Rebirth as a Time Dragon: A DND Chronicle

In the floating city of Netheril, the headquarters of the Temporal Dragon Cult.

It was a massive city suspended between the sea and the sky, casting a faint, shifting shadow over the azure ocean, moving with the ripples of the water.

Today, the city of Netheril was bustling as never before.

Spellcasters enveloped in elemental auras arrived from all directions, making the streets of the floating city crowded and busy, most heading toward a grand dragon-shaped temple.

Constructed from a silvery white, exotic metal, the temple stood as the headquarters of the Temporal Dragon Cult. The decennial Divine Grace Ceremony was about to begin, attracting spellcasters from all realms.

During the ceremony, the Temporal Dragon Cult's revered Eternal Dragon would descend in an avatar and bless its chosen, devout followers with powerful, time-related divine spells.

Most visitors were here for the spectacle, as a deity's descent was a rare sight. Even those who didn't follow any gods could gain insights from witnessing such an event.

In contrast, members of the Temporal Dragon Cult attended with fervor and devotion, eager for their god's notice and favor, hoping to receive unique temporal divine spells.

As for the faithless spellcasters visiting,

The Temporal Dragon Cult welcomed onlookers at the Divine Grace Ceremony. After witnessing the majesty of the Eternal Dragon, many spellcasters would abandon their previous beliefs and join the cult, a turn of events the cult was only too happy to accept.

Moreover, the influx of outsiders sometimes allowed troublemakers from rival groups like the Dragon Cult or Dragon Worshippers to infiltrate. However, due to the Temporal Dragon Cult's deep ties with the Netherese Empire and protection by the empire's archmages, the cult felt secure against potential threats.

Among the three sanctioned religions of Netheril, the Temporal Dragon Cult was the smallest, nowhere near the size of the Death Church or the Magic Sanctuary. But any wise being who knew the history of the cult would not underestimate it.

Meanwhile, inside the cloud-enshrouded floating city, a young man with silvery-gray hair and a deep, otherworldly demeanor strolled through the streets. His striking features and platinum eyes, shimmering like stars, made him an unforgettable presence in the crowd.

The floating city was a realm of spellcasters, where high-status mages were common. Thus, every passerby had their uniqueness.

Yet even in such a bustling environment, the silver-haired youth stood out distinctively, drawing many a spellcaster's gaze.

It was Garon, heading towards the headquarters of the Temporal Dragon Cult.

Amber followed behind him, respectfully explaining various aspects of the place.

"At the decennial Divine Grace Ceremony, the Eternal Dragon—or rather, the false god impersonating you—will make an appearance," Amber said, admiringly glancing at Garon's silhouette.

"A Divine Grace Ceremony? It seems I've arrived just in time," Garon said with a slight smile, blending into the crowd and making his way to the cult's headquarters.

Along the way, he stopped at various magical shops out of curiosity and listened to the conversations of nearby spellcasters, gauging the prosperity of the Netherese Empire.

Under the protection of the god of death and the goddess of magic, the Netherese Empire had steadily grown over four millennia. Although no explosive magical advancements had occurred, new spells had emerged continuously, and arcane categorizations had become more comprehensive. Miniature arcane cores were now common, some even powering magical crystal lamps.

Due to longevity spells and the god of death's protection for his homeland and kin, the number of grand archmages in the Netherese Empire had increased over time, including many demi-god level top archmages with powers rivaling the former King of Archmages.

Just on the continent of Faerûn, there were no fewer than five thousand floating cities, indicating at least five thousand beings of level thirty or higher among the Netherese archmages.

Moreover, the empire's influence had expanded beyond Faerûn a millennium ago, shining over other prime material worlds and even outer planes. With the additional floating cities in these other worlds, the empire's strength was immense.

"This Netherese Empire of this timeline might rival the Alfathian Empire," Garon thought, acknowledging it as a super magical empire rare in the multiverse.

The Netherese Empire's overall national strength appeared comparable to that of the Alfathian Empire. However, its future was likely brighter because the Alfathian Empire lacked divine protection. Garon knew from experience that once a magical empire on the prime material plane became too powerful without the backing of powerful deities, it would attract catastrophic divine retribution. And typically, the more powerful the magical empire, the less inclined it was to revere gods. No magical empire, no matter how strong, could contend with the might of

 deities.

The situation of the Netherese Empire was special. Despite most archmages not following any gods, they still enjoyed the protection of two deities, and these were no ordinary gods—a goddess of magic, who grew stronger with the flourishing of magic, and a god of death, originally a grand archmage known as the Light of Netheril, who ascended to godhood to save his crisis-stricken homeland.

The empire's archmages were not foolish. They enjoyed the protection and favor of these two deities and in return, while not particularly devout themselves, were willing to use the empire's influence to spread the Death Church and Magic Sanctuary to more worlds, converting the citizens of other nations into followers of the two gods.

With these two deities as their backers, the Netherese Empire could continue to develop safely in this timeline, potentially becoming an unprecedented ultimate magical empire.

Lost in these thoughts, Garon passed a bizarre creature, pausing to glance at it.

It appeared grotesque and terrifying: a worm-like torso with human limbs and a face that hinted at human features, including a mouth ringed with fine, meat-grinder-like teeth.

"This is a hybrid of a pheromone mage and a human?" Garon mused after a closer look. He knew that the Netherese Empire had deepened ties with the realm of pheromone mages, thanks to the efforts of Ioulaum, who held dual roles as both King of Archmages and King of Pheromone Mages. The two powerful races had become staunch allies.

"In terms of aesthetics, some humans seem to share my dragon kind's lack of distinction," Garon noted with a sincere compliment, impressed by the hybrid's magical talent and vampiric abilities.

Wandering through the bustling streets of the floating city, Garon saw many new things that hadn't existed on Faerûn four thousand years ago, broadening his horizons.

Time passed quietly.

Soon, Garon reached the headquarters of the Temporal Dragon Cult, entering the shadow of the grand dragon-shaped building. Looking up, he focused on a massive dragon statue that resembled him by ninety percent.

The statue stood in a circular clearing, its wings spread and eyes looking downward, its body adorned with a black scale ring and three pairs of dragon horns, shimmering under the sunlight with a commanding presence.

Members of the Temporal Dragon Cult, faces filled with devotion, gathered around the statue to pray. Some true dragon followers, revealing their true forms, were perched in high places around the cult, their overlapping dragon auras intimidating all directions.

Prayers echoed in the space, creating a unique atmosphere that drew people in.

Garon stood quietly among the crowd, enjoying the scenes around him while waiting for the ceremony to start.

As always, the river of time flowed steadily and orderly.

With the sunset and the arrival of midnight, the excitement around the statue grew, the prayers becoming faster and louder.

"Please heed the call of your humble followers.

O Supreme Lord of Dragons.

The Sole Sovereign of All Realms.

The Origin of Change, Master of Time and Space, Wing of Calamity, Immortal Dragon, Lord of the Colorless River, Manifestation of Eternal Time, Master of Death, Embodiment of the Unchanging River, Traveler of Time and Space, Lord of Fate, Protector and Destroyer of Empires.

The All-Encompassing Eternal Dragon.

Your loyal, humble followers call upon you, yearning and praying for your response."

At midnight, at the moment of transition between the old and new days, the world suddenly changed.

In the floating city, the moving clouds and wind paused as if a button had been pressed, creating a bizarre spectacle.

Many onlookers felt a chill and involuntarily held their breath.

At the same time, a mighty force descended, enveloping the entire floating city.

A sacred silver light began to shine, dispelling the night, and a majestic dragon, covered in silver-white scales, materialized from nothingness within the divine glow.

The Eternal Dragon had arrived.

It hovered above the city, wings spread, looking down at the crowd with a detached, calm gaze.

"Great Eternal Dragon, your light shines across all realms."

The followers grew frenetic, shouting and singing praises to the Eternal Dragon's greatness.

"I have come to bring grace to those loyal to me."

"Rejoice in this."

The Eternal Dragon spoke solemnly.

At the same time, a powerful divine aura rolled out from the Eternal Dragon like a hurricane.

Where it passed, followers and onlookers alike felt an irresistible urge to bow down. Under the divine pressure, they involuntarily prostrated themselves.

When a deity descends, even non-followers must show respect if they are in the deity's presence, or it is seen as an act of disrespect.

Followers lay face down, while spellcasters at least bent at the waist, performing a gesture of respect.

As the crowd bowed like waves, Garon, who showed no reaction and remained standing, became the most conspicuous presence.

"Hmm?"

The Eternal Dragon's gaze sharpened as it looked at Garon, emitting a low snort.

Before the Eternal Dragon could act, a high priest of the Temporal Dragon Cult glared at Garon and scolded, "Bold one, seeing the great Eternal Dragon in person and not showing respect, are you trying to provoke divine wrath?"

Almost all members of the Temporal Dragon Cult and the spellcasters turned hostile eyes on Garon, surprised by his audacity.

Garon did not respond.

Under the various, focused gazes, he simply turned to look at Amber, who had followed him.

Under Garon's gaze, Amber, who had been kneeling, showed an embarrassed expression and stood up.

"My lord, please forgive my subconscious act of kneeling to the false god."

Having recognized Garon as the true Eternal Dragon during their encounter with the avatar of death, Amber had still instinctively knelt before the false Eternal Dragon.

Garon said nothing, only withdrawing his gaze.

Meanwhile, the word "false god" reached the ears of the 'Eternal Dragon' and the followers of the Temporal Dragon Cult.

The Eternal Dragon hanging in the sky darkened, and the atmosphere around became instantly grave and tense, with murderous looks from many followers fixed on Garon and Amber.

The spellcasters showed expressions of enjoying a good show.

The smarter ones quietly retreated, distancing themselves from the potential epicenter of a divine battle.

Amber, unaccustomed to such grand scenes, turned pale under the immense pressure but still managed to stand.

Garon, at the center of countless gazes, smiled as if unfazed by the pressure or threat, looking up at the 'Eternal Dragon'.

At that moment, the Eternal Dragon's gaze became stern, looking down at the silver-haired youth.

"Having seen me, why do you not bow?"

Its voice was calm but filled with pressure and anger, echoing through the floating city.

Garon remained unmoved, calmly saying, "I stand before you, and yet you do not recognize me?"

Hearing Garon's words, the Eternal Dragon felt a flicker of unease.

It looked intently at Garon, seeing beneath the human facade the immense, majestic silhouette of a silver dragon.

At that moment, the platinum eyes of the silver dragon coldly observed its own 'Eternal Dragon' counterpart, which challenged Garon: "Who are you, vile god, to masquerade as me and deceive my followers?"

The 'Eternal Dragon' was righteous and almost convinced Garon to doubt himself.

Garon chuckled, fully understanding what Karsus meant by the other seeing itself as the true Garon.

Amidst rising silver light, Garon's humanoid form soared into the air, instantly reverting to his true form.

From head to tail, he was over a hundred meters long, his body covered in silver-gray scales, with three pairs of horn-like crowns and several black scale rings. Garon's true form was now visible to all around.

The 'Eternal Dragon' avatar, merely over sixty meters long, seemed like a juvenile next to the adult true dragon that was Garon.

The appearance of two similarly looking giant dragons in everyone's view was startling.

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted into chaos.

"Born from faith in me, yet you question who I am?"

"How sad."

Garon looked at the 'Eternal Dragon' with pity.

On the other side, feeling Garon's might and seeing his true form, the 'Eternal Dragon' felt increasingly unsettled.

"Fiend, who are you really? What is your purpose in impersonating me?"

The deity, immersed in its belief that it was the real Garon, stubbornly saw the true Garon as some fiendish imposter.

"Since you were born from the faith in me, I am responsible for you."

Under the questioning, Garon smiled gently and spoke softly.

Then, he extended his dragon claw covered in fine silver scales.

Time power surged, and his claw grew massively, enveloping the 'Eternal Dragon' like a canopy.

The 'Eternal Dragon' tensed, immediately trying to use its control over time to freeze the moment.

The crowd, realizing a divine battle might erupt, froze in place.

Unexpectedly, the colossal dragon claw continued unhindered, not even slightly affected by the time stop.

In a moment of shock, the colossal claw had already grasped the 'Eternal Dragon', squeezing it forcefully.

Crunch!

The 'Eternal Dragon' was crushed by the irresistible force, turning into a mass of divine power.

Local colossalization was an ability Garon had mastered after ascending to near-lesser divine power, allowing for more flexible use in combat.

At the same time, the time stop was lifted.

As the fight ended almost instantly, the Temporal Dragon Cult followers and spell

casters all widened their eyes, their hearts unable to calm for a long time.

Many followers felt their faith shaken, looking at Garon with a different regard.

After crushing the avatar,

Garon looked up at the sky, as if seeing the 'Eternal Dragon' in its divine realm, fearful and uneasy, and smiled.

"Good, don't resist anymore."

"Hand over your divinity, and I will fulfill your wish to become the true Garon O'Relian."

There was no response.

Garon shook his head, speaking softly, "You think hiding in your divine realm will save you?"

His claw opened, gathering the dispersed divine power.

Garon closed his eyes, feeling the divine power, and used it as an anchor to perform a temporal teleportation, his massive body vanishing from the spot.

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