My Dragon King System

From the height above, Ambrose hovering had stretched both hands forward, and with grin he whispered the trigger for his theft magic. "Snatch"

In that moment, the hearts of the mages fighting against the other possessed ones, jerked inside their chests

Less than a second later the spell ripped them free.

Their bodies convulsed and some fell instantly. Sprays of blood burst outward as several hearts tore from chests and shot toward Ambrose, whose grin had evolved into sarcastic laughter

Then the world stopped.

The blood splatters froze midair, same as the drifting hearts that hung between Ambrose and the helpless mages.

Thamoryn, who had been shifting between light and physical form, stayed half-shaped and half-illuminated, still in that broken blur.

Talen remained locked mid-motion with his sword caught above his head.

Aiden's avatar had been watching from several kilometers away the entire time with his sight tracking the battle closely, and the moment his senses detected imminent danger he acted without hesitation.

He had wanted to interfere earlier when he saw Thamoryn struggling, but Ambrose's move forced his hand immediately.

Thankfully location of the battle itself wasn't so far off from the entrance point. Which meant that the avatar could go out of a range from the portal and wouldn't break off connection with the original instantly.

Although it would affect how much time it would have left.

He teleported directly into the frozen space and stood among the suspended hearts and floating droplets of blood.

He shook his head in disappointment, and then raised one hand and used his Time Authority once more.

Rewind

Time reversed itself by several seconds and the hearts flew backward through the air before sliding back into the chests of the fallen mages as if a film were playing in reverse.

Based on his current dragon level, he could only force time back by about an hour, but nothing more.

The rewind completed but time flow did not resume due to the avatar still leaving everything in the frozen state.

The original Aiden received a warning from the system that the avatar's connection had weakened considerably and it had only four minutes remaining.

Due to the hive mind avatars shared with Aiden, this version knew of the warning immediately, and his form began to flicker.

But he had just enough time to scan through the bodies of the possessed mages nearby, starting with Talen and Ambrose.

His dragon's vision scanned through their bodies like an x-ray and revealed the leeches embedded deep within their brains.

He stretched his hand toward them and whispered, "Null."

The leeches disintegrated instantly as his destruction skill focused directly on them and erased their existence entirely.

The moment he finished, his form flickered one last time before vanishing completely.

Time resumed immediately.

Both Talen and Ambrose collapsed to the ground simultaneously and their bodies went limp as they lost consciousness.

Thamoryn blinked several times in confusion, trying to understand the gap in her memory, as she looked around at the battlefield where the group she led stood unharmed and the possessed mages lay unconscious on the ground.

A new avatar stepped through the entrance portal leading into that dimension and took position near it, replacing the one that had just disintegrated.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

——-

The battles across the other dimensions concluded with relative success.

Ursula and Azam led their teams with several former captains distributed among them, and their combined strength made subduing the possessed mages far easier.

In Ravens Grave's dimension, Laela's plant magic being EX rank due to the Dragon's Bond, had knocked out most of the remaining possessed mages using her binding vines before they were cuffed and secured.

The avatars stationed at different points across the battlefields opened new portals once each team won their fights, allowing the mages to transport their captives directly back to where they stood the different entrance portals.

The avatars removed the leeches from each of the captives, using his destruction skill before they were laid down to recover.

Everything proceeded according to plan, and soon after they started returning back through the entrance portals.

The original Aiden stood in a corner of the throne room watching with a slight smile on his face as Arianna and Laela walked toward him looking pleased.

However, Lucas stumbled weakly out of one of the dimensions with Azam supporting him by the shoulder.

The leech had been cleared from his body by Aiden's avatar, but he looked exhausted and his face was pale.

Helena's eyes widened the moment she saw him and she rushed forward immediately, throwing her arms around him as relief flooded through her.

"Lucas," she whispered while holding him tightly.

After a moment she pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "Where's Lysandra?"

Lucas shook his head slowly.

Helena turned toward Azam with desperation creeping into her expression, but Azam only shook his head as well with sadness written across his face.

Ursula stood nearby looking equally disturbed.

Aiden's attention shifted immediately and his expression grew troubled.

The avatars had been watching carefully throughout the entire operation and they had searched specifically for Lysandra, but she hadn't been among the possessed mages found in any of the four dimensions.

It was then that Katherine walked forward toward Aiden. In a concerned voice, she asked. "Did you ever see Cassian?"​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

—-

Meanwhile, within another dimension was a grand hall stretched beneath a ceiling of blackened stone.

At the center of the hall stood a massive round table forged from dark iron.

Six figures were already seated around it, and each one radiated a pressure that made the very atmosphere feel heavy.

Korvax, Demon Lord of Eternal Cycles, sat first. He was a towering figure with black hair and dark markings running along his hands.

A single red star-shaped tattoo rested on his forehead. Korvax had no horns like the others, but an additional face appeared imprinted across his chest.

Beside him sat Kaerys, Demon Lord of Envy. He was lean, pale, and carried a twisted expression that resembled a reptilian grin, with the corners of his mouth stitched in a permanent curve.

Across from them was Akravos, Demon Lord of Carnage. His face was almost impossible to make out, swallowed in shadow except for one burning red eye and a long, fang-like maw. Horned spikes jutted from his head and formed a sort of crown.

Next to Akravos sat Malachar, Demon Lord of Dread. She leaned back in her chair with one leg folded over the other.

Her skin was grey, and she had cleavages right in the open.

She watched the others argue with clear amusement in her eyes.

The fifth figure was Zephron, Demon Lord of Sloth. Aside from Korvax, he was the strangest looking one there.

He had no horns, and even though his skin was far paler, he still looked human with purple shades resting over his noise.

The last was Jynx, Demon Lord of Madness. His appearance was chaotic, a mix of mismatched horns and vivid markings that ran across his body in no uniform pattern at all.

Kaerys said in a slithering mocking tone "To think Dravion Of The End was thought the strongest of us"

Jynx sneered at him. "You speak as if you could have done better. But I doubt you'd last five minutes against Cronyssia." He said in an amused yet mocking tone

Kaerys turned sharply toward him, with sudden irritation. "Say that again," he snarled.

Jynx maintained his stance. "You heard me vermin" he said. "It's usually the weakest ones that are all bark"