Rebirth as a Time Dragon: A DND Chronicle

Garon looked down, observing the changing expressions of the female spellcaster.

This member of the Temporal Dragon Cult now seemed to harbor doubts about Garon's identity, viewing the true Eternal Dragon as a false god, her face shifting slowly from devotion to wary vigilance.

Garon was not surprised by this.

After all, Garon had been away from this timeline for nearly four thousand years. In the prolonged deception, a false Eternal Dragon had taken over the church, and his sudden appearance as the rightful figure was naturally met with suspicion.

"I see doubt in your eyes."

"Good, this shows you are not a foolishly blind person."

Garon did not chastise the follower for her doubt but instead gave her a look of approval.

Maintaining rationality and calm to question the words of a deity, identifying contradictions, indicated the spellcaster's wisdom was commendable—quick to react and not blindly trusting of the divine.

"Since you don't believe in me, why do you still worship?"

"Mortal, stand up."

Garon gazed at the female spellcaster, speaking in a calm but unquestionable tone.

Although Amber harbored doubts, the authority Garon projected was undeniably real. Thus, when she heard his command, her body involuntarily obeyed, slowly standing up.

However.

Just as Amber had risen, either her mind or the entire world seemed to blur momentarily, and she shockingly found her body still kneeling as before.

"I... didn't I just stand up?"

"Could it be that the tension caused a hallucination or delusion?"

Amber's face was blank, at a loss.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the silver dragon, the female spellcaster gritted her teeth and tried to stand again.

This time, with all her attention focused, her movements slow.

The result was the same.

Though her mind clearly remembered standing, for some reason, her body remained as before, kneeling, as if her earlier action was merely a fantasy.

The silver dragon, who blocked the sun high in the sky, remained silent, simply watching Amber attempt to rise over and over, each time reverted to her original state by the backward flow of time.

Trapped in a temporal loop, unable to stand, Amber slowly realized she was experiencing the power of time reversal.

After dozens of attempts, any doubt within Amber's mind cleared away.

According to the teachings of the Temporal Dragon Cult, only their revered Eternal Dragon could wield time in such a manner.

"My lord, please forgive my disrespect."

The female spellcaster bowed deeply, her body trembling slightly, she said.

The dragon looked down, saying, "My child, being deceived by a false god is not your fault."

Then, Garon began to inquire about the Temporal Dragon Cult from Amber.

However, she was not a high-ranking member of the cult and, due to her keen interest in following Garon's traces across this timeline, had not stayed at a fixed temple, participating infrequently in cult activities, so her responses to Garon's questions were limited.

At first, Garon thought that maybe a Garon from this timeline had discovered the Temporal Dragon Cult and happily accepted the worship of its followers.

But this idea was quickly dismissed by him.

Because the trace of power within Amber was not Garon's temporal power.

Garon, familiar with his own command over time, could differentiate clearly.

If it were himself who had taken over the Temporal Dragon Cult, then the power within Amber should be his familiar temporal power, not something similar yet fundamentally different.

Garon's eyes sparkled as he scrutinized the power within Amber, analyzing it thoroughly.

"It is a divine magic granted by extraordinary divine power, mimicking my power of time."

Familiar with divine powers associated with time, after observing carefully for a few seconds, Garon saw through the true nature beneath the facade of temporal power.

"It must be a deity with dominion over time."

Garon thought quietly.

It was unusual, even for a deity with dominion over time, to impersonate him and take over his church would not be so simple.

Garon was not alone in this world; he had a disciple who was a god of death and maintained a relationship with a powerful goddess of magic. These deities would likely not ignore another god encroaching on Garon's church.

After some thought, Garon decided to first contact Karsus.

The method to contact Karsus was simple.

Merely by silently invoking the deity's true name, calling out the god's name, would draw a sliver of the deity's attention.

Usually, even if beings directly call upon a god's name, the deity might merely glance at them and ignore them afterward. However, provoking a malevolent god in such a way could spell disaster, so mortals rarely dare to invoke a deity's true name.

After Garon silently uttered Karsus's true name, within a few seconds,

The

 sky suddenly turned dark and gloomy.

The air, now permeated with a deathly stillness, grew silent and cold.

The power of death spontaneously emerged, swirling and condensing into a figure draped in a black robe, enveloped in the aura of death.

This avatar looked towards the silver dragon, and Karsus's joyful voice reached Garon's ears.

"Teacher, it's good to see you again."

"Our last summoning was too hurried; we didn't get to catch up properly. This time, since you're back, let's stay a while longer."

Seeing the familiar face, Garon smiled slightly and said, "Kars, you've grown stronger."

Through this temporarily formed avatar, Garon sensed Karsus's mastery over the power of death had improved significantly, no longer at the level when he first seized the mantle of death.

"The authority over death is profound; I've ascended to a mid-tier divine power not long ago," Karsus said.

"Teacher, who is this?" Karsus's gaze shifted, looking towards Amber in the canyon below.

The gaze of the god of death focused on her, and Amber immediately felt a deep, inescapable chill as if a mere look could send her plunging into the depths of death, to meet her end.

Under the dual scrutiny of dragon and deity, Amber trembled.

Death God Karsus, full name Karsus, originally a great archmage from Netheril and, even as a mortal archmage, was highly regarded by the Netherese Empire, known as the Light of Netheril. Later, with the assistance of the dragon and the goddess of magic, he used his own creation, a ritual of ascension, to seize the ancient mantle of death, making even gods take notice.

In the prayers of the Temporal Dragon Cult, Garon is referred to as the master of death.

Furthermore, the continent of Faerûn now belongs to the Netherese Empire. Although different countries coexist, the undisputed ruler of Faerûn is the Netherese Empire. Although the archmages of the empire are absorbed in their magical studies and have no aspirations for conquest, otherwise Faerûn would be a singular nation by now.

But more than that, the floating cities of Netheril now exist not only in Faerûn.

In many prime material worlds and outer planes, one can see the presence of these floating cities.

These cities, led by great archmages, are now many spellcasters' dream destinations, magical sanctuaries independent of continental nations, suspended among the breezes and clouds.

Anyone proving their spellcaster status and able to ascend to a floating city has the chance to learn the vast magical knowledge of the Netherese Empire.

Continuing the tradition of the first King of Archmages, Ioulaum, the great archmages are generous in teaching, contributing significantly to the prosperity of magic in this timeline.

Located in the root world of the Netherese Empire, Amber, although not a follower of the god of death, was familiar with this renowned deity of death.

"One of my followers, a temporal emissary of the Temporal Dragon Cult."

Garon asked Karsus, "Kars, you must be familiar with the Temporal Dragon Cult."

Karsus nodded and said, "I've always kept an eye on this church left by teacher."

His voice pausing, Karsus smiled and softly added, "I knew that once you returned here, teacher, you would inquire about the Temporal Dragon Cult."

Then, under Garon's gaze, Karsus elaborated on the affairs of the Temporal Dragon Cult.

When Garon left this timeline, he had asked Ioulaum to help the cult within his capacity.

The King of Archmages, who led Netheril to glory, had not forgotten Garon's request and also had sufficient influence.

With Ioulaum's assistance, the Temporal Dragon Cult gained many resources. Therefore, although unable to receive Garon's responses during the initial millennium, the cult did not weaken but reached a peak.

The archmages of the Netherese Empire generally do not worship deities, and the empire's realm similarly does not allow the presence of divine churches.

But this is not absolute.

The Church of the Death God, the Sanctuary of the Magic Goddess, and Garon's Temporal Dragon Cult—these three are officially recognized religious organizations by the Netherese Empire and are known as the Three Gods of Netheril on the continent of Faerûn.

Although not as large as the Church of the Death God and the Sanctuary of the Magic Goddess, the Temporal Dragon Cult is no longer the small assembly it once was.

In Faerûn, Netherese archmages rarely worship deities.

However, spellcasters with innate magical talent are ultimately a minority.

Influenced by the Netherese Empire, as one

 of the empire's official churches, the Temporal Dragon Cult has grown significantly over a long period, developing into a large, well-organized group with rituals, priests, knights, and an increasing number of wise beings worshiping the Eternal Dragon.

After Garon left this timeline, his connection with the worshippers here was severed.

Separated by the long river of time from the faith.

As time passed and the Temporal Dragon Cult grew, the unclaimed faith gathered during the continuous prayers of countless followers gradually coalesced into divinity through their collective imagination of the Eternal Dragon.

After another millennium, this unstructured, fluctuating faith solidified.

A new 'Eternal Dragon' was thus born.

Not a dragon of time, but a pure deity.

"Teacher, when the divinity of the Eternal Dragon was born, I and Mysriel noticed Him immediately," Karsus said.

"After discussing for a while, we decided to leave Him be, to observe and see what changes, waiting for your return to make a decision, since He was born from the faith in you."

Hearing Karsus's story, Garon showed a look of surprise.

"I thought it was some unfamiliar deity who had taken over my church. I didn't expect this."

"A god born from faith in me? Very interesting."

This situation was very special, and even Garon had not anticipated it.

In the multiverse, it's exceedingly rare for a deity to be born purely from faith; gods are generally inherently powerful, born from the universal laws governing all things, gaining worship and reverence due to their power, not existing because of faith.

The fact that a god could arise from nothing through faith alone is not unheard of, but it's extremely rare, and generally, such beings are not very powerful.

What made it more interesting for Garon was that this god was born from the faith known to be his own, not from the abstract worship of some unknown phenomena.

Because of his own deeds attracting worship, but his absence turned his following into ownerless faith, which then birthed a divine being from his legends and followers.

This scenario was unheard of to Garon.

He searched his memory for any similar precedents but found none.

"Teacher, how do you plan to deal with this deity?"

"A god born from someone else's faith, this is my first encounter," said Karsus, his curiosity evident.

Garon thought for a moment and calmly said, "Since he arose from my faith in my absence, now that I, the rightful owner, have returned, it's only right to reclaim this power."

Karsus pondered and asked, "Do you intend to turn Him into an avatar?"

Garon nodded and smiled slightly, "Of course, this 'Eternal Dragon,' being born from the faith in me, undoubtedly makes the most compatible avatar for me."

If he were to ascend to godhood at the same time as this Eternal Dragon and the temporal deity.

Garon would choose to transfer divine power to the Eternal Dragon rather than to the temporal deity.

"As far as I know, He has come to regard Himself as me, and because He was born from the imagination and faith of the followers, His temperament is much more arrogant than yours, teacher, and He will certainly not easily submit," Karsus said.

Hearing Garon's words, Karsus commented, "That's to be expected."

"I wouldn't sit idly by in a similar situation either."

Garon inquired, "How far has this fellow developed by now?"

Karsus replied, "After about two thousand years, He is now only a step away from a lesser divine power."

Although born from the faith in Garon, this Eternal Dragon clearly did not possess Garon's growth rate, merely a regular deity who believed himself to be Garon.

"Using my name, but still remaining at the demigod level after over two thousand years."

Garon shook his head.

In the end, a false can never truly become real.

Had it been Garon, if he had grown for two thousand years along the main timeline, reaching the ancient dragon stage would undoubtedly be a formidable divine power.

However, the growth rate of ordinary deities is typically slow; even thousands of years without significant progress is normal.

It's not that the other party's progress is slow, it's just that Garon's growth rate is abnormally fast.

Karsus smiled slightly and said, "Teacher, do you need my help?"

"Although He hasn't officially broken through to lesser divine power, it's not by much, and He has His own divine realm."

The silver dragon lifted his chin slightly, stating calmly, "If I need help to deal with a demigod, Kars, then I wouldn't be fit to be your teacher."

"Storming a divine realm isn't easy, but I believe in your power, teacher," Karsus said, nodding lightly.

At that moment, Garon's gaze shifted slightly, asking, "In

 these four thousand years, has the ancient god of death plotted against you in secret?"

Karsus's expression turned serious, "After I ascended and took the mantle of death from Him, He fell to a mid-tier divine power, but within just a few hundred years, He returned to a mighty divine power."

"Afterwards, He tried to take back the mantle of death from me, targeting me more than once or twice, but with Mysriel around, and since I rarely leave my divine realm, He couldn't do much against me."

In the gentle sunlight, the silver dragon spoke, "That's good, but don't be complacent."

Pausing, Garon continued, "Kars, you can go now."

"I'm going to meet another Garon O'Relian born from faith, and after I handle this matter, I'll find you again to catch up."

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