cold air of the moon lit sky sending shivers down his spine. At that point he didn't mind his bed that much. . .but he wouldn't back down just yet.
He was quick to cast a small shield to protect himself from the wind , his draconian body soon acclimatizing and producing more heat as was demanded. He wasn't quite sure how it had gotten so cold but September is always an unpredictable month. One day it's warm and the other it's freezing cold.
As Issei hovered in the quiet of the night sky, a familiar warmth began to bloom within him. It started as a spark in his core, a growing flame that spread out through every vein, filling him with heat so intense he could feel the beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. The cool night air seemed to retreat from him, unable to touch him through the heat radiating off his body a subtle mist.
His pulse quickened, every heartbeat amplifying the heat within him. His senses started to sharpen as if he'd been looking at the world through foggy glass, and someone had finally wiped it clean.
The quiet whispers of leaves rustling below became clear, the shift of grass in the distant fields vivid in his ears. Every breath of wind across his skin, every flicker of movement from the animals in the forest nearby was clear.
The world expanded, as if the land itself was pulsing with life he could finally feel.
Scents came next—sharper, deeper. He could smell the dew on the grass and the faintest trace of something distant and wild on the breeze, something that called to him. The earthy richness of the trees, the damp soil, the faint fragrance of flowers blooming far below; it all filled his lungs with a richness he had never experienced. Then came some less fortunate smells, ones that his brain was quick to cancel out.
Then came his vision. The world around him seemed to brighten, colors deepening until they almost glowed. Shadows sharpened into clear edges, every star in the sky above glinting with a life of its own. The gentle slope of the mountain far below him, the river winding its way through the forest, all came into focus with an impossible clarity. The darkness of the night was momentarily shifted and he saw as if it was day.
He rubbed his eyes and it became night again and then did so again for it to become day. He felt his irises shift ever so slightly a feeling that was for but a moment uncomfortable before it felt right, more right than it was before. He couldn't see it, but for a moment his had slits in his eyes.
He clenched his fists, feeling a deep vibration in his bones, a hum that grew louder with each beat of his heart until it was no longer something he heard but something he felt. He could feel his body shifting, his bones becoming denser, his muscles hardening unnaturally, his height shifting a bit and his lungs expanding so much that he needed breaths of air to fill them once more.
And then he felt the final push.
Without a second thought, he let go of any resistance, letting the power within him flow freely. His body expanded, each limb extending and growing, his skin hardening, darkening, scales forming along his arms, his torso, spreading like wildfire across his entire form. His hands elongated, nails growing into claws as his feet reshaped, grounding him in mid-air with newfound strength.
A powerful tail formed, stretching out behind him, balanced, strong. His face elongated, and his teeth sharpened as his jaw widened, the familiar pressure of his dragon's breath building within. His vision shifted, his gaze now a predator's, honed in on every detail around him, aware of every shift in the night.
