I was awoken by a strange sound this morning. It was akin to the air whistling loudly for only a short moment. What came next, however, was far less benign. My military went into high alert and flooded out of their barracks.

They surrounded a strange, mostly black creature, which somehow appeared in the middle of my presidential estate. I say 'creature' because although it shares many of its traits with a dragon, its coloration is nothing like one. Plus, it can talk. THAT certainly isn't normal.

One of my officials snags my attention.

"President, the dragon calls itself 'Chronometric Dragon God.' It seeks an audience with you. It says you may call it 'Chronomet' if you so choose."

image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/057.png]

"Tell it I do not deign to concern myself with inferiors. This so-called 'Chronomet' may relay its words to your underlings, assuming it can say anything worth hearing."

"Yes, president."

He bows and walks away.

I walk inside my manor and decide to ignore the damn thing. It claims to be a 'Chronometric Dragon God,' but the real Dragon God had no need for words. Just like my country, it solved all of its problems with raw force.

As I'm thinking so, I catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. Time seems to move in slow motion as the wall next to my body explodes. Through the wall, a huge hand decked with massive, sharp claws—

*krathoom*

*krundch*

— grabs my head and slams me onto the floor.

*baush*

"Oof!"

*thauk*

*krsh*

*thurh*

...

*klatter*

...

"I try to be civil, President Harani, I always do. Yet my patience is limited for those who do not know their place."

Ah, I was mistaken. Perhaps we can get along after all.

"My apologies, sir Chronomet—"

He presses my face harder into the floor. The backsides of his absurdly sharp claws easily dig into the solid rock floor. The sharp bladed sides are gripping my face. He's intentionally threatening my soft flesh...

*krrrrrt*

His muscle control must be absurdly precise to do this. He must be insanely strong, too, for that matter.

*rr-rrr-rrrr-ttt*

I mean, he's digging my face into solid rock with the flats of his claws, while my face is resting against his claws' blades. I can't even understand how terrified I feel. It's like I'm numb.

Please, for the love of all that is good, don't slip—

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Lord Chronomet, if you would."

I stare at his sharp thumb blade... Ah, claw, directly in front of my eyes with a still-rising sense of panic. How far is he going to press me into the floor?

I see from one eye, through the hole in the wall, that my military has followed him. They currently have him surrounded, but they're hesitant to attack with myself held hostage. He's so large that most of his body is still outside even as he presses my head deep into this interior floor.

"Lord... Chronomet. May we hold this—"

Crushed stone goes into my mouth.

*koff*

"— discussion in a less hostile location, perhaps one of your choosing?"

"Raha, certainly. Though, I think this location is quite suitable. I've even got a set of chairs."

He somehow retrieves a throne out of nowhere. An ornate and finely-decorated throne adorned with dragon carvings, brilliant gemstones, and a series of magic inscriptions. He sits in this, still stuck partly through the wall. He looks down at me through the partially-collapsed roof.

In his hand appears a wooden chair. He holds said chair directly over my head. Only then does his ridiculously powerful grip release me from the stone floor. He places said wooden chair over my head. I realize it's a rickety wooden chair which looks like it'll collapse if I sit on it. Just how much is he going to humiliate me?

"You seemed to want to establish a power dynamic. Luckily for you, I— am a dragon. We dragons positively ADORE asymmetric displays of power. See? That chair represents the amount of power and prestige you hold versus myself. I couldn't make it from air else you'd be forced to stand."

A lot, it seems. Alright. We'll see how far your arrogance gets you. I pull my head out from within the stone floor and remove myself from under the chair. I then signal my military to 'set up a bombardment, wait until I'm clear.' The general nods and starts issuing coded orders.

I stand tall, dust the crushed floor off of myself...

*pah-psh*

And sit.

*creeeeeeeeak*

Really? Where did he get this cruddy thing?

*eee-eeee-ee-eekkkk*

He seems amused by his shenanigans. I decide to ignore the endlessly creaking chair and begin this farce.

"S—"

He raises one of his scaly eyeshields. It's hard to tell with all the spatial black around his face, but there's barely enough orange to make out a proper expression. The way his outline seems to consume the imagery around him is getting more unnerving the longer I look.

Actually, now that I think about it— it's like I can see his real expression within the endless blackness.

What in the world IS this creature?

"LORD Chronomet, for what reason do you seek my audience today?"

"I've come here to inform you of a large monster which has invaded the underground region of your nation of Eritromi. It covers the three south-eastern cities, Venifera, Poraveri, and Winnoret. I also hoped to get your opinion on how long it would take for you to evacuate these cities."

I cross my arms.

"This is obviously not up for discussion."

He raises one clawed hand, palm up.

"So it isn't that you want proof or an alternate method. There is simply no discussion?"

He lowers his hand, I respond.

"That's right."

"May I ask why?"

"Your claim is absurd."

"It's not because you knew?"

Uh, naturally I know.

*creeak*

Damn chair.

"Of course not."

He tilts his head.

"Then, you don't want proof because..."

*crekeeek-eekeeeke*

"You cannot provide any."

"You realize, that makes no sense."

"This discussion bores me, may we move on?"

"Yes. I want all documents on your Dragon God experiments. I see no problem with this as compensation, since you've issued a surprise attack on my person. I may have broken down your wall, but THAT should hardly come as a surprise to one such as yourself."

My left eye twitches. Well, he's not wrong. Not only the experiments, but the bombardment. And my attitude toward surprise attacks, too. How does he know all of this?

"I have no idea what you mean."

*creekee*

He points a clawed finger at me.

"That chair was meant to remind you of your place. Yet, it seems to have detracted from what little focus your weak brain was capable of gathering."

Well, I never!

He lowers his hand; I raise my fist.

"Do you intend on insulting me to the end?"

"Is wasting my time not an insult?"

"It seems we are at an impasse, dragon."

"Lord Chronomet, human."

I wave my hand low in an 'enough' gesture.

"Good day, monster. I'm leaving."

*crekeeek*

I get up and hurry off. I'm aware he could easily kill me, but he doesn't seem interested in doing such.

I hear him behind me.

"You didn't call off the attack, Harani."

"That's 'President' Harani!"

"Not anymore."