To Ascend (final) (Patreon)

Time blurred, as it had before, into a mixture of softness and fullness with a drunken haze that hung over everything like a warm blanket. Flow lay suspended, both in time, and upon herself - for she had most certainly lost her ability to walk and with it the acolytes at the temple had rolled her onto her ponderous stomach where she remained entirely beached. She could feel the temple’s stone beneath her, tender scales picking up the outline of every brick - and the occasional pillow that had become lost under her gut. The temple walls seemed to get a little closer every day, their towering facades inscribed with old runes that told stories of ancient dragons, but Flow knew it was more likely the horizon that her stomach had become was growing to meet them with every passing meal. When her newly enhanced draconic senses were not picking up the scent of the robed acolytes that served her, she was being taunted with the smell of meals to come drifting from a kitchen nearby that she had never visited, and had no chance of visiting now. As the last weeks of her transformation completed she realised she had completely outgrown the door - both in width and in height, her scale would be massive even were she not afloat in a sea of her own fat.

The cool stone bricks beneath her had quickly warmed under Flow’s elephantine weight and she could sense more and more of herself spread out across those bricks with every passing day. When, cheeks tinted red, she wasn’t close to passing out from the copious amounts of fine wine she had consumed, Flow thought she could feel every wobble, every ripple of every pound of the massive creature she had become. It started with her neck, where her face was sunken into a vast collar of blubber that blurred the edges of her vision at all times. That collar of fat wobbled with every motion of her throat, rippling with every gulp, every slurp. It caught the majority of the splattered, lost food, but the acolytes were thorough in their duty to keep her clean and made sure to wipe her down after every meal. Then there were her shoulders, her back, her breasts. Each jiggled and wobbled with any slight motion, spurred on by the acolytes as they climbed against her mass like she was made of pillows. Their lithe feet found purchase upon her scaled gut as their hands pulled them up upon her breasts where they were passed the meals that would be fed to her. And of course, her stomach itself. A massive, bloated organ, ever full, ever demanding, ever digesting. It was a monument to her gluttony, lifting her feet into the air and filling up the massive room to which she had been moved. She wondered at times if being sated would ever last more than a few hours, but the thought fled her mind as so many did after she realised that it was more fun this way. More decadent.

After all, she was a regal dragoness, why shouldn’t she indulge herself? Why shouldn’t she have all that she was afforded, and more? Lynn’s acolytes seemed more than capable of looking after the trivial aspects of her life, they kept her well washed and her scales glimmering with her majestic beauty, why should she not simply lay back and indulge? Or rather, lay forward upon the sloshing waterbed that her body had become.

Glad to see you’re embracing the lifestyle, pet.

Lynn’s voice, unmistakable, sultry and burning like fire, echoed through Flow’s mind and commanded her attention immediately.

“H-aad” She paused, grappling with the sheer enormity of her cheeks and the pressure of her chins against her jaw. Flow realised she hadn’t spoken in days, hadn’t made any noise at all save the demanding groans from her stomach and the somewhat more pleasured ones that rumbled up her throat during her feedings. “Hard to do mush elsh.” She replied, trying for petulance and succeeding only in getting the words out. It’s true she enjoyed her new life, but some part of her resented how it was sprung upon her.

It’s too late for regret, my pet. YOU were the one who plucked the Dragonstone from the temple. YOU were the one who wore it without checking to see what magics lay within. From the moment you picked it up all those months ago your destiny was all but set.

“Shomehow I -” she belched, quite involuntarily, sending specks of spittle across her cheeks, something that happens when one’s body is 90% digesting food tank 10% person, “shomehow I doubted I would end up thish... fat.” The Dragonstone - the relic she had found which had started all this, had long since sunken into her flesh itself. It was likely absorbed as the spell reached completion.

Oh? You think ancient magics just power themselves? Perhaps if you were a bard the spell would have been fueled by the adoration of your fans, a paladin might have fueled it with acts of glory - but what are you? A succubus in training, your OWN magic is fueled by mine. By Greed.

Greed. It made sense in a way, the ancient spell had to draw upon something deep within her. Had she resisted the temptation to give in to her hunger she might have remained a ratkin, might have remained the noble sorcerer she once was. She wasn’t sure if she was ashamed or proud of what she had become, what had transpired. But Flow recognised that something had to be lost to make something new.

Had I not pulled this little temple together, you would have eaten yourself out of house and home. And I’m glad I did, complain all you like, I can plainly see you enjoy it. The food, the wine. Even the size of what you’ve become leaves you squirming and blushing when you think nobody’s watching.

That brought a blush to Flow’s cheeks. Of course, she could not conceal anything from Lynn, the succubus shared her soul after all. Her blush brightened, how could she explain? How could she explain that her size, the constant feedings, the very uselessness of her arms, it all aroused her inexplicably. The thought of what she was burned in her mind, swaddled in the blubber of what she had become.

There is no need to feel shame, my pet. I have realised for some time now our adventures are over - don’t panic, dragons live long lives and my essence will remain with you, a smouldering coal to keep this flame of your passion ignited for decades to come. You will be celebrated here, for everything I stand for. Greed, gluttony. A monument to one who could let herself go so utterly and truly.

Flow’s blush only intensified. She was being abandoned - no, being made a mockery of. A monument? More like a cautionary tale. It had been but a scant few months back when she had held the power, she had been a succubus-in-training, one of the most powerful mages in the world. Now she couldn’t, wouldn’t lift a finger to cast a spell. Not so long as there was food in front of her, and there always was. She couldn’t help but plunge her greedy snout into any meal that was offered, couldn’t stand the feeling of hunger.

Oh, don’t be like that. As I said pet, dragons live a long time. This isn’t the end of your story, just an interlude, I’m sure.

Flow wasn’t so sure. The dragoness’s stomach growled hungrily, a loud noise that echoed through the stone walls of the temple. She could hear the sound of the acolytes stirring and could smell the feast they had been cooking up for the last few hours. She knew that as soon as the first pitcher of wine had sloshed down her throat she would be beyond the questions of what her fate should and shouldn’t be, lost in the contentment that only filling her massively engorged stomach could bring.

Good pet. Believe it or not, this whole temple to gluttony thing is a big hit in the Abyss - you’re practically powering my palace at the moment.

She didn’t give Flow time to make a snappy retort - even as the former sorcerer’s brain sluggishly tried to think of one. Whether through exertion or simply an inopportune time, she felt a fart ripple out of the twin boulders her ass cheeks had become, only cementing her embarrassment. That too had become a part of her new life and her inability to control it was nightmarish in the moments her mind was clear enough to think about it.

I’m going to leave you now, I’ll check in now and then - with my new protege, I’m sure. Oh - and I informed your parents, Lord and Lady Weatherwind as to your current location, but not your new condition. They’ll be arriving shortly - have fun.

Flow gulped. Oh fuck.