Being trapped in this strange limbo was terrifying at first. However, as time dragged on with no developments, that initial fear transformed into sheer boredom. I had only one option here–to think. There was little else to do to break the monotony.

Yet, this wasn't pleasant to mull over things I could've avoided– and one of those undoubtedly being my own damn demise!

Had I exercised more caution and not acted in haste, the outcome might have been different. Having Agon by my side had created a false sense of safety as if we could pull through anything.

By now I had thought that I was way past the point of being killed just for some character development.

In the end, I panicked over that time limit in the contract, and everything went to shite!

Speaking of that damned contract, it's no surprise I got so much Ord in return. Completing that sucker within a mere two years without losing my life was outright impossible. I'd held out hope for a power-up like in those damn Shounen stories, but that hope tanked spectacularly.

Nonetheless, a glimmer of positivity emerged from this shitshow. Despite the cascade of regrets, I gave it my all and managed to save as many lives as damn possible.

And Carpy – that dude's probably transformed into one hell of a magnificent dragon by now. Once I kicked the bucket, he probably wreaked havoc, especially on that woman who killed me.

You know, I should have died standing up. Now that would've been damn impressive.

Among my multitude of regrets, not scoring a more epic death almost takes the cake. Damn, my brain's going into downright ridiculous thoughts.

Although, I really did wish... I wanted to witness Carpy obliterating an entire island with one of his blasts.

Well, at the very least, death didn't equate to boundless nothingness, where I would become nothing and not even be able to think. So that is a tad comforting. Unless this translates to an eternal stretch of just me and my thoughts, because in that case, holy shit, that's some next-level terror. Because infinity was a long ass time…

***

Carpy felt a surge of powerful energy coursing through him, akin to a matchstick igniting a gasoline canister.

Directing his focus inward, he honed in on the core of his draconic physique. There, a pure white thread of destiny began to form, slowly but surely. Yet, with each passing second, a touch of crimson tainted the strand, progressively transforming it into a deep, rich hue of red.

Carpy’s heart pace quickened, and he took a momentary breath to steady his nerves.

No, he couldn’t let excitement get the best of him. Often, the greatest enemy of a well-devised scheme was the assumption of an effortless victory.

With that in mind, Carpy shifted his concentration away from his internal sensations. He extended his senses even further outward, making sure that not even the tiniest insect could evade his notice.

His job was clear: he must guarantee the fulfillment of whatever process Perfect Me had initiated. Typically, Perfect Me would provide clear explanations to its users since it relied on the user's mind to spawn ideas.

However, a complication arose from the fact that Perfect Me wasn't innately Carpy's own ability. Despite its limitless application window, there were subtle nuances about the technique that Master Kon naturally grasped but didn't align perfectly with Carpy. Even though it used Carpy’s mind to come up with ideas, the plans and everything else were so convoluted that it came out as a gibberish mess.

“Don’t worry, Master Kon. I’ll return the Special Ability you gave me,” Carpy murmured to himself.

In a way, Perfect Me would act as a test. If it failed to synchronize with Master Kon, it would show that whatever came back to life was not the same man that had saved Carpy but was a mere clone.

Anxiety coursed through Carpy's heart as this insecurity took hold.

He didn’t care about replacing Master Kon with just a copy, that was why he didn’t bother with altering the past.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

But what if that faltered? A part of him feared that despite everything, this wouldn’t work out.

Yet, he swiftly dismissed such pessimism. Drowning in fear of failure could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

After several hours of waiting, Carpy's body underwent a metamorphic shift, transitioning into his human form. Abandoning his levitation, he began descending, before finally landing on a field of grass with a lone lush tree in the middle of it.

He closed his eyes, channeling his focus into the weird new facet of his magical dragon powers. With intent, he conjured a stone slab seemingly out of thin air. Pressing the gravestone into the earth alongside the tree, he sat in front of it.

Dragon King of Broken Fate. If Master Kon was here, he would without a doubt think this nickname was badass. Definitely superior to names like Dragon King of Twisting Time.

How well would he do if he fought against a creature like the Dragon King? Carpy pondered.

Despite his intuition suggesting that he possessed greater raw power than the dragon they had encountered at sea, he wasn’t sure if he had really reached the raw power needed to be considered a Dragon King.

If he didn’t have the raw power to be considered a Dragon King, then what if he used Perfect Me?

Master Kon's memories didn't offer much insight on this matter either. The memories Carpy could access were mostly filled with trivial discussions among fans of the original manga, hardly providing a basis to gauge his own power.

Even Master Kon held his own opinion on the matter, that the Dragon King, Nine-Tailed Fox, and Yamata No Orochi were at relatively similar power levels.

However, the canonical story never explicitly confirmed this, as the trio never fought all out against one another.

Naturally, Carpy aligned with Master Kon's viewpoint. To him, his Master was right, and the other fans were stupid for even having a different opinion.

A wry smile crept across Carpy's face as he envisioned what Master Kon would have said in a situation like this.

Asking Carpy if Master Kon was right was like the police investigating themselves and finding no wrongdoing. It wasn’t exactly the most reliable opinion, and even Carpy himself knew that.

Gazing at the unmarked grave before him, Carpy declared, “I will make sure that you come back to life, Master Kon. Even if you might not like the methods I will use, I will ask for forgiveness and accept any kind of punishment you will give me. I swear it upon this grave, as it will be the only symbol and an apology for the lives that will be sacrificed.”

As soon as he finished his speech, in an abrupt shift, Carpy sensed an unfamiliar pulsating energy emanating from the island itself, disrupting his somber musings. He honed in on the sensation, revealing that the island appeared to be gearing up for something.

Additionally, his concentration on the island's core unveiled something very strange. Why did simple rock and stone exude an aura of vitality? Was the island alive? That… would make a lot of sense, given that certain creatures had their destinies entwined with this very land. Could this all be a manifestation of some contract forged between these creatures and the seemingly living island?

This somewhat resembled the Raion Clan's practice of forming pacts with external entities. A complex and contentious aspect even Master Kon preferred to steer clear of. Across generations, the Raion Clan's tradition entailed sacrificing one twin to these outside demons in exchange for protection.

Anika, in all likelihood, was oblivious to her twin sister's sacrifice as an infant. She probably didn’t even know she had a twin sibling.

Much like Master Kon, Carpy wanted no part in that whole situation. However, his reason was significantly different from Master Kon’s. Carpy simply couldn't care less about the antics of the Raion Clan. He'd only step in if they obstructed his path, a situation in which he'd swiftly annihilate the entire clan, except for Anika – Master Kon’s friend.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and a peculiar humanoid hairless and pale creature emerged, clutching someone in its grasp. The creature dropped its captive at the sight of Carpy, eyes wide with fear directed at the humanoid dragon.

Unconcerned with his unexpected visitors, Carpy ignored them. However, the creature audaciously attempted to drag away its prey.

Before it could enact this plan, a razor-thin water blade, moving at speeds invisible to human eyes, beheaded the creature. As its body slumped to the ground, the ex-victim looked surprised but was able to recollect himself quite fast.

“Uhh, thanks,” acknowledged the ex-victim. But in a matter of seconds, his expression soured as he added, “Shut up, you drunk snake!”

Had the person he saved just insulted him?

Carpy turned, recognizing Agon – one of Master Kon’s companions, albeit from the past.

This time, Carpy observed an oddity. While his timeline's Agon possessed a distinct thread of fate leading firmly in one direction, this version lacked it entirely.

Agon locked eyes with Carpy, stepping back with a wariness in his gaze. The young boy’s fear was evident.

After retreating a dozen steps and realizing Carpy had no intention of doing anything to him, Agon retreated. Carpy maintained his senses on the young man a moment longer before finally releasing them.

At least now, he grasped a crucial truth. The disparities might be subtle, perhaps unseen by the ordinary eye, yet individuals from various timelines bore unique distinctions.

Was this truly time travel? Perhaps the island wasn't revealing their past or future selves. But-...

Carpy halted his train of thought before it could venture further.

‘Master Kon had deduced that it was time travel. It doesn’t matter either way.’

Despite being a dragon, Carpy wasn’t going to refute Master Kon’s words. This was the man who had sacrificed his life to rescue a useless fish like Carpy. He would kill anyone who dared to disrespect the man!

In Carpy's eyes, Master Kon could do no wrong. Even if one of Master Kon's assumptions turned out to be incorrect, Carpy would rather adjust what the world considered as 'correct' to align with his Master’s views.

Carpy felt the pool of Ord inside himself, which felt more like an endless ocean. He pushed his will into the world around him, and the world itself would change as fate would bend to his whims. He had all the power he would ever want now. He was now the dragon whom Master Kon believed he would become.

"I am the strongest," Carpy declared. As the words left his lips, it seemed as though the very fabric of reality shifted around him, as if destiny itself were forging a new path and bending the fates of others to accommodate his own.

Carpy felt it – with just one step, he could embark on the journey toward becoming the strongest. At least, that's how he interpreted the way the fate around him moved.

'So my newfound ability does share similarities with Master Kon's Perfect Me. He gives an absolute order to himself, and I can do the same to the world's fate,' Carpy thought.

However, despite the temptation to do it, he chose not to walk that path. After all, the pursuit of becoming the strongest seemed to come at the cost of others' destinies. Among those whose fates would be entwined was Master Kon himself.

"So, you're the one meddling with everything," an unfamiliar voice interjected abruptly, seemingly emerging from thin air.