The dragon that obscured the sky had silvery-white scales that clung tightly to its flesh, unusually broad wings, and a massive yet agile body resembling a mountain. Next to it, the White Dragoness seemed as tiny and delicate as a baby's toy figurine.
Irregularly spaced lines of black scales radiated across the enormous dragon's body, resembling the growth rings of a tree, exuding a mysterious and profound aura.
The dragon-shaped phantom smiled meaningfully at Garon, then flicked its tail, transforming into a streak of white light that instantly shrank and merged into Garon's body.
At the same time, the magic crystal within Garon's body seemed to experience ages in that brief moment, vanishing without a trace.
The surge of magical power also merged into Garon's body, augmenting his foundational strength.
Simultaneously, a wealth of new knowledge, like a dragon's heritage, emerged in Garon's mind, as naturally as if he had always known it.
The abilities of the time dragon of the River of Time, the future self lending time to its current self...
Garon stared at the disappearing dragon shadow, the howling cold wind, and the falling snow and ice crystals, a sudden enlightenment blooming in his heart, his emotions undulating like a roller coaster ride.
It turns out, I am a different kind of time dragon, disguised in the skin of a white dragon.
Or rather, a pseudo time dragon.
In the records of dragon heritage, excluding the numerous dragon beasts and subspecies, the most common true dragons in the main material plane—where Garon resided—included fifteen types.
There were the evil dragons, also known as color dragons, which included Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White Dragons, known for their selfish, chaotic, and cruel natures.
The noble and virtuous good dragons, also known as metal dragons, ranked by strength, included Gold, Silver, Brass, Bronze, and Copper Dragons. The Gold and Silver Dragons, the most noble and powerful, typically resided in dragon lairs or dragon cities, while the other three species mostly lived in the desert, underwater, or in the Yellow Mountains.
Additionally, there were five neutral gemstone dragons—Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz Dragons. These gemstone dragons were highly intelligent and generally peaceful, rarely engaging in conflict.
Red, Blue, Green, Black, White.
Gold, Silver, Brass, Bronze, Copper.
Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz.
These fifteen types were the most common true dragons.
Beyond these, there were other rarer true dragons like the Axis Dragon, Celestial Dragon, and Catastrophe Dragon, whose appearances were even less frequent.
Then there were the last three special dragon types, so rare they were nearly impossible to find across the endless worlds separated by the Crystal Barrier, even including planes beyond the main material plane.
The Force Dragon, the Rainbow Dragon, and the Time Dragon, capable of breathing time, devouring time, moving through past, present, and future, and eventually existing as an embodiment of time itself.
They were known as legendary dragons.
In natural breeding, these dragons were born extremely powerful, positioned just below the gods in the hierarchy of the plane, known as legendary creatures.
However, due to their extreme rarity, natural breeding was a chance one could only hope for, one in a billion.
The most likely way for them to come into being was through aberration in another species.
Among the legendary dragons, the Time Dragon was sometimes also referred to as the Chrono Dragon, the Epoch Dragon, or the Eternal Dragon, and was considered the rarest and most powerful of the legendary dragons.
Garon digested the new information in his mind, and using the reflection of the wall's ice crystals, he closely inspected the ring of black scales around his neck anew.
This ring of black scales, no longer just a useless decorative necklace in Garon's eyes, now held a different significance.
Circular, perhaps symbolizing the cycle of all things, perhaps representing the circle of time, a classic symbol of time itself.
He was a different kind of time dragon.
Unable to emerge as a legend at birth, but as an aberrant dragon, his potential for growth was immense, potentially even surpassing that of a normal time dragon, additionally endowed with the frosty power of a white dragon.
"No wonder my size is so much larger than Hill's, even the chief of the evil dragons, the Red Dragon, wasn't as big as me when it was born."
Garon took a deep breath, his spirit inevitably stirred.
Although any adult dragon was a top predator, this was contingent on not being reckless or provoking even more terrifying beings.
Not to mention the high gods, beings like legendary humans, demon lords, and archdevils all possessed the ability to slay dragons.
Among dragons, the white dragon was relatively weak and needed to be extremely cautious.
In this peril
ous world, fewer than one in ten white dragons survived to adulthood, dying in hunting accidents, due to dragon pride, or at the hands of human adventurers seeking to slay dragons.
Even as adults, they were far from being able to dominate a region before living long enough.
But a time dragon was a different story altogether.
The difference between a time dragon and a white dragon was like that between an adult dragon and an ordinary human.
An adult time dragon could converse with the gods as equals.
"If I can grow up as a different kind of time dragon, maybe I can become a Dragon God, or even the chief god of dragons!"
"No, aim even higher. Strive hard and become the god above all gods!"
Garon felt lighter, almost buoyant, as he indulged in limitless future possibilities.
Every creature, at the moment of its birth, possessed infinite potential, but with each choice made, the path narrowed, and these possibilities gradually dwindled until they finally vanished into nothingness.
At this moment, Garon, just born in the far northern ice plains, also possessed infinite potential.
What came next would depend on his choices.
Snap!
Garon suddenly slapped himself, stabilizing his drifting mind as his first decision.
"What are you floating for? Surviving is the real trick!"
"No matter how strong the potential, it only counts if you live to realize it! Those gods who have lived for millions of years are not to be trifled with. One slip, and you might end up being made into a time-related magical artifact, or have your soul ripped out and body stolen, or be enslaved and ridden."
So, quietly developing was the best course of action.
Garon quickly formulated a growth plan for himself.
The plan was simple: just survive in the far northern ice plains until he reached one hundred years old.
By then, he would likely possess the might of a normal time dragon, perhaps even stronger due to being an aberrant.
"Take it one step at a time. First, a small goal: live to adulthood."
A dragon reached adulthood at one hundred years, which seemed like a long time, but with enough food and a safe environment, eating and sleeping, a century would pass quickly.
The far northern ice plains, due to their harsh and frigid environment, were also known as the cold deserts.
As the name suggests, it meant a cold desert, rarely visited by humans, with few types of life, only some creatures with resistance to cold barely surviving.
However, for Garon, as long as he kept stable and didn't act recklessly, it was a good place to grow.
The only drawback was probably the scarcity of food resources.