"Finally done."
In the Eternal Hall of Heroes, the silver dragon slowly exhaled, a look of joy in his eyes.
Suspended in the dragon's claw was a smaller, identical version of himself, with each scale seemingly molded from the same cast.
Garon moved his wrist and tossed out the Faceless Avatar.
Whoosh!
The Faceless Avatar spread its wings in midair, its body swelling with the wind, and by the time it landed, it had become a silver dragon of the same size as Garon's original form.
The two silver dragons faced each other, each seeing their own reflection in the other's eyes.
They tilted their heads, blinked, and flicked their tails in perfect unison, as if looking into a mirror.
Garon closed his eyes, and his spiritual will instantly took over the Faceless Avatar.
Buzz!
Just like Garon himself, the Faceless Avatar's body began to flicker and vibrate at high frequency, attempting to merge with the River of Time and transform into a temporal being. However, although the River of Time was stirred into a stormy surge, it rejected and repelled the Faceless Avatar, preventing it from fully integrating.
Even though it had been reshaped, the Faceless Avatar's essence was still that of the Faceless King, a primordial wild god, not a Time Dragon.
The Faceless Garon ceased his efforts and instead opted for simpler time manipulation abilities such as acceleration, deceleration, time stop, time reversal, time amber sealing, and time corridor creation, which he could mostly achieve successfully.
Arrow of Temporal Erosion!
Temporal power burst forth, forming in the Faceless Garon's claw, condensing into an Arrow of Temporal Erosion.
Immediately afterward, the Faceless Garon cast some spells with a duration on himself, but he could not fully immunize them.
After testing one by one, the Faceless Garon showed a contemplative look.
"Most of my original abilities can be used, but the essential passives and the temporal manifestation cannot be displayed."
The temporal dragon created by the Faceless King's real mimicry was still somewhat different from the real Garon, not entirely identical.
Additionally, the Faceless Avatar could withstand the burden of the River of Time mainly because of the temporal power Garon infused into it to resist its erosion. If this temporal power were exhausted, it would no longer be able to maintain its temporal dragon form without harming itself.
However, this Faceless Garon possessed other abilities that the original Garon did not.
For example, truly perfect shapeshifting.
In the Faceless Garon's mind, the form of the Metallic Dragon God Bahamut emerged.
In the next second, the silver dragon scales shimmered with a watery luster, instantly transforming into a strange two-color mix of gold and silver. The body structure shifted from streamlined to more robust and muscular, golden dragon whiskers sprouted from the chin, swaying without wind.
Hiss... Several heads grew out.
Scarlet, azure, emerald, jet black, icy white... the golden and silver dragon scales changed along with them, and in an instant, the Faceless Garon turned into the form of the Five-Headed Dragon Queen, even mimicking her lazy and seductive demeanor, thinking with the mindset of the Five-Headed Dragon Queen.
Like a child with a new toy, Garon gleefully transformed back and forth.
Kind and gentle Light God, stern and cold Eternal Sun, the Thunderous Storm Lord... Finally, Garon tried transforming into the Nine-Faced Dragon God.
With gradient-colored dragon scales, a gentle faceplate, a comprehensive aura, and a constant concern for his dragon kin and dragon god offspring... the Nine-Faced Dragon God appeared in the Eternal Hall of Heroes.
Meanwhile.
In the boundless astral realm, the true Nine-Faced Dragon God, who was searching for the astral core for Garon, narrowed his eyes, his pupils glowing faintly, gazing towards the Hero Domain.
Sensing the sudden gaze, the Faceless Garon looked up warily and met it.
Realizing it was the Nine-Faced Dragon God's gaze, Garon's wariness dissipated.
"My child, congratulations on mastering more power."
"This primordial wild god's authority is special and unique, perhaps the best vessel in the entire Great Ring Multiverse to be used as an avatar."
In the presence of the true Nine-Faced Dragon God, the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God' smiled slightly, speaking in a gentle and calm voice, "I was testing the abilities of this avatar, my apologies."
This reaction was entirely in line with the Nine-Faced Dragon God's usual demeanor.
"Very much like me. Even Bahamut and Tiamat would not be able to tell the difference."
"You could try testing their reactions to further verify your transformation ability."
Finding it interesting, the Nine-Faced Dragon God replied.
Without further communication, the Nine-Faced Dragon God continued searching for the astral core after a simple remark.
Then, as the Faceless Garon resumed the form of the Nine-Faced Dragon God, he began to feel a sense of strain.
Besides that, there was also an internal tearing sensation.
Feeling the tearing sensation, the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God' remained unmoved.
As time passed, after a period, it was not just a feeling anymore.
Cracks appeared on the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God's' body, extending quickly. The Faceless Garon transformed back into his silver dragon form, restraining the fissures, but the cracks remained, slowly healing.
"Excessively powerful beings cannot be maintained for long periods."
"But they can be sustained for short durations, although with subsequent weakness and some injury."
"If used in battle, the sustainable time would further shorten."
Garon pondered silently, his eyes brightening.
"Currently, the Faceless Avatar seems to be even stronger than my original form in terms of combat power."
Before exhausting the temporal power infused by Garon, the transformed temporal dragon could use most of the original Garon's abilities and also possessed its own true shapeshifting power.
The Faceless King's thousand transformations, growing stronger when faced with stronger foes, could perfectly and forcibly mimic anything short of the highest-level gods like the Nine-Faced Dragon God.
If the Faceless Garon had been sent to deal with the Earth Elemental Lord, the Earth Elemental Lord might not have had the opportunity to challenge the gods.
"Moreover, the transformation ability can produce spectacular effects in many situations."
Especially for covert operations, the Faceless Avatar is extremely useful.
To further verify the transformation ability, the Faceless Garon, as suggested by the Nine-Faced Dragon God, transformed into the Nine-Faced Dragon God again and quickly left the Dragon Court, arriving at the Sky Garden on the second layer of the Hero Domain.
The Metallic Dragon God's divine realm was now located in the Sky Garden.
Sensing the Nine-Faced Dragon God's arrival, the Metallic Dragon God opened his divine realm to welcome the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God.'
"Lord God, why have you come?"
"If there is anything, you could summon me. No need to come yourself."
In the divine realm, the two dragon gods conversed like the rising sun.
'Nine-Faced Dragon God' pretended to be displeased, saying, "Do you see me as a stern and cautious Lord God?"
The Metallic Dragon God shook his head earnestly, saying, "No, you are the head of the Dragon God lineage and also our Father God. In my eyes, you are a kind father, which is why I respect you and do not wish to trouble you."
After speaking, a trace of doubt flickered in the depths of the Metallic Dragon God's eyes, and he scrutinized the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God' a bit more.
Due to Garon's deliberate differences in behavior, the Metallic Dragon God's suspicion was aroused.
However, because the differences were minor and the Metallic Dragon God could not detect any other anomalies, the suspicion quickly dissipated.
Meanwhile, the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God's' gaze swept across the Metallic Dragon God's realm, observing the mountains of gold and silver and the forests of gemstones.
After a brief contemplation, the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God' smiled gently and looked at the Metallic Dragon God, saying, "Bahamut, my child, I need to discuss something with you."
The Metallic Dragon God nodded, asking, "What matter requires you to come here personally to discuss?"
'Nine-Faced Dragon God' said, "Currently, the prestige of the Dragon Gods among the dragon kin has returned but has not reached its peak. I want to further elevate the dragon kin's faith in the Dragon Gods, and I have an idea."
Hearing this, the Metallic Dragon God's face lit up with excitement, his tail swaying, "That is good news. What is your idea?"
'Nine-Faced Dragon God' calmly said, "The Dragon Gods all possess vast wealth, but for Dragon Gods, wealth aside from being collected brings little benefit."
"Open the treasuries and directly grant countless treasures to the dragon kin. They will certainly develop a stronger faith in the Dragon Gods."
"Bahamut, I know it's not easy for Dragon Gods to part with their treasures, so I need you to set an example. Open your treasury with a broad and generous spirit, allowing the dragon kin to take freely, leading the Dragon Gods in distributing wealth to gain faith."
The Metallic Dragon God's smile froze, his eyes glazing over.
'Nine-Faced Dragon God' continued, "A strong dragon kin means strong Dragon Gods, which stabilizes the Pantheon and the multiverse."
"Bahamut, only you can bear this responsibility. I believe you can overcome your greed for wealth."
'Nine-Faced Dragon God' spoke seriously, "This is for a better future for all beings in the multiverse
."
The Metallic Dragon God's dragon face was full of conflict.
He wanted to refuse the Nine-Faced Dragon God, but looking into the eyes of encouragement and trust, he found it hard to say no.
Yet, if he agreed... opening his treasury and allowing the dragon kin to take freely, with their nature, they would undoubtedly clean out the Metallic Dragon God's endless collection, leaving not even a copper coin.
"I..."
He responded dryly, utterly torn and unable to answer effectively.
Struggling to maintain his dignified demeanor, Garon almost broke into laughter at the sight of the Metallic Dragon God's conflicted face.
Crack. A dragon scale suddenly cracked, forming a fissure.
"Hmm? Lord God, your scale cracked."
The Metallic Dragon God's suspicion reappeared as he stared at the 'Nine-Faced Dragon God.'
Feeling his body reaching its limit, Garon stopped pretending.
The 'Nine-Faced Dragon God's' body glowed slightly, shifting, and under the Metallic Dragon God's increasingly speechless gaze, turned into a silver dragon.
"How about that, didn't see it coming, did you?"
The silver dragon lifted his chin, saying with a hint of pride.
"You can perfectly transform into the Lord God... even I can't tell the difference."
"Did you turn the Faceless King into an avatar?"
The Metallic Dragon God asked.
Garon nodded, smiling, "I came to test this avatar's disguise ability. If I could fool you, it's definitely good enough."
If the transformation time limit of the Nine-Faced Dragon God hadn't been reached, the Metallic Dragon God alone couldn't have detected the fake. This was quite frightening, as the Metallic Dragon God was created from the Nine-Faced Dragon God's body. If he couldn't tell, it meant that besides the Nine-Faced Dragon God himself, no one else could detect Garon's disguise.
Moreover, how many beings at the Nine-Faced Dragon God's level existed?
Garon could freely transform into other gods without much restriction.
Next, under the Metallic Dragon God's watch, Garon transformed into various gods, showcasing his avatar's transformation power.
Garon even turned into the Metallic Dragon God, and two 'Metallic Dragon Gods' appeared together in the divine realm's sky.
"Even my closest attendants couldn't tell us apart."
The Metallic Dragon God stroked his dragon whiskers, observing the identical dragon god, and said.
Receiving the Metallic Dragon God's approval, Garon stayed for a short while and then left. After resting, he assumed the form of the Nine-Faced Dragon God again and visited Avernus in Hell, successfully deceiving the Immortal Dragon Queen as well.
The tests with the Metallic Dragon God and the Immortal Dragon Queen validated the immense power of the Faceless Avatar's transformation ability.
As long as he didn't act in a way completely contrary to the original, he wouldn't be discovered.
Finally, the Faceless Garon returned to the Eternal Hall of Heroes.
The two silver dragons faced each other, smiling.
"Great, you can go to different dimensions or limited multiverses for me, establishing more Godhood Ranches."
Garon said.
The Faceless Avatar had enough power to traverse various space-time dimensions. He could utilize his abilities more freely than Garon, navigating the local worlds with ease.
One major purpose of creating the Faceless Avatar was to use it for time-space travel and faith-gathering.
With the Faceless Avatar's transformative abilities, he could more easily hide and avoid conflicts with local gods.
As for Garon himself, he needed to stay in the Great Ring Multiverse, focusing on mastering the River of Time.
"As you wish."
The Faceless Garon nodded slightly.
"Where to start…"
The silver dragon pondered, then he and his avatar simultaneously turned their gaze, speaking in unison, "The Olympus Multiverse."
Ammanata had once invited Garon to explore the Olympus Multiverse together.
But at that time, Garon was focused on breaking through to near-god level, so he declined.
Over three hundred years had passed, and now Garon had successfully become near-god level and had an avatar whose overall abilities were even slightly stronger. It was the perfect time to visit the Olympus Multiverse.
"Go to the Olympus Multiverse, establish faith for me, and gather divine artifacts."
"…Don't reveal your identity as an outer god, and avoid conflicts with the Olympian gods as much as possible. If conditions allow, provide some assistance to the Eternal Sun, but ensure you don't fall into danger."
"Be mindful of your temporal power consumption, and return to the Great Ring before it's depleted."
If faced with a major crisis, the Faceless Avatar could also use Temporal Reversal.
However, as he wasn't a true Time Dragon, using Temporal Reversal successfully might again summon an alternate Garon, who might feel deceived and become angry, leading to bad outcomes.
Buzz!
Locking onto the Olympus Multiverse's space-time coordinates, Garon opened a portal for his avatar.
The Faceless Avatar had enough power to open a portal, but his temporal power was limited, and each use depleted it without a way to replenish it outside the Great Ring Multiverse.
The 'silver dragon' leaped into the portal, vanishing from the Eternal Hall of Heroes.
Noah Continent, Extreme Northern Ice Field.
The ice field, covered in snow as always, with the wind howling, was draped in silver and white, the blizzard obscuring the sky.
Simultaneously, Garon arrived silently, without causing any disturbance.
Maintaining the appearance of an ordinary legendary silver dragon, he bathed in the flying snow, his dragon eyes reflecting a profound look.
He lifted his dragon claw, catching hexagonal snowflakes that were clear and cold.
Closing his eyes slightly, Garon exhaled.
The silver dragon's body flickered like a blurred shadow, disappearing instantly. At the same time, the River of Time encompassing the entire Noah Continent rippled, transforming into the outline of a vast, illusory temporal dragon.
Its immense wings slightly closed, enveloping the Noah Continent.
Countless beings living in this world were unaware.
The Time Dragon gazed down, its eyes reflecting everything happening on Noah Continent.
Every event in every inch of this prime material world, buried in the depths of the River of Time's history, or the countless future possibilities... all appeared in the eyes of the Time Dragon.
With a thought, the River of Time stopped flowing.
The wind and snow on the Extreme Northern Ice Field froze, and all creatures, from winter wolves to polar bears, even the legendary white dragons living there, turned into lifelike statues, unmoving.
And this was just a part of the world frozen in time.
In the southern countries, the former Bone Wasteland, the Holy Light Court, the many metallic dragons on the overseas Dragon Island, all things came to a halt.
A second later, a snowflake fell, and the world resumed its flow.
Eagles soared in the sky, beasts roared on the ground, sea beasts swam and chased fish... as if nothing had happened. They were unaware that they had just experienced a world-wide time stop.
"Indeed, the prime material plane's suppression on me no longer exists."
The silver dragon reappeared in the Extreme Northern Ice Field, his expression calm, silently contemplating.
_________________________
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