The dragon's harem

Arad was powerful, but nowhere near enough to survive the collapse of an entire star. But he technically couldn’t escape this situation even if he wanted to. The star itself was at the heart of his stomach, which was like a regular man swallowing a grenade.

Arad had to choose between saving himself and his wife, and he had chosen Eris, even if she could’ve ended far better than how he was about to end. Death should be coming for him, but she was nowhere to be seen.

He didn’t know that, and so, all he could do was struggle as best as he could to survive, or… that what he should’ve done. Arad was a proud, arrogant, violent, and unforgiving menace who refused to accept reality or let it chain him down.

He was now stuck in a place where not even the gods could survive unharmed, and he, a mere mortal dragon, had to endure it and stay alive. The biggest threat wasn’t the raw damage, but that it was happening inside and outside him all at once.

The star was exploding inside his stomach, but he himself had dove inside his own stomach and is now at the core of that sun. It was a strange loop, and it made it impossible for Arad to avoid getting damaged by the sun’s explosion or even possibly being killed.

At first, he thought that he might be able to succeed where Eris failed and force the core to be crushed into pure energy. The sun was inside his stomach after all, and he had the power to turn any matter there into pure energy that he could use in his breath.

But the sun had proved to be too massive. He will never make it in time before the sun collapses and rips him apart alongside the very fabric of his stomach. So, he had to stop the sun from exploding, which was easier said than done.

“Yo, dad. Still kicking?” As Arad’s massive draconic body burned at the sun’s shattering core, a voice rang into his mind. He couldn’t see anything due to the blinding light, but he could clearly see one man.

“Aether?” Arad quickly realized that time around him seemed to have slowed to a halt, which was probably thanks to his son’s draconic magic. Souls seemed to move well inside Arad’s stomach, which is probably why Aether could have some power here. “Warn them! They have to get as far away from my beacons as they can!”

The magic beacons Arad talked about were those tiny black dots of void that he leaves whenever he fully enters his stomach. They were like tiny black holes that allowed anything that touches them to get sucked into Arad’s stomach, and also showed the last known location of his incarnations.

If the sun explodes and Arad’s stomach rips open, then all of that flame and radiation would burst out of those black holes and destroy anything nearby.

“Won’t fucking work. The entire mortal world is fucked, hard. Doesn’t matter where the beacon is, this sun before exploding is larger than the mortal world.” Aether shook his head. He pulled a large cigar, ignited it, and took a whiff.

“Don’t worry, though, it’ll be a painless death. Evaporated like a sorry droplet of water on a hot stove.” He smiled, “Won’t even sizzle.”

“But you’re here for a reason. It can’t be hopeless.” Arad growled back at him, and Aether smiled.

“That’s my dad. I expect nothing from the old sack I came out of.” He pointed at the sun’s core. “This is one hard nut to crack, right. But… doesn’t it look edible to you?”

He walked past Arad and stood on the core, looking around with a smug smile. “Time is slowed down; we got a moment to breath. Not that the air here is all that nice, nor that it matters for me.” He tapped his foot on the core.

“Say, Dad. Do you know what the difference is between you and Uncle Gojo?” He took a second whiff of his cigar and pointed at Arad with it. “One is flaccid, and the other is ravenous.” He chuckled, “Of course, you aren’t the flaccid one. My good old self wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“What are you talking about? Get to the point.” Arad sighed and growled back at him, causing Aether to shrug.

“I’m talking about the nature and properties of your void, how it works. Uncle Gojo can twist and contort space, but you can digest matter into pure energy and reform it back.” He sat down, crossed his legs, and leaned on his wrist.

“Don’t take it wrong, all void dragons should be able to do both. It is just that some are better at some things than others.” He smiled, “All humans can run and fight, but not all of them do both equally.”

He took a third whiff. “Consume it, eat this star from the inside. Dig your way to the center of its core, and start digesting it. Contain the collapse within a loop, you suck it from the core, it gets spat out in your stomach’s void, and falls right back at the sun’s surface.”

Arad almost immediately understood what Aether was talking about. If he can’t endure the explosion directly, then he has to consume and redirect it right back at his stomach, so he can try to eat it again.

[Elemental Expansion: Devouring Void]

Arad’s elemental expansion had multiple versions and uses depending on what he needed to achieve. He could use it to clear an area of matter, expand his magical senses and range, trap enemies inside to gain an environmental advantage, or to directly assault and kill his target.

Right now, Arad only needed his elemental expansion to be able to absorb and digest matter, to effectively act as one massive gate to his stomach.

As Arad’s elemental expansion expanded to its maximum size, it turned into a titanic sphere with a radius of four thousand kilometers. All matter that was within its range got instantly teleported to another part of Arad’s stomach, but the matter that was outside clashed against the outer barrier of the expansion and shattered it.

No matter how powerful or refined Arad’s expansion was, it still couldn’t withstand the weight and heat of an entire star collapsing upon it. It lasted no more than a fraction of a second, which was expected.

As the plasma and heat crashed right back on Arad’s body, he smiled as he heard Aether chuckle. “You’re getting it. I warned you about that bitch Amaterasu. She is a problem, and look where you ended up because of her.”

“But, Dad. You’re hard, tough, so show that beautiful wench where she belongs. You’re better than her, better than Death, better than all of them, so don’t give up, fight back, stand up. Your wives, my mothers, are waiting for you… fuck it, I’ve got too many mommies now, am I lucky, or cursed?” He laughed and disappeared, leaving Arad to focus on surviving.

[Elemental Expansion: Devouring Void]

Once more, Arad cast his elemental expansion the moment it shattered. That was the only thing he could do, and like the first time, it only lasted a fraction of a second before shattering. It almost looked hopeless, but Arad could see past the light and darkness, and he knew it was working.

[Elemental Expansion: Devouring Void]

Each time Arad cast his elemental expansion, a sphere that is eight thousand kilometers wide of matter gets absorbed into his stomach and removed from the sun’s mass, making it lighter, easier to consume, and survive.

If he couldn’t shove it whole inside his throat, then he’ll eat it one titanic bite at a time. Right now, Arad wasn’t stuck in the middle of a collapsing room of bricks and wood, but a house made of roasted meat, candy, and sugar.

The sun was food, and he was going either consume it whole or die trying.

Amaterasu, who watched from afar, could’ve already arrived and stopped the sun, but the moment she saw Arad trying to consume it from the core, she decided to stop and watch. To her, this scene looked a lot like the birth of supermassive black holes.

“Aren’t you one lazy bitch.” Aether appeared by her side. “Or is letting him die a part of whatever plan you’re cooking?”

She smiled and looked at him with a smile. “You know that insulting a goddess can be deadly.”

“Father didn’t insult you, and look how he ended up. It doesn’t matter.” Aether shook his head as he floated beside her, getting several sharp glares from her archons.

“I guess, this could be expected from a dragon raised by none. You still lack knowledge, life experience, or morals.” She kept her smile. “Your father needs the Gravastar for your siblings.”

“Yeah, he also needs a woman, a womb, and an umbilical cord as well. How about he makes those up from scratch as well? Don’t fuck with me, I know you’re playing on something, and it isn’t my dick.” He pointed at her. “I’m keeping an eye on you. You might fool everyone, but not me.”

She giggled. “Well, you’re right about that. I have my own plans. But they are in no way harmful to your father or mothers.”

Aether smiled. “So… what could the great Amaterasu, the woman of women, the most beautiful jewel of the universe and its radiant light, need of my good, old, and little father?” He floated close to her.

“You sure don’t want to ride him, and I’m also certain you don’t hate him either.” His smile grew wider. “If you wanted to kill him, you could’ve already done so, and if you wanted to fuck him, he’ll have no way of getting away from you. That only leaves one logical answer.”

“Father is stronger than you… or at least has the potential to reach that level… no, he’ll eventually reach it no matter what, and you can’t stop him. I see… now that makes sense.”