Main timeline, planet Kara.
The ethereal and sky-spanning River of Time flowed smoothly and tranquilly, enveloping all things unaware of its existence in the currents of time.
Looking down at the surface of planet Kara from tens of thousands of meters in the air, this once desolate and dim planet now bore many traces of green, gradually recovering the vibrant life it possessed before being eroded by the primordial sun god. The biodiversity within it also slowly enriched.
The current rulers of this planet are the dragons, known throughout the multiverse for their might.
True dragons common in the prime material plane could be seen on Kara now. Besides true dragons, the beings that lived here were either dragonkin or servants of the true dragons, or they were ordinary wild beasts or unintelligent magical creatures introduced to enrich the ecosystem.
Garon spent about fifty years in the new timeline of the continent of Ferun.
While only a year and a half passed in the main timeline.
In this year and a half, the dragons of planet Kara had stabilized the situation under the leadership of the legendary dragons. The Court of the Time Dragon, established to resolve conflicts between different dragon species, had been fully organized, gradually forming a unique operational model.
However, the Time Dragon was temporarily absent.
No coronation ceremony was held.
The Court lacked a sovereign with sufficient prestige.
This resulted in a lack of a figure of sufficient authority within the Court.
Although tensions between different dragon species eased, conflicts persisted, and occasional frictions occurred among the legendary dragons of the Court. As time passed, these unresolved tensions deepened, threatening to erupt into a major internal conflict among Kara's dragon population.
About two years of relative peace for the dragons of Kara were now tinged with a sense of brewing conflict.
In such a situation, during a sunny day, significant fluctuations stirred in the invisible and intangible River of Time, imperceptible to ordinary beings.
Within the territory of the Time Dragon, inside a dragon's nest built atop a high mountain, a diamond-scaled dragon opened its pale purple eyes.
The treasures covering Yuna rustled and slid off her body, clinking and clashing in the colorful light.
The Force Dragon girl lifted her head, her gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers of the nest to the turbulent River of Time in the sky.
Her expression shifted from confusion to joy.
"Garon is back!"
"That's great!"
After a small cheer, the Force Dragon's body became translucent and disappeared from the nest.
Simultaneously, ripples intertwined on the surface of the River of Time, eventually forming a semi-transparent portal. The head of a dragon with towering horns emerged first, followed by a neck encircled with black scales and a body adorned with silver scales.
After passing through the time gate, the silver dragon raised its head, half-closed its eyes, and spread its wings.
Garon took a deep breath.
With his breath, the intangible waters of time rushed towards him, eagerly absorbed by the silver dragon and quickly transformed into the power of time. The River of Time around Garon rippled gently, as if welcoming his return.
"The River of Time in the main timeline is more welcoming."
Feeling the quickly replenishing power of time within him, Garon exhaled deeply.
After spending so much time in restrictive timelines, returning to the main timeline felt like a fish returning to the sea, a bird to the sky.
Both his body and spirit felt a long-missed satisfaction.
"One day, I'll make the Rivers of Time in other timelines welcome me as well."
Thinking of the indifferent, even resistant Rivers of Time in other timelines, Garon resolved silently.
Perhaps because he had been away from the main timeline for too long, the River of Time now treated Garon with great enthusiasm.
No sooner had he appeared than countless waters of time, at a far higher efficiency than usual, poured into his body, forming a small vortex around him.
"Hmm?"
"The flow of time around me has sped up significantly."
Surprise showed in Garon's platinum eyes.
He hadn't expected this to happen.
His body was rapidly growing under the intense stimulation of the River of Time, bringing waves of drowsiness, urging Garon to sleep immediately.
Garon glanced down at the planet's surface.
The lush greenery, towering trees, and winding rivers marked significant changes on planet Kara, making it difficult for Garon to recognize his location.
Resisting the drowsiness, which was mild compared to the overwhelming sleepiness he experienced after consuming the gift from the god of light, Garon found it had little effect on him.
However, at that moment, the planet's gravitational field stirred.
The tides of force brought a familiar figure to Garon.
Yuna, with a flap of her wings, drew a beautiful arc in the sky, rapidly appearing beside Garon amidst the gusting wind.
Upon approaching, she examined Garon with a puzzled look.
"Eh, I feel like you've changed, but you look the same."
To Yuna, Garon's physique and appearance hadn't changed much since his departure, but the Time Dragon now seemed different in her eyes. She couldn't pinpoint the change but felt Garon had somehow altered.
On the other hand, seeing Yuna after more than fifty years, Garon's deep and tranquil gaze softened with joy.
Looking at the unchanged Force Dragon girl, Garon felt as if he had crossed ages.
To Yuna, Garon had only been gone for a year and a half.
For the long-lived legendary dragons, this was merely a brief separation, nothing significant.
Although Garon's body hadn't grown much, still a young dragon in the main timeline, he had indeed lived through fifty years.
The subtle changes Yuna sensed were the accumulation of those fifty years.
"Long time no see, Yuna."
Unable to resist, Garon moved closer to Yuna, gently rubbing his head against her slender neck.
In the soft clouds, the robust and graceful dragons drew close, their necks touching under the golden sunlight, their scales reflecting a soft golden sheen, shining together.
This gesture among true dragons is a sign of intimacy, typically seen between mates.
At the moment of contact, Yuna's diamond scales tightened abruptly.
She stiffened as if electrified, her pupils swirling, appearing dazed.
Seconds later, the slow-reacting Force Dragon girl finally understood.
She felt an indescribable tingling where her neck touched Garon's, her heart racing, blood flowing faster, feeling nervous and excited, wanting to pull away yet strangely unable to move, as if frozen.
"What, why, you what?"
Yuna stammered, still in an electrified stance, close to Garon.
Realizing his action was inappropriate, Garon moved away.
Moreover, Garon knew Yuna wasn't resistant to him.
Had she been, she would have blasted him with Force Dragon's breath when he approached.
With his psychological growth, Garon now longed for a mate. Normally, dragons feel this desire and capability in their youth, but legendary dragons develop quickly. It's not about physical growth but whether the heart harbors such thoughts.
He was fond of Yuna, a fellow legendary dragon, or else he wouldn't have allowed her to stay in his lair.
Whether personal feelings or compatibility of status and abilities, Garon felt Yuna was a suitable mate.
Yuna's willingness to stay by Garon's side likely indicated she shared similar feelings.
Garon, never one to be indecisive, and knowing Yuna had a great fondness for him, looked at the somewhat bewildered Force Dragon girl. After a moment of thought, he asked directly, "Yuna, would you like to be my mate?"
"I, you, I..."
Faced with Garon's direct question, Yuna became incoherent, dizzy, almost as if her head was smoking.
Garon smiled softly, his voice deep and gentle, "There's no need to rush. You can take some time to think about it."
Hearing Garon's words, Yuna gradually calmed down.
She sneakily glanced at Garon, her gaze slowly sweeping over his body.
Under the sunlight, the silver dragon's gaze was deep and gentle, his closely fitted scales gleaming, his majestic horns like a crown, and his massive body exceptionally robust.
Seconds later, Yuna whispered, "I've made up my mind."
After hesitating for a moment under Garon's gaze, Yuna mustered her courage, looked directly at Garon, and earnestly said, "I would like to be your mate."
Receiving Yuna's affirmative response, joy appeared on the silver dragon's face, almost human-like in its expression.
"But... I'm not ready to have little dragons yet."
Yuna had only recently entered her teenage dragon phase and was seventy years from adulthood. She wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of caring for dragon offspring so soon.
Garon chuckled, "Let's consider having little dragons after we reach adulthood."
He was still a young dragon in the main timeline.
Yuna nodded, then blinked and playfully said, "Okay, let's have several clutches of little dragons after we're adults, contributing to the legacy of the legendary dragons."
Though that was the plan, Garon thought, producing offspring with legendary dragon bloodlines wouldn't be easy.
Otherwise, legendary dragons wouldn't be so rare. Even the possibility of him and Yuna having offspring was uncertain; the chances of producing offspring from two different legendary dragon species were even lower. The more powerful the bloodline, the harder it was to conceive.
However, Garon was indifferent about having offspring; it wouldn't trouble him either way.
"Let's go, Yuna."
"Kara has changed a lot. I almost can't recognize the way."
Next, the two dragons, now confirmed as mates, soared through the clouds under the radiant sunlight, quickly reaching a majestic mountain.
Here, many different architectural styles could be seen.
Surrounding the mountain, various races inhabited the nearby forests.
Humans, winter wolves, ogres, trolls, gnolls, and minotaurs were mostly Garon's kin. Beyond them were unintelligent beings introduced to enrich the ecosystem.
The silver dragon descended upon the mountain summit, his draconic aura bursting forth, sweeping in all directions.
Every being touched by Garon's aura trembled, then, regardless of their actions, stopped to gaze reverently towards Garon's location before humbly lowering their heads, celebrating the Eternal Dragon's return.
Spreading his aura was not only to announce his return but also to inspect the changes in his territory.
Garon noticed many new beings in his domain that weren't there before.
Part of them were the creatures brought to Kara by the spellcasters Kritchens and Fred, as per his request.
Besides, Garon spotted some unfamiliar spellcasters.
These spellcasters were mostly of low level. Garon only briefly sensed them, paying them little mind.
After spending over fifty years in Ferun, witnessing over twenty saints capable of toppling an empire, Garon's perspective shifted.
His drive to expand his power was not as strong as before.
For a typical true dragon, whose power progression was slower, indeed, a kin-based force was needed to arm oneself, allowing the vast force to become extensions of oneself for better growth. However, Garon didn't need these.
His growth was too rapid.
Unless he constantly updated his kin, recruiting stronger beings, his current kin would soon lag far behind, becoming useless.
For instance, Garon no longer valued non-legendary beings.
His enemies were becoming stronger, making non-legendary beings less helpful.
At a certain level of power, quantity becomes meaningless.
Garon no longer needed his kin to hunt for food; he could draw energy from the River of Time, greatly reducing his dependency on flesh. Not eating for a year or more had no effect; at most, he might indulge when craving something tasty.
To Garon, kin were almost solely for managing his territory.
Aside from the Alphas with exceptional potential worth nurturing, the rest were dispensable.
After a brief moment, Garon withdrew his aura.
He then entered the dragon's nest carved within the mountain, now lavishly adorned and filled with treasures transferred from Noah and the lava demiplane. The enormous nest, hollowed out from the mountain, was piled with gleaming gems and countless magical items, dazzling enough to blind low-level spellcasters.
In Ferun, Garon hadn't focused on amassing wealth.
He couldn't bring much back anyway.
Transporting items not from the main timeline required vast amounts of temporal power, especially for powerful items.
Bringing back the six Imaskar artifacts had already strained Garon.
Fortunately, though powerful, the Imaskar artifacts were legendary equipment, not artifacts. Otherwise, Garon doubted he could have brought them to the main timeline. Even so, the effort was significant.
Garon stepped into the treasure-filled nest.
The River of Time continued to energize him, prompting his body to grow, waves of drowsiness washing over him.
"Yuna, I need to sleep for a while."
Inside the nest, Yuna, familiar with her surroundings, buried herself in treasure.
After hearing Garon, she peeked out, looking at him.
The silver dragon had already laid down atop the treasures, eyes closed, breathing evenly and deeply, slipping into sleep.
Yuna, reflected in various treasure hues, thought for a moment, then shook her head, moved next to Garon, and closed her eyes to sleep. Previously, she might have hesitated, but now, with their relationship confirmed, she felt it was acceptable.
In the luxurious and quiet nest, the two legendary dragons slept side by side.
The vortex formed by the River of Time around Garon also enveloped Yuna, merging with the gravitational energy attracted during her sleep, gently fostering the growth of the two legendary dragons together.
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