Molting the Mortal Coil

Sage’s skeleton was undergoing drastic changes, but far more than just his bone structure was transformed. Humans normally have seven to eight hundred different muscles while even the smallest snakes have ten to fifteen thousand. All those extra ribs added many more connection points for muscles, multiplying the number of different muscles he had by more than ten. At the same time the composition of the muscles changed, becoming many times faster than before. His nervous system was improved, and his brain gained many layers of protection and even some reconfiguration. Any random snake can strike three times faster than the normal person’s eye can finish blinking. This kind of acceleration is three times more than a human can withstand without losing consciousness.

As Cultivators or Spirit Animals and Demonic Beasts their abilities would be many times more powerful than normal members of their species. This new body was becoming purpose built for violently fast strikes just like all Serpent kind. At the same time Sage kept his arms, hands and opposable thumbs, truly melding the man and snake. His internal organs were mostly the same, though they become elongated and flexible, with the exception of his throat and stomach as it was modified to swallow large objects and resist injury.

On the outside, all of his skin was replaced by a layer of tiny scales. The scales were very small, which made them harder to see, but at the same time it also limited the increase in toughness they provided. The black scales of the Twin Ringed Serpent combined with the coloration of his skin to end up with Sage bearing darkly tanned skin colored scales. This strange complexion combined with his nearly flat nose and slightly forked tongue to create a very unnatural appearance.

A few hours after the azure cocoon formed the surrounding energy began to move again. The power of the heavens and earth began to disappear into the cocoon. The energy in the area growing thin, the powerful suction forming into a vortex. The walls of the Well seeming to block the flow of energy, turning the Well into a funnel that the energy had to travel down. The flow of energy growing greater by the second until it finally seemed to reach a critical mass. The ferocious swirling extended up the Well, up to the barrier around the formations and all the way up into the black waters. The clouds of spirits swarming around the barrier were drawn into the vortex as the spinning even transferred to the dark water. The rapidly swirling water formed into a massive whirlpool. The water level actually starting to slowly drop as the energy it contained was rapidly siphoned off. That black water seemed to be in large part made up of energy, filled with cold yin energy that emanated from the swarms of ghosts and spirits.

A massive amount of energy was required to rapidly transform Sage’s body, but luckily this dark water was an abundant source. The abilities of the Twin Ringed Soul Serpent were completely combined with those of Sage’s body. Every cell in his body was changed and strengthened. Demonic Beasts were rated at different ranking based on what level of Cultivator they could match up with. It wasn’t actually a measure of their Qi Power, Spirit Power, or even intelligence. For the most part, most Demonic Beasts(and Spirit Animals) were able to fight with Cultivators using their superior physical bodies. Only those Cultivators who practiced Body Hardening or other Physique Building arts could ever match up against their physical abilities. At this time, Sage’s body had been transformed to the same level as that of a Demonic Beast.

On the inside, Sage finally woke from the dream state he had been trapped within. The memories of the Serpent had fully merged with his own. To his benefit the Twin Ringed Serpent had not experienced much more than searching for natural treasures and battling other animals and beasts. The number of conflicting emotions and personality was quite small, but Sage still felt a difference in spirit. The vicious and cunning nature of the Serpent had seeped deep into his bones. The congenial subservient nature that Sage had always carried was greatly dimmed by this melding of personality. Sage had always been a bit on the timid side, preferring to travel the path of least resistance.

He’d pursued a job that had a great future, he never made trouble with others, and always kept his mouth shut when it would put him in a confrontation. His previous life had gone just to his satisfaction until he had been unlucky enough to stumble upon something he wasn’t supposed to know. Living this second life he had imagined he would become a hero only to learn he was merely mediocre. Then he lived a life on the run for nearly seven years before he finally found a safe place he could belong. Those next thirty years of safety finally ended on this exploration trip and his fundamental personality was shifted. This merger of nature was somewhat confusing. Sage felt that he was the same person, but with an extra set of memories and some vicious urges. The extra memories were not as strange as he might have imagined, given his two lives already, adding a third one as a snake was unusual but not distressing. A normal person might well have their psyche shattered at the idea of growing up and living the life of a wild animal, but Sage had already started a second life and grown accustomed to the irregularity.

If it was just the memories of this third life as the Twin Ringed Serpent, Sage would have handled it quite well. The problem was that the Serpent was a Demonic Beast of a high-grade bloodline, something which he learned from ancestral memories. Powerful creatures would pass on their abilities to their descendants, creating bloodlines. The Twin Ringed Soul Serpent was a relatively high level creature and the instant it was born it already had memories passed down from its ancestors. These memories included other beasts it would have to look out for, those it should prey upon, special treasures that would help it grow, how to find and consume those treasures, along with a plethora of special techniques. The Twin Soul that gave the Twin Ringed Soul Serpent most of its name was created using one of these special techniques that Sage learned was named ‘Avatar of Excess’. Useful as they were, at the same time these memories were timeless. He didn’t remember reading them in a book or being told them by somebody else, they just appeared. Suddenly remembering things you never learned was extremely unsettling and it took some time for Sage to calm his mind and come to terms with the changes.

The azure cocoon dissolved into tiny threads of energy, leaving the new snake bodied Sage floating in the water. Much larger than the snake had been, he now took up nearly the whole width of the Well. With his mind coming to order, he took the time to start examining his body inside and out. He marvelled at the transformation of his physical form, everything was so different. Most amazing of all was that his hand had grown back! The Tiger Glove was now slipped over a perfectly formed hand that matched the one on his left side. It seems the merge was based on what his body was supposed to be and not just his current state. Maybe it uses my DNA? I certainly can’t mention that around here though, people would call me insane.

Inspecting the inside of his body with his Spiritual Sense he suddenly remembered what inspired the use of this forbidden ability. His senses searching quickly for traces of the ‘Eye of the World’. Only after looking around for a while did he notice it floating in the space nearby his Dantian. The area inside his body where he was supposed to be keeping his linked insect was now occupied by the Eye. The two internal spaces must have combined, and now that Sage’s body had the same properties as that of the Serpent it seemed he could safely contain the Eye.

What am I supposed to do with it now?