In the icy waters of the Antarctic, the body of the First Iron Dragon King lay like a massive mountain sprawled across the sea.
At this point, Garon, having reverted from his titanic form, appeared minuscule in front of the First Iron Dragon King, like a pebble next to a boulder. He approached the time-amber-sealed First Iron Dragon King, gazing into its crimson dragon eyes.
Seeing the tragic appearance of the First Iron Dragon King, Garon couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
"Falling to such a state, it might have been better off dead."
Garon didn't know how the Dragon Mother would deal with this demigod dragon, but he suspected it wouldn't involve gentle persuasion.
But that was no longer Garon's concern.
His task was completed, and now it was up to the Dragon Mother to figure out how to restore his divinity.
Turning away, the silver dragon looked back at the trails left in the sky by his and the First Iron Dragon King's flight.
Due to the prolonged chase around the globe, many ecosystems suffered greatly from the aftermath of the battle between the two monstrous dragons.
Hurricanes, earthquakes, torrential rains, and lava flows wreaked havoc around the world.
As the instigator, Garon hadn't intended for this to happen.
He held some affection for this planet, after all.
But battling such a powerful creature as the First Iron Dragon King, he couldn't control the battlefield as he wished. The aftermath of a battle involving godlike beings was, in reality, trivial for the planet but disastrous for its ordinary inhabitants.
"There's no elemental energy here, no access to supernatural powers; the creatures here are too fragile."
Humans on Earth, with their devastatingly powerful weapons, still couldn't change the frailty of their own bodies and were defenseless against natural disasters.
"Enough, I should give something back to the creatures of Earth."
"I hope to see humans from Earth in other worlds in the future."
Garon made a decision.
Once again, the silver dragon invoked his titanic form, plunging into the depths of the Antarctic waters amid towering waves.
Below the deep sea, Garon took a deep breath.
Dragon might surged, sweeping across the ocean.
Within the reach of his dragon might, countless creatures instantly died, their bodies disintegrated into dust, turning the blue Antarctic waters a deep red.
The scent of blood was overwhelming, the ocean turning into a sea of blood.
Meanwhile, this bloody sea began to boil like water on a stove. As time passed, a spectacular vortex appeared on the surface, at the deepest point of which the silver dragon, with his eyes half-closed, rested.
Countless streams of blood were drawn from the vortex, endlessly entering Garon's body.
The magical power he had nearly depleted in his battle with the First Iron Dragon King visibly replenished.
This was Life Rendition, a mid-level necromancy spell that, when cast by Garon at his full power, created a scene akin to a sea of hellish blood.
Soon, Garon's magical power was fully restored.
The color of the bloody ocean lightened, indicating the Life Rendition spell was still active, meaning he needed more magical power replenished.
Deep, thunderous chanting echoed across the skies.
With the complex incantation, magical runes flew from Garon's body, shimmering in the air before vanishing.
Hum!
After intense spatial fluctuations, a towering gate with a pale blue sheen appeared in the depths.
This was a legendary spell, the Gate of Elements.
Garon had gathered this legendary spell back on the Metal Dragon Island in Noa Continent, and it was one of the spells he mastered during his decades in the Ferun Continent.
The spell was specifically used to alter the concentration of elemental energy in some worlds.
Its casting principle was simple: create a portal connected to an elemental plane abundant with unrestricted elemental energy and channel that energy into another world.
As the gate connected to the water elemental plane solidified, vast amounts of water elemental energy began to pour into the planet.
And Garon was not done yet.
He cast the Elemental Gate four times in succession, connecting to the four elemental planes.
Earth, air, water, fire—the most fundamental elements, upon which the Prime Material Plane itself was believed to have been created.
After a while.
When four ethereal Elemental Gates stood at various points, and the previously bloody sea calmed, crystal-clear water droplets glistened as the silver dragon burst from the sea, appearing under the starry night sky.
Garon stood quietly in midair, bathed in moonlight.
His platinum dragon eyes reflected the four Elemental Gates and the elemental tides converging into rivers stretching into the distance.
"From now on, Earth's creatures will have the opportunity to step into the supernatural."
Garon had exerted great effort, and the four majestic Elemental Gates would remain for decades.
Decades later, when the Elemental Gates finally collapsed, Earth's environment would have been permanently transformed; nourished by elemental energy, it would naturally produce new elemental forces.
However, connecting to the four elemental planes was not without risk.
At that moment, Garon saw various elemental beings curious about their new environment entering through the gates.
Noticing Garon, these beings froze, daring not to stir.
Once Garon left, they would undoubtedly become less restrained.
Garon believed that with Earth's capabilities, it could safely navigate the initial discomfort and difficulties of the emerging elements, eventually embarking on a path perhaps even he would find astonishing.
Danger comes with greater opportunities.
Next, Garon withdrew his gaze and exhaled deeply, feeling a trace of fatigue.
After the chase and battle with the First Iron Dragon King and the focused effort to construct the Elemental Gates, Garon now desperately wanted to sleep.
However, his task was not yet complete.
There was one last step.
Garon looked towards the mountainous body of the First Iron Dragon King, still unable to help but marvel.
"Such a spectacular dragon form, enviable indeed."
Then, Garon, while drawing on the newly born elemental energy, began to construct a new spell using his magical power.
Soon, a bronze gate adorned with skulls and wailing souls emerged from the void, towering hundreds of meters high in the sky, gradually opening.
Beyond the gate, Garon saw an endless vista of scorched wasteland, flames, corpses, and blood.
This was a portal to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells.
"Dragon Mother, the First Iron Dragon King is now yours."
Garon silently called on the name of the evil dragon mother in his heart.
The next second.
A giant dragon claw covered in multicolored scales, the same one that had intercepted the divine light sword for Garon, slowly extended from the portal, grasping the time-amber-wrapped tail of the First Iron Dragon King and dragging it toward the gate to Avernus.
During this process, the body of the First Iron Dragon King shrank simultaneously.
When it was dragged to the gate of Avernus, it had shrunk just enough to pass through the bronze giant gate.
Quickly, the body of the First Iron Dragon King disappeared into the bronze gate, and the portal to hell did not vanish with it.
A strand of divine power descended, and with Garon's permission, the voice of the Dragon Mother sounded in his ears.
"My child, I knew you could defeat the Iron Dragon King."
"I am pleased and genuinely joyful at your growth."
"Soon, the dragon race will gain another immortal being of godlike power."
The Dragon Mother seemed very pleased, her voice tinged with a slightly heavy breath.
Pausing, She invited Garon: "If you wish, you can come to hell, visit my divine realm, and I will personally converse with you in my true form."
The realms of deities are built in certain locations of the Outer Planes.
A divine realm is mainly dependent on an Outer Plane but is also an independent extradimensional space, a domain belonging to a deity.
The Dragon Mother's divine realm was located in Avernus of the Nine Hells.
The bronze gate remained wide open, as if waiting for Garon's response.
Garon was quite moved by the invitation.
He had never been to hell nor to a divine realm before. To say he wasn't curious about a realm belonging to a deity would be unrealistic.
After pondering for a moment, Garon nodded and smiled: "I, too, am eager to see the true form of the Dragon Mother."
Firstly, the Metal Dragon God was aware of Garon's deal with the Dragon Mother and had been silently observing this affair.
And Garon didn't think the Dragon Mother had any ill intentions towards him.
Because if She had, She could have acted when he was much weaker than he is now.
Garon now knew that the first time he used the Dragon Reversal, he had already been exposed to many dragon gods. When facing a god's avatar, it was the first time the dragon gods had revealed themselves, showing their interest in him.
At that time, he had traveled back and forth to the Lava Demiplane several times.
For a dragon as powerful as the Dragon Mother, if She had had ill intentions, Garon would have been captured and taken to Her divine realm long ago. And now, as a demigod, stopping him from initiating Dragon Reversal would be much harder than before.
If he were to encounter another powerful divine attack.
Garon felt his Dragon Reversal would not be interrupted, but of course, he would prefer not to repeat such an experience without good reason.
"My child, I am glad you are not afraid of me."
"Your trust will be rewarded."
The Dragon Mother's voice, tinged with contentment, sounded.
Garon nodded gently and flew up into the sky.
After one last look at the planet of his birth, he entered the bronze gate without looking back.
Creak!
As the silhouette of the silver dragon vanished behind the bronze gate, the towering gate to hell slowly closed, fading from solid to ethereal, disappearing into thin air.
The two dragons had left this world.
Only the ongoing calamities around the world and the four Elemental Gates standing in the Antarctic waters remained, bearing witness to their presence.
This was a land of shattered rocks and scorched marks, barren mountains devoid of grass, crisscrossing hills, streams flowing across the desolate land bearing bones, and a blood-red sky. Hellhounds, lesser demons, succubi, and nightmares roamed the scorched land, contributing to the landscape of Avernus.
This first layer of hell was ruled by a devil lord.
But at the same time, it was home to a more powerful entity than the devil lord, the evil dragon mother of the dragon race, Tiamat.
Having passed through the gate of hell, Garon's surroundings transformed, and he found himself under a blood-red sky.
He surveyed the land, witnessing the terrifying landscape as if the air were filled with the scent of charred corpses, and blood-red fireballs danced in the air, occasionally exploding violently.
Grotesque lesser demons, composed of rotting flesh and human limbs, scurried across the blackened land, emitting unintelligible, piercing screams.
"This is Avernus."
Garon observed the land with curiosity.
Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, was a new experience for him, though he had known of it through the legacy of dragons.
Avernus served as a major rallying point for the devil armies of the Blood War, where countless demonic forces assembled, ready for battle.
The Blood War—a conflict that had spanned hundreds of thousands of years across the multiverse.
The endless war between devils and demons.
Inhabiting the Nine Hells, the devils, and residing in the Abyss, the demons, shared a hatred well-known by almost all creatures of the Prime Material Plane and the Outer Planes.
How the Blood War started was no longer recorded.
But now, the Blood War had become a vast conflict affecting several Outer Planes, causing countless storms of blood and wind.
The war between dragons and elves had just begun.
But the war between devils and demons had continued for countless millennia, even becoming a routine part of the multiverse, with some daring souls voluntarily participating in the Blood War to serve one side for glory, power, and wealth, though most merely met their deaths.
"Without the Blood War, the main energies of devils and demons would probably be spent on harming other worlds."
Garon gazed into the distance, spotting a towering bronze fortress.
Countless armored devils guarded it.
For the stability and harmony of the multiverse, the bloody war was indispensable.
Even with the Blood War, many worlds suffered under its influence, and without the internal strife of the war, the evil and powerful beings like devils and demons would become a terrifying tide that could devour worlds.
"How about it, does this beautiful hellish scenery enrapture you?"
Suddenly, a seductive and magnetic dragon voice sounded next to Garon.
Garon was startled.
He turned his head and saw a woman with a lazy expression, narrow phoenix eyes, and a faint smile playing on her lips.
The familiar aura and voice immediately made Garon recognize her identity.
The evil dragon mother, the immortal Dragon Queen, the draconic evil deity residing in hell, Tiamat.
The Dragon Queen's true form was known to possess five dragon heads, a fact all dragons were aware of.
However, her humanoid form was not widely known, and now Garon was one of the few to see it.
The Dragon Queen maintained a humanoid appearance, but her body was a hundred meters tall, deliberately made to match Garon's current size.
The hundred-meter-tall Dragon Queen had a well-proportioned figure, fair skin, and long brown hair. She wore a robe resembling that of a human witch, exuding an exotic and intoxicating beauty.
Looking into her dark eyes, Garon felt as if he was falling into an unfathomable vortex, unable to extricate his gaze.
"My child, you haven't answered my question yet."
The Dragon Mother's voice brought Garon back to reality.
He slowly exhaled, calming his mind before looking at the Dragon Mother again.
"I've long heard of the Nine Hells, and coming here for the first time, I am indeed somewhat shocked by the sights."
Garon could feel it.
Powerful auras that made even him, a demigod dragon, tremble were scattered across the land of Avernus.
Especially at the edge of his vision, that bronze fortress, guarded by countless devils, seemed to house a formidable presence.
Sensing Garon's gaze, the Dragon Mother smiled lightly.
"The Bronze Fortress, that's Bael's domain
."
"If you're interested, I can take you inside."
Bael, the devil lord of Avernus, resided in the heart of the first layer of hell, within the Bronze Fortress, ruling countless devils of this layer.
Undoubtedly, this was a being of unimaginable power.
Garon shook his head, addressing the Dragon Mother: "I'm more interested in your divine realm."
The Dragon Mother flicked her long hair and smiled slightly: "The doors to my divine realm are always open for you."
A dark vortex appeared on the spot.
"Follow me."
Saying that, the Dragon Mother approached Garon, then gently took his right claw with her pale hand, leading him into the black vortex.
Passing through the vortex, Garon's surroundings changed once more.
He had left Avernus and entered the Dragon Mother's divine realm.
Compared to hell, this environment was more reminiscent of the Prime Material Plane.
Mountains thousands to tens of thousands of meters high rose and fell across the land, endless lush forests stretched as far as the eye could see, and winding rivers flowed into the distance. What made Garon gape was that the mountains, trees, and rivers were almost entirely made of gold and gemstones.
The meandering rivers were clearly composed of shimmering gold and silver liquids.
The 'sun' hanging in the sky was an unimaginably large magical gemstone.
Agate, crystal, gold, silver, ruby, emerald... The vast divine realm was colorful, filled with an evil richness.
For Garon, who had a preconceived notion of the Dragon Mother as an evil dragon deity, he had expected her divine realm to be no better than hell.
Who would have thought it would be so luxurious?
"Phew"
Garon took a deep breath, struggling to divert his gaze from the countless treasures.
At that moment, he noticed numerous dragons flying or resting within the divine realm.
Garon's expression grew solemn as he sensed a multitude of powerful presences.
In the Dragon Mother's divine realm, these multicolored dragons she had gathered, the lowest of which were ancient beings, included many thousands of years old ancient dragons whose power undoubtedly paralleled that of gods.
"They are my divine servants, my kin."
The Dragon Mother briefly explained to Garon.
Seeing the countless godlike dragons, Garon realized that the true power of the dragon race likely resided within the divine realms of the dragon gods.
Throughout the unrecordable eons, dragons had chosen to enter the divine realms of dragon gods for eternal immortality.
Even if the dragons who made such a choice at any given time were few, over the long course of time, a significant number of godlike dragons had emerged.
"Is it the same in the divine realms of other dragon gods?"
Garon curiously inquired.
The Dragon Mother arched her eyebrows slightly, her tone rising a bit: "How could they compare to me? My divine realm has always been the most popular among true dragons."
"Bahamut's divine realm dragons are no match for my kin."
Garon scratched his head, remaining silent without making any judgments.
"Right now, during this intense period of war, many of my dragons have left the divine realm to fight for the dragon race in the Outer Planes. What you see here is just a part."
The Dragon Mother added, then said.
"Come, let's have fun in the Golden Sea."
Once again taking Garon's dragon claw, the surrounding space transformed.
The next moment, when Garon regained his senses, he found himself inexplicably in the midst of a boundless 'ocean.'
This 'ocean,' referred to as the Golden Sea by the Dragon Mother, was likely the source or final gathering place of the gold liquid rivers Garon had previously seen.
The vast ocean, its waters entirely composed of flowing gold liquid.
The golden glow, the faint compressive touch, and the wonderful scent of treasures made Garon somewhat entranced.
"Enjoy yourself, child, I know you're tired. Here, you can rest well."
Under the golden radiance, the Dragon Mother's body began to transform, quickly turning into a strangely captivating hundred-meter-long dragon.
She had five heads.
Red, blue, green, black, white. Each of the five dragon heads was in perfect form, with flawless face armor.
On every scale of the Dragon Mother, which seemed to be crafted from the most beautiful gemstones, a faint divine glow made it difficult to look away.
After speaking, the Dragon Mother, now similar in size to Garon, began to swim and speed through the golden ocean on her own.
She occasionally dived into the ocean, then burst forth, her body causing countless droplets of gold liquid to fall, appearing magnificent under the gemstone sun.
Gradually, Garon also let go of his reservations.
Together with the Dragon Mother, he too raced and swam through the sea crafted from golden liquid.
After several days of relaxing and playing, Garon, squinting his eyes and lying belly-up on the golden surface, under the illumination of the gemstone sun, lightly swung his tail, creating gentle golden ripples that moved his body smoothly.
For a dragon, this was a rare pleasure.
"So comfortable."
Garon stroked his belly, emitting a contented dragon's purr.
"I knew you would like it here."
"No dragon would hate my divine realm."
"If there is one, then it's not a true dragon."
The Dragon Mother spoke as if it were a matter of course.
Encouraged by her words, Garon finally plunged into the golden sea, fully immersing himself in the divine pleasures it offered.
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