"So, Chronomet. What are you going to do?"
*creeeeak*
He sits back in his crappy chair.
"Also, why are you sitting in that thing?"
"Roh, it's because I don't deserve the glory I've come to associate with my throne. I need to earn back my throne. That's how I feel, anyway."
"Forget my other question. How are you making those chairs? They're way stronger than the other stuff I've seen you make."
"That's because I am the chair."
I show a baffled look.
"Ehm? What."
He stands.
The wooden chair turns into a smaller copy of himself. Then, it turns back into a wooden chair.
He sits down again.
*creeeeeak*
"Uhh. Huh. You're sitting on yourself?"
"Even when I bask in my endless draconic grandeur, I must remember to keep myself grounded. So, that I do. Literally."
"That's— somehow noble of you, Chronomet."
"As a dragon, my outward image shouldn't be tainted by the folly of my own mindset."
"Uhh. Right. So, what exactly did Thaddeus and Garne do? How did they trap you?"
"They exploited my pride. They made me more powerful by sacrificing others."
"Wait, they intentionally made you stronger? Wh— why would they do THAT?"
He shakes his head.
"More powerful— thousands of times more powerful in raw stats. Weaker in mindset. They attacked my mind. Though, having eaten them, I'm aware this was not their intention. They legitimately wanted to make me more powerful."
"Well, then I should tell you. My wife, she's. She's dead. Adelia's— my wife's dead."
I feel tears streaming down my face.
"I'm sorry."
"Smmf. I know. I'm not blaming you. But I need to know what they did to usurp your control. You're a strong dragon in many ways. I can't understand. How, how could this happen?"
"Rawh."
*creak*
He shifts in his chair a bit. He leans down further, toward me, his clawed hands clasping together.
"The bulb, the monster I killed by eating Shridenia. It had a skill which spread its seeds into living beings. The Purified Heavens used that skill to make the bulb into a Demigod."
His eyes shift for a moment, then return to looking at myself.
He continues.
"It worked by absorbing stat points from those it infected. I absorbed its skill, and in doing so, unwittingly inherited the bulb's seeds. However, they were not originally a part of me. I could not sense, much less control them."
His head nods to the side a bit.
He continues once more.
"Once I realized what was happening, I immediately went to make an inscription to remove all the seeds. Before I could, Thaddeus and Garne asked for an audience. They told me they wanted to make a new god; one which didn't erase sapient beings' minds for fun."
I interject.
"Wait, is that what this is all about? The gods are sick pricks?"
He nods.
"I ate one. That god was every bit as twisted as Thaddeus believed. Thaddeus, however, stared too long into the abyss. He became twisted himself."
...
Uhh?
...
"Should I not look at you?"
He stares at me; his eyes shaking.
Then, he goes wide-eyed for just a moment.
"I'm not the aby— I mean— ragh. Do as you wish."
I feel like laughing. What's wrong with me?
"Excuse my rudeness, please continue."
He drops his stare. Weirdly, he also drools.
He wipes his maw with his arm.
*shhht*
*creeak*
"Thaddeus explained that dragons used to be sapient until the gods 'sciolated' them. They reaped every dragon's mind. Except mine, obviously."
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I interject.
"Sciolated?"
He unclasps his hands and upturns his left hand.
"I've also gained this talent. It takes stats exactly like the bulb's Seeding. The difference is that it's instant, and with enough Mana can be cast from any distance. Take enough stats? The target dies."
"No, I mean; not stupefied or dumbed down?"
"Ahra. 'Sci-,' as in 'to know', and '-ate,' as in 'alone.' Sciolation isolates all knowledge. Remember that dragons aside from myself act like animals with no Will. Despite this, every dragon I ate possessed a name. They're all named, Raiz."
"Do only sapient beings have names?"
He nods.
"Precisely. All dragons are sapient. However, every intellectual connection their brain makes is blocked, and their stats get stolen. They possess wisdom and knowledge but can't remember how to use it. They're not dumb, Raiz. They're caged."
"Is that why humanity has forgotten that dragons were once intelligent?"
He moves his hands and sits straighter within his wooden chair.
*creekeek*
"From Thaddeus' memories; this seems correct. He was a young man when dragons could still speak. He hated dragons for what they did and said. He hated them so much that he couldn't forget. He hated me— even as he willingly made me far stronger than I already was."
"Humans are contradictory creatures."
Chronomet shakes his head.
"That's a misgiving. Contradiction is impossible. It's an errant concept. One can deny their own ideas, or simultaneously hold two opposing ideas. But to possess contradictory ideas would mean to simultaneously possess two ideas which are mutually destructive. Much like the laws of physical reality, ideological contradictions should fully annihilate the moment they come in contact. But they don't; not entirely."
Hah?
"Sorry, I don't follow."
"Matter, antimatter. If these two particles meet in the same place at the same time, both will cease to exist. They produce a small cast off, and this is because no two quanta can truly, fully, contradict each other. There's always some small basis by which they interact. That's why they don't fully annihilate— true contradiction is impossible."
His eyes shift for a moment, until he continues.
"The same is true of ideas. While they may seem absolutely opposed on the surface, there is always some measure by which they can be compared. Perhaps, the language used to assemble the idea is that measure? Perhaps the ideas exist in different languages, but the brain which holds them is one brain, rah? And if we say the ideas are held in different brains, in different languages, the ideas may still be communicated through the world in which those brains exist. These two opposing ideas can never truly contradict so long as they may somehow interact. Perhaps, they mostly destroy eachother in that interaction. But never fully. Some basis upon which the ideas were compared must remain."
Erm. Am I getting educated on the nature of existence by an actual Demigod? Holy shit.
Sadly, I understand absolutely nothing! Incredible!
He sighs.
"Hrahh."
*krekaeeeek*
Then continues.
"I'm saying the more we talk, the less we should disagree. That's not because one of us is right and another is wrong. It's because there is only one truth; there cannot be two truths. We cannot invent our own reality and then decide that our new reality holds a superior truth. We cannot claim our subjective experiences as the sole objective truth, either. Which means there can never be a true contradiction. You can kill the person who holds an idea, but you can't kill the idea itself. Which means it's always best to talk things out."
Oh. That's an interesting philosophical argument, but—
"What does that have to do with humans?"
He seems to smile a tad.
"Thaddeus hated what he was doing. Yet, long before he made his final decision, he was already ramping up the seeds' control inscription. His hatred for dragons could not 'contradict' his hatred for the gods. His hatred toward them was simply too powerful. You see, when the gods sciolated the Dragon God's mind, the Dragon God responded by murdering Thaddeus' entire family. He then confiscated Thaddeus' family's wealth. As we dragons do."
Chronomet winces for a moment before continuing once again.
"His family was defenseless due to their sciolation. They likely could've hidden had they known he was coming. However, the Dragon God apparently remembered more than they did; after murdering them, he chose to leave Thaddeus alive. The man's last personal memory of the Dragon God was the giant dragon grinning at him like a fun little toy. Years later, the human god personally slew the Dragon God. He took away Thaddeus' chance to get revenge. It didn't matter to Thaddeus how irrational he seemed. He thought that at least he could steal back his family's wealth and get one over on the Dragon God. Even if that'd inevitably end badly. Unfortunately for him, said wealth is still held by Dracon State: sworn enemy of The Purified Heavens since time immemorial. Which meant that when the human god killed the Dragon God, he stole Thaddeus' revenge. In a way, he stole everything Thaddeus had left except for his birthright as emperor. And what good is a crown if you've no jewels to adorn it? Hrah, the crown itself is still in Dracon State."
I see. Even Thaddeus' actions weren't contradictory when viewed from a different perspective.
"Meaning he used his control over your seeds, to... Get revenge?"
"In a way. And Garne? He was terrified. Which is why I let him go. Not a minute later, the crazy fool followed Thaddeus' lead. He sealed my lineage and made me unable to retrieve the seeds. I was able to defeat this, of course. He sealed my lineage, but that doesn't remove whatever power I innately possess. It only blocks me from exerting my power externally."
'Being magically sealed is but a minor setback.' I nearly roll my eyes.
*creeeak*
He drops his head.
"However, the two of them stalled me barely long enough to let the seeds finish the job. They brought their lifes' work to completion by ending the lives of so many. I even didn't need their help; it was so incredibly selfish of them."
"Uhm, they made you MORE powerful, and in doing so, defeated you? Ahh, that doesn't make any sense."
"He got what he wanted; I didn't. Can I claim victory?"
"Chronomet, this whole story is the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I gotta ask— do you have some kind of talent that makes you stronger no matter what?"
He whips his spiky head to look right at me.
"How do you guys keep figuring me out?"
Somehow, I'm not at all surprised.
"You don't make sense, so the correct answer is the most absurd one."
"That's how you all do that?"
"Well, that's how I've done it. So, what does this talent of yours do, exactly?"
He looks at me with a gaze I've come to recognize as one of excitement. A look which tells me he's happy about having a chance to brag about the depths of what he possesses. That all-too draconic pride; a pride which is so easily stoked.
We both know it, but he obliges anyway.
"Hrr. I initially had a talent that pulled me toward the fates of the Dragon God and Pure Evil. Then, I got a chance to choose my path forward."
During our discussion about his statues, he asked that I report back regarding how people worked on his art.
When I asked why, his response was stunning. He wanted to know so he'd have an idea of how much he was liked. How much a DRAGON was LIKED. I couldn't believe it. Why would a dragon care?
He doesn't want to cause torment like so many other dragons. He wants to create, build, and share. It's the reason I respect him; the reason I believed he hadn't turned evil.
"I presume you chose to remain a dragon?"
Underneath all those armor plates and spikes, behind the terrifyingly sharp claws and teeth, and hidden within that vast power he could doubtlessly use to eat the whole planet?
He's a strict but honest attention-seeker. He wants people to genuinely praise him, love him, and adore him. He isn't satisfied by mere gifts. He wants those gifts to be Willing. Heartfelt. Real.
"I did, because being a dragon fits perfectly with that talent. Simply put? I'll continuously evolve. My draconic body shall endlessly edge closer to perfection. Exactly as I should."
It's scary that he has such a mindset. That he already has unimaginable power. That he's a dragon.
Except he cares. It was so obvious once I bothered to look.
Would he do what Leario said?
No.
image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/081.png]
Chronomet just wants to be adored and appreciated.
Ha. He's a cute dragon, strangely enough.
"Exactly as you should, my god."
He raises his head.
"Rawr!"