A vast stream of golden waters.

The River of Time is so vast that it resembles a flowing sea rather than a river. It was here that time waters flowed, allowing the third dimension to have the fourth-dimensional aspect — time. Without time waters flowing into reality, the world would stand still, like a three-dimensional painting.

Each world has its own dedicated tributary of the ‘main’ river of time, and Morgen World isn’t too much of a difference. 

Within this river, there are countless time-path lifeforms, such as day critters, month animals, and even year beasts. They come in all sorts of types, they are but are not limited to insects, piscine, avian, ursine, reptilian, or even primate, swimming freely in the ‘waters’. There is no such thing as avian drowning in the time waters. It was more common to see a chicken year beast asphyxiate when their head wasn’t submerged inside the time waters. It was an otherworldly spectacle with the golden river water providing all the necessities for all lifeforms in this environment.

Hovering slightly above the river of time is a small clockwork hovercraft, ferrying a person. The surface of the ship is laced with golden runes and magical formations in the form of circuits, allowing the ship to hover above the time waters without being corroded by the intense passages of time and physically move without propellers.

“So that’s the rank 5 floating fortress… Avalon!” Atop the hovercraft, a man clad in 3-meter tall white-gold clockwork power armor whispered. His armor is sleek, with high mobility as the core design. He was armed to the teeth as he held a hand cannon inscribed with golden runes to his right and a white-gold blade to his left. Behind him is a floating artifact in the shape of a golden ring, having a diameter of one meter. The intricacy of the clock-like ring reveals that it wasn’t just an artifact, but a Soul Armament.

 

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Heinrich Richtofen, Der "Uhrmacher"

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His attention is focused on a literal fortress hovering above the time waters like a floating island.

The Floating Fortress Avalon is a majestic bastion seemingly torn from the annals of myth. Crafted from shimmering epic metals and infused with ancient magic, this ethereal stronghold siphons torrential amounts of golden particles from the time waters. Towering spires adorned with intricate runes rose to the void, veiled in an ever-shifting golden mist that cloaks its mystical nature. Bridges of luminous crystal connect ethereal gardens and grand halls, where whispers of forgotten wisdom echo through corridors adorned with tapestries depicting the ebb and flow of history. 

Whatever magic towers visible on the walls are already being used as formation cores to erect an indestructible barrier, as if the fortress’s guardians are already aware of his goal. It’s not surprising, considering time-path methods could allow one to easily foresee the future. 

"Doktor Heinrich Richtofen, ‘Der Uhrmacher’ von Galatreon! We have long anticipated your arrival…" A white-haired, high-ranking figure of the ecclesiarchy emerged atop the dark-gold metallic fortress walls, draped in a resplendent clerical robe. Her humanoid form is sparingly decorated by golden dragon scales, proof that they are a member of a dragon cult. A little dragon pet stood by next to her, growling at Heinrich. Behind her stood a cohort of clergy members adorned in diverse attire, ranging from paladins clad in formidable armor to priests garbed in clerical robes. Despite their varied attire, all bore the unmistakable white-gold color scheme—a telling sign of their shared origin.

 

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14th Archbishop of The Eternal Dragon Church, Guardian of Avalon

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Heinrich had to cripple Avalon, ideally by causing substantial damage, rendering it unable to function properly for a significant duration. With Avalon's watchful presence over the River of Time, the Dragon God of Time wielded immense power, supporting time travelers and regressors while manipulating the visions of time-path cultivators at will. This granted her the ability to disrupt any ongoing schemes in the real world effortlessly, allowing her to send personnel to 'correct' or alter the timeline as needed.

As of now, the current Morgen world remains embroiled in an arms race, each faction striving to decipher and craft their version of Floating Fortresses following Alistair's plunder. However, the mere presence of Avalon within the River of Time serves as compelling evidence that it wasn't solely a creation born from the efforts within this timeline.

“We all know the result of this battle. Give up and allow yourself to be captured. Don’t you want to possess one of us?” The high-ranking cleric, an Archbishop of the Eternal Dragon Church, a slave of the cult, taunted Heinrich. Her golden eyes had witnessed numerous iterations of this conflict, each meticulously analyzed and distilled to extract valuable intelligence. The culmination of these observations had birthed a flawless battle strategy, countering all of his potential moves even before they were set into motion. 

If, for instance, the one who’s currently ‘piloting’ Heinrich possessed the Archbishop, it would be the Archbishop’s victory. 

“You are absolutely correct… However…!” Heinrich took out a small grimoire-like book that was made by strapping hundreds of parchments messily into one.

Seeing the messy parchments-like book, the Archbishop raised her eyebrows. “The rank 5 demonic artifact, [Scattered Chapters of Lemegeton]!” Her master had warned her about Galatreon forces using demonic artifacts to control demons, so she was quite aware of what they could do. Although it cannot be used to summon a Demon King’s true body, it could either be used to summon their clones, or their Demon Great Duke-level underlings, which would increase the difficulty of her mission since they had never been used in the million iterations of her visions. She waved her hand in response, not wanting to give him the initiative of the battle.

Her cohorts suddenly glow in golden light, evidence of time-path methods being activated. In their perspective, a single instance of Planck time has been lengthened to several seconds, allowing them to walk on time waters and seemingly teleport towards Heinrich.

Unfortunately for them, Heinrich had set up all sorts of countermeasures. The ring-shaped Soul Armament behind him projected Roman clock rune characters, effectively erecting a golden-hue barrier in a 10-meter diameter. Those who are under time-path methods to pass through this barrier are locked in a time-stasis, becoming invulnerable to damage, but also not allowing them to take action. Some are still a distance away from the barrier, but they were affected as well.

This brief opening allows Heinrich to activate the Scattered Chapters of Lemegeton freely, “Rank 5 soul-path killer move, [Lemegeton’s Authority: Demonic Summoning]!”

The Scattered Chapters of Lemegeton combusted, becoming golden particles that swirl, creating a projection of a demonic person. The summoning occurred in a time-stopped environment because Heinrich could not waste time. 

The demon’s formidable presence exudes an air of commanding authority, masked beneath the veil of a regal, loose-fitting robe that cascaded down his lithe frame. Adorned with intricate patterns and hues of midnight black, the robe swayed with each step, hinting at the hidden power that lay within. Atop his brow rested a pair of magnificent horns, spiraling upward with an eerie elegance. Furthermore, a small crown resting atop his deep crimson hair serves as an unmistakable emblem of his infernal heritage. 

Despite their ominous nature, they complimented his striking visage, where sharp, alluring features framed by dark, penetrating eyes held an inexplicable allure, drawing unwitting souls closer with a magnetism that concealed the darkness lurking beneath his charming facade. His mere presence excludes a measured grace, the dichotomy of his appearance, a beguiling attractiveness melded with an ominous aura, left an indelible mark on all who dared to gaze upon the enigmatic being.

 

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Rank 5 Clone of Demon King Balam, The 'Ageless Despot'

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“Your Majesty Grimsong Specter…” The regal demon offered a respectful bow at Heinrich before facing the Archbishop who was casting a blessing to dispel the stasis-lock that ensnared her companions. Naturally, the floating fortress caught his attention the most. “Oh, Avalon. It’s 341 Morgen years too early for you to exist…”

“Balam, The ‘Ageless Despot’, I offer you a new rank 5 clone with 100 Morgen years of freedom,” Heinrich whispered towards the rank 5 clone of Demon King Balam. “In exchange… Give me time.”

“100 Morgen years?” The Ageless Despot was surprised at how generous Heinrich’s offer was.“I accept!” At this very instance, his clawing hands reached towards the indestructible time-locked member of the Eternal Dragon Church, but the Archbishop used a locational time-lapse blessing to return them by her side. She wouldn’t risk her companions to someone who dared to touch a time-locked object with his bare hands.

“Archbishop of Eternal Dragon Church, looks like you’re a regressor who’s inhabiting someone else’s body to ease the karmic rejection from this timeline.” Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Balam waved his arm, and two summoning magic circles began to unfold.

One is a rank 5 Archbishop of the Eternal Dragon Church, while the other is a time demon whose real identity is the rank 5 clone of Demon King Balam, the Ageless Despot. As time-path cultivators, both were fully aware of what each other was doing.

In that very instant, the Archbishop knew that the time demon wouldn’t attack her directly. Both of them have high resistance against time-path methods, so it would take too much time and energy to defeat the other. A battle of attrition between time-path cultivators in the River of Time where their powers are augmented to an unbelievable degree would cause chaos and disrupt the laws of the third dimension, which would cause unwanted destruction. 

Although the demon doesn’t care about collateral damage, the karmic retaliation from the world isn’t easy to endure if such a thing ever happened, he certainly wouldn’t want his owner to punish him due to his hubris. To circumvent this, the time demon tried to use a time-path method to summon a projection of beings from other paths, which was a smart solution to keep the scale of this battle small yet effective.

Therefore, she did the same. 

Fortunately for her, she had a blessing from the Dragon God of Time, granting her countless boons when activating time-path summoning methods. In addition to her mastery of time-path, her activation speed is faster than the time demon’s by a margin. Despite being late in initiating the activation sequence, it is estimated that their summons would arrive at the same time.

While the Archbishop and Balam’s clone were competing in terms of summon speed, Heinrich sank to his knees, closed his eyes, and his hands clasped fervently together while his weapons hovered around him in an ethereal dance. 

“Master of mankind, the Emperor of Man,

Guide our spirits with your celestial plan.

In the darkest hour, your light does shine,

Grant us strength, make our purpose known.”

The Archbishop was caught off guard at Herinrich’s prayers that seemingly were able to spread regardless of distance. Never in her wildest dream that ‘The Clockmaker’ Heinrich Richtofen would suddenly pray. It was, after all, an open secret that Galatreon holds the four most heretical families in Morgen World. The small bastion-state of atheists suddenly having a man of faith of this caliber? It was completely unexpected that this fact almost dropped her jaw. 

What’s more surprising, however, divine white light seemed to radiate from him, evident that it was a type of energy comparable to the divine energy of the gods. The white light began to envelop the power armor, it was so pure and concentrated as if produced by the most pious, faithful worshiper. Yet, the Archbishop could not understand who this faith is placed towards.

One thing that she was sure of, however, was that allowing the Clockmaker to continue praying wasn’t a good idea. She expedited her summoning through the support of Avalon. It was as if she was using cheat codes, her activation sequence was completed in an instant. 

“Rank 5 time-path killer move, [Glorious Depictions of Heroes and Myths]!” 

Nine dark golden figures began to appear next to her, each with their unique characteristics but their bodies but a mere time-path projection, and only the first one had complete ‘colors’. To accelerate the speed of summoning, she had picked one instead of the whole nine, but it was good enough since the man he summoned wasn’t someone random.

“Seven Spear, reporting for duty!” The projection whispered while his spear and golden armor materialized. The spearhead of his weapon glimmers in seven different colors, and his golden armor is not an influence of time-path but its original colors. 

Seven Spear blinked as he received a telepathic message from the Archbishop. “It looks like my service is needed once more to quell the 6th Otherworldly Invader’s plan.” Seven Spear made a dancing motion with his spear. After the first set of martial ‘dance’, a red-colored ball of energy that corresponds to fire-path laws manifests. After another set of motions, the second one that corresponds to water-path condensed, and so on, until he accumulated seven energy balls that merged into a multicolored ball. “Rank 5 spear-path killer move, [Seven Dragon Destruction ]!”

SWOOSH! A manifestation of a group of seven colorful dragon heads appeared behind him, seemingly combining and condensing their dragon breath into a ball. The time waters split open, unable to corrode the attack with its corrosive nature.

Balam’s clone continued chanting, as his summoning technique is far more intricate and sensitive compared to the Archbishop’s. However, that does not mean he forgo defense in favor of offense. His objective was to give time until Heinrich completed whatever he was doing right now, so he immediately used his trump card by coughing golden-hued red blood.

“Rank 5 time-path killer move, [Past Self]!” 

Past Self was a killer move derived from Balam’s bloodline ability. He used his blood essence as a medium to project his ‘past self’ as a disposable cannon fodder. It can be activated in an instant, so an eight-meter-tall demonic being with red skin appeared, deflecting the [Seven Dragon Destruction] with its golden demonic staff burning in golden-red flames. 

Time waters splashed all around the area as the deflected Seven Dragon Destruction entered the golden river. Deep underneath its depth, the multicolored ball exploded like a nuclear blast after hitting an unfortunate Monkey Year Beast. 

The explosion damage and radius have been greatly suppressed due to being inside a time-path environment, but it was still capable of causing countless time-path lifeforms to die. 

At that instance, the indestructible barrier of Avalon quivered. Rampant destruction in the River of Time causes the third dimension to suffer from the time-path heavenly phenomenon. As a result, Avalon had to ‘heal’ whatever damage was done while enduring the karmic backlash caused by Seven Spear’s attack. The Archbishop frowned, which caused the Seven Spear to nod in understanding, promising to not ever use that flashy move again unless he was sure it'd hit his enemies.

Glancing at the broken demonic staff which was made out of supreme quality epic metal, Balam’s Past Self shared the same expression with the Archbishop. As a demon mage, his staff is laced with all sorts of runes and spells, but they were all broken with a single hit, which signifies how powerful Seven Spear’s attack was.

Nevertheless, his original is a true blue demon king, there are countless cards under his sleeve. He pointed towards Seven Spear with his palm, “Rank 5 time-path killer move, [Temporal Backlash]!”

Seven Spear’s [Seven Dragon Destruction] was replicated without the buildup. It was so quick that even Seven Spear himself was shocked. However, since it was a time-path method, the Seven Dragon Spears generated by [Temporal Backlash] have little to no laws regarding the seven elements. Against an indestructible time-path barrier with extreme resistance against time-path, it wouldn’t do much. It barely caused Avalon’s barrier to shake.

The Archbishop immediately realized that the time demon’s Past Self’s objective was a prolonged battle because other than using [Temporal Backlash] and pretending to do something threatening, there’s little to no energy fluctuation coming from him. 

She trusted Avalon’s indestructible barrier, but Heinrich’s prayers made him worried because it had never come up in the previous iterations. She accelerated her summoning further by burning her core energy, allowing the second and third figures next to Seven Spear to materialize faster than expected.

“Undying Juggernaut, reporting for duty!” A man donned in superheavy black armor while wielding a thick jet-black greatsword in each hand muttered.

“Darkblade Shadow, reporting for duty!” Following Undying Juggernaut’s lead, the second man who is covered with black assassin apparel shrugged. With a glance, he was able to deduct the overall situation. “Our opponent is a staff-wielding time demon. It should be a spell caster, but as a demon, it has a racial advantage in terms of physical strength.”

“Adopt the 31st Demon Hunt Formation.” Seven Spear brandished his spear, leading the other two to jump down from the castle wall into the time waters. 

Naturally, touching the golden time waters is no different than suicide, so they hover slightly above the time waters as they advance.

Balam’s Past Self has zero confidence in enduring an assault from three Morgen World’s 4th generation Braves, but he has no choice but to give some breathing room for his true body to finish his incantations. “Alright, let’s play,” He lunged at the three heroes, both of his hands covered with gold-red demonic spell runes.