"It is you, Mother of the Stars." Her voice was low and hoarse, like a wild beast trapped in a snare. "You have obscured the power of the bloodline of the Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur. You have tricked me."
"Scheme?" The Mother of the Stars ' voice remained calm. "I merely made a deal. The Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur served me, and I protected their bloodline from being devoured by you. A fair trade, isn't it?"
"Fairness?!" The Lord of Time's dragon roar shattered the surrounding time crystals. "That's the power of the Dragon Clan! That's the bloodline of the True Dragon Clan! You, an outsider, what right do you have—"
"Because I am stronger than all of you."
The Mother of the Stars ' voice was not loud, but every word was like a falling star, striking the soul of the Lord of Time. There was no boasting or threat in Her words; She was simply stating a fact—a fact that the Lord of Time could not refute.
"Furthermore, as a traitor to the Dragon Clan, you seem to have no right to criticize me from the perspective of your own kind, do you?"
The Lord of Time fell silent.
He could sense the power of the Mother of the Stars; even this projection contained enough power to suppress him. And he—a being who had failed to break through and was stuck halfway—was even less likely to be a match for the Mother of the Stars.
"What do you want?" the Lord of Time asked in a deep voice. "You didn't come here just to see me make a fool of myself."
The corners of the Mother of the Stars' mouth turned up slightly.
"Clever."
She raised her hand, and starlight gathered in her palm, forming a miniature star map. The star map marked every corner of the Known Cosmic Sea — the Divine Realm, the Northern Spirit Empire, the Primogenitor Mountain, the Adrian Federation, the World Alliance, the Bottomless Abyss, the Nine Hells... and the Fantasy Dimension.
"The Lord of Nightmares is coveting the Fantasy Dimension," the Mother of the Stars ' voice remained calm. "His Primogenitor Mountain has entered the outer reaches of the Fantasy Dimension and is attempting to tear apart its barriers. If He succeeds, He will gain the full power of the Fantasy Dimension —enough to allow Him to break through to the Second-Step Eternity."
The Lord of Time's dragon eyes narrowed slightly.
You want me to stop Him?
"No," the Mother of the Stars shook her head, "I need your help."
"... What?"
The Lord of Time thought he had misheard.
"The Lord of Nightmares's power is insufficient to devour the origin of the Fantasy Dimension alone, to break through the barriers beyond the origin, and the Sturdiness defenses created by the Lord of No Void of the Fantasy Hall." A profound light flashed in the Mother of the Stars's starry eyes. "But if the power of the Lord of Time assists—if you use your Law of Time to accelerate His tearing process, and your laws of causality to distort the Fantasy Dimension's defense mechanisms—He can succeed."
"And then?" The Lord of Time's voice was wary. "He succeeded, gaining the power of the Fantasy Dimension and breaking through to the Second-Step Eternity —what good does that do me? What good does it do you? What exactly do you want?"
The Mother of the Stars ' smile deepened.
"Benefits? For you, the benefit is simply breaking through to the Second-Step Eternity, isn't it? As long as you obey my orders and turn against the Lord of Nightmares at the crucial moment, I will naturally have the Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur transfer the remaining Dragon Clan bloodline power to you, and I will also help you forge a true Eternity Dragon Realm and step into the Second-Step Eternity eternity."
Her voice was as calm as if she were stating tomorrow's weather.
"Critical moment? What critical moment?"
The Lord of Time's dragon eyes suddenly contracted.
"You want me... to betray the Lord of Nightmares?"
"Betrayal?" The Mother of the Stars ' voice carried a hint of mockery. "You have just devoured the entire True Dragon Clan, Lord of Time. You personally killed your own kin, your descendants, your guardians. Now you come to talk to me about 'betrayal'?"
The Lord of Time fell silent.
He could not refute it.
"Moreover," the Mother of the Stars ' voice softened, like a mother's whisper, "I'm not asking you to do things for nothing. If you agree to my conditions, the Dragon Clan bloodline power within the Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur is yours. That power is enough to fill the void left by your failed breakthrough, enough to completely reshape your Eternity Dragon Body, enough to make you—"
She paused for a moment, her gaze fixed on the dragon eyes of the Lord of Time.
"Stepping into Second-Step Eternity."
In the dragon's eye of the Lord of Time, struggle and desire clash.
He knew the Mother of the Stars was using him. He knew it was a trap. He knew that once he agreed to the terms, he would forever be a pawn of the Mother of the Stars, forever unable to escape her control.
But did He have any other choice?
His breakthrough failed. His Eternity Dragon Body was only half-formed. He was stuck in the Abyss between Eternity and the Second-Step Eternity, neither rising nor falling, neither advancing nor retreating. If he could not obtain that part of the bloodline power, he would be stuck here forever.
and...
Lord of Nightmares?
That creature was never a good person to begin with. The Nightmare Hydra of Primogenitor Mountain, coveting the Fantasy Dimension for countless years, was greedy, selfish, and cruel. What's wrong with betraying Him?
The Lord of Time closed his eyes.
In His mind, the voice of the Blue Diamond Dragon, Heavenly Heart Suli, rang out once more:
"You are on the wrong path, Lord of Time."
'No, I will prove I'm on the right path, Suli.'
The Lord of Time suddenly opened his eyes.
I promise you.
The Mother of the Stars smiled, as if countless stars were shining simultaneously.
"A wise choice."
She raised her hand, and a token formed from starlight slowly floated towards the Lord of Time.
"This is the control token of the Chaos Stele. Once you have fulfilled all my requirements for you, you can use it to break the seal within the Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur, and that portion of the Dragon Clan bloodline power will be yours."
She paused.
"But until then, you must serve me and await my orders."
The Lord of Time accepted the token, a complex light flashing in his dragon eyes.
"So when exactly do you want me to make my move?"
"Before or after the Lord of Nightmares completely took over the Fantasy Dimension?"
A chill flashed in the Mother of the Stars's starry eyes.
"I want you to strike the Lord of Nightmares the moment he succeeds."
The Lord of Time fell silent.
"But if I do that, I will suffer a huge backlash from the contract."
"Don't worry, what you gain will far outweigh what you lose."
The projection of the Mother of the Stars began to dissipate, and the starlight slowly faded in the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm, like the receding tide.
The starlight completely dissipated.
The projection of the Mother of the Stars has left the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm.
Only the Lord of Time remained, suspended above the ruined altar, half of his body radiating Eternity light, the other half covered in mortal scales, like a statue cleaved in two.
His dragon eyes stared at the Chaos Stele Token in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.
Then, He let out a low, angry, and humiliating dragon roar.
The sound echoed throughout the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm, passing through the Time Crystal Pillar, the causal barrier, and countless tributaries of the River of Space-Time, reaching every corner of the Known Cosmic Sea.
All who heard the dragon's roar sensed the emotions within it.
It's not anger.
It's not humiliation.
It was despair.
A complete and irreversible despair for someone about to enter the Second-Step Eternity.
But when they listened carefully, it was as if the sound had never appeared at all; they couldn't catch any trace of it coming or going.
Within the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm, all fell silent.
The remnant souls of those devoured True Dragon have completely vanished. The radiance of the Platinum Dragon God, the malice of the Mother of Evil Dragons, and the wisdom of the Blue Diamond Dragon have all become part of the Lord of Time. But at this moment, the Lord of Time feels no joy in the increase of power, only a deep, indescribable emptiness.
He looked down at his own body.
Half is Eternity light, half is mortal scales.
Half of him is a being that transcends everything, and the other half is a beast trapped in a cage.
He remembered the words of the Blue Diamond Dragon.
"Devouring cannot bring Eternity, it only brings a deeper emptiness."
Now, He finally understood the meaning of those words.
He devoured the entire True Dragon Clan, killed his own brethren, betrayed his oath, and abandoned his protectors. In return, he received only an incomplete shell, a failed breakthrough, and a Fate controlled by the Mother of the Stars.
He is the strongest among the Dragon Clan.
He is the Lord of Time.
He is the Eternity Dragon of Time.
But at this moment, he was merely a prisoner.
Imprisoned by the Mother of the Stars in the cage of Fate, imprisoned by his own ambition in the Abyss of failure, imprisoned by that incomplete Eternity Dragon Body in the gap between First-Step Eternity and Second-Step Eternity.
The Lord of Time closed his eyes.
In His mind, the whispers of the devoured True Dragon echoed once more. But this time, they were no longer resentment and curses, but something deeper, more deadly—
remorse.
"Do you regret it?" That was the voice of the Platinum Dragon God, calm yet sorrowful.
"Regret?" The Lord of Time's voice was hoarse. "I..."
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
Because He truly regretted it.
But what good is regret? The True Dragon He devoured will not be resurrected, His breakthrough will not be repeated, and the Mother of the Stars ' schemes will not disappear.
All He could do was keep going.
Keep going down this wrong path.
Until the very end.
The Lord of Time opened his eyes, a resolute glint flashing in his dragon pupils.
He absorbed the token from the Chaos Stele into his body, and his body slowly descended from the altar. The broken altar shattered the moment he left, turning into countless fragments of time crystals that floated in the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm.
Within those fragments, the figures of countless Dragon Clan could be vaguely seen—the majesty of the Platinum Dragon God, the arrogance of the Mother of Evil Dragons, the wisdom of the Blue Diamond Dragon, and the heroic spirits of countless True Dragon Clan. They struggled, howled, and cursed within the fragments, but ultimately all vanished into nothingness, dissipating into the darkness of the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm.
The Lord of Time did not turn back.
His body sank into the depths of the River of Space-Time, disappearing at the confluence of countless tributaries of time.
Within the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm, only a shattered altar, countless floating fragments of time crystals, and a memory forever sealed away remain.
That was the extinction of a race.
The fall of the strongest.
An Eternity, irreversible tragedy.
In some corner of the River of Space-Time, the Mother of the Stars withdrew her gaze.
A faint smile played on her lips, and her eyes, as black as Black Hole, reflected the Fate of the entire Astral Realm.
Lord of Nightmares, Lord of Time of the Fantasy Dimension, Sovereign of the Astral Realm --
Everything is proceeding according to her plan.
Her ultimate goal was never the Fantasy Dimension, nor the dominion over the Astral Realm.
Instead--
Third-Step Eternity.
Control the entire Astral Realm.
The Mother of the Stars closed her eyes, and her body disappeared into the ocean of stars.
Behind her, the Thirty-Eight Paradise Pterosaur hovered silently, their golden dragon eyes reflecting the silhouette of the Lord of Time disappearing into the depths of the River of Space-Time.
He knew that his Fate was already sealed.
The moment the seal is broken, the moment the power of the Dragon Clan bloodline within Him is devoured by the Lord of Time, He will vanish into nothingness, becoming the stepping stone for the Lord of Time to reach Eternity.
But He did not struggle, did not resist, and did not even show fear.
Because He knew all along that from the moment He chose to serve the Mother of the Stars, this was His destiny.
The destiny of a dragon.
The Termination of an era.
An Eternity, irreversible fall.
The River of Space-Time trembled, ripples splashed everywhere, and the Eternally Sealed Dragon Realm transformed into a hazy gray dragon pearl, which was swallowed by the Lord of Time, who then leaped away from this place.
Soaring across the River of Space-Time, the Lord of Time, with his profound gaze traversing Space-Time, looked upon a magnificent world in the vast Void.
In that world, a magnificent, verdant tree was in full bloom, its powerful life force spreading outwards, causing all living beings to undergo bloodline optimization and soul elevation wherever it passed.
That is the Ancestral Tree of Life, the World Tree's most beloved and outstanding offspring. The Lord of Time knows about her, but what He cares about most right now is His own White Feather of Time, which is being controlled by this Ancestral Tree of Life.
"Useless Nightmare Hydra, it actually stole my White Feather of Time." A sinister glint flashed in the deep dragon eyes.
The Lord of Time did not travel to the World Tree Universe to claim his Miracle Creation, the White Feather of Time, because He knew it was impossible.
No one will give away Miracle Creation they've acquired for nothing.
Moreover, from the perspective of faction division, they and the World Tree Universe were originally on opposite sides.
Fortunately Nightmare Hydra's Miracle Creation Bloodline Atlas is no less powerful than the White Feather of Time, and the losses are not too outrageous. The only drawback is that the attributes are not very compatible.
However, these will no longer be a problem once He advances to the Second-Step Eternity. At that time, the power of Miracle Creation will be greatly weakened in His hands, and their effect will not be as significant.
Thinking this, the Lord of Time swayed his dragon tail, transformed into a beam of white light, and disappeared into the River of Space-Time. When he reappeared, he had already arrived at the Primogenitor Mountain.
The roars of various colossal beasts echoed through the seemingly Endless, majestic mountains: the Phoenix spreading its wings, the Holy Spirit Bird lowering its eyes, and the Star Sea Giant Ape carrying stars and chasing the moon...
"Nightmares, here I come..."
"The Lord of Time roared."