The dragon's harem

Eris had fully exhausted her divine magic and body, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. For now, she was locked in her coffin beneath her heaven, resting to recover while her angels handled everything else.

From what Kali found out while inspecting her, it wasn’t the fight itself or the portfolio use that had exhausted her this much, but it was that last move. Summoning an entire Neutron Star had far surpassed the limits of her own body and power, causing her soul to suffer something akin to muscle soreness, but in a whole other realm.

So, as she rested, Diana was left to sit by her side and guard her, but since there was nothing to protect her from in her own heaven, Diana’s real job was to slowly release her divine magic into the coffin, helping Eris recover faster.

Everyone in the private quarter had seen the fight, but it seems that only a few of them understood the magnitude of what Eris pulled, and Neptune couldn’t help but rant for hours, trying to convince them that what Eris pulled had set her apart from the other divines.

But sadly, everyone seemed focused instead on the fact that Arad now couldn’t fit in the private quarters’ hallways, and that he had survived whatever Eris threw at him. To Neptune, that was another insane thing to witness. How in the blazes did he survive that?

She wasn’t certain, but at least she knew it had something to do with why Amaterasu refused to tell her about him, how the divine spell failed to work on him, and why she is now here. He might really be a monster more powerful than most gods.

Speaking of Arad, where is he now? Many of the maids asked that question, and the answer they got was clear and simple. He was recovering as well inside a special bath of pure mana and liquid divine magic. Merlin and Kali had worked together to make that for him, and after filling his belly, he is soaking in that pond.

Some of the maids and Arad’s wives wanted to go to him, but they were rejected by Merlin. The pond was so dense and extreme that even she couldn’t endure it, so anyone else would just die from the dense mana and divine magic.

The pond was located at the depth of a titanic cave that Merlin made inside a separate demi-plane of her labyrinth, and the entire place was dedicated to Arad’s recovery. But that wasn’t all; they also wanted to empty and replace the eldritch magic running through his veins with regular mana so that he wouldn’t be scaring all the other gods.

At this moment, Arad had already spent twelve hours in the pond, letting the heavy and tar-like eldritch magic seep out of his body and get replaced by mana and divine magic. In the meantime, he had already discovered a few things.

Using this eldritch magic, his void and all innate abilities were extremely magnified and empowered, as if it were the power source intended for them all along. Knowing that he was AO, it made sense that it worked like that. But what surprised Arad even more was that while the eldritch magic looked infinite, it wasn’t. In reality, the source was like a rubber band: he could pull and pull, but the more he pulled, the harder it became to pull more out.

He wasn’t whole, and that’s what limits how much power he can draw. He doesn’t have a body powerful enough to support that magic; he doesn’t have a heart strong enough to pump it; and he doesn’t have the brain capable of understanding and using it.

So, he looked for them while sitting here and waiting, and he did manage to find them quickly just by tracking them with AO’s soul. His heart was grafted inside his mother’s chest to be kept safe, and his brain was tucked inside the skull of that goddess Yog, giving her the omniscience she has.

He can try to get them back, but for now, that isn’t a wise idea. His body was simply too small and weak to integrate with them. He probably would need to be an Elder Dragon to safely integrate them back into himself and regain his full power.

For a while, he thought that it would be a good idea to accelerate his aging and reach the Elder Dragon stage as quickly as possible since he has an infinite lifespan, but that won’t be a wise idea. The growth of his body was just a part of it, and he needed to make sure that his mind had matured with it; otherwise, he would be able to take the heart, but would fail to endure his brain and lose himself to madness.

It was the same way you can’t graft a dragon’s heart into a tiny lizard; that transition was impossible for him now, and he needed more time to grow and slowly develop into himself.

“You know, this bath kinda stings.” A voice spoke by Arad’s side, and he looked at the being with a tired face. “You’re an abomination.” The one sitting in the bath beside him was Nyar’s avatar, the one that fought with him.

The abominable horror now looked nightmarish with a tiny torso and overly long black limbs, all ending in long fingers, and had several tentacles growing out of his hips like a shirt and out of his back like wings. The creature’s face, which had always been hidden behind his hood, was revealed, but it was strange, as Arad could fully understand what he was looking at.

Nyar had a head, but his face wasn’t a face. Arad was certain that he could see eyes there, but couldn’t figure out if there were only two or multiple. Then each time Arad blinked, the features would change, and Nyar’s face would look completely different, yet the same.

“Why is that monster even allowed here?” Besides them, Baal was there as well. He threw a sharp glare at Nyar’s avatar and then sighed. “You shouldn’t be allowed out unless it is necessary.”

Nyar chuckled, “Well, he has to get me out to get used to keeping the shackles tight.” He waved his arm, and his tentacles all moved with it. “Otherwise, how do you expect him to grow?”

“That isn’t the problem.” Baal growled, “This place is sensitive; it is fragile, and having you out here is a huge security risk.” He then looked at Arad, “We should keep him locked up, and if you want to get used to having him around, then do it somewhere else, outside the universe if possible.”

Arad leaned back, looking at the dripping stalactites on the ceiling, and then smiled. “You don’t have to worry about him going rogue. He probably knows better than anyone else that staying with us is more beneficial to him and to the other abominations.”

Nyar’s avatar nodded. “True. After you created the entire universe in the past, you weakened a bit; it was only for a short time, but my father saw that as an opportunity to rebel and steal the universe.” He sighed, “What he didn’t know was that… you already knew he would rebel, yet gave him a fair chance.”

“I don’t remember anything.” Arad looked at him, “But are you saying I’m making the same mistake today, giving you a second chance?”

“I’m nothing but an Avatar, not the real Nyar. If I were to face the true body, he’d absorb me with ease. So, don’t rely on my power in any serious fight against him. But you can always count on me with anything else.” He stood, stretched his arms, and then gave Arad a sharp stare. “And no matter what, don’t ever go through the gate of forbidden knowledge. I’m certain that midget would try to stop you as well, so heed her warning if you don’t trust me.”

“What’s behind the gate?” Baal asked, and Nyar’s avatar stared at him. “It cannot be explained by words, but if I were to give you an example… it is the tree to the carriage, the rock to the castle, and the sex to the human, the source of it all, where it all started.”

As Nyar disappeared back into Arad’s soul since the pool was already giving him an annoying rash, Baal did the same and disappeared, but not because he was hurt, but because someone else was approaching the bath.

The entire bath flashed with light, rainbow hues of radiant light refracted through the steam, and the dripping droplets of water sparkled like jewels as two tall, naked women approached the pool Arad was resting in, and he didn’t know any of them.

The two looked at him for a second, then bowed. “Lord Arad, Our Lady has arrived.”

Arad could tell with a single look at them that they were great wyrms and light drakainas at that. He probably can’t defeat any of them simply because they are too fast for him to catch.

The two then turned around and bowed away from him, and from the bright entrance of the cave, an even more blinding light burst in, so radiant that its heat dried the wet and slippery stones.