A Chronometric Defect

Any problems with the array, Temp?

"None at all! Actually, I got stronger at some point last night, so I guess you did too? Thank you, my god!"

Is it okay if my AI inscription is worshipping me? I'm unsure whether that's ethical.

"Does that increase the efficacy in any way?"

"All except the Mana Gathering and Mana Densification inscriptions, my god!"

"Makes sense. Now, why have you begun calling me 'god,' Temp?"

"I watched your sermon, my god! I'm bound to your Will since I'm your inscription, and so, it only makes sense that I know your teachings! You, my god, are a wonderfully thoughtful being!"

"Rah, I'm glad it's just that. I worried you were being coerced."

"Absolutely not, my god! How would I be?"

"Perhaps by a too-zealous dragon, or a rabblerousing human?"

"I've used the golems to throw out a few such people already, my god!"

Hreh?

"Wait, you can control those? They aren't directly connected to your array. Arrays propagated via Isolation will isolate whatever arrays they propagate, dropping all other effects. The golems can't have the same inscriptions because they're outside the box I made, as it has Isolation inscribed on all six sides."

"Which is why I asked Aitia to fix that! Now they're a proper part of the temple, my god!"

How the hell did she manage that? Wait.

"You didn't secretly use an Engraving inscription to do it yourself? I've seen you edit your own array, you know."

"No, my god? I haven't done that! In fact, I can't do what you're suggesting at all! You'd need to add an Engraving inscription first! I... I don't have one."

Reh? He sounds sad. I check his inscriptions.

...

Nope, he's not lying. He really can't do that.

Then again, how did he become an AI in the first place? I'd assumed the array was more powerful than I thought, but...

I glance over at the three 'Improvement' inscriptions. They're glowing a bit brighter than the rest of the array.

Dang, it's probably those things doing random nonsense. Perhaps that's what's causing the kaizen to evolve, too. I really should've put more thought into those.

Mreh, too late now. Dragons never retreat.

"Alright, I'll give you an Engraving inscription. Just remember: what's granted can be easily taken."

"Yes, my god! Thank you so much!"

I inscribe Engraving into all six arrays. Hopefully Temp doesn't go too nuts with it.

"My god! Is it okay if I make improvements to my Improvement inscriptions? Oh, can I also engrave Engraving on your body arrays?"

Grah, me and my big dragon mouth!

...

Dragons never retreat?

"Go ahead, I guess."

I turn to face Dracosect.

"Dracosect, I'm going to give you a bit of the reward we'd talked about earlier this morning. Come over here, please."

"Yes, my god!"

I notice he isn't making much sound as he walks. The dense and rigid stone floor must be preventing some vibrations. This is good— better than I'd thought. Perfect for housing large dragons. Hrem. Maybe the inscriptions getting more powerful has dampened the sound? Either way, I like it. It feels a lot more 'godly' when we're giant dragons but we walk around silently. That's why I also like being silent.

"Alright. Here goes."

I connect with Causal Conduit and pour my power into his immense body. 140 meters is a skyscraper, so today you're scraping the sky, my most devoted follower. You earned this yourself— exactly as I'd hoped.

He bows his head and silently accepts my power, likely not wanting to be too ostentatious about the whole deal.

How very proper of him. Pride comes from showing off what we have, but not before it's fully ours.

I watch him enjoy the intense feeling a dragon receives as they grow stronger. It's similar to being sated after a good meal. Reh, he seems more at ease than earlier, maybe because he now knows he deserves this power.

"Congratulations, my claws. You've scraped the skies. One hundred and forty meters is the lowest measure of a skyscraper. This, of course, is not your limit."

"My devotion to you grows as I do, my god!"

That seems unlikely, but I'll take it.

I notice the improvement inscriptions are blazing brightly. I look at Dracosect's inscriptions. They're blazing as well. Rah crap, what's Temp doing now?

I watch Dracosect's wings shift and morph. Then, his dragonlike insect wings fully convert into a set of majestic dragon wings, though with insect-patterned membranes.

His middle set of arms shift inward, then are pulled into his carapace. The top set morph into draconic arms, growing bigger to mirror a dragon's well-built upper body. The lower pair, now his only pair of legs, likewise grows bigger. Each joint is covered by a large flexible armor which makes them appear covered with scales.

His tail surges larger and takes over his lower half, turning his still somewhat insectoid torso into a fully-fledged mirror of a powerful dragon. It grows longer as his legs shift backward, pushing his bipedal gait into a position perfectly matching that of a dragon, yet again.

His still partly compound eyes merge into two normal dragon's eyes, shift into the correct place for a dragon, and gain the same appearance and glow of a dragon. Except, they're not golden anymore.

They're red!

His carapace fades from its original multicolored appearance into a shiny black, then a dull black. The crystal shard on his forehead expands, the black within its depths flooding out to cover his entire body. It's not perfectly Mana conductive, but it's quite close. His body's coloration almost matches mine.

As his size passes 160 meters, I see his mandibles move around. The saw blade 'teeth' he possesses turn into pristine and well-proportioned dragon teeth. They're still huge and vicious, of course. His mandibles then close around his teeth and are covered with that same flexible armor from his joints.

He opens his new mouth and lets out a long, thick, forked tongue, along with a glob of saliva. He reels his tongue back in, then licks his new 'snout' where two thin nostrils are forming.

The spikes along his head and spine shift slightly. They become more angled and sharper; like a ripping tool rather than a saw blade.

I note this change is functionally superior compared with a typical dragon. Even my own spikes are not as curved, though they are to less of a degree than Dracosect's.

As his height surpasses 180 meters, his clawed fingers and feet expand slightly, their claws growing longer. His five-toed feet become four toed, then the fifth returns near the rear of each foot.

Looking at him now, he seems identical to a dragon, except for the fact that he's better armored, better equipped with various blades, and better structured for speed and power at the same time. He legitimately looks like an evolution of the dragon species. In some ways he mirrors me more than the typical dragon.

As his height approaches my intended 200 meters, one last change occurs. His back armor shudders a bit, then sprouts two large cylindrical barrels. They move around, become covered by a box-shaped layer of flesh, then armor, before finally sliding down into his carapace like an elongated set of kitchen drawers. Each one blends into his back armor seamlessly.

Those shouldn't be in this world.

Only I know how they work.

Dracosect, you're a—

Rocket Dragon.