Disagreements

"Everyone be quiet!" Nozdormu spoke, and all the other Bronze Dragons stopped arguing and looked at the Dragon Aspect. The Dragon Aspect was staring intently at Chromie in front of him:

"Chromie, you seem to know something. Tell me, what exactly is it?"

Seeing all the members of her race looking at her, Chromie opened her mouth, and finally sighed, saying, "This matter… is a bit complicated."

The dragons present all knew that Chromie had a special identity, and that she possessed secrets that even Nozdormu was unaware of.

"Speak quickly, what is it?"

"Twenty-two years ago, another 'me' from a different timeline came to find me. She told me some secrets, the most important of which was that in four years, a human would come to this world. She asked me to help in any way I could—you know, I couldn't refuse such a request."

"That human—are you talking about that person?" Anachronos pressed.

He certainly wouldn't forget that person from eighteen years ago!

"Yes, it's him. I've been researching this for over twenty years, and I've come to a terrible conclusion—our timeline is wrong, our history has been tampered with. People who shouldn't have died, died, or died in an unnatural way; many things that should have happened didn't happen, and things that shouldn't have happened did. This should be the most sensitive area for us Bronze Dragons, but until now, we're still completely unaware of it. You know what that means, right?"

"Are you saying…"

"That Blackmoore, he shouldn't have had that ending. In fact, he has always been a pawn of the Infinite Dragonflight. Simply put, we were deceived!"

Chromie's words struck the Bronze Dragons like a thunderclap, the meaning of which made their scalps tingle.

"Since when?"

"Twenty-two years ago!"

Anachronos was dumbfounded. He and his father had even destroyed the Hourglass of Time to protect that person, but Chromie was now telling him that Blackmoore was actually on the side of the Infinite Dragonflight?

Wasn't that helping the enemy?

The leaders of the Bronze Dragons fell silent.

Dragon Aspect Nozdormu turned his gaze to the chaotic timelines, wanting to trace the source, but he soon saw a scene that shocked him:

The person who assassinated Blackmoore in Blackrock Mountain had actually extracted the power of the Caverns of Time, causing their Bronze Dragonflight to forever lose their sacred duty of traversing timelines, monitoring, and maintaining history!

Compared to Blackmoore, this person was the real destroyer!

Nozdormu was filled with fear. He turned his gaze to other timelines to trace the origins of this person, and soon he saw everything that Dragon Aspect Nozdormu in Aiden's timeline had seen:

Destroying the World Tree, invading the Emerald Dream, cooperating with Deathwing, disrupting the established history…

Even the Infinite Dragonflight couldn't do such a degree of destruction—at least not so blatantly!

This person!

He saw that this person had already arrived at the gate of the Caverns of Time!

"Audacious destroyer!" Nozdormu recalled how he had been forced to use the Hourglass of Time to banish the other party's past, but he hadn't expected this person to be able to return. Didn't this further prove that he was the one who stole the power of time?

Nozdormu suddenly raised his head from the projection of the timeline, emitting a terrifying aura, and all the surrounding Bronze Dragons felt that terrifying aura!

"Our world is not wrong! Chromie, what you see and hear are things that happened on other timelines. You should understand that for us, anything that happens on any other timeline is an illusion, only we are real! Our world is not wrong, if we were exactly the same as other timelines, that would be the real mistake!" Nozdormu roared almost hysterically, his bloodshot pupils making him look even more terrifying. Chromie wanted to refute, but couldn't open her mouth.

Because she knew that she would not be able to convince Nozdormu at this moment. He would definitely stick to his own opinion.

He himself was the most authoritative person, and no one could challenge his conclusions in the realm of time.

"Our world is not wrong!" Nozdormu emphasized again, the chilling tone making the other Bronze Dragons want to shiver.

If the Infinite Dragonflight had really tampered with history 22 years ago, he would have sensed it. But he had not found any signs of the Infinite Dragonflight interfering with history when he went back in time! The last time the Infinite Dragonflight appeared was when they directly took away King Blackmoore.

Nozdormu roared, "The real destroyer has arrived at our gate, with a terrible purpose—to extract our power and destroy the Caverns of Time! I will never allow such a thing to happen!"

"What!"

"This, this—"

Chromie cast a spell, and she immediately saw the situation outside the Caverns of Time. That human, named Aiden, was indeed walking towards the Caverns of Time, but he didn't seem to have any malicious intentions.

She remembered what the other version of herself in the other timeline had entrusted her with, and couldn't help but say, "He might just be here to borrow a way back, shouldn't we be more careful, isn't it?"

"Chromie, watch your position!" Nozdormu glared at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I—"

"We can't wait any longer, go stop him!"

Anachronos had long wanted to take revenge on Aiden, and he still vividly remembered the failure at Blackrock Spire—perhaps it couldn't be considered a complete failure, but they had only managed to salvage the situation by shattering the Hourglass of Time, which to him was a failure!

You should know that the Bronze Dragons had maintained the various timelines so many times, thwarting countless malicious attempts by the Infinite Dragonflight, but no opponent had ever been worthy of them shattering the Hourglass of Time! That was a truly unique artifact!

—

Aiden was truly here to borrow a way back. After merging with the Hourglass of Time, the Scepter of Time could also help him open a portal, but he didn't have the specific coordinates of other timelines, just like being able to drive but not knowing the way, and not having a navigator, not knowing how to get back from this strange place.

Without a doubt, the Bronze Dragons who managed the timelines possessed a "navigator," so Aiden still came at the risk.

The Bronze Dragons guarding the gate were very surprised to see a mortal intruding here. Although the entrance to the Caverns of Time was in these mountains, there was a magic circle personally set up by the Dragon Aspect outside, making it almost impossible for mortals, or even anyone other than the Bronze Dragons, to truly enter. If it was a brute force intrusion, the Bronze Dragons in the Caverns of Time would definitely sense it.

How did this human enter here? Did he know how to "open the door"?

They were very sure that Aiden was a human, not a Bronze Dragon transformed into a human through shapeshifting. They were very clear on how to distinguish whether they were of the same kind.

"Who are you, how did you break in here?" The Bronze Dragon guarding the gate shouted, blocking the entrance.

The Dragonspawn beside him, each holding weapons, warily surrounded him. This was likely an uninvited guest!

"I'm here to find Chromie, she knows me, please let her come out for a moment!"

Aiden was able to know how to enter thanks to Chromie's help. Moreover, for him now, even without the method taught by Chromie, those mazes could not stop him.

"You stand here, don't move!" The Bronze Dragon guarding the gate looked at him vigilantly, "You're here to find her, why didn't she tell us in advance? Do you know what this place is! Mortals should not set foot here!"

Aiden found it a bit ridiculous, he wasn't stepping foot here for the first time. That was true in this timeline, but the other party's attitude made him feel a bad premonition. If the method Chromie said wasn't so useful, then he was afraid that borrowing the road this time…

Just as he thought of this, he saw a large group of Bronze Dragons flying out of the Dragonshrine. The leader was Anachronos.

As soon as he appeared, he shouted loudly, "Surround this mortal, don't let him escape!"

The Bronze Dragonflight immediately surrounded Aiden under his command, and the dragons and Dragonspawn in the sky and on the ground were all eyeing him fiercely.

His premonition was probably about to become reality again.

"Anachronos, I'm not here to fight! Please don't misunderstand!" Aiden wanted to make one last effort.

"Do you think I would be foolish enough to believe your lies?" Anachronos's anger erupted, his eyes fixed on Aiden. "We were worried about not being able to find you, but you delivered yourself to our doorstep. Destroyer!"

The bronze dragon prince emphasized the latter title, his expression revealing undisguised disgust.

Aiden frowned deeply, explaining, "I think you should understand some more facts—the real destroyer isn't me. Haven't you realized that the so-called King Blackmore is actually an agent of the Infinite Dragonflight?"

"No need for your reminders!" Anachronos interrupted arrogantly. "Whether he is or isn't doesn't matter. What matters is that you come from another timeline, yet you're trying to change our history! This is an unforgivable offense!"

Aiden took a deep breath. He had anticipated disagreements with the bronze dragons, but he hadn't expected that, aside from Chromie, there wouldn't be a single one in the entire dragon race capable of normal communication!

"Fine, it seems I've made a wasted trip." Aiden said in a low voice, "Since you're so certain, I'll just leave."

He frowned at Anachronos, "Have your people step aside. I don't want to escalate the conflict further."

He prepared to open a time portal himself to leave. The bronze dragons in this timeline held a grudge against him, making communication difficult. Perhaps the bronze dragons in other timelines would be more reasonable. In any case, every Caverns of Time across different timelines had information, so why should he be stuck on this one?

"You can leave," a voice echoed from the depths of the Caverns of Time. The largest dragon, Malygos, flew out. He flapped his massive wings in mid-air, stirring up strong winds, his eyes fixed on Aiden, or rather, on the weapon in his hand, "Leave your staff behind!"

Aiden answered almost reflexively, "That's impossible!"

"Then don't even think about leaving safely!" At Nozdormu's signal, all the bronze dragons pressed forward, ready to attack.

Aiden's heart turned cold. In the original timeline, Nozdormu had caused him immense trouble, even ruining many otherwise perfect plans. This time, he had traveled through time, disregarding past grievances, at Chromie's request to find the lost Nozdormu.

But now, in this clearly flawed timeline, this Nozdormu ignored the agent of the Infinite Dragonflight, ignored the true invaders, and was attacking him without any justification.

What made every Nozdormu he encountered so insane?

Aiden gripped the Scepter of Time tightly, his eyes flashing with cold light as he stared at Nozdormu: "I don't want to clash with you. Please don't force me!"

Nozdormu said unreasonably, "Then leave your staff, and we will escort you out of this timeline, as long as you promise never to return!"

"What makes you think I would do that?"

"Because that staff contains the power of the Sands of Time. I won't allow you to take it out of this world!"

Aiden looked at the Focusing Iris on the staff's head. Inside the purple crystal, the golden Sands of Time continued to flow. The approaching bronze dragon army filled him with a strong urge to defeat all his enemies, but remembering Chromie's instructions, he forcibly restrained himself.

'One last effort. If it doesn't work, don't blame me, Chromie,' he said to himself in his heart.

Aiden raised his head: "If you have a way to release the Sands of Time inside, I can agree. This is my final concession."

"Then hand over the staff!" Anachronos shouted.

"I've already made the most sincere response." Aiden looked up at the bronze dragon prince, "Give me the method, and I'll do it myself. Otherwise, I'll think you have no sincerity at all!"

Anachronos said resentfully, "So you're unwilling!"

Aiden said bluntly, "I can't completely trust you. This staff is more important to me than the Hourglass of Time is to you. I will never allow you to do anything that might damage it to extract the Sands of Time!"

"Very well, since you're unwilling to compromise, let's decide it by victory or defeat!" Nozdormu took over the conversation.

In all fairness, Nozdormu didn't have a way to safely extract the Sands of Time without damaging the Focusing Iris. Moreover, because of the original Hourglass of Time's destruction, he still needed this crystal, which also possessed special temporal power, as a container.

Nozdormu never intended to separate the Sands of Time and return the staff intact.

What he wanted was the entire staff in Aiden's hands. He could sense that it was a divine artifact capable of replacing the Hourglass of Time—precisely because the bronze dragons had lost the Hourglass of Time due to Aiden, taking his staff now was compensation for the bronze dragons' loss!

Therefore, Nozdormu had no psychological burden.

Anachronos, who had been unable to restrain himself, launched the first attack when negotiations broke down. He opened his mouth and spat out a powerful spell. Countless golden circles of different sizes transformed into a shockwave under the rules of the arcane, flying directly towards Aiden!

"I've already tried my best." Aiden's heart surged with conflicting emotions of disappointment and excitement resonating in his chest.

Disappointment at the bronze dragon army's terrible attitude; excitement that, precisely because of this, he could unleash his full strength and teach these arrogant bronze dragons a good lesson!

Anachronos's attack would be a fatal threat to many, but not to Aiden. The moment the other party opened his mouth, Aiden could sense that the spell about to be released contained the energies of time and arcane magic.

He simply waved his staff lightly, and the golden energy blast that was originally attacking him was deflected, curving in the air and flying towards another bronze dragon to the side.

Using their own methods against them.

Caught off guard, the other bronze dragon was struck in the chest by the energy blast, immediately screaming and falling from the sky. The area struck by the energy blast was already a bloody mess.

This was clearly caused by Anachronos's attack, but the instigator was furious: "Attack, bronze dragon army! Eliminate this destroyer!"

His tone gave Aiden the feeling that he should stand still, withstand the attack, and even not resist, but surrender to be correct.

This attitude made Aiden even more disgusted with the bronze dragons' behavior.

Seeing the bronze dragon army attacking en masse, he knew he could no longer hold back.

His target was the Dragon Aspect Nozdormu. As long as he defeated him, the rest were insignificant!

Aiden raised the Scepter of Time in his hand and slammed it into the ground. The Focusing Iris and the Sands of Time, two temporal artifacts from different worlds but with the same function, simultaneously erupted with irresistible power. Centered on the staff, an invisible ripple spread out, freezing space and stopping time wherever it passed, turning everything gray.

Time was stopped, and all the bronze dragons' movements were frozen at this moment, completely still.

In this gray domain, Aiden could still move freely. After the power of the Sands of Time was added, walking in stopped time no longer had the strong resistance and sluggishness of moving through mud as before.

Aiden only felt some slight resistance, like swimming in water.

Besides him, there was another person who could walk in this still space.

The bronze dragon king—Nozdormu!

As the guardian of time, he was granted the divine power of Aman'Thul. This was the supreme power in the Pantheon, and it was this power that allowed him to move through the strong spacetime barrier.

He was also the only dragon in the entire bronze dragon army with divine power. Apart from him, all the bronze dragons were fixed in the still spacetime.

But it was only freedom of movement—his divine power could not give him any more convenience.

Nozdormu wanted to restore time—impossible!

Wanting to use the means of controlling time to deal with Aiden—impossible!

Even wanting to use the spells he was usually best at—still impossible!

As the guardian of time, he now had no other abilities besides hand-to-hand combat!

The Scepter of Time was still stuck in the yellow sand.

"In this domain, no one can use the power of time." Aiden released his grip on the staff. The Silver Judgment appeared in his right hand, and as divine power was injected, blue holy flames began to burn on the blade.