They both traveled a distance for slightly over an hour before Cronyssia suddenly swerved downward with tremendous force.

And the sudden shift made the women in her grasp tighten their grip on her scales as they plummeted toward the ground below.

There was a massive circular hole already opened before them in the earth, and they dove straight into it without hesitation, entering a tunnel so large it could have easily fit three ships side by side with room to spare.

The walls of the tunnel were dark and jagged and as they descended deeper the light from above faded until they were surrounded by complete darkness, flying through what felt like a bottomless abyss with no end in sight.

Laela's breath caught in her throat and Arianna pressed closer to the others while Myrenne and Aeris remained silent but their faces had gone pale.

They continued falling for what felt like an eternity until finally they emerged from the other side of the pit and entered into an entirely different world.

The air here was thick and oppressive with a weight that pressed down on their chests and made it slightly harder to breathe.

The sky above was a sickly shade of red with black clouds that twisted and rolled slowly across it.

The ground stretched out in sharp ridges of rock and broken metal, with dark, thick rivers flowing between them. The whole place reeked of decay and sulfur.

This was the Edge Of The Demon Realm.

The women shuddered as chills ran down their spines and Aeris looked around with wide eyes filled with both terror and disbelief while Myrenne's jaw clenched as she forced herself to remain calm.

Laela and Arianna stayed close together with their hands finding each other instinctively as they tried not to think too much about where they were.

The time variant Cronyssia led them through the wasteland until they reached the front of a gate so massive its top disappeared into the red sky above with no visible end in sight.

The gate itself was black and covered in strange markings that glowed red light faintly.

Stretching across the enormous door handles was a massive chain connected to an equally massive lock that definitely had been forged from something beyond normal metal.

Or Any Sort Of Metal At All.

It was a marveling sight even for Aiden who found himself staring at the structure with a mixture of awe and concern.

But what caught everyone's attention most was the second Cronyssia standing directly in front of the gate in her full dragon form with both of her massive hands stretched outward toward the lock while waves of energy poured from her claws and into the chains.

The time variant Cronyssia lowered her hand gently to let the women down onto solid ground and Aiden descended as well while retracting his wings as he landed beside them.

The variant then undid her dragon and took the appearance of the petite dragon lady with a petite build.

Then she turned toward the group and spoke clearly. "These chains are the manifestation of the seal on the demon realm," she explained while gesturing toward the gate.

"Those gates lead directly into the realm itself where every demon resides, and my original standing there is currently applying her authority of stopping time over the seal."

She paused and looked at Aiden. "That's actually the whole point of the time field. It was never meant to just deter further movement into the continent itself, but also to stop time around the seal so it wouldn't break."

Aiden's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer and studied the chains more carefully.

It didn't take long for him to notice the thin cracks running along the surface of both the chains and the lock itself.

"Apparently that isn't enough," Aiden said flatly while pointing at the cracks. "They're breaking apart."

"That is exactly what I wanted to show you," Cronyssia replied with a grim expression. "The seal itself is weakening every passing moment even though my original has been stopping time over it for the last hundred years without taking a single break."

This was what Rhyos and Lucina had seen earlier when Rhyos tried to look for Cronyssia through his gateway, and the sight had left both gods visibly uneasy because they understood what it meant if the seal broke completely.

Even the gods definitely did not want that.

Laela, Arianna, Myrenne, and Aeris remained silent throughout the conversation with their eyes moving between Aiden and Cronyssia.

But none of them spoke because this was clearly not a discussion they had any place in.

Aiden's face shifted into a concerned expression as he looked back at the original Cronyssia who continued pouring her energy into the seal without pause. "How long do you think she can hold the time stop?" he asked.

The variant replied. "A dragon's energy source is near-endless and she could hold it for as long was possible".

There was that slight pause before she added, "But the Demon King's power continuously grows, and given the nature of the warning you brought, I say its only a matter of time before that seal shatters either way and every demon lets loose through these gates."

She sighed. "There's even a possibility that the seal could break the instant my original stops the time field"

Then she turned towards Aiden again. "Which is why your current form worries me the most. You carry the power of Thyrak, Veyqorin, and Keyles and yet you're nowhere near any of them in strength."

Aiden frowned and crossed his arms. "Why can't you just do it like the other time variant?" he asked. "Use your time authority to forcibly reduce the time it takes my body to develop the authorities of the dragons."

Cronyssia shook her head slowly. "In as much as I want to do that, I just can't," she said firmly. "The whole point of Thyrak's system is to gradually prepare his vessels to be able to contain his power, and now it isn't just his anymore but two others as well."

She stepped closer to him. "I could force your growth to Thyrak's level right this moment but I doubt your body would be able to handle it all without crumbling right after, especially as it looks like you've only just recently become a Skyfang."

"The other variant weighed that your body would have been able to handle such growth," Cronyssia continued. "Which is why she took the calculated risk of using the time authority to force the level ups."

Aiden sighed heavily and his shoulders sagged slightly as he grew uncertain of what other methods he could take to force his growth faster.

Cronyssia studied him for a moment before speaking again. "Perhaps if you stayed over here in Dellheim I could slowly force a faster growth," she suggested. "Keeping it measured so that your body doesn't break."

Aiden's had a disturbed look on his face. "It would take days or weeks to reach Dragon King level and in reality several months would pass outside."

"It's the only way I see this working," Cronyssia said. "We need you at full power. Last time it took all seven of us and two died for it, but when the Demon King returns much stronger than before you'll be the first killed and far too easily."

Laela and Arianna both shifted uncomfortably before reaching for Aiden's hands at the same time and gripping them tightly.

Aiden turned toward them with concern written across his face because taking Cronyssia up on her offer meant their intended marriage right after this would have to wait much longer than planned.

Cronyssia watched them for a moment before speaking. "I'll leave you to discuss it," she said quietly and then floated away toward her original self near the gate.

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