Chapter 238: Transformation

With a smirk stretching widely on his face, Aiden watched with the eagerness and excitement of a child as the window slowly materialized in front of his eyes. Knowing that he was the only one to see the magical screen, he must have looked like a kid in a candy store.

Roas, the newly named and appointed guardian, watched with curiosity as the young goblin master looked in front of himself, squinting at times, and grinning at others, unsure of what he was doing.

Still, a few moments later he watched with amazement, as the boy closed his eyes, slowly crouched down. A moment later a thin, black membrane began to form seemingly out of nowhere, slowly creating a leathery outer layer around the small goblin. Before the thin barrier closed up, Roas heard his new young master's words.

"[Orc] It would take me 2 hours to complete my transformation. Guard this egg to the best of your abilities and I will be sure to reward you for your loyalty."

"[Orc] Yes, my lord. Please be sure that I will protect you!" Roas immediately exclaimed with zeal, conviction, watching as the thin black leather membrane closed off at the top, creating a cocoon, a strange black egg in the place of where the young goblin stood a moment ago.

The strange egg-shaped cocoon grew black scales, increasing the density and protection of the mass of energy that could be felt rapidly swirling, churning inside. The life it contained was special, was unique and most of all it was ancient.

Roas didn't know who or what exactly this young goblin was; he was told that his name is Aiden, but besides that, he was told nothing. Still, despite this lack of information, he knew that Aiden had to be special. That aura, those terrifying gaze, and otherworldly voice… There was nothing, absolutely nothing even remotely similar he felt before. The power that was radiating out of him was immense, it was incredible…

If he would have been only half-sold at that point, as soon as he felt that power, he knew that his only choice for redemption, and most importantly of all, revenge, was to switch boats and follow this young master.

Whoever, or whatever this young goblin truly was, it was his only hope for a better future. Even if his tribe was only a lost cause, at the very least, he now had a shot, a chance at getting his sweet revenge against those beings that clouded the minds of many for years for the promise of some slight increase in power. Looking back, he could only scoff at his own stupid past self. Power? Pffft! That was nothing, a minuscule drop in the ocean. Against the tide that those lords held his miniature increase was nothing. 

He never held any hope previously. It was futile, even if he could have freed the minds of everybody else, they would still have no chance even against a single one of those beings, not to mention their entire group! 

However, when he felt that incredible, dense power, pure might radiate off from this small goblin, he knew that with his help, by following him, he will be able to correct his past mistakes and finally walk on the path of redemption. Being in his servitude and letting go of his stupid, orcish pride meant nothing, it was an easy price to pay in return.

Roas didn't really know how much time has passed as he was lost in his own thoughts. Abruptly, an electrical, energy-filled pulse was released from the cocoon with a blustering loud sound. The energy ring was so dense that it destroyed the still proudly crackling bonfire instantly, along with the tent, Roas's old home. The energy, reaching the energy barrier at the distance, that Roas and the tribe used to keep most of the unwanted elements outside of their grounds collided with the barrier, and to Roas's utter shock instantly shattering it with yet another loud explosion. 

Looking back at the egg that now was slowly but rhythmically pulsating on its surface similar to a calm and steady heart, he was once again reaffirmed that his earlier decision to place his trust in this, 'Aiden', was the correct one.

Time continued to pass, and besides the earlier instance, there were no more surprises to see. The egg-shaped black, leathery cocoon continued to slowly pulsate, looking more and more similar to a giant organ that should belong to a probably humungous creature. 

Despite the calm and peaceful night, Roas remained vigilant all throughout the night, watching the stars as they slowly reached their nightly peak. 

By the time it turned close to midnight, he could finally feel and shortly afterwards, see some small movements on the surface layer of the egg. The resident inside entered its final phases of his transformation and was now ready to shed its walls to come out to the open once again.

Suddenly, as if marking a significant change, the air around the now-destroyed home of Roas turned eerie silent, dense. The silence was unnatural, the air turned heavy. A pressure began to descend from coming from an unknown origin.

First, it was barely noticeable, but as the seconds continued to pass it turned gradually heavier to the point that it forced even Roas to exert his full focus otherwise he would have also fallen unconscious on the ground. The pressure continued to increase, reaching an unmarked peak, before it abruptly changed. The vertical pressure that descended from high above, it now turned horizontal, pushing everything and anything away from the source. The pressure wasn't constant, but it came in periodic waves, just like the ocean's tides. 

Against such energy, such power, Roas had to keep his focus at maximum, using his arms to block most of the incoming periodic waves of energy in front of him. He felt an incredible power coming from the egg and was watching these last moments with great excitement. The hope for a better future was glinting in his aged eyes as he kept up his apt attention, not daring to miss even a single moment.

As the time between the torrential tides of energy decreased, soon thin spiderweb cracks appeared at the top of the black egg. The thin barely visible cracks began to increase, and traverse all around the available surface until it finally covered every inch of the cocoon. Amidst the gradually widening cracks, a faint golden light seeped through, giving the black eerie-looking object a holy afterglow, a sort of religious feeling.

The change continued, with the cracks slowly widening, and the faint golden light turning bright and eventually blinding as it covered the entirety of the black mysterious object. Keeping up his apt attention, despite the fact the light made it almost impossible to follow the events, Roas was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the egg's resident, his newest form, and the look of his young master, Aiden.

Finally, as the cracks turned wide enough, the surface layer of the egg finally shattered, and with that, the intensity of the blinding light was turned up several notches. A blustering sound of an explosion rang around the area, blocking yet another of the available senses, making it almost impossible to get an early glimpse of the being behind the glow.

As the cloud of dust slowly began to dissipate, and the light started to fade, it finally revealed the outline of a humanoid creature in their midst. Although the dust still blocked most of what could be seen, the figure still sported a much taller, but still lean build than before. Roughly at the same height as the old man, the figure did not look like your average goblin anymore.

As the seconds continued to pass, Roas looked at the slowly dissipating cloud with nervousness. He could feel an incredible, yet familiar power radiating from the silhouette in its midst. A strange feeling, -something he never felt before-, was forcing him, an orc to bend his knee towards this mysterious being. 

Although he didn't mind that much as he already agreed to serve his new lord for a chance, a shot at his only goal left in life, it was still a strange sensation to experience. It was an instinctual response to this figure's natural aura. He felt as if it was natural to kneel down and await his commands or just to hope for his attention even if for just a fleeting moment.

'Is this his true power?' Roas wondered as he continued to gaze at the slowly appearing figure.

Slowly, a dark skin, a mixture of green and brown was revealed. The figure looked a mix between your average orc and goblin with his skin tone and, mostly his physique. Much taller than your average goblin, but not as robust and barbaric, pig-faced as what would be normal for an orc. 

What was surprising and what shocked Roas as he noticed it was the two small protruding stumps at the back of his figure. It looked strange, like small appendages that served a mystical unknown purpose. 

Whatever that was, he was sure he would get to know it shortly.