"...I accept."
His expression remained stern, voice steady and unwavering.
The draconic spirit fell silent, backing away from him. As if willed by another, Isaac released his grip on the table, the pain gripping him slipping away as he sluggishly stood upright. The runes forming the progenitor's form began to glow, the wisps of energy at its crotch suddenly spreading and lengthening out to form thick muscled legs and large clawed feet.
It absolutely towered over him, the paladin's eyes in line with it's chest.
The spirit's humble reptilian eyes peered down at the plant man, voice rumbling and echoing throughout the room.
"Your will and mine are now as one..."
He nodded in response as he gazed up to meet the spirit's own, hand clutching the claw that remained embedded in his chest, runes slipping past his fingers.
"As our wills decree, we too must become one."
Slowly, Isaac's hand rose from his chest, arm outstretched and vine-like fingers open. The dragon mirrored his action, the spirit's large claws dwarfing what remained of the paladin's human hands.
The runes flowing from the claw began to swirl around the pair, Crawnav's notes scattering as the entire room lit up. The other relics remained undisturbed by the fluttering papers, and neither were paid any mind by the pair as they stared into each other's eyes deeply.
Time slowed as the progenitor's spirit leaned forward, the runes sinking into Isaac. The paladin's eyes closed, calmness radiating throughout his very soul as the dragon's spiritual body joined with his own.
Time flowed; pages of notes sliding to the ground below. The wisp-like runes all sucked into the paladin's plant-like form as the spirit vanished into him, collecting at the claw in his chest. The room flooded with shadow as the candle blew out.
For a moment, Isaac could only hear the sound of his beating heart, eyes opening without a break of his posture.
Immediately he crumpled to his knees, vine-like tendrils writhing madly. His fruit-like member spurted it's juice-like seed wildly as its head smashed against the ground. His brow furrowed at the untimely event, yet it could not be helped at how sensitive his member had grown with the vast amount of corruption it had been exposed to.
On cue, the paladin's hands shot up to clench around the claw at his chest, mouth agape in a silenced cry. Vines and his body's plant-like structure practically imploded, melding through what remained of his human skin and sinking out of sight. A stream of seed shot forth from his engorged member, balls contorting and gurgling as they emptied themselves of the corruptive substance, taking the form of a foul black sludge.
His spear shrunk with each squirt of the dark goo, the fruit-like shell encapsulating his cock bursting off as it returned to a more bearable size. His vine-like appendages fully retracted, sinking beneath his skin and melding into the bone beneath.
The tree trunks that were his feet creaked, releasing a final cry as they faded away into silvery grey runes. The fruit-like exterior of his cock and the vines that hadn't retracted met the same fate, wisps of energy flowing into the air.
Isaac stifled as a gasp as his clothing, or what remained of it, followed the discarded parts of his corrupted body, disintegrating into runes and swirling around his bare form. His fingers coiled around the golden dragon claw as the magic seeped into his chest, the stream of runes plunging the room back into darkness as it ended.
Leaning onto his side, Isaac's body shivered wildy, the stone floor cold against his bare skin, along with the frigid air of the crypt. A hand rose to grasp at his hair, momentarily relief and wonder filling the paladin as he caressed his hair. Hands clasping the edges of his face, the human relished in the temporary respite he had been granted. The dragon had truly reversed all signs of corruption. Even if it was temporary, becoming human for a mere second was better than being further twisted by the corruption.
Sluggishly rising to his feet, the paladin's eyes widened as a voice rang throughout his mind, akin to the gentle ringing of a church bell. The voice of the dragon.
'The corruption has been sealed and regressed, paladin. However, in order for the pact to succeed you must complete your part.'
'Are you ready?'
No hesitation plagued him as he nodded, hand clutched firmly over the protruding claw. The pain had faded after the dragon's spirit had entered him, a dull ache replacing it.
Isaac's hands withdrew from the center of his chest as the claw suddenly jolted, silent with dreadful anticipation. Slowly and painlessly, the golden claw began to emerge from his chest, the tip rotating until it pointed skyward.
The paladin's skin abruptly tightened, forcing him to draw breath as his entire body felt became wracked with the sense of intense compression. An immense dryness quickly accompanied the constriction, skin thickening and splitting apart in diamond-shaped cracks all across his naked form. The front of his torso and neck hardened into thick armored plates, darkening into a shade of midnight black. Cracking skin grew paler and paler as it discolored, bleaching and shifting into various hues of silvery grey.
Throat taut, an unpleasant sensation shot throughout his scaled body, muscles involuntarily tensing. Falling to the floor face-first with a strained gasp, his body spasmed and writhed without control. A sickening combination of squeaking and groaning resounded from Isaac's body, his muscles rippling and violently swelling within seconds. Noises like snapping branches echoed throughout the damp crypt, the paladin's pecs ballooning and expanding until they violently crushed his head. His belly groaned and burbled, cramping and vibrating as it ballooned out with a sickening gurgle; the swelling mass forcing the changing human's hips to squeak apart.
His scales tingled wildly, pressure building at his tailbone, the scaly skin below his hulking back beginning to tear. Wet squeaks and snaps flooded his ears as fat, muscle, skin, and scales formed around the length of quickly growing vertebrae, before a thick leathery tail flung freely from the paladin's backside, incomprehensible sensations filling his mind.
Isaac's body continued to swell, veiny monstrous arms growing inches longer by the second. Biceps and thighs swelled in unison as muscle surged, his backside bubbling out and growing firm, his hole clenching as it grew tighter. Sweat trickled down his distorted contracting hands and feet as they stretched and expanded, toes merging into three as they rapidly clenched. One by one, razor sharp, golden claws burst from his bloating fingers and toes, nails flying off as the growing talons replaced them.
Mimicking the growth of his tail, a set of arm-like growths forced their way from the paladin's continuously inflating, muscled back, skin and scales stretched along as they grew and filled with strength. Within mere moments the growths bore resemblance to a pair of shivering dragon wings tipped with golden spikes, interior matching the color of his plated torso.
The pain grew short as his heart suddenly ceased to beat. Neither blood nor corruptive essence flowed through his veins. His eyes grew dull, ringing overpowering the crunches and wet squeaks.
Momentary death ended as Isaac's heart began to pound, the heart of a dragon vigorously sending it's newly made blood into his distorted and swollen human neck and head, specks of white scales littered among the paling patches of skin, which immediately spread to consume the human skin. Sickening cracks and squelches resounded; his neck bloating, stretching and shaking violently as nerves misfired. A gurgle came from his mouth instead of a scream as his neck swelled inches thicker to fit the muscled physique below.
His face, the only remainder of his human self, warped and bubbled as silver scales fully overtook it. Human canines pushed from his gums, deadly pointed fangs grinding against the pitiful teeth of his human self. Pushed aside, they are quickly replaced by fangs fitting of the beast he was becoming, clumsily poking against the insides of his cheeks and mouth. Gurgles and rasps were all Isaac could muster up as his tongue bloated and elongated to lull free from his lower lip.
Like a bomb going off, his lower jaw snapped free, dislocating to extend outwards. Mere moments following, his nose violently pressed forward, skull stretching against it. Cartilage squeaks wetly; drool, blood, and sweat dripping from his rapidly growing face, stretching and bloating without end. Hair he had regained minutes earlier fell to the floor in small clumps as long and jagged golden horns grinded from the back of his skull. The front of his head resembled a snout as it was pushed outwards, twitching and swelling within random spans of time. His expressions grew less human with each push. Pearly white fangs clenched tight as they were moved, following the growth of his draconic muzzle.
As quick as it had begun, Isaac's gigantic maw snapped into place with a sickening, drawn-out crunch. Pupils dilated as they became slitted, shimmering with a renewed predatory vigor that failed to compensate as his draconic body spasmed wildly in a violent seizure. The bells grew quiet as the spasms faded to a light twitching.
'And now, you rest, my champion…'
The dragon's barrelled chest rose and fell rhythmically as it was thrust into the depths of unconsciousness, the gentle voice of its progenitor fading from its mind.