The dragon's harem

“Easy? I would call it strange.” Arad sighed and looked back at the people. John had stopped time so they won’t waste it.

John extended his hand and gave Arad the pocket watch.

“Here you go. Please don’t break it. Fixing it might be quite the hassle.”

Arad took the pocket watch and gladly threw it in his stomach. Now, he has a powerful time artifact.

“By the way, if you can see the future…” Arad looked at John, and the time dragon smiled. He pointed down the street with a shaking finger. “Fifty building, take the first turn, and then keep going until the large green tree with three marble benches around it. Look for the emerald door. That’s the house where you’ll find the best people for the job.”

Arad smiled. With John’s help, he won’t need to search for that long or even interview people. “What should I expect?”

“Twins sisters, not real twins though. Lustful and romantic half-cupids. They aren’t powerful. But they are willful enough to make a change for the better.” John smiled, “Remember Commander Ward, the paladin half-angel who attacked you when you entered the kingdom? Those are his daughters.”

Arad sighed, “Ah, that one. He’ll probably be angry about it.”

“Of course he was. Days ago. He came by to throw me a coin, and as a thank, I told him that his daughters would get snatched by a powerful emperor. I thought he’d be happy to send them away, especially for such a good offer.” John combed his beard.

“The two are getting everything they wanted. Out of all the timelines I’ve seen, going with you is probably the happiest branch.” John looked at Arad, “Ward can’t see the future.”

“I’m looking for ambassadors, not wives.” Arad sighed, and John shook his head.

“The two are half-cupids. While they won’t help much in anything else, they’re quite good at breaking couple fights and keeping a family stable. You know how you can find a wife that would break everything. Those two are the opposite.”

John pointed again at the street, “Go. You might not need them, but the family you’re building is too huge and needs them.”

Arad stood, “Fine, I’ll pay them a visit then. What about you? What are you going to do next?”

Arad had met the other magic dragons, but only John from the time dragons so far. From all of their powers, time seemed the most complicated as he could wrap his head around where John’s power started and where it ended. Can he just travel through time, or can he control it? Probably a mixture of both.

“I’ll keep swimming through time. Who knows, we might meet in a whole other timeline. I’ve seen many worlds thanks to my power.” John looked at the sky with a smile, imagining many worlds.

A grim world with many planets where the people rip their own organs out and exchange them with steel machines. Where those plants are fighting against each other in an endless war, all plotted by a rogue machine crafted by humans.

A peaceful world where barely any monsters roamed the world. Their god walks the earth in retirement, enjoying the peaceful days of his life.

A universe ravaged by abominations, gasping its last breath as one last bastion of mortals floated in the vacuum of space, protected by fading gods.

John lifted his hand, “Time rains, do you know that, Arad.” He stood, “It hurts a lot, burns, and ages anything that it touches. Everyone except you. Because it fears you.” He pointed at Arad’s chest, “One day, find time and make sure it never dares rain again.”

John then disappeared like a ghost, leaving nothing where he stood. Arad looked around, and he could see the people moving as if nothing happened.

“Time rain?” He mumbled as he walked, “What did he mean? Everyone ages with time, or is it time that ages them? Is everyone already standing beneath the time’s rain? Why would he want to stop it, and why would it fear me?”

Arad then shook his head, “Better focus on the present for now.”

As Arad left, John was floating in the air, detached from the current timeline and watching it like a movie. A spectator from outside.

He could see time falling from the unknown infinite sky, washing everyone who walked the world, aging them, slowly but surely forcing the universe to keep chugging forward.

The only dry spot was Arad. The droplets of time evaded him as if he were the plague.

“The universe is racing toward its end. Someone has to hit the brakes. Otherwise, we’ll crash before reaching the finish line.”

John reached forward and caught one of the time’s droplets in his hand. Inside it, he could see the endless possibilities of a single moment in time.

[John] An echo boomed in the air, and the time dragon looked up, “Come on, that should be fine.”

Three voices came at once, causing the dragon to suffer from a deathly headache.

[The loom shifted. The change was too sudden, and the tapestry of fate now has to evolve a bit. The stones would crack under any more pressure.]

John rubbed his temples and then sighed, “But nothing broke, and that’s what matters, right? You’ve hired me, so don’t complain. If you can find a better time dragon for the job, go ahead.” He shifted into a titanic green dragon with a bird’s beak and long horns. A glowing time dial flashed behind his neck, radiating with light.

“I’m back to work. If you three rascals dare complain, I’m retiring.” He then disappeared, and the voices sighed.

[More work for us]

****

Back in the world, Arad finally found himself standing in front of Ward’s house. How will he approach this? Would it be better to knock, wait for them to get out, or hell, maybe just leave a letter to call them to the castle and leave?

He stood pondering what to do for a while. He should’ve asked John about how to go about it for the best outcome. But can he really trust John?

John is a time dragon who manipulates the flow of time to change the future and learn about the past. For all that Arad knows, he might be just another pawn in the dragon’s claw. The best future that John talked about might not be the future of Arad and his family, but the best future for John.

John did say that Arad had punched or killed him multiple times today, which means something went south, and John eventually ironed out those events.

“AH!” A voice gasped above him.