Under the Red Dragon

Time flows like water, which is not only a figure of speech but also a statement of fact.

At least, this is true for the Time Dragon Deniris.

The Weave of Time appears before the Time Dragon's innate essence and bloodline as a river that can be traversed freely.

However, even Deniris cannot distinguish which stream is the main current of this river of time.

This is not because the Time Dragon Deniris is not powerful enough; even before those Time Dragons ascended to become Ancient Dragons, the Weave of Time leading to the future appeared in this way.

This is because the future flowing through the River of Time is not predetermined.

Although Time Dragons have the ability to use the present as an anchor to travel through the past and future within the Weave of Time, even those Ancient Time Dragons who can defeat some deities cannot integrate all the threads leading to the future into a single entity.

To determine a single, fixed mainline from all the branches of the Weave of Time leading to the future is nothing short of fantasy.

This is a path that only the Gods of Gods who created the universe could conceive, so even Time Dragons, the natural nobles of the universe's space-time, cannot fathom the predetermined direction of the future; those traveled time branches only serve as references for these Time Dragons.

You see, there is no omnipotent existence in the world; the God of Gods is only infinitely close to omnipotence.

Although Deniris respects the opinions of the ancestral Red Dragon Kalon Kog'Mora, as Kalon Kog'Mora said, most people in the world always need to see and touch something with their own eyes and hands before they are willing to believe the facts they are about to face.

In fact, the Time Dragon Deniris has traveled countless branches of the Weave of Time flowing in the skies of Aikania, which is one of the main timelines where the dragon Kalon Kog'Mora does not exist.

But as Kalon Kog'Mora said, the other main branches do not contain the figure of the dragon Kalon Kog'Mora; in some, there is no dragon of the Kog'Mora bloodline at all.

And in some worlds where the Kog'Mora dragon exists, it is not called Kalon.

Well, if you ask how Deniris knows, it's a lesson learned in blood and tears.

As a high-ranking legendary dragon species, the Time Dragon, even after traveling through countless plane worlds in the Weave of Time, can be considered among the extremely powerful.

Moreover, the Time Dragon Deniris, due to a deadly crisis, has been traveling in the Weave of Time for a long time, constantly breathing in the Time Force that spills from the Weave of Time, allowing this juvenile Time Dragon to truly and steadily grow into an adult Time Dragon.

In other stories and legends, the growth timeline of Time Dragons is not fixed; perhaps one second it is a young dragon, and the next second it jumps out of the Weave of Time as an Ancient Time Dragon.

But in fact, this statement is incorrect.

Even gods cannot violate the cosmic rules laid down by the God of Gods who created the world; this is actually just one of the Time Dragon's talent bloodline abilities, and it is not that the growth of these Time Dragons is non-linearly leaping.

Instead, once a Time Dragon enters the Weave of Time, the time within the Weave of Time, under the control of the Time Dragon, will be completely different from the flow of time in the real world outside.

Some Time Dragons catalyze themselves by controlling time, using the torrent of time to temporarily gain the power that they will possess in the future.

And some Time Dragons use the power of the Weave of Time to summon their counterparts from other weaves to temporarily descend, just like those gods in the sky descend using the power of time as a carrier.

How powerful is the Time Dragon Deniris, who has truly grown to adulthood? Even Deniris can't help but feel a little inflated.

Occasionally, the Time Dragon Deniris leaves the Weave of Time and enters those branched world planes to forage, openly and rampantly.

Even the territories of those powerful dragon clans are roamed at will. The Time Dragon Deniris even took advantage of an Ancient Red Dragon leaving its sleeping lair to collect taxes in its own territory, using its unique abilities to sneak into the Ancient Red Dragon's lair.

Then, this mischievous Time Dragon used the torrent of time to wash away all the treasures in the Ancient Red Dragon's lair, and even uprooted all the magical plants growing everywhere in the Ancient Red Dragon's lair, such as Dragon Saliva Grass, Dragon Blood Grass, and so on.

This Time Dragon not only swept the Ancient Red Dragon's lair three feet into the ground, but also engraved its name in the Ancient Red Dragon's lair—Time Dragon Deniris was here!

Under such circumstances, the Time Dragon Deniris's depressed mood was relieved, and it began to relax while absorbing the power of time in the torrent of time for steady growth, in order to deal with potential future crises.

Deniris believed that with the growth characteristics of the Time Dragon, when the crisis came, it would have the ability to face the crisis and overcome difficulties.

Until this Time Dragon was severely beaten by an Evil Dragon named Kog'Mora.

That Evil Dragon named Kog'Mora grew five heads, all five colors of red, blue, green, black, and white, just like the legendary first Evil Dragon descendant created by the immortal Dragon Queen, the Color God Tiamat—the Five-Colored Dragon Prince.

The Evil Dragon Kog'Mora's power is as powerful as the legendary Five-Colored Dragon Prince, entrenched in the northern wilderness of another Aikania world.

However, in that world's Aikania northern wilderness, there is only this Evil Dragon, because all the dragons that once existed were devoured by this Evil Dragon, and even all the powerful species in the Aikania northern wilderness have disappeared.

The Time Dragon Deniris had just stepped out of the Weave of Time, entered the present world of Aikania, and had not even had time to explore the situation in this world, or even stayed for more than a quarter of an hour, when it was knocked into the torrent of time by the five-colored Evil Dragon with one claw.

The damage left by this claw caused the Time Dragon Deniris to recuperate in the torrent of time for several years, sleeping for a short time before fully recovering.

What followed were various beatings, making the Time Dragon Deniris particularly depressed.

The most dangerous time was with an Evil Dragon with extremely strange abilities. That Evil Dragon, also named Kog'Mora, did not possess the talent and magical abilities to travel through the Weave of Time like the Time Dragon Deniris.

But strangely, this Kog'Mora used a strange tracking ability, using the traces left by the Time Dragon Deniris in the River of Time to rush into the River of Time.

It was like using the Time Dragon Deniris as a wind-breaking vehicle, chasing Deniris tirelessly for decades.

The initial reason was only because Deniris had awakened this Kog'Mora when it broke into the Evil Dragon's lair using the ability of time reversal.

In the end, Deniris relied on the Time Dragon's innate ability to control time to create a trap of time phantoms, which made that Kog'Mora give up the idea of continuing to hunt it down, fall into the present world from the Weave of Time, and then continue to bury itself in sleep.

The Time Dragon Deniris didn't find it strange at first, after all, each branch of the Weave of Time represents the existence of a world, and strange situations are just one example of countless examples in the world.

But after experiencing more beatings, Deniris realized that perhaps it was not that the strangeness of the world was concentrated on this point, this area, but that the Kog'Mora surname seemed to be strange.

Those dragons named Kog'Mora, no matter what kind, seemed to have the same strange characteristics, which Deniris could not accurately describe in words.

But if Deniris were to describe it in words, it would probably be that these dragons named Kog'Mora are somewhat similar to the echoes of those Ancient Dragons in other planes.

However, almost every one of these dragons named Kog'Mora spontaneously severed this similar echo, becoming independent of the world and becoming a truly unique dragon.

But Deniris felt that this was not like the alternate-world echo of Kalon Kog'Mora. Even Time Dragons could not distinguish the nuances within.

The Time Dragon Deniris considered itself mysterious enough in the mortal world, but it felt that Kalon Kog'Mora was even more mysterious than itself.

However, countless years of exploration have also made this Time Dragon realize what Kalon Kog'Mora once said: these places where he does not exist are not of much reference value.

To find the source of Deniris's crisis from other time branches, it is necessary to trace back from the true anchor timeline.

And the Time Dragon Deniris is now facing this timeline above reality, and is rarely hesitant.

The Time Dragon's time tracing is not without cost, but the Time Dragon that has grown to adulthood only needs a short rest to continue traveling forward.

What makes Deniris hesitate is that this main timeline where Kalon Kog'Mora exists exudes a dangerous aura that Deniris cannot fathom.

It is not the aura of dangerous existences that are clearly manifested on one branch after another, but a kind of danger similar to mysterious induction.

Moreover, there is such a warning in the Time Dragon's inheritance: the fate of the future should not be spied upon, and the fate before it is spied upon is not fixed.

But from the moment you see the fate of the future, the timeline of the future will gradually be fixed in a way you can't imagine, just like the elusive fate, which will punish you at this moment. This is the punishment for playing with fate.

Even those gods who claim to control the rules of fate never dare to easily spy on their own destiny. Before it is fixed, everything can be tried to change. Once it is fixed in some strange way, even gods can hardly overcome the heavens.

Perhaps this is why Kalon Kog'Mora once said that he also has the ability to see through some short-term futures, but that ancestral Red Dragon almost never uses it.

However, after hesitating and thinking for several years, the Time Dragon Deniris finally made up its mind and traced forward.

Deniris avoided those dangerous auras that clearly showed its existence, found several time tributaries that seemed at least superficially quite calm, and then quietly poked its head out of the torrent of time, looking into the world close to the barrier between the torrent of time and reality.

It's not that Deniris is timid, but after experiencing more beatings, this legendary dragon species has learned to be smart. At this boundary between reality and the torrent of time, low-level creatures cannot detect it, and high-level creatures are difficult to be alarmed by Deniris's unintentional gaze.

Even if it is discovered by some powerful creatures, Deniris can advance and retreat freely, and does not need to worry about its safety at all.

Beneath its feet is also the northern wilderness of the Aikania world, but unlike the current northern border, the northern border here is now full of towering mountains, and the undulating mountains are connected like a blue dragon.

Countless creatures and powerful beasts inhabit here, and ferocious species are everywhere. Deniris cannot even see the traces of civilization of the Golden Empire.

"What happened?" Deniris squeezed out of the torrent of time in confusion. It did not find that its memory had begun to lose and become disordered.

The Time Dragon's resistance to this kind of power can be said to be the best under the gods, and even ordinary gods cannot cause such an effect on the Time Dragon.

But Deniris itself has truly forgotten which era this world belongs to. It only remembers that it wants to see the future of the Golden Empire.

However, when Deniris's investigation was fruitless and it did not find any existence that could threaten it, this Time Dragon stepped into the future reality from the torrent of time.

Deniris was flying in the sky. It did not find a trace of civilization, nor did it find traces of the existence of dragons and intelligent races.

However, it soon discovered that countless beasts and extraordinary species walking on the earth avoided the source of these undulating mountains like a blue dragon, the center point guarded by the mountains.

So Deniris flew towards the center point guarded by the mountains.

To the Time Dragon's surprise, there was nothing here.

It was just rare peace and harmony, like a paradise.

In the central area, there was only a golden mountain and a crystal-clear lake.

The crystal-clear lake was formed by the two waterfalls flowing down from the golden mountain accumulating on the ground.

But as Deniris flew closer to the golden mountain, it was gradually infected by a feeling of remembrance and sadness, just like a mortal facing the coverage of a legend's thoughts.

When the first tear flowed from the Time Dragon Deniris's draconic face, this Time Dragon was suddenly awakened. Its pupils skyrocketed, looking towards the golden mountain.

Rumble, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, as if the Time Dragon Deniris's pupils had awakened the golden mountain, causing it to come alive.

Two blazing golden lights shot towards the horrified Time Dragon Deniris. Those were the pupils twisted and shot out by the golden mountain, and the terrifying and vast majesty covered the entire sky.

The entire world was shouting and roaring, and every part of the world was responding to the behemoth transformed by this golden mountain. They were singing and fearing the power and majesty of this behemoth.

The world told the Time Dragon Deniris what that thing was.

Lord of the Mountains, King of the Beasts, Monarch of a Thousand Mountains and Beasts—Behemoth!

When this Behemoth stepped out of the center of a thousand mountains and veins, the time of the entire space-time began to be disordered, as if this golden behemoth was trapped here only because it needed to stabilize the chaos of this space-time.

"Escape!"

The adult Time Dragon Deniris was incredibly powerful, but at this moment, that single word filled its mind, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

And so, Deniris fled. As Deniris plunged into the torrent of time and looked back, it could only vaguely see that golden behemoth sitting down once more, transforming into an eternally unmoving golden mountain.

"Perhaps he didn't have any hostility towards me to begin with?" Deniris thought to itself. Immediately afterward, it fled from that place. Even though the other party didn't seem hostile, the Time Dragon felt that the other party could crush it to death, and it didn't want to use its life to test the waters.

Thus, it went to the next, relatively 'calm' timeline to investigate. However, it seemed that the Time Dragon Deniris had forgotten something again.