Only seconds after awakening through the ritual, Adder had almost instantly passed out while being hugged.
With him to awaken bright and early the next day, only to find that the rest of his family had not slept a wink including poor Abner.
Though all three seemingly had gotten a bit better after seeing for themselves that Adder had truly been cured of his mysterious affliction.
Adder sat down and asked what had happened after he was struck down by the beastly Manticore.
Nira spoke to Adder of what happened, while Erdush handled the matter of breakfast.
And Abner happily sat next to his brother, who had become slacked jawed at the news that he had been passed out for over two weeks.
"Two weeks!"
Adder exclaimed, his crimson eyes turning bronze for the briefest second to those around him.
But Adder saw them, their forms sifted and knowledge was gained in that fraction of a second, Adder knew what had happened the moment it happened.
His divine power of judgement had returned, and Adder knew that this time it was here to stay.
Adder sighed as laid his head on the table, to the confusion of both Nira and Abner.
"Are you okay child?"
Erdush had walked as Nira asked the distraught Adder, Erdush accidentally laughed when his eyes laid upon the defeated serpent king.
"I take it, you know the reason for Adder's melancholia?"
Erdush served breakfast to the three before sitting down and started to explain.
"The reason for Adder's comatose state was due to him either consciously or unconsciously repressing his power of Judgement."
"His near death experience brought by the manticore was the final straw."
"Thankfully the ritual forcibly reawakened Judgement along with other things, which saved him."
Adder turned to Erdush, clearly confused before cautiously speaking.
"What else got forcibly awakened?"
He asked before reaching towards his plate, sunny side eggs and braised pork.
Adder started to gorge himself, as Erdush started to explain.
"That form you took on after you awoke."
Erdush spoke with little detail, only multiplying Adder's questions.
"Care to elaborate?"
Erdush got up from his chair and got out a pen and paper, and silently started to scribble something.
Abner decided to chime in, seeing his grandfather already being distracted with something else.
"You transformed when you awoke, it was amazing!"
"You were blazing with divine power, and you towered over all of us."
Adder was quiet as he listened to Abner excitedly talk about this other version of himself.
As he tried to think back to the moment his brother was talking about, he felt something stirring within himself.
With that great power awakening, Adder was overcome with a great feeling of dread.
'Later.'
He thought to himself, not wanting to focus on yet another ability he had no hope in controlling.
As that mysterious power returned to its slumber, Erdush handed Adder a drawing that depicted him that restless night, one that once again filled the young boy with that feeling of dread.
It pictured a shadowy figure, bearing a wide smile and two monstrous serpents that grew from his back.
Adder found himself enamored with this monstrous depiction of himself, him unknowingly awakening that mysterious power awakening once again.
This time Adder could not stop it, enraptured by that feeling of power that now filled him.
The power had finally awoken from its slumber, his bones shifted, muscles bulged, and all became clear once again to the serpent king.
Erdush, once aware of Adder's transformation, tried to get close to help the boy but was forced back due to a wave of Divine power that came from Adder's shifting figure.
Nira had become paralyzed by a feeling she hadn't felt in ages, and Abner ran to his grandfather.
Scales of purple and gold sprouted from multiple parts of his body, covering his hands and forearms.
The transforming Adder reached out his hand, and at the beckon of its master Serpents Ire flew to the serpent king's hand.
It too had changed after the ritual, gone was the lifeless grey color and pathetic size.
It now measured seven feet long, its flame-like blade adding another foot.
The divine spear was now made of gleaming bronze, with the spear's shaft covered with bright white serpent scales.
Two mighty serpents burst from the quickly growing boy's back, writhing and hissing with the power of a newborn's cry.
Divine power once again bursted to life and surrounded Adder's changing form.
Divine power and mana coiled and slithered around the now fully transformed Adder.
The serpent king rose gracefully to his feet, his head held up high and eyes sharp.
He took a moment to observe himself, his mind much clearly and stronger than the last time he was in this form.
"Well this sure is something."
The serpent king hissed out as he inspected himself, trying and failing to to keep his focus on the world around him.
The noble figure turned to Nira, before slowly making his to her.
The look on Nira's face was not of fear or disgust at Adder beastly form, it was one of wonder, hope, and anticipation.
"I'm sorry I've made you wait for so long, mom."
Erdush was stunned once again by Adder, but it was not what the serpent said that stopped the old man.
It was how the serpent king said those words that made Erdush pause.
This mountrous snake man who spoke in hisses, spoke in such a warm and loving tone.
His inhuman crimson eyes were soft, and his forked tongue hissed such loving words.
Erdush seeing this somewhat calmed down, what was until the two serpents plunged their fangs into Nira's neck.
"I do wish that there was another way."
Nira instantly went limp and still even as the two serpents retreated their fangs, she did not or could not stir.
Adder then turned to the shocked old man, his face changing to a wide grin.
"Let's enjoy this Grandfather."
…
Erdush was dragged out of the cabin by the mad serpent king, Adder then placed the old man within the training grounds.
Adder smiled as he handed Erdush his weapon, the pure lance Longinus.
The whole spear was seemingly forged out of pure silver, making Longinus look more like an art piece than a weapon.
But both Adder and Erdush knew what he could accomplish with Longinus in his grasp.
Abner tried to get between the two, but it only took Adder a moment before convincing his brother to allow this farce to happen.
After putting his grandfather where he needed to be and pacifying his brother, Adder then started to stretch, readying himself for this little match between him and his grandfather.
Erdush used this little respite to organize his thoughts and feelings.
There were many names for heightened states of power one could tap into.
The berserkers of Bellfirst, the radiant giants from the spirelands, the phantoms of far isle.
All had different origins and legends that surrounded them, but all had a singular similarity.
These heightened states of being granted great power but came with a burden.
The beastly forms that are unique to wardens were called apex forms, forms that granted more of the abilities and powers of their Prisoner along with a massive boost to their power.
Though of course one needed an incredibly strong foundation for any of these battle forms to be of any use.
Said foundation was made up of two parts, first being a strong body so they could handle the strain of taking on such form.
And the second piece…
"You didn't have a great childhood did you kid?"
Erdush said, his face and voice full of sorrow.
The serpent king stopped mid movement at Erdush's question, before breaking out into a fit of mad cackling.
Adder's act of caressing his facial scar while laughing was the only answer Erdush needed.
The second piece, the most important one to many, is a healthy mind, a strong clear mind that can handle the mental stress that comes with a heightened state of being.
And Adder did not have such a mind, of course he didn't.
Abandonment and loneliness being all he knew for such a very long time, a mind such as his was not something that could be fixed with a few months of joy and love.
And now it was up to Erdush to face the mad king's wrath, Erdush sighed as he got into a fighting stance he hadn't used in years.
"I'm so sorry, Adder."
Erdush said at almost a whisper, his eyes burned but locked onto his grandson.
And the mighty serpent king's smile only grew deeper, absolutely filled with anticipation.
…
In that second the two launched at each other, Erdush being the first to attack.
Though Adder instantly shifted his body to avoid the stab, his eyes forever locked on the old man.
Erdush intrepidly continued to attack, hoping to end this farce quickly to see if Nira could be saved.
But every blow missed its mark, every stab hit nothing, and the mad king only continued to smile.
'Fine.'
Erdush thought as his divine power roared to life, surrounding his body like a raging fire.
Adder only grew more excited at his grandfather finally taking him seriously.
Adder slightly shifted his stance, before he spoke.
"Finally the Holy Lancer takes up his weapon once more."
Erdush said nothing as decades of training and experience awoke within him, and with it small wisps of divine power started to float around him.
This was his battle art, the Glim Vigil art, one of the seven hallowed arts created by Sardoll.
An art meant to use every bit of divine power one could have access to by creating glims.
Glims, a small fraction of divine power which takes the form of a small ball of fire, and with these glims one could make full use of every drop of divine power with absolutely no waste.
The glims coalesced onto Loginus' blade, and not even a second after Erdush's spear lashed forward.
But instead of Hitting Adder or the mad king once again dodging the attack, Adder did something far worse.
The two spears met each other in a mighty clash, like two ships smashing head on into each other.
This fact made Erdush's blood run cold, at the realization.
The very moment Erdush started to use his battle art, Adder's fighting style changed.
Into something very familiar, and as Erdush watched as glims started to form and float around Adder.
Erdush had to accept an uncomfortable truth, that Adder had been using Judgement since the very moment he transformed.
And Erdush grip tighten as he saw the serpent king's eyes flash bronze for a fraction of a second.