A frown took over his expression as he took in his situation. He was currently at home, training when he should be at school having lunch.
'Just what happened?'
He pressed his fingers on his head and delved into his memories, trying to figure out what happened.
He saw himself looking into Emmet's eyes and freezing for a moment. Not long after, he was snapped out of it by Emmet, likely him asking why he was staring at him. Aries then saw himself say something which caused Emmet to get flustered and hide his face.
After this, the memories went dark. He couldn't remember anything after that.
'I don't recall getting snapped out of it after getting tranced.'
He tried to see if he could see any more of his memories, but they were cut off completely.
Sigh…
'If "I" can set up different memory storages for my body and consciousness, then "I" must have set up a precaution for moments like this. Not being able to remember what happened is concerning, though.'
Then he shrugged.
'Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine.'
"I guess I'll just keep training, it seems quite early."
Bringing the image of his father to the front of his mind, he copied his stance, down to the very placement of his fingers.
"Hooooo…"
Letting out a wisp of warm air, then…
BANG!
…he made the first strike.
***
Soon enough, the sun fell from the sky, bringing the day with it and leaving the world in the night's embrace.
Having put away the wooden sword, Aries took a meditative position with his eyes closed. He gathered the chi within him and wrapped it around every inch of his body. At the same time, he released his disguise, which had been limiting his abilities.
The unseen scales coated his skin, and feathers protruded from specific areas. His nails and canines grew longer and sharper. Finally, two wings burst from his back, this time not ripping anything, as he had taken off his shirt beforehand.
Other than the changes caused by his constitution, his body had been nothing special. This was to be expected; he was currently a child and had only recently begun training.
Despite this, his strength was quite good, as the physical prowess of a mythical creature was far beyond that of regular humans. If he went all out, Aries could beat a grown man who kept up with training frequently, and this was as a child. His strength will only grow further as he grows older and his body develops.
The chi that covered his body slowly seeped into his skin, then into his muscles. It seeped deeper and deeper till he was completely coated in chi from head to toe, in and out.
After doing this, Aries stood up from his place and outstretched his arm. That arm slowly contorted into something beastial, being completely covered in scales with some feathers protruding from it.
Putting the other hand forward, the same thing happened.
Then, Aries's body grew, and her features changed. His body became monstrous, just like his arms, his face becoming serpent-like.
His lips parted to reveal his fanged maw, along with a low hiss that was almost like a growl.
Next, his body stretched and grew even larger, his limbs fusing into each other, then his body. The transformation lasted no more than a few seconds, leaving a white, feathered, winged serpent with a golden symbol on its forehead.
The serpent coiled into itself, seemingly going to rest. In actuality, however, the serpent— Aries, had merely taken a comfortable position before delving into his source.
Within the world of golden seas and red skies— the incomplete visualization of Aries's source, he hovered above the golden waters, before four orbs of white light that represented the skills he gained from fully awakening his source manifestation.
Three of the orbs took a triangle formation around the last, larger orb, which shone the brightest.
Aries reached his hand forward and touched the first of the orbs. As he did, a flood of information flowed into his mind.
The first skill was a special venom that, while still acting as a regular venom, also has the ability to target the victim's desires.
Aries moved his hand.
The second skill was the ability that allowed him to produce a flammable powder that caused anyone who inhaled it to hallucinate about their greatest desires.
He moved his hand once more.
The third skill made him lucky and have events go in his favour as long as he is in his transformation.
It also made his body and body parts like lucky objects. The more precious the part being, the greater the effectiveness
And he moved his hand once more, towards the largest of the orbs.
The fourth and final skill was quite simple. It was the simple but useful ability of light manipulation. Allowing him to produce and manipulate light.
These abilities seemed quite useful, but only in practice could he really tell their use.
'Well, either way, I should be able to find ways to make them useful.'
Having taken in all the information from the orbs, Aries wrapped his arms around them and pulled them to himself. The orbs burst into a wave of light, covering him with a warm embrace.
Aries allowed himself to be swallowed by the light, his figure disappearing into it. As the light completely covered him, his serpentine eyes opened, and his long, coiled body unraveled. Then, he shook his body, causing glittering gold dust to be flung from his feathers.
'Now it's time to try them.'
His eyes glinted with a golden light as he focused his mind.
'Most of my abilities' capabilities can be tested without an opponent, so let's test if they at least work properly.'
Aries first slithered into the forest to prevent potentially disturbing anyone.
'First, the light ability.'
Aries raised his head and gathered his chi, then activated the ability at maximum output. As soon as he did, Light flooded his vision, brightening his surroundings to complete whiteness. Aries couldn't tell how far the light reached, as he couldn't see and was at the epicenter.
Due to this, Aries drew back the light by lowering his output. Eventually, his body only emitted a dim glow that could barely light his surroundings.
This was not a problem for him, as his eyes had night vision, and his sense of smell allowed him to direct himself.
This was the case normally, at least. While his smell was not affected, he couldn't see anything at all. His sight had been severely affected by the light. He would probably not be able to see for a few hours.
'At least I now know I'm not immune to my own ability.'
Closing his eyes and focusing on his smell and the vibrations around him, he moved on to the next ability— the last one he'd be testing for now. The last two were not capable of being used like the other two. He would have to wait till he was in a fight to test them.
He gathered his chi once more and unfolded his wings, emitting a cloud of golden smoke as he did. The smoke moved through the forest like a tsunami of gold, cutting past the trees and surrounding them.
While he could not see it, he could feel the cloud of smoke leaving his body, then brushing on his scales.
This was the full extent of the skills he could use outside of battle. Leaving the only thing left to do being training them. And so he did.
The sound of training filled the forest, but was only heard by Aries himself.
He trained through the night, getting as much practice as he could; he left no time wasted. And then…
…The sun rose.