CHAPTER 224: CROSS DIMENSIONAL ACTIVITIES

The sky above Dragonhold had become an impossible sight.

Hundreds upon hundreds, rising well into the thousands, hovered in the sky in formation., and each identical figure carried the same overwhelming presence.

Even though the battlefield was considerably far from the city itself, the sheer number of Aidens gradually filling the sky made it impossible not to notice.

Inside Ravens Grave, the guild members pressed against every available window and doorway, staring upward with their mouths hanging open in shock.

Piers blinked several times as if trying to convince himself that what he was seeing was real. He knew Aiden could make copies of himself, but this many?

"How many of him are there?" he asked, though not exactly expecting an answer.

"I stopped counting after fifty," Bernard whispered back.

Innis said, "I’ve never seen anything like this."

Inside the city itself, mages from other guilds had gathered in the streets, pointing upward and muttering amongst themselves in disbelief.

The guests who had been rescued from the demon possession stood together in small clusters near the palace, with their eyes fixed on the sky as they watched the spectacle unfold.

One of the elf generals mutteref, "What kind of power does he possess?"

Another person said. "This is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed," she said quietly.

At the palace, Oberon and Thamoryn stood on a wide veranda overlooking the city, both watching the sky with expressions of shock and concern.

Oberon said. "What the hell is going on this time?"

Thamoryn shook her head slowly without taking her eyes off the sky. "I am unsure, Your Grace"

High above in the sky, Va floated at the center of the swarm of Aidens with frustration and rage on his face.

He had decided to keep countering the time stops.

But the moment his Law undid one time stop, another would immediately freeze him again before he could even move.

Then his Law would counter that one as well, only for yet another time stop to activate instantly afterward.

It was an endless cycle that gave him no opportunity to act or retaliate in any meaningful way.

And the number of avatars and variants kept increasing without pause.

——

Within Rhyos’s temple in Eden, Lucian stood before the gateway with a rown on her face as she watched everything unfold.

This was not what she had expected would happen.

Rhyos said, sounding almost inwardly satisfied. "Seems that plan of yours isn’t working out so well."

Lucina said nothing at first, but her hands clenched into fists. "He shouldn’t be able to do this," she muttered. "He shouldn’t be strong enough to overwhelm Va like this."

Herxes then said. "I don’t see Va winning this"

Lucina turned toward him sharply. "He will. Va is a god. He just needs time to adapt."

Rhyos raised an eyebrow. "Time? That’s exactly what he doesn’t have."

——

Earlier, in the other dimension where Aiden and his wives had spent their honeymoon, they were walking out of the city now with smiles on their faces.

Arianna glanced back toward the arches one last time and sighed contentedly. "That was fun."

Laela nodded in agreement. "I wish we could stay longer."

Aiden smiled as he walked between them.

As they continued walking down the path leading away from the city, Aiden’s enhanced hearing suddenly picked up a conversation not far ahead of them.

Two beastfolk stood near the riverbank, both resembling. They appeared to be fishermen based on the nets hanging over their shoulders and the baskets sitting at their feet.

One of them spoke in their native language:

"Othra jhen valen’kir, thera un voh sen’dal."

(This is the second time we are having foreigners walk within our city.)

The other nodded and replied: "Vex sen’dal zo ra ka turen vel’shan." (The other foreigners were strange as well.)

Aiden stopped walking abruptly. He understood every word they had just said.

He gestured to his wives to hold on for a moment, then turned and began walking toward the two beastfolk.

Laela and Arianna glanced at each other in confusion before following right behind him.

Laela got closer and said, "What is it?"

Aiden pointed toward the two fishermen ahead. "I want to ask them a few questions."

Arianna looked puzzled. "How do you intend to do that? We don’t understand their language."

Aiden smiled and replied in the beastfolk tongue: "Kezura yo shin."(Oh, but I do.)

Both women’s eyes widened in shock.

Arianna stared at him. "Why did you let us use hand signs all this while?"

Aiden laughed a little and switched back to their language. "I only just got this skill."

By this time they had already arrived in front of the two beastfolk, who looked up at them with mild curiosity.

Aiden addressed them again in their tongue:

"Rokhan sen’dal o lira en?"

(Which other strangers passed through here besides us?)

The two fishermen glanced at each other in shock, surprised that this stranger had not only heard their earlier conversation but also understood and spoke their tongue.

One of them hesitated before answering: "Zorik enaro. Duin sen’dal ke nat."

(Very recently, two people were here.)

Then the man answering pointed toward Laela and Arianna as he continued: "Sira omenel shev maran." (One had their looks.)

He gestured vaguely at their face, trying to evoke the fact that one of these foreigners had been a woman.

The other fisherman added: "Vel moraeth shi’nal kael turen vex." (The other, we’re not sure, but they’ve never been seen here before.)

Aiden nodded slowly then spoke in their language, asking them to be more descriptive.

Then the first fisherman continued. He explained in their tongue that one who looked like them had white hair.

Then he gestured toward his own cheek as he added that she bore black markings across the sides of her cheeks.

He then went on to say that for the other person, he had horns on his head, but couldn’t make out the rest of his description.

Aiden’s expression shifted immediately into seriousness. He proceeded to ask when that had happened and the man explained to him in their tongue, that it happened yesterday.

Aiden muttered to himself in his own language now, "That makes no sense. I was here yesterday, and before that, the time variant was here as well."

However, that was all he needed to hear to make the assumption. He said thanks to them in their language with a slight nod then turned back toward his wives.

Arianna and Laela stepped closer immediately with concern on their faces.

"What were you talking about?" Arianna asked.

"Lysandra," Aiden said. "And an unknown demon were here."

Both women’s eyes widened in shock.

Laela then said, "you’re sure?"

Aiden nodded. "What confuses me is how recent it was. According to them, it happened yesterday."

Arianna had that puzzled look again. "But you sent a variant here. The variant would’ve seen them with his sight"

"That’s the part that gets confusing," Aiden admitted. "Either the variant was here after they left or they arrived after the variant left."

But then, a few things from the experiences of his variants and avatars in the other dimension had also started to add up.

Before he could think any further on it, his senses suddenly tingled sharply and he stared blankly ahead for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh.

This happened to be the exact point in time when an avatar was created back in their own world by one of the time variants that had been summoned during the battle with Va.

Normally Aiden had no idea what his time variants did or when they did them since they operated independently from him without sharing a hive mind connection.

The variant he had left behind in their world was also the only one without instructions to create another avatar by his side.

But the moment that variant from their world made other variants who then made avatars that shared thoughts amongst themselves through their hive mind connection, Aiden also realized what was happening due to that same shared connection avatars maintained with him directly regardless of who created them originally.

And in that moment he realized that his variants and avatars were currently engaged in battle with a god back home.

The girls noticed the shift in his mood immediately, and Arianna asked what it was this time

Aiden shook his head and simply said, "We have to go now."

Then he stretched his hand forward and made a blue portal that formed in front of them.

They both nodded without hesitation and afterwards, all three of them walked through the portal to their own world.

The two beastfolk fishermen stood frozen in place for several long seconds before glancing at each other with utter confusion written across their faces.

—-

Meanwhile....

A red magic circle appeared in the middle of an endless desert. The sands stretched so far in every direction that the horizon seemed to curve into nothing.

This was not part of any known world. It was another dimension entirely.

From within the glowing circle, Cassian materialized in his full demon form, and Lysandra appeared beside him.