CHAPTER 445: THE WIVES ARRIVE

A tall man with long white hair, which was currently glowing, and golden eyes, sipped on a can of soda as he sighed in relief.

"It worked, huh... no backlash... It seems Fate has started moving once again. I leave everything to you, my children..." Zark mumbled in relief as his hand slowly caressed his wife’s silky red hair.

"What of our sons?" Madeleine asked, her face showing worry.

"They will be fine. This battle will be of intense help to them, especially Ethan. Besides, the girls are going there; death shouldn’t be part of your worries at the moment, at least not for them," Zark said as he gave Madeleine a peck on the lips.

"If you say so..." She mumbled, but there seemed to be more on her mind.

"If you are thinking of ranking up too... then wait for our sons to finish this. Unfortunately, you’ve reached a huge blockade, and since you couldn’t unlock most of your lineage, the next best thing is a change of race. And the one who holds that power is Ethan. So, please wait a bit, okay?" Zark said with an assuring smile.

"I understand. I’m not stubborn..."

"Really? Why am I hearing this for the first time then?"

"What do you mean?" Madeleine asked with narrowed eyes.

"I love you!"

"Ugh! You are embarrassing me!"

"What do you want? A massage or you know..."

"Are you really an Arbiter?"

"The strongest! At your service, ma’am!"

"Leave me alone..."

"Hahaha!"

...

Another phenomenon had occurred, and this one wasn’t limited to Debranlith but had also been experienced by other worlds. It was something that could be classified as a world phenomenon.

And the very powerful in Debranlith were shaken to the very core. Their very existence felt like going into self-destruct mode. Even the dragon emperor, Fafnir, wasn’t spared. For the second time, Fafnir truly felt fear. Fear!

The most potent of it all. Existence-level fear.

His first experience was when he faced off against the demon emperor, Lucifer. He was just a young dragon then. On that day, he tasted his first and most embarrassing defeat. A defeat he never spoke of. He had vowed to send it to the grave.

But who would’ve thought that he would experience the same fear for the second time? And this was even more potent than the first. He had felt a bit of that presence, and it was nothing short of frightening. If any of the dragons were to see the dragon emperor at the moment, they would question whether it was truly him or an imposter.

He was sprawled over on the floor of his throne room and sweating like he’d just completed a 100-year workout quest.

His eyes were widened in fear, and he was foaming a little at the mouth.

"I-It can’t be..." He mumbled.

"It can’t be!"

"It can’t be..."

"IT CAN’T BE!"

Fafnir felt like tearing his scales off. A being who was able to create dimensions and transport Saint Realm beings in there was at least a demigod. But a being who was able to create a whole new dimension and transport an empire into it, without destroying the environment, was a god! At least that was to Fafnir’s knowledge.

Oh... how wrong he was. Only Lilith knew the truth, and she was just as shaken as Fafnir, but not afraid.

...

On the fiery mountain peak, Lilith had been happily watching Ethan’s fight. Her eyes brimming with that unhinged, lovesick sparkle she reserved only for him. But the moment that presence washed over Anbord, she froze.

Not metaphorically.

Her entire body went stiff before her legs gave out, dropping her straight onto her backside in the molten dust.

"An Arbiter... just how?" she breathed. Her voice shook. Her mind raced, trying to stitch together an answer and failing. "A being of that level... protecting Anbord? Just how powerful did Anbord become...?"

Her teeth sank into her lip as her thoughts spiraled. Part awe. Part dread. Part absolute, unfiltered excitement.

"Should I be happy? Should I be terrified?" she mumbled to herself. A giggle slipped out anyway.

Then she brightened.

Because Lilith was Lilith.

And fear always took a back seat to obsession.

"Anyway, I’m not an enemy of Anbord," she said, dusting off her legs as she stood. Her pupils shimmered with a burning, intrusive affection. "I wonder how honey will react when I bring him that brat..."

A wicked smile stretched across her lips, far too wide for comfort.

"Hehe..." Her eyes glowed with hungry devotion. "I just can’t wait."

...

Unaware of what was happening around the world and beyond, a group of women, seated comfortably on an orange dragon, the size of two huge mountains combined. Her scales gleamed like molten lava under the night sky, causing the world to brighten like it was daylight. Ethan and Leon had fought till nighttime. Beings at their level could even fight for weeks. Her eyes were sharp and full of determination as she flew with speed towards where she believed her beloved was battling his greatest foe.

Barki carried the wives on her vast back and flew through the air. Zark had opened a portal to the dimension he created and sent Ethan and Leon to, so she knew where she was supposed to go.

As a dragon, carrying someone on your back was a sign of submission and, in some cases, slavery. But Barki had passed that level.

She didn’t mind them building a city on her back, if that was what they truly wanted, because they were co-wives of the same man. Beside her flew another dragon with dark blue scales, who did not lose in size to Barki. In fact, she seemed slightly bigger than her.

She was Amara, the Dragon Ruler of Time and the second strongest of the dragon rulers. She was also the third strongest in the dragon empire. And last, but not least, she was the mate of Trevor, and as the wife and mate of Trevor, she wouldn’t sit and watch him get killed by a puppy.

On her back sat Emily and Sixtie, her co-wives, and Lusamine and Cassandra, Lamair’s wives. Two dragons, rulers to be exact, allowing lower beings than themselves to ride atop them was something that had never happened ever since the world came to be.

But now it was happening, and Fafnir, who was experiencing this, couldn’t even react. He couldn’t even invoke the curse to befall them. Not when he was experiencing the ultimate curse of his life.

Besides, although he was very prideful, he wasn’t stupid enough to do anything. He could clearly see the mark of that being on their souls. A golden spearhead-shaped mark. Even looking at it directly burned his eyes.

Beings at his level could glimpse into the souls of those weaker than them, but only if they so willed it. Only this time, he didn’t will it. It was exposed to him, like the being was daring him to try something.

When they finally reached the icy lands, which were destroyed, Barki nodded to Amara and sped off towards the moon. Amara released an exasperated snort and flew north.

"She can’t wait, and here I thought she was the calmest of us," Amara spoke out loud, but her tone was light.

"Don’t say that, big sis. She misses her husband. Don’t you too?" Emily spoke with an anticipatory smile.

"Me? I don’t miss him... hmph!" Amara snorted again, though her gleaming eyes told a different story.

"Are you sure..." Sixtie chimmed with a challenging tone.

"You! Fine! I want to fuck him for six years!" Amara exclaimed, her speed increasing towards the sound of battle.

"That’s the Amara I know! Hahaha!" Sixtie laughed, her golden hair spilling all over.

"Don’t move, you pregnant demon!" Emily scolded Sixtie with a tired sigh.

"Meh!"

"Ugh!"

...

Barki tore through the sky like a living comet, her sleek orange scales gleaming as she cut past layers of atmosphere with practiced ease. She wasn’t flying to the moon, though from afar it absolutely looked like she was trying to body-slam the poor celestial rock. The real target was the thin, shimmering veil just shy of it, the entrance to the new dimension Ethan had been pulled into.

"Lemme shorten it a bit... Barki, honey, go faster for me?" Asteria’s voice carried warmth, but her body was already shifting, her dark skin brightening into liquid silver as if moonlight were consuming her from the inside out.

Barki understood instantly. Her wings snapped back, and she poured raw divine musculature into her flight. The speed spiked to ten kilometers per second, the world behind them turning into a smear of color.

Asteria nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect. Stop here."

Barki halted with such sharp precision that space itself rippled around her. Asteria rose from her back in a graceful glide, landing lightly atop the dragon’s head as if stepping onto a balcony.

"Forgive me, Darling," Asteria murmured.

"It’s nothing," Barki answered with a gentle rumble. "You’ve more than earned this honor."

With a serene smile, Asteria bowed to her partner in flight, something Barki accepted with reverent pride. The moon hung before them like a quiet witness, vast and pale, close enough to touch yet still withheld by cosmic distance.

Then Asteria straightened.

Her pupils shifted to a mechanical blue, spinning like ancient gears winding into motion. The color deepened, cooled, and settled into a soft, silvery grey as time itself began to thrum around her. Clock sigils formed in orbit around her arms and shoulders, rotating in perfect synchronization, glowing faintly as if lit from within by compressed centuries.

She raised her left hand.

"Elaine, honey," Asteria murmured without looking back, "watch closely. This one’s important."

Time bowed. The stars flinched.

And Asteria cast her spell.