Betrayal and Exile

Yet none of this ended as smoothly as Tiamat had expected. Under the effect of the Chaos Domain, even the black hole tearing through space was suddenly twisted.

The flesh, scales, and bones hanging in midair burned fiercely, falling toward Tiamat like countless meteors. They then gathered before her, reshaping into Kareks's savage dragon body as frenzied scorching winds surged from him.

At this moment, the Divine Body of the Lord of Fire was covered in entropy marks—his madness could no longer distinguish friend from foe. Upon the earth, the World Cleansing Fire began devouring its own "followers," turning countless Dragon Worship cultists into nourishment for Kareks's rebirth.

"Kill you!"

"It hurts, it hurts! As long as I destroy everything, I can finally be free!"

Madness filled Kareks's eyes as he let out a miserable howl, then charged recklessly toward the Soul Body of the Five-Headed Great Dragon.

Tiamat's expression grew increasingly grim—she could not keep dragging this out. Continuing to fight this madman would bring her nothing but harm.

The ritual had a time limit. Once it exceeded the chosen window, the barrier of the Material Plane would reform.

When that happened, she would miss this precious opportunity that came only once in a thousand years and lose her chance to descend upon the Prime Material Plane entirely.

Moreover, the gods would never simply ignore her descent. Before this war, Tiamat had allied herself with many Lawful Evil deities, the great devils of Hell, and even struck bargains with Devil Lords in the Abyss, paying a tremendous price to have them hold back the gods' offensive for her.

If too much time passed, those untrustworthy temporary allies would no longer be able to stop the gods, and even her divine kingdom might come under attack.

Tiamat knew that her