A second later, the rippling waters of the River of Time subtly changed, displaying a mirror-like appearance, reflecting a scene that shook Garon deeply.
It was a hatchling dragon, one that lay at the mouth of a cave, watching the increasingly approaching Dragon Mother with a face full of nervous urgency.
The moment Garon saw this hatchling, he sensed an urgent plea emanating from it, as if it was seeking his help.
"This, it wants to borrow the power of time from me?"
A sense of enlightenment grew within Garon.
In a moment of crisis, the hatchling had unwittingly used the reversal of the Time Dragon, seeking help from its future self.
If that were all, Garon might have been astonished, but not utterly shocked.
What truly shocked him was that he was looking at a red dragon hatchling—a red dragon with fiery red scales, tender horns on its head, and a ring of black scales around its claw wrists.
The approaching Dragon Mother was a Red Dragon Mother, significantly larger and bulkier than the White Dragon Mother, her scales thick and her body exuding a fearsome fiery elemental energy, far stronger than the White Dragon Mother.
Moreover, her nest was not in the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest, nor even on the Northern Ice Plains.
Her nest was located within a volcano filled with dark brown soil and stone, where the ground below was cracked and barren, with slowly flowing hot lava visible, and the air slightly distorted by the heat.
The only similarity she shared with Garon, besides having the same platinum dragon eyes, was also seizing the opportunity to eat one of the Dragon Mother's gems while she was away.
"What is this situation?"
Garon was puzzled.
How could he be its future? They weren't even the same species.
Time seemed to slow down, as the Red Dragon Mother drew closer to the cave, and the urgency on the hatchling's face intensified. If its actions were discovered by the Red Dragon Mother, it would be directly driven out of the nest, and being just a hatchling, it had no ability to protect itself.
Garon empathized with the hatchling's anxious expression.
After all, he had experienced that same moment—the heart-pounding tension that almost leaped out of his chest was something he still hadn't forgotten.
Due to the urgency of the situation, Garon didn't dwell on this peculiar circumstance any longer and decided to help the red hatchling.
He opened his bright eyes, summoned the power of time within him, and instinctively infused the power of time into the temporal ripples.
In the red hatchling's timeline, time abruptly stopped.
Garon's power of time transformed into a giant white dragon identical to himself, flowing upstream from the illusory River of Time, appearing before the red hatchling. In its astonished gaze, the white dragon turned into a streak of light, merging into the red hatchling's body, accelerating its absorption of the magic gem.
In that moment, Garon could see the confusion in its eyes, the very image of accepting the Time Dragon heritage.
Although different in appearance, birthplace, and even species, just by observing its reactions, demeanor, and some small habits, Garon was convinced—it truly was a past version of himself, sharing the same soul.
At the same time, the temporal ripples gradually disappeared, and calm returned to the surroundings.
Yet, Garon's inner confusion lingered on without resolution.
His brow furrowed slightly in thought over this bizarre occurrence.
"Does a different timeline's version of me not necessarily turn into a white dragon?"
"Besides this red Garon, maybe there's also a gold Garon, a silver Garon, or even a pure legendary Time Dragon?"
Suddenly, Garon thought of the giant dragon apparition he had seen that day.
The apparition's appearance was not exactly like his current form; it was hardly comparable, only sharing the platinum color of their dragon eyes.
Originally, Garon had firmly believed that he would grow into that appearance—charcoal gray scales, the irregular twelve black scale rings. But now, after experiencing this peculiar situation, he wasn't so sure anymore.
The target of the Time Dragon Reversal now seemed not to be limited to Garon's own timeline.
Pacing back and forth in the dragon's nest with a focused expression, he considered various possibilities.
After about half an hour, Garon shook his head, his gaze cleared, and he stepped out of his contemplative state.
"A creature from birth to death experiences countless choices, each choice a branching turning point."
"The branches of the River of Time are as numerous as the stars in the sky; only the current me is the most real. The future is merely a possibility. It might happen, or it might not, all depending on my choices."
Garon wasn't sure if this idea was correct.
Though endowed with the power of time and favored by the River of Time, he still knew very little about
the vast and mysterious river, understanding only a fraction of it.
As for that completely different past self, Garon could only think of the explanation of different timelines.
In his timeline, he was an anomaly as a white dragon, but it was not necessarily the same in other timelines.
Once his thoughts settled, Garon then noticed the changes in his own body.
His body had subtly shrunk, a very slight change that would not have been noticeable if Garon were not so sensitive to his own size. In addition, much of the power of time and magic within him had diminished.
It was as if time had reversed on him.
Garon mused, "This must be the price of agreeing to help across different timelines."
Thinking this, Garon suddenly had an idea.
He took a deep breath, highly concentrated, and looked towards the River of Time.
"Let's see if I can reclaim some energy."
He had always possessed the ability of Time Dragon Reversal.
Using Time Dragon Reversal, strands of invisible temporal power spread out, following the River of Time with Garon's request towards a possible future, hoping for a response.
However, to his disappointment, Time Dragon Reversal was ineffective as usual, failing to borrow time.
The River of Time flowed steadily, undisturbed, not even causing a ripple, as tranquil as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, Garon sighed and stopped the Time Dragon Reversal, unwilling to waste any more power of time.
Only the first use of Time Dragon Reversal had been successful; none since had worked, leaving Garon frustrated and secretly cursing his future self for being stingy.
His execution was flawless, the only possible explanation for the lack of response being that his future self was unwilling to lend.
The idea of borrowing regenerative power from his future self fell through, but Garon wasn't disappointed.
He had grown numb to it.
At the same time, he silently vowed that unless it was a major life-or-death crisis, he would absolutely not lend to his past selves from different timelines in the future.
Why should his present self lend to his past if his future self wouldn't lend to him?