A Chronometric Defect

Kaliwot thinks for a moment while still shaking.

"You, my god... Would have... Dracosect fight me, and make... Me submit to... Your hoard."

Good, good. He's a real dragon.

"Excellent. Let's go outside and I'll summon my claws."

"Your... No, NO! Not your claws, my god! Please! Anything but your CLAWS!"

I may have created a misunderstanding.

"Dracosect named himself my 'claws.' I've allowed this title as it's quite fitting. He's acted on my behalf many times! That is, for the three days he's been a dragon of my hoard."

"Three days... My god?"

"Rah. I am seven days old. That is— I was born seven days ago. I am far younger than you."

His eyes go wide.

I know, what the heck, right?

I smirk at him.

"You'd best do your utmost to please Dracosect. Being a dragon of my hoard is a great privilege."

I proudly raise my gemstone head, then add:

"An unmatched opportunity."

Greed flashes in his eyes again.

Rah. I'll have to take care of that. Even if he's deemed unacceptable for my hoard, I can't have them messing with my greedy and proud dragon species!

Humans, by comparison, are far less likely to fall into the deadly sins' traps. It's not because humans are any less greedy or proud. It's that human instincts don't lean toward any particular sin or virtue. Which is likely why their species is so populous across the universe.

They're plenty smart, and yet, not instinctively drawn toward any one extreme.

Which means humans don't fall as easily into an emotional feedback loop. The deadly sins and false virtues love to prey upon creatures like dragons, who do. Even at the brink of madness, humans can far more easily pull themselves back. A dragon might have trouble fighting its own instincts under otherwise normal circumstances.

I'm almost certain this is why my poor dragon species is often treated as a thorn.

Balance is the great equalizer.

I, however, prefer imbalance. Every dragon should be revered as a kind and benevolent ruler. We should each be powerful to the point of being utterly unstoppable, yet all should want to pray and stare in our presence, praising us endlessly. Not because we command respect! Roh, no. Because our impeccable reputation and immense grandeur encourages respect.

I want dragons to be held in such high regard that respecting dragons isn't a question. It must become law.

Not a criminal law; of course not. A physical law. I want the universe itself to bow to our endless majesty. I think we dragons deserve at least that much. Much more is preferable. Though, I'm willing to accept the universe's capitulation. For now.

But no.

No!

The deadly sins' twisting of our emotions makes us far too unbearable to even exist around. Like when Kaliwot arrogantly dismissed me earlier. Even I wanted to smack him— and I'mma dragon!

"RAWR!"

He panics and flees outside, his claws clicking as he runs across the stone cave floor.

*THOK-tik*

*THOK-tik*

*THOK-tik*

*PShhhh*

*thud*

*thud*

*thud-tud*

Yes, I did say to go out there, didn't I?

Reh, Pride and Greed must answer for this grand crime against my species. I don't think Justice has much sway amongst my draconic brethren. I'm a bit unique.

I walk out from Kaliwot's cave door. I note that he's got a nice gravel garden around the entrance. I guess he did that to alleivate his boredom?

A slight breeze buffets my body. My senses are graced by a beautifully swaying field of blue grass.

No, not bluegrass. This grass is neon blue. I think because the sun is very blue-tinted? Moreso than the one on my unnamed home planet. This grass may be green under a different light spectrum. I don't know— or care, quite honestly. Though, it certainly does appear magical.

Hruh, wait. Since when can I feel a breeze? Is my sense of touch finally coming back?

I shake my dragon head.

Never mind that.

Off in the distance I randomly spot a large rocky outcropping. There's some grayish crystals sticking out of it. Those aren't rocks; they're plants, like cacti. They grow by absorbing minerals and forming a hard shell.

Which means, this dragon likely does have access to more inscription materials. Interesting. He may be making them himself. Reah, now that I think about it, if he couldn't get the token with his spawned dragons, then they're definitely too dumb to retrieve inscription materials. Which means Kaliwot is much more skilled than I'd assumed since he's working with limited materials.

Did he invent that dragon-creation inscription? Seems likely. I doubt humans would make this kind of inscription just so they could be eaten by their own creation. Seems mildly self-defeating. Rokay, literally self-defeating.

Though, I wonder what Kaliwot do if one of those dragons claimed the token for itself. Maybe he'd destroy the blood array? That would perhaps kill the dragon before it could separate itself from the array's Mana. I'm not so sure, though.

Maybe the token could sustain it indefinitely. It kept Kaliwot here going for quite a while after he lost it. In fact, the token may have been somehow connected with him until the moment I ate it. That may explain why it didn't affect those mortal humans.

I eye him for a moment. He seems to shrink, but he's just cowering slightly.

"Dragon."

"Yes, my god!"

"What did you intend to do if a dragon created from your blood array claimed your token?"

His eyes go wide again.

"My— my god! I didn't think of that!"

Roh my friggin'...

These damn Will leeches. There's no way Kaliwot is irredeemably stupid. He must have tunnel-vision from his deadly sins.

I call them 'deadly' for good reason. Kaliwot here could've been murdered if I were a less forgiving dragon. Doing so wouldn't have required me to lift a single claw; he isn't strong enough to merit any effort. I could simply decide 'die' and he would. That's all it'd take. Which is admittedly terrifying.

Grhm. As a dragon should be. Hra hra.

"Your excessive pride and greed are unbecoming of a dragon. You'd best remember this while fighting against Dracosect. I'm not sure whether he's grown in power lately, but earlier today he was roughly ten to fifteen percent weaker than you."

"My god? I don't understand."

"I'm saying to restrain both your pride if he's weaker or your greed if he's stronger."

"Yes. Yes, my god. I must indeed."

He struggles a bit internally, then calms.

Reh? That seemed way too easy.

I take a look at the his Will leeches.

...

What the hell?

They're enormous! They're far larger than my Justice leech was, yet they're not fighting him.

They don't have to— they must be cozy in here, taking up so much space. The both of them are many, many times larger than Kaliwot's Will. It's like his whole Will is being sucked dry by two enormous ticks.

I look closely. Reah, I can actually see the bloated things growing. It's happening that quickly. Kaliwot might only have a few weeks, or perhaps days before becoming a deadly sin himself. It could also be that the immense stress he's under right now is accelerating his mental collapse. Regardless, this won't do.

I wrap the leeches with my Origin, which forces them to stop what they're doing. I don't want them to run off or hurt Kaliwot's already fragile Will any further.

If they try anything, my Origin will bind 'em right up and activate Devour. A nice Origin Program for you two!

You'll like it.

Well, no. You won't— but I certainly Will. Hraw hraw! Deific puns.

Thankfully, Kaliwot's Will hasn't entirely eroded. I may be able to make a proper dragon out of him yet.

Assuming Dracosect is satisfied.

Removing a Will leech is one thing, but a twisted personality is another entirely. Unlo taught me that. He continued cursing my very existence even after I removed his Abyssal corruption. Maybe I caused him to fall apart in the end, but nevertheless, he was already beyond saving well before he went on his murder spree.

I wouldn't have pardoned his many crimes, no, but I would've been more lenient had he truly repented. But... Hrah.

I'm constantly left to wonder whether he had any choice in the matter. I've not yet seen another case like his. The faulty memory was the one where I used my aura on him directly. Did I accidentally do that?

...

I decide to check on what Dracosect's doing.

He's— tilling a field? None of the other dragons wanted to do that. Not that it was beneath them; they just thought their grand power was put to better use elsewhere.

They're not entirely wrong, but then, isn't food a cornerstone of civilization?

Dracosect's already immense place in my nonexistent heart grows yet another notch.

He really is the best dragon I could've ever wanted by my side. Destiny or not: he's my best friend. A scaled brother I both respect and admire.

"Dracosect, what wonderful work you're doing!"

"Yes, my god! The humans needed it and I was available, so I decided to do it myself."

"How long until you finish what you're doing?"

"Right now, my god! This field was finished moments before you contacted me."

It seems so. He's looking over the vast field with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Even at his size, this is a pretty big field.

Suddenly I realize. Have I always been able to see through the eyes of my followers? To feel their emotions so directly? That's... New. Maybe a perk for reaching Rank 3 god at the 100k stat exponent?

Status.

Name: Chronovoid Dragon

Talents: Causal Coherence, Causal Conduit, Causal Decoherence, Causal Void, Devour, Deific Will, Endless Will, Void Will, Parasitic Void, Spatial Absorption, Spatial Void, Temporal Diffusion, Temporal Void

Lineage: Origin

Rank: Void

Weapon: I'mma Dragon (Rawr)

Stats:

Str: 9.22 (391.7t) / 4.72 (100,449)

Sta: 8.89 (391.7t) / 4.89 (100,449)

Int: 9.31 (391.7t) / 5.33 (100,449)

Wis: 9.33 (391.7t) / 5.30 (100,449)

Will: 3.18 (1.73÷|) / 9.12 (137,333)

I grin toothily at my 'weapon' column.

I have no weapon?! Such nonsense.

I'mma dragon!

"Rawr!"

Kaliwot cowers at my happy roar. I roll my eyes.

Seems I've gained a new dual passive/active talent called 'Deific Will' for passing 100k stats. Very unexpected. Its active component's conditions are seemingly quite natural and fluid; using it feels like moving my arm or extending my wings. The passive component, based on what I can tell, looks like it's for managing my followers subconsciously. Which, as usual, I was already doing before getting the talent. I'll ignore that part, I guess?

I write an Origin Program to control it anyway.

All my talents are mine!

I resist an urge to happily roar again, lest Kaliwot end up in a dragon egg pose— I mean, curled on the ground shaking. I don't know how he's managed this much with those fat leeches blorping around.

"Dracosect, I'm going to transfer you to fight a duel with a dragon I'm considering inducting into my hoard. Despite his power, he has some extremely overgrown Will leeches. It's to the point he might not have lasted much longer without my intervention. I'd like you to give a second opinion about his personality. Mostly, whether he's sane."

"Absolutely, my god! Please, bring me there!"

I cast transference.

*BOOM*

*krush-KRASH*

The rocky ground crumbles under his weight.

Ruhm, it seems Dracosect has grown quite a lot in the last few hours. I hope Temp isn't overdoing it with all my dragons.

I look up at Dracosect.

I'm 330 meters tall right now. He must be roughly... 560 meters? I don't think he fits in my temple anymore. How big was the field he plowed?

I look at Kaliwot. Hruh. Still standing. In fact, he's got a fighting pose. He must know he stands no chance. Rehm, I was expecting a little difference, but this...

I look up at Dracosect again. Then back to Kaliwot.

I'll give both of them a reward if they do well. I've no worries about Dracosect, of course, so rewarding him is a given. But Kaliwot? He's still burdened by those leeches— even if they're not able to consume his Will right now.

I may even use Void Will to see if his Will can be strengthened back to a normal level. I'm not entirely sure what that does yet, so it'll be good to watch it up close. Whelp, maybe I could try transferring some Will through Causal Conduit. That's probably safer than using a talent whose function I don't fully understand.

If Kaliwot does poorly? I'll give all the rewards he would've gotten to Dracosect, kill the Will leeches, and leave. To the victor go the spoils.

"Alright, you two. Begin."

Kaliwot strikes.

First.