Rebirth as a Time Dragon

"Does this mean... could I also wield my full might in the material plane?" 

This question lingered in Garon's mind. 

After ascending to the quasi-strong deity level, Garon sensed a leap in his existential and life level. However, he hadn't ventured into the material plane since his ascension, leaving him uncertain. Even entities like the Nine-faced Dragon God and the Supreme Deity couldn't escape the suppression of the material plane.

Garon eagerly anticipated testing this new potential. If he could indeed operate freely within the material plane, he would become the first entity in the history of the Great Wheel Multiverse to wield such power unrestricted in that realm. If another catastrophe targeted the material plane, Garon alone could fend off an entire faction like the Primordial Wild God's forces.

Suppressing his excited thoughts, the silver dragon's expression steadied, focusing on the towering and colossal Earth Elemental Lord, who stood like an aggregation of countless planets.

"Now, it's our turn."

As Garon spoke, the gods shifted into a five-point formation, encircling the Earth Elemental Lord and locking down the surrounding space.

The Metal Dragon God took a deep breath, his chest of gold and silver expanding prominently.

With a mighty exhalation, a torrent of golden flame surged forth, scorching the dense earth and stone of the Earth Elemental Plane as it surged toward the head of the Earth Elemental Lord.

Silvanus, rooted like an oak tree, sent vines slithering through the ground like serpents or dragons. Where these vines passed, flowers, vines, and ancient trees sprouted abundantly, transforming the rocky terrain into a lush, green expanse.

Corellon, the Elven God, raised his divine sword, slicing through space with his gleaming blade, striking at the Earth Elemental Lord from multiple directions.

Facing these relentless attacks, the Earth Elemental Lord remained silent, but he firmly planted his war hammer into the ground.

A deep, resonant sound, like the heartbeat of the Earth Elemental Plane, echoed through the air.

Mountains of stone converged around him, forming layers of impenetrable barriers. Each boulder seemed like an entire world, with intertwined patterns of rock and steel exuding an aura of unyielding and immutable strength.

Explosions echoed as the gods' attacks collided with these barriers of earth and steel.

The fierce dragon breath tore through the barriers, heading straight for the Earth Elemental Lord's head, only to be intercepted by his upraised war hammer, its force diminished.

Corellon's sword slashes pierced through the barriers, targeting the Earth Elemental Lord's body.

To these weakened sword beams, the Earth Elemental Lord paid no heed.

Clanging sounds like steel against steel rang out as the sky-splitting sword beams struck the colossal deity's chest, sending sparks flying. While the impacts formed deep gorges in the eyes of ordinary beings, to the Earth Elemental Lord's vast form, they were mere scratches.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Nature's vines and blossoms burrowed into the stone barriers, striving to break them apart but were crushed by the massive rocks instead.

The Earth Elemental Lord's defenses were nearly impenetrable, rendering the gods' initial assault ineffective.

At this point, Chantea, the Earth Mother, smiled softly, "Allow me to breach his barriers."

Her form grew ethereal and disappeared from the Earth Elemental Plane.

No, she didn't disappear.

The surrounding dirt, rock, steel, and sand suddenly seemed to tighten and come alive, as if imbued with consciousness.

Chantea had merged with the earth, contending with the Earth Elemental Lord for dominion over the plane.

Though the Earth Elemental Lord had ruled the Earth Elemental Plane for eons and would not easily relinquish his control, ignoring such a formidable presence was impossible.

Concentrating her will, Chantea caused intricate, lightning-like cracks to spread across the stone barriers, weakening them.

With a thunderous crash, large sections of the barriers crumbled under the gods' renewed assault.

The gods' relentless attacks penetrated the barriers, engulfing the Earth Elemental Lord.

"You think you can defeat me, Guron, in my domain? Impossible!" 

The Earth Elemental Lord roared defiantly. Bathed in attacks that could pulverize an ordinary powerful deity, his robust body only showed a few slight cracks, far from being seriously damaged.

Endless mountains of stone converged to mend his wounds, healing them instantly.

"His mastery of time's authority is formidable," Garon observed, his platinum eyes glinting with insight.

The Earth Elemental Lord's body was inherently resilient, with each piece of his stone form fortified by his dominion, making it nearly invulnerable. But sustaining the combined assaults of several powerful deities required more.

In addition to his already sturdy divine form, the Earth Elemental Lord had employed his dominion over time to fix himself in an eternal, unchanging state.

The fusion of earth, steel, and time's authorities allowed the Earth Elemental Lord to withstand the deities' attacks without significant harm.

"Even outside his elemental plane, he would be a formidable adversary," Garon praised, admiring the Earth Elemental Lord.

"But to showcase time's power before me is quite audacious."

The silver dragon mused, calm and confident. It was as if the strong deity displaying time's authority before him was merely an insignificant creature, not worth his concern.

With the Earth Elemental Lord towering before him, Garon inhaled deeply, his time-dragon wings unfurling as he rose and lifted his powerful arms high.

Time's river halted momentarily before surging forward in tumultuous waves.

Under the vigilant gaze of the Earth Elemental Lord, the turbulent river of time coalesced into Garon's upraised dragon claws, forming a concentrated sphere of temporal energy that continually flowed and vanished.

In moments, this high-density time energy solidified, reshaping into an arrow that seemed capable of piercing the fabric of the universe.

The arrow was translucent, with time's power flowing like water and inscribed with symbols representing the passage of time.

Days fly like a shuttle, time flows like an arrow.

Arrow of Eternal Time!

With a swift, silent motion, the silver dragon hurled the Arrow of Eternal Time as if throwing a spear, sending it hurtling towards the Earth Elemental Lord.

In the densely packed Earth Elemental Plane, the Arrow of Eternal Time traversed as if through a mirage, unimpeded by any physical barrier.

It moved silently and resolutely.

Simultaneously, the gods' attacks persisted.

Amidst the deluge of divine assaults, the Earth Elemental Lord noticed Garon's arrow. An ancient, primordial instinct alerted him to an intangible threat.

He stomped his colossal leg.

With a resounding crash, an immense mountain erupted, rising to intercept the Arrow of Eternal Time.

To the Earth Elemental Lord's astonishment, the mountain offered no resistance. The arrow passed through it effortlessly, continuing towards him.

The Earth Elemental Lord's expression hardened. He raised his obsidian war hammer.

Black hole-like gravity, capable of warping time, burst forth as the hammer swung towards the arrow.

"… One cannot ignore the Earth Elemental Lord's divine weapon," Garon assessed, narrowing his eyes.

Guiding the Arrow of Eternal Time, Garon navigated through the river of time, its path elusive, appearing in both past and future realms.

Yet, the Earth Elemental Lord, also wielding temporal authority, stood still like a mountain. No matter how Garon maneuvered the arrow, the obsidian war hammer seemed an insurmountable barrier between the arrow and the Earth Elemental Lord.

Despite Garon's formidable power, his true self was not quite at the level needed to overcome this.

The Arrow of Eternal Time should have been an unstoppable force, destined to hit its target. However, the Earth Elemental Lord's superior biological level allowed him to negate this property.

Undeterred, Garon's expression remained calm, even smiling slightly.

Let's not forget, this was a group assault, not a one-on-one duel between Garon and the Earth Elemental Lord.

Nature's Dominion: Life Springs Eternal!

Silvanus, the Lord of Nature, his face resembling the elder visage on a white oak tree trunk, focused on the Earth Elemental Lord, his eyes glowing with a vibrant green light.

Suddenly, countless flowers, vines, giant plants, and moss burst from the Earth Elemental Lord's arms, rooting in his body, drawing on his divine power, and attempting to bind him.

The Metal Dragon God roared and transformed into a streak of golden-silver light, appearing before the Earth Elemental Lord in an instant. With claws, wings, and tail, he unleashed a barrage of strikes.

Corellon, the Elven God, similarly darted forward, his elven sword flashing as he struck at the Earth Elemental Lord, his form seeming to multiply, surrounding the giant with a web of sword slashes.

Chantea, focusing her divine power, weakened the connection between the Earth Elemental Lord and the Earth Elemental Plane, diminishing his enhancements.

Under the gods' combined assault, the Earth Elemental Lord found himself overwhelmed, his movements growing sluggish.

With a faint whistle, the Arrow of Eternal Time narrowly bypassed the incoming obsidian war hammer, piercing the Earth Elemental Lord's chest, ignoring his layered armor of rock, steel, and divine shields, and vanishing into his body.

"Hmm?"

The Earth Elemental Lord glanced down at where the arrow had struck.

There was no wound.

The Arrow of Eternal Time seemed to disappear on impact, leaving no visible trace.

"Is that all?"

As this thought crossed his mind, the Earth

 Elemental Lord's expression suddenly changed.

A tail swipe from the Metal Dragon God, which would typically only jolt him slightly and cause a few minor cracks that could heal instantly, now had a vastly different effect.

Crash!

The outer layers of his stone and steel body crumbled to dust.

The Earth Elemental Lord staggered, nearly toppled by the Metal Dragon God's tail, a deep rift forming across his back.

Not only had the Metal Dragon God's attacks intensified.

All of the gods' assaults suddenly grew more potent, more precise, and more effective.

Corellon's sword slashes left the Earth Elemental Lord with numerous deep wounds. Silvanus's vines burrowed deeper, drawing more power, and Chantea's disruption grew more pronounced. Additionally, a sensation of time's erosion made the Earth Elemental Lord feel weaker.

At this moment, the Earth Elemental Lord understood the true effect of the Arrow of Eternal Time.

Garon's arrow didn't inflict physical harm.

Instead, it disrupted the Earth Elemental Lord's state of eternal immobility and imposed the concept of time's passage upon him, forcing him to experience the effects of aging. He had to expend extraordinary divine power to resist this, and any lapse would lead to mental sluggishness and physical degradation.

For an immortal god, the feeling of aging was unprecedented and deeply unsettling.

In the Palace of Sorrow, Garon's decaying time power against the Queen of the Empty Dark was a weaker version of the Arrow of Eternal Time.

After ascending to the level of a powerful deity, Garon had learned numerous temporal abilities from his original self. While his position limited the full efficacy of these powers, they were more than sufficient against most opponents.

The Earth Elemental Lord's once impregnable defense was shattered.

Facing the gods' relentless assault, he began to accumulate more and more injuries—wounds he couldn't ignore, reverse, or regenerate.

The yellowish glow of his body dimmed, his form marred with countless cuts and gouges from divine claws and teeth.

Despite his formidable vitality and defenses, he was slowly being overwhelmed by the gods' concerted attack.

Occasionally, he focused all his power on one target, hoping to severely wound a single god and lessen his burden.

But the gods denied him this chance, skillfully maneuvering and wearing him down.

With the gods in control, time was on their side. They didn't need to rush; maintaining their strategy ensured victory.

The Earth Elemental Lord, however, had limited time. Defeat and capture by the gods were inevitable if this continued.

Crack!

Garon's claws of fractured time tore through the Earth Elemental Lord's arm, leaving deep grooves.

The Earth Elemental Lord's ruby-like eyes flared with bright red light as he turned, firing twin beams directly at the silver dragon's head.

The beams were swift, but the silver dragon seemed to anticipate them, becoming intangible as the Earth Elemental Lord moved. The beams passed harmlessly through his head, vanishing into the distance.

Tilting his head, the silver dragon evaded the beams, then unleashed a breath of temporal destruction, striking the Earth Elemental Lord's chest and blasting a gaping hole through him.

Endless rocks surged to fill the wound, but until fully healed, his movements inevitably slowed.

As time passed, under the relentless onslaught of the gods, the Earth Elemental Lord began to falter.

Weakened, he suffered more injuries faster.

Like an avalanche, his disadvantages rapidly compounded, tipping the scales towards the gods.

"Guron, how long will you resist?"

"Must we kill you here in the Earth Elemental Plane?" 

Bahamut evaded a strike from the obsidian war hammer, his golden wings slamming against the Earth Elemental Lord's head, fracturing it further.

Silvanus formed spears of vines and flowers that pierced the Earth Elemental Lord's body, draining his divine power.

Under the gods' relentless and urgent attacks, the ruby-like eyes of the Earth Elemental Lord burned even brighter.

Finally, he let out a deafening roar, raising his arms as if embracing the entire Earth Elemental Plane.

"The Pantheon crushes those who do not bow. If it's to be this way, let us all die together! We will be buried in this world of earth!"

Boom!

A vast yellow light burst from the Earth Elemental Lord's body, flinging the Metal Dragon God and the silver dragon away, disintegrating countless phantom strikes from the Elven God.

Cracks spread across the Earth Elemental Lord's form.

Despite not being under direct attack, his body began to fissure, with cracks extending over every inch.

The gods' expressions shifted.

Crack! Crack!

The fissures extended from the Earth Elemental Lord's body into the Earth Elemental Plane, forming endless chasms across the realm.

Simultaneously, the Earth Elemental Lord's form swelled, his aura surging despite his weakened state.

Chantea, who had merged with the plane, was forcibly expelled as he seized control, her form reappearing.

"This is bad. He's overloading, drawing power from the Earth Elemental Plane's core."

The Earth Elemental Lord's biological level surged again, reaching 120, equivalent to a divine rank of 20, the highest level of deities.

Yet, his aura continued to climb.

An unprecedented pressure filled the gods' minds.

Every grain of sand, every stone in the Earth Elemental Plane seemed to come alive, turning against the gods with malevolent intent.

"He wants to take us down with him?" 

Garon's expression turned serious as he and the gods braced against the plane's fury.

"We must break through the planar barrier and retreat temporarily."

"Once he overextends, he'll be in a critical state and no longer a threat."

Chantea suggested.

The Earth Elemental Lord couldn't command the entire plane. His desperate move might damage the core, but he couldn't destroy the plane entirely. The plane's own will would resist such a fate.

Acting decisively, the gods turned their attacks on the plane's crystalline barrier.

Though fortified by the Earth Elemental Lord, the barrier couldn't withstand the combined assault of five powerful deities, quickly becoming riddled with cracks and openings.

Once a sufficient gap formed, the gods prepared to leave.

But as the opening appeared, the gods paused.

The silver dragon looked up, sensing a presence above.

Clad in scales of shifting, multicolored hues, exuding a calm and majestic aura, the Nine-faced Dragon God tore through the planar barrier, entering the Earth Elemental Plane.

With a sweep of his wings, the Nine-faced Dragon God spread his presence.

Chains of rules shot from every scale on his body, instantly filling the plane and confronting the Earth Elemental Lord.

Although the Nine-faced Dragon God's mastery over rules surpassed the Earth Elemental Lord's, the latter had woven his influence into the plane over eons. Despite the Dragon God's prowess, seizing control from the Earth Elemental Lord in a short time was impossible, especially now that the Earth Elemental Lord had reached his peak.

The plane's upheaval was restrained.

Seeing the Nine-faced Dragon God stabilizing the situation, the gods prepared for another assault on the Earth Elemental Lord.

Elemental planes, unlike outer planes, are considered inner planes. Each element forms the foundation of the material plane. Any significant disturbance in an elemental plane would disrupt the balance in the material plane, causing catastrophic changes.

The Earth Elemental Lord's actions were perilous.

However, as the gods moved to strike, the Nine-faced Dragon God halted them with a gesture, speaking calmly to the Earth Elemental Lord.

"Guron, do you seek eternal damnation, or will you accept the Pantheon's judgment and punishment, clinging to some hope of survival?"

Reaching the pinnacle of his biological level, though his aura fluctuated wildly, the Earth Elemental Lord hesitated.

While he could not fully control the Earth Elemental Plane, his defiance could still inflict some damage and losses upon the Pantheon.

But this path led to utter ruin. As the Nine-faced Dragon God said, he would face complete annihilation, with no chance of revival, his existence erased entirely.

Under the Nine-faced Dragon God's calm but oppressive gaze, the Earth Elemental Lord's defiance slowly waned.

He wasn't a chaotic god and lacked the reckless resolve for such a self-destructive course.

Had it been only the Nine-faced Dragon God, he might have considered leveraging his domain for a confrontation. But with five powerful deities also present, he stood no chance.

"I might have misunderstood the Pantheon. I am willing to accept judgment."

The Earth Elemental Lord's voice lowered, his earlier defiance and criticism of the Pantheon suddenly vanishing.

A god who embodied the principle of immutability seemed capable of flexibility under external pressure, Garon mused, thinking to himself.

Instantly, chains of rules coiled around the Earth Elemental Lord, sealing his divine power and shrinking his immense form to a mere two or three meters.

"The Pantheon will grant you a fair and just trial."

The Nine-faced Dragon God nodded to Bahamut and Garon, "Take Guron to the Pantheon. He will be temporarily confined, awaiting the gods' judgment."

As the gods prepared to depart, the Nine-faced Dragon God stayed behind in the Earth Elemental Plane, personally mending the damage caused by the battle.

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