In the ocean, hundreds of meters of water depth is enough to block out sunlight.
The deep-water zone is defined as ocean depths below 900 meters, where sunlight from the sun is completely blocked by thick layers of water, making the waters ice-cold and pitch-black.
In even deeper waters, due to the terrifying water pressure, even steel would be twisted and compressed.
However, the giant dragon that had entered the thousands of meters deep seemed unaffected.
Dragons are creatures capable of living in the sea, land, and air. At this moment, Garon had tucked his dragon wings along the sides of his body, gently swaying his dragon tail, moving through the ocean as agilely as a swimming fish, causing only minimal water disturbances.
Even some small fish and shrimp could not detect Garon's passage.
As he descended further, Garon felt the surrounding water pressure increase rapidly with his depth. When he descended nearly ten thousand meters, the water pressure here was as oppressive as that within rock and steel.
The creatures that appeared at these depths often emitted different faint lights.
In the dead and dark deep sea at ten thousand meters, these lights were like specks of starlight against the deep night sky. Garon could see many unique creatures, like half-transparent shrimp with visible skeletons, and grotesquely proportioned ugly fish, among others.
Occasionally, there were also giant squids tens of meters long.
Garon ignored these creatures.
His gaze focused on the crisscrossing cracks, gullies, and deep trenches around him. This profoundly deep sea area was filled with pitch-black, quiet, and icy spots, wrapped in the endless ocean water.
This was not Garon's first visit to the deep sea.
In the past, to evade pursuit by the mechanical angels in Ferren, Garon had once dived into the ten-thousand-meter depths of the Starfall Ocean, which was charged with elemental energy and inhabited by countless magical creatures.
Creatures capable of diving into the ten-thousand-meter depths were numerous.
Moreover, because of the bright elemental glows, even the ten-thousand-meter deep sea was relatively bustling.
But this place was different.
This abyss was as quiet as a graveyard, silent and without any ripple, with the occasional passing bioluminescent fish resembling eerie phosphorescence.
At the same time.
The silver dragon landed on the rugged, cold hard seabed canyon rocks and paused his descent.
"Sure enough, hiding here."
Garon bowed his head, looking down at the deep, dark seabed canyon.
His gaze swept over the pitch-black waters, capturing everything in the area as if with radar.
Upon reaching this place, Garon finally sensed something unusual.
Though devoid of elemental energy, he could sense something different about the time flow here.
The time river that should have been flowing quietly seemed to have stalled here, forming a sort of time-stop zone in the deep-sea canyon beneath Garon.
As a Time Dragon, Garon was all too familiar with the powers of time.
The time domain here, though well-hidden, was now exposed to Garon's eyes.
"The First Iron Dragon King, I have found you."
The robust silver dragon took a deep breath, tons of seawater entering his lungs. After a brief pause, his body moved, stirring up a surge of underwater currents as he dived toward the time domain-covered deep-sea canyon.
Seconds later.
Amid a faint ripple of the time river, Garon felt as if he had passed through a layer of water in the sea. At that moment, a seabed mountain, seemingly made of pitch-black metal, appeared in Garon's view.
Hum!
Instantly, a deep and hoarse dragon roar sounded from somewhere, reaching Garon's ears.
"This is not your place."
The voice echoed, resonating simultaneously from different directions.
Garon halted his movements.
He cautiously looked below.
At the same time.
The more than five-thousand-meter-long, sprawling across the deep-sea, pitch-black mountain range trembled slightly, and two crimson orbs slowly lit up.
No, they were not orbs.
They were a pair of icy, cruel dragon eyes.
"Hisss"
Garon inhaled a breath of icy seawater.
What mountain, it was clearly a giant black dragon lying quietly in place!
A terrifying beast, five thousand meters long, covered with rocks and deep-sea moss, was sitting motionless, watching Garon with those crimson eyes.
The voice Garon had heard came from this giant dragon.
"This is the First Iron Dragon King."
Garon's gaze swept over the body of the First Iron Dragon King, calming his shocked emotions.
Meanwhile, his vision pierced through the rock layers, revealing the true form of this magnificent giant dragon.
The First Iron Dragon King's body, nearly all flesh and scales gone, exposed its steel-like internal organs and bones to the seawater, a heart missing large chunks still thumping, and its skull nearly reduced to a skeletal head with half a cranium missing. The dragon's most striking wings were one entirely gone, and the other tattered beyond recognition.
Only one word could describe it: tragic.
"Still alive with such severe injuries."
Garon was secretly alarmed.
With a length of over five thousand meters, Garon believed that a dragon of the First Iron Dragon King's strength must have something akin to a titanic transformation. What a terrifying spectacle his full-strength combat form must have been!
Garon could hardly imagine.
"Leave my territory immediately. Since you are a descendant of my kind, I will spare your life."
The voice of the First Iron Dragon King rang out, and the surrounding seawater began to boil.
But such words made Garon feel it was somewhat bluffing.
The First Iron Dragon King, enormous in size but severely injured, its wounds had not healed in tens of thousands of years, indicating that its actual condition might be even worse than it appeared.
Moreover, Garon noticed that this area was also affected by a time stop.
This time stop was not his doing but was a skill used by another creature with time powers.
The First Iron Dragon King's body and the surrounding area were almost entirely enveloped in the time stop.
At the same time, the forces of the time stop were quietly gathering around, targeting Garon.
"Is it about to die, only clinging to life through a time stop domain released by a time god nuisance?"
This thought flashed through Garon's mind.
At this moment, Garon licked his lips and said to the First Iron Dragon King: "I have long heard that the First Iron Dragon King was a godlike dragon capable of contending with the Metal Dragon God and the Immortal Dragon Successors."
"Elder, why not let me witness your power, how about it?"
The mountainous First Iron Dragon King fell silent.
Then, amid a low, angry roar, the entire deep-sea area seemed to tremble.
"As you wish!"
Saying this, the time stop domain suddenly erupted, enveloping Garon's body.
This highly respected First Iron Dragon King actually launched a surprise attack on Garon!
This indicated that it recognized Garon as a formidable and malicious visitor, and given its own state, it was indeed not optimistic, so it resorted to a surprise attack.
Unfortunately.
The First Iron Dragon King did not yet know Garon's identity.
The Dragon Mother had sent Garon to deal with it because Garon was a complete
counter to the powers of the time god nuisance.
Especially since the time god nuisance no longer had any autonomy, being merely a tool.
Next, under the heavy gaze of the First Iron Dragon King, the silver dragon smiled softly, glanced around, and said, "Elder, your time stop seems ineffective against me."
Pausing, Garon frankly said to the First Iron Dragon King: "Hand over the time god nuisance to me, and come with me to the Dragon Mother's divine realm. Isn't it better than lingering in pain here?"
The Dragon Mother didn't send Garon to kill the First Iron Dragon King.
What She wanted was a living, unresisting First Iron Dragon King.
On the other side, upon hearing the term 'Dragon Mother' and Garon's words, extreme rage appeared on the battered face of the First Iron Dragon King.
"So you are a subordinate of that despicable and evil dragon, Tiamat!"
Garon interrupted the First Iron Dragon King's words, saying: "No, I merely made a deal with the Dragon Mother."
After a brief silence, the First Iron Dragon King suddenly burst into laughter, saying, "A deal? Youngster, look at my current state!"
Its voice was filled with hatred, as if spitting out blades: "I ended up like this all because of a deal with Tiamat! And it all started from that one deal."
The First Iron Dragon King looked at Garon with pity, scoffing: "Making a deal with Tiamat, you'd better be prepared to be betrayed and killed by Her."
Garon shook his head slightly, saying: "Dragon King, there's no need for further words."
The First Iron Dragon King was no easy opponent, the only dragon to have caused trouble for the two strongest dragon gods in the dragon god system.
Combining the words of the Dragon Mother and the Metal Dragon God, it was easy to conclude.
Its current plight was self-inflicted.
Underestimating the power of the dragon gods, overestimating its own strength, it had only itself to blame.
As they spoke, the forces of time gathered, and the silver dragon's body grew massively, instantly transforming into a majestic dragon with a wingspan of over a thousand meters. Though still much smaller than the First Iron Dragon King, it was no longer a chasmic difference.
"After all, you are a dragon elder, and I do not wish to fight you."
"But if you remain deluded, I will have to be ruthless," said the titanized Garon in a deep voice.
"Heh, I have lain dormant for many years, it seems today's dragons have forgotten my fame and battle achievements."
The crimson eyes stared at Garon, flickering slightly, while the First Iron Dragon King remained motionless.
"Even though I am severely injured and near death, I am not a half-god little dragon you can provoke!"
At the same time.
In the dragon claws of the First Iron Dragon King, broken in several places, a brilliant radiance lit up.
A mirror, encased in a metal frame, shimmered into existence.
The moment the mirror appeared, Garon could sense disturbances in the time river, with currents of time gathering around the mirror, being rapidly absorbed by it.
"Has the time god nuisance turned into a mirror?"
"Or was it originally in the form of a mirror?"
Garon watched the mirror absorbing the time river waters, thinking to himself.
"Try the feeling of being killed by yourself."
The voice of the First Iron Dragon King calmly said.
Hum!
Dazzling brilliance emitted from the mirror, sweeping over Garon's body. In that instant, Garon felt the time river recording his just-past state.
It was somewhat similar to his phased casting.
As Garon watched in astonishment, the time river waters, centered around the time god nuisance, outlined a giant dragon silhouette with a wingspan of a thousand meters. Another Garon appeared in the deep sea.
Two pairs of platinum dragon eyes stared at each other.
Time's Mirror Image, the most powerful time-based ability of the time god nuisance.
It could summon an enemy from the past as a mirror image made of time forces, fighting on its behalf.
Garon's gaze became cautious.
Due to its severe injuries, the First Iron Dragon King, although possessing demigod-level combat prowess, seemed unwilling to move, thus only using the power of the time god nuisance against foes.
But even just the time god nuisance was not an opponent ordinary demigods could handle.
Garon could feel that this mirror image, summoned from just seconds ago, truly was his past self, possessing part of his own abilities.
This was a tricky enemy.
Garon knew himself, so he knew he was difficult to deal with, even if it wasn't himself with all his abilities.
On the other side, the mirror image Garon opened its dragon mouth.
Intangible, formless time forces interwove between the dragon teeth of the mirror image Garon, forming the Breath of Time Annihilation, about to be unleashed on Garon.
Just then, Garon suddenly discovered that he seemed able to sense the time forces within the mirror image Garon's body, as well as the mirror-like time god nuisance.
"No wonder the Dragon Mother sought me out."
With a thought, Garon's will connected with the time forces, instantly entering the body of the mirror image Garon and connecting with the time god nuisance.
The mirror image Garon's movements abruptly halted.
Here, he saw the spiritual imprint of the First Iron Dragon King.
Its spiritual imprint did not match the time god nuisance, and Garon noticed that the time god nuisance was still resisting the control of the First Iron Dragon King. As his will arrived, the residual instincts of the time god nuisance erupted.
Waves of time forces washed over the spiritual imprint of the First Iron Dragon King.
Garon also unleashed time forces, and with the cooperation of the time god nuisance's instincts, his will quickly expelled the First Iron Dragon King's imprint, gradually taking over the time god nuisance.
On the other side, the First Iron Dragon King's expression drastically changed.
Its connection with the time god nuisance was weakening, and at a rapid pace.
In an instant, the First Iron Dragon King realized it was about to lose the time god nuisance.
It made a decisive decision, unleashing all remaining spiritual imprints in a burst, commanding the time god nuisance to destroy itself.
Crisp, faint cracking sounds started within the body of the mirror image Garon.
Garon's expression became serious. Before the time god nuisance could completely shatter, he flashed forward, his dragon claw piercing through the heart of the mirror image Garon, grasping the time god nuisance within his claw, then rapidly injecting time forces, sealing it in time amber to halt its disintegration.
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT