After that roar, Aiden vanished from the sky in an instant and reappeared in his Pocket Domain, quickly pulling on a fresh Ravens Grave uniform from his inventory before warping back to stand among the group.

His movement had been so fast; entering, changing, and returning—that his brief disappearance went almost unnoticed.

After his first transformation he had started keeping spare clothes stored away since the dragon form would always tear through whatever he wore.

The oppressive weight of his draconic aura had lifted the moment he returned as a human, but Myrenne and Aeris still trembled as they pushed themselves upright with shaking legs.

Neither woman could find words to speak and both stared at Aiden as if seeing him for the first time.

Myrenne's thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Part of the goddess's protection was to also shield them from external influence, wasn't it?

Yet it had been ineffective against Aiden's aura.

Laela broke the silence first and stepped closer to him. In a calm voice, she asked "What was the whole reason for going up there and roaring out like that?"

"I'm trying to call out to the dragon Cronyssia," Aiden replied simply.

Arianna tilted her head slightly. "Did it work?"

"I wouldn't know just yet," Aiden said. "Not until she answers."

A brief moment passed before Myrenne finally managed to steady her voice enough to speak. "I didn't think I would be traveling with dragonkind," she said quietly and shook her head. "The mysteries behind your powers are now clear."

Aiden scoffed under his breath but said nothing in response.

They waited in silence as minutes stretched into what felt like an hour and the longer they stood there without any sign of Cronyssia the more it seemed like she wasn't going to appear at all.

Aiden considered roaring again to get her attention but before he could act his supernatural senses flared suddenly and he turned his head sharply toward the distance.

"We have company," he said. "More demons."

Everyone immediately became alert and their eyes followed his gaze as figures began to emerge from a distance.

Lesser demons moved toward them in a scattered group with their demonic forms becoming clearer as they approached, announcing their arrival with their high-pitched cackling

Aiden raised one hand and prepared to wipe them out with a single gesture but before he could cast anything a roar erupted from the skies above them.

A massive dragon descended from the clouds with scales of black and white as she flew directly over the group with her wings spread wide.

The moment her shadow passed over the demons their bodies began to change.

Their skin wrinkled and sagged as if they aged decades in seconds, their limbs withered as muscle faded away until only bone remained.

Within moments they had become skeletal figures that crumbled into dust before they could even scream.

After the quick early growth of a demon at infant age their aging became practically slowed down.

So much that a demon staying out of trouble could live for thousands of years, but Cronyssia had used her authority over time to age these demons so fast it brought them instantly to the end of their lifespan.

Everyone except Aiden stared up at the dragon with widened eyes as she flew overhead.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Cronyssia's three-hundred-foot dragon form landed on the ground with a thunderous impact that sent tremors through the ground.

Each step she took toward them left visible craters and cracks.

The party slowly began to cower behind Aiden without even realizing they had moved. Their bodies instinctively sought shelter from the massive creature approaching them.

Aiden stood his ground and watched without fear as Cronyssia's enormous head lowered until it was level with him and her face moved past him as if sniffing him out before she pulled back and began to shift.

Her massive body shrank rapidly and within moments she had transformed into a petite woman with a delicate build and black horns that had tints of white running through them. She had dragon tail covered in black and white scales that swayed behind her.

She wore no clothing but black and white scales covered her body in certain places and left little to the imagination while still preserving modesty.

"Why has Thyrak moved his vessel again?" Cronyssia asked in a petite voice that didn't match the power she had just displayed. "And of all times, now? Worst of it, this vessel isn't even close to being a dragon of strength worthy of fighting what's to come."

Aiden opened his mouth to respond but Cronyssia tilted her head slightly and spoke again before he could. "Why did you come here with these humans and the elf? Don't you realize how dangerous this place is for them?"

The party quivered slightly when the dragon mentioned them directly. Aeris herself, gulped.

Aiden sighed heavily. "Well if you would just listen," he began and was about to explain that a time variant of herself had actually sent him to this place when Cronyssia stole the words right out of his mouth.

"So you met that time variant," she said.

Aiden paused and then remembered Cronyssia's ability to see into the future. "Oh right, I forgot you can do that," he muttered and crossed his arms. "Well then I'll just let you see the rest of the future of our conversation."

Without another word spoken Cronyssia's eyes glazed over slightly as she looked forward through time and witnessed the remainder of their conversation before it happened.

She saw Aiden explaining how he met the time variant in the S-rank dungeon and ultimately the warning that Aiden was meant to bring to the Cronyssia of the current timeline.

The warning that the Demon King's power had grown enough that he could forcibly send her out of the demon realm through dungeons and the warning that it was possible his generals were already free.

Cronyssia's face shifted into something disturbed but not entirely surprised. "The rise in his power doesn't surprise me," she said quietly and looked directly at Aiden. "But first, you should know that I'm currently a time variant as well. I was called forward by the real Cronyssia right after you roared earlier."

Aiden's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The real me is standing guard at the gateway leading into the demon realm," Cronyssia continued. "And on that note there's something you need to see."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Aiden looked at her directly. "What is it that I need to see?"

"In due time," Cronyssia replied and tilted her head again toward the women standing behind Aiden before turning back to face him. "I understand that the elf and the human are your wives-to-be, but I truly see no reason why they and the Amazons should be escorting you all the way to this place."

After peaking into the future of her conversation with Aiden, she had known who the women all were.

Aiden sighed and shook his head. He actually agreed with her on that part. "None of them do a good job at listening to me," he said in an almost sarcastic tone.

Arianna and Laela both exchanged glances and Laela crossed her arms with a small smile while Arianna raised an eyebrow but neither said anything.

"However I can't move past that time field," Aiden continued and gestured toward the boundary where night met day. "You'll have to help me pass through."

"I know," Cronyssia said simply. "The time field is placed by the original me and for good reason so it cannot be undone, but I can allow you entry by placing you within a different flow of time, one that runs parallel to the stillness of the field."

She paused and looked at each of them in turn. "While inside the field you'll experience time normally among yourselves, but compared to the world outside your time will be slowed by a vast margin. Each hour you spend inside will equal roughly three to four days outside."

Myrenne then spoke up boldly despite her earlier fear. "So if we stay too long we'll lose weeks of time?"

Cronyssia nodded. "The longer you remain within, the more the outside world will move ahead of you. Be mindful of that before you take a step forward."

Aiden turned toward Laela and Arianna with concern written across his face but Laela raised one hand to stop him before he could speak.

"You're probably about to tell us something to try and dissuade us both," she said firmly. "But you shouldn't be worried about it. Besides, how long were we really going to spend inside anyway?"

Arianna nodded in agreement. "We've come this far already."

Aiden sighed but didn't argue further.

Myrenne looked visibly moody about the situation because this was far more time being taken than she had initially planned, but unfortunately she couldn't escape her duty from the goddess no matter how much she wanted to.

Aeris spoke up at that point, with her voice carrying this hint of determination. "I've been going with you all since the start and I can't exactly turn back now."

Deep down though she was growing more fascinated with the whole dragon situation and everything surrounding it. It was a rare experience and she couldn't help but feel drawn to it.

Aiden turned back to Cronyssia and nodded once.

She lifted her hand slightly and a faint aura rippled outward around Aiden and the others.

Her form slid back into that of a dragon in an instant and her massive body filled the space before them as she extended one of her clawed hands outward. "Get on," she said simply while looking at everyone except Aiden.

They all had varying levels of reaction with Myrenne hesitating for a moment and Aeris looking both nervous and excited, but eventually they all climbed onto Cronyssia's extended hand.

Cronyssia then turned back towards Aiden, "shall we?"

Without saying anything, Aiden simply sprouted wings from his back and with that they all took flight and began moving further into the continent.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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