DO AN EXCHANGE ROUTE
“Hmmm.” You thought to yourself. “Give… Myself?” In your head, you wanted so badly to appease the higher ups at work but at this point you were already so invested with this plot that now, you wondered what it would be like to experience this new transformation instead. Of course, you knew what was in store for you when you would return, and honestly the rush you were feeling right here, right now, in this tomb, the energy felt bristling your feathers all around you as you watched the glowing lights disperse from this centralized area. For a moment, you wondered what it would be like if you said “screw it” to your higher ups and started carving your adventure out for yourself.
It was what you were doing up until this point anyway, so of course, why not just take that chance again now. You thought for a moment, pondering your ideas before you finally realized what you were going to do. “Maybe…” You wondered if the conclusion you came to was correct. “Maybe that’s what he meant… Give myself…”
You could feel your heart starting to pound with excitement. Your body shook as you first took the fabrics off the pedestal and slowly you could see the lights starting to dim. For a moment, you could almost hear the others calling out from the other side of the door, as if they were confused- fearful of the darkening chambers all around them. Before long, you found yourself slipping into the new clothes. The feeling of the clothes brushing against your sensitive fur- the coarse shape of your feathers, and the human flesh along your face and neck as you slid them on sent shivers all throughout your body.
The sound of your friends from the other side started to grow into more frantic calls, you could even hear them banging on the doorway just to see if you were still there. Luckily for you, the transformation was taking over your body like some kind of powerful wave of energy. You could feel your body changing, your spine and flesh warping to the shape of the tight fabric as your heart started to beat in line with the powerful pulsations- similar to the bright blue light resonating out all throughout the tomb.
Your body started to glow with the same blue hues and before long a bright white light started to shine all throughout your body. A deep rumbling could be felt from the deepest depths of the tomb and your body seemed to shake in time with the rocks as they slowly moved back and forth. Tiny bits of the ceiling started falling inwards from the quaking ruins, but something seemed completely different than all other times this happened to you.
Before long, the rest of your platoon had gotten inside- maybe the rumbling was just some kind of massive mechanism finally allowing the others past the wide threshold of the decorative entrance door.
Your eyes were almost completely blinded out by the flashing lights yet you could still make out the figures of your friends as they all rushed in to see what was happening. To their surprise, they were met with your body glowing like a lamp and floating in the air as your form mixed and morphed with the transforming figure. The way your body was engulfed with the light made it seem like you weren’t going through a physical transformation, but more of a mental transformation as you continued to transcend into whatever creature your story had in store for you.
The platoon watched you together, with wide open jaws which hung in awe as they viewed your body becoming almost demi-god like and the way the energy lit up the entire cavernous tomb. Before, the blue lights were just pulsating, slowly as if they were eventually going to be snuffed out by time itself, but now they were glowing a strong bright blue. A consistent stream of light as the power of your transformation overcharged the energy within the room. It seemed as though you had enough of it to power not only the temple, but the entire city for centuries to come.
“Grab the coffin! Grab the coffin!” Duke shouted as he directed the others to collectively pick up the massive entombment. At this point, your previous transformation was what had occupied the rocky entombment. Regardless, these outfits were filled with an intense power, regardless of what form they would have provided the user.
Buddy and Barley grabbed one side, the twins the other, and finally, Casey and Duke were on high alert as they started moving the heavy rock through the door from which they had come.
“Wait!” Your voice boomed out throughout the room, strong enough to rock everyone to their souls. “There is an easier way.” Your hands were held out, powerful gusts of wind had formed in the center of them and your wings were held up consistently by the whipping air all around you. Without moving a muscle, you felt yourself directing the air into the tomb before up and outwards through a skylight in the ceiling. You could see the hole slowly starting to open up as the entire building careened back and forth.
“Woah!” You heard Casey’s smooth voice calling out.
“What’s going on!” You could hear the twins saying simultaneously.
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Buddy’s frantic barking rang out.
“Weightless…” Duke said, almost too silent for you to hear.
You let the air lift them up and out through the top of the building. You knew that the outfit and tomb was what they needed, and luckily for them, you had a spare.
At this point, you knew exactly what the spirit meant by “Give yourself” He needed to merge with another powerful being in order to keep his legacy alive- to keep his beautiful temple and the city so tightly connected to it in check to the point where his existence wouldn’t be merely a candle in the breeze ready to be snuffed. You knew in your heart of hearts that this was the right decision for everyone, even though this may not have been the right decision for you.
You knew that now, your life was meant to be nothing more than a battery- the sacrifice you had made not just for everyone on your team, but for everyone else who was impacted by this beautiful feat of technology.
It wasn’t clear to you if you’d be stuck here forever as you watched your friends being swooped up through the skylight and out to the outside world. Your third eye was fully opened, you could see them being placed gently on the ground by the windy breeze of your epic power. Before long, you started to feel a deep satisfaction from your generous playstyle. There was nothing else that could have went right for you at this point- despite just meeting these people, you knew there was a strong bond that you could have shared with them, but now the bond you shared with the people as your essence drained from the building into the city, you could have lived on regardless of anything.
Your heart beat with power and you could feel the flowing energy radiating out for miles and miles far beyond what you could ever have imagined. Soon, you could feel the tomb quaking once more as it sealed you inside. You truly were going to be stuck there for an eternity. Despite getting to your final transformation, you were unsure if this was the best for you, the way you had sacrificed yourself for everyone made you wonder if you were potentially too generous about your actions.
Still, there was a sense of satisfaction you had from sacrificing yourself for everyone else. Regardless of anything, you had finally reached your next transformation- even though you were unsure what to do with this godly power. You knew that your ultimate goal was achieved, and you were able to give enough of yourself to help those around you achieve their goals as well.
It may not have been the most satisfying ending for you, but at least you felt like you had done the right thing all the way throughout your journey.
Written by Drifting Dragon on 07 February 2022
The end (for now)