I AM A MAGE BUT WITH MILF SYSTEM

Its jaw opened wide, and Julian barely had time to register what was happening before the dragon breathed. But this was not fire or ice. This was something far more fundamental—a breath of pure time?

It was like watching the lifespan of the universe compressed into a single attack. Julian could see within it the birth and death of stars, the rise and fall of civilizations, eons passing in instants.

Julian crossed his arms in front of his face and poured everything he had into his barrier.

Baamm…

The temporal breath struck his barrier and the universe screamed.

Julian was immediately thrown backward, his barrier fracturing under the assault. He could feel the attack trying to age him, to accelerate his personal timeline, to turn him to dust by forcing him to experience millions of years in seconds.

His Heaven’s Energy fought back, golden lightning clashing against the blackish purple temporal energy in an explosion that lit the whole void like a newborn sun.

“FATHER!” Seraphine’s scream cut through the chaos. She was shooting forward, her own mana blazing around her, desperately trying to reach him.

“STAY BACK!” Julian roared, but she didn’t listen.

Seraphine gathered her power again and released a massive bolt of lightning directly at the dragon’s head. It was the most powerful attack she had ever generated, containing everything she had learned.

The attack struck the dragon’s scales and… simply vanished, not even leaving a mark.

The dragon turned its head pitifully, its eyes fixing on Seraphine and she froze instantly.

Julian’s blood ran cold. “NO!”

He channeled power he didn’t know he still had, shooting forward faster than his thought. The dragon’s claw was already moving toward Seraphine’s frozen form, those obsidian nightmare ready to tear her apart.

Julian arrived first, positioning himself between the claw and his daughter. His barrier was already shattered, his reserves nearly depleted, but he didn’t care.

The claw struck him directly.

SKRACK

Unimaginable, overwhelming pain enveloped his body as those claws slammed into Julian’s body. He felt his ribs crack, felt his internal organs rupture, felt his very existence being torn at.

But he held.

Gritting his teeth, he grabbed onto the massive claw with both hands and channeled every last drop of Heaven’s Energy he possessed directly into it.

Golden lightning erupted like a supernova.

The dragon actually recoiled slightly—not hurt, but surprised. That moment of surprise was enough.

“LYANNA! CASSANDRA!” Julian screamed, blood pouring from his mouth. “GET YOUR SISTER AND RUN! GO THROUGH THE HOLE! NOW!”

Lyanna and Cassandra didn’t hesitate. They shot forward, each grabbing one of Seraphine’s arms. The paralysis around her broke, and Seraphine gasped.

“Father—” she started.

“GO!” Julian roared, and the urgency in his voice made them obey.

The three daughters shot toward the hole in reality, moving faster than they ever had before.

The dragon watched them flee with what might have been amusement in those ancient eyes. Then its full attention returned to Julian, who was floating in the void, bleeding but still somehow conscious.

“BRAVE,” the dragon acknowledged. “FOOLISH, BUT BRAVE. YOU WOULD SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THEM.”

“Without hesitation,” Julian spat blood into the void. “They’re my daughters. I would die a thousand times before I let you harm them.”

The dragon tilted its head. Then, impossibly, it seemed to smile.

“I SEE NOW WHY DEATH’S SERVANT MARKED YOU,” the dragon said, and Julian’s eyes widened in shock. “YOU CARRY THE TOUCH OF A SUPREME BEING. YOU WERE MEANT TO DIE, YET YOU PERSIST. INTERESTING.”

“You… know about that?” Julian asked, stunned despite his pain.

“I AM CHRONOVAX,” the dragon declared, and the name itself seemed to echo through time—backward and forward, touching past and future simultaneously. “I AM THE TIME-SPACE DRAGON, GUARDIAN OF THE PASSAGES BETWEEN WORLDS. I HAVE EXISTED SINCE BEFORE YOUR REALITY WAS BORN, AND I WILL EXIST LONG AFTER IT ENDS. OF COURSE I KNOW.”

Chronovax’s massive form coiled through the void, surrounding Julian completely.

“YOU WERE KILLED BY DEATH’S SERVANT TO PREVENT SOMETHING,” the dragon continued, its voice containing layers of meaning Julian struggled to comprehend. “YET YOU RETURNED. YOU DEFIED DEATH ITSELF. THAT IS… UNUSUAL. PERHAPS EVEN SIGNIFICANT.”

Julian tried to straighten. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it. But let my daughters go. They have nothing to do with whatever game the Supreme Beings are playing.”

“KILL YOU?” Chronovax’s laugh was like thunder. “I AM AFRAID I AM NOT QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO DO THAT.”

Julian’s eyes widened in shock, his mind struggling to process what he had just heard. A being so powerful it guarded the passages between worlds, a creature that had existed since before his reality was born—was saying it wasn’t qualified to kill him?

“What… what do you mean?” Julian asked, genuine confusion cutting through his pain and fear.

Chronovax shifted slightly, its ancient eyes regarding him with something that might have been respect, or perhaps pity.

“EVEN DEATH FAILED TO MARK YOU PERMANENTLY,” the dragon said, its voice carrying layers of meaning Julian struggled to fully comprehend. “WHO AM I TO SUCCEED WHERE A SUPREME BEING’S CHOSEN AGENT FAILED?”

“THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU, YOUNG GOD. SOMETHING THAT DEFIES THE NATURAL ORDER. SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU… DIFFICULT TO PERMANENTLY REMOVE FROM EXISTENCE. I DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND IT, BUT I RECOGNIZE IT. AND I AM WISE ENOUGH NOT TO INTERFERE WITH FORCES I DO NOT COMPREHEND.”

Julian’s mind was chaos. Was the dragon saying he was somehow… protected? Protected by what? How? Why?

Before he could ask, Chronovax continued.

“YOUR DAUGHTERS ARE SAFE,” the dragon said, and Julian felt overwhelming relief wash through him despite his confusion. “THEY HAVE ALREADY PASSED THROUGH THE GATEWAY. THEY WAIT FOR YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE. YOU MAY GO AS WELL. I WILL NOT STOP YOU.”

Julian stared at the massive creature in shock. After that display of overwhelming power—it was just… letting him go?

“Why?” Julian asked, unable to stop himself. “Why test me at all if you were always going to let me pass?”