My Dragon King System-Chapter 240: A Fate Worse Than Death

He vanished from the confined space and reappeared just outside its boundaries, watching calmly through the invisible barrier.

The black mass shot forward and immediately began expanding at an exponential rate, and the gravitational pull was instantaneous and absolute.

Herxes screamed as his body was yanked towards it violently. His staff flew from his grip and was swallowed by the darkness.

He clawed desperately at the air, but there was no resisting it. His arms stretched painfully as his entire body was dragged forward, with his bones creaking under the strain.

Lucina’s radiant form flickered and destabilized. Her body of pure light began distorting.

"No!" she screamed. "This cannot—"

Her words dissolved into a shriek of agony as more of her form was ripped apart.

Herxes reached the event horizon first. His body elongated grotesquely before snapping back violently, only to stretch again.

Lucina followed right behind him, with her radiant light extinguishing like a snuffed candle as she disappeared into the black hole’s maw.

But then something strange happened.

The black hole stopped expanding. It hung there in the center of the confined space for just a moment—

And then everything reversed.

The black hole began shrinking rapidly, until it was once again no larger than a marble.

Herxes and Lucina reappeared exactly where they had been standing moments before, with terror written across their faces.

But before either of them could process what had just happened, before they could even begin to understand, the black mass expanded again in the center of the space.

Then they were pulled in again.

Aiden had caught them in a time loop.

And they were going to repeat that moment for as long as he pleased.

Herxes screamed as his body stretched toward the void once more. Lucina shrieked as her form destabilized again.

They reached the event horizon. They crossed it. They were consumed—

And then everything reversed again.

The black hole shrunk, they returned to their position with more terror in their eyes.

Then it happened again.

And again.... And again....

Herxes’ mind reeled as realization dawned on him. Lucina realized it too, even as her body was pulled toward the void once more.

They were trapped in a time loop.

But Aiden, still wasn’t finished. He lifted his hand towards them and whispered: "Accelerate."

Time within the loop began moving faster—much faster, while time outside continued normally.

Now instead of experiencing that moment once per minute, they experienced it over a hundred times per minute.

Every second outside translated to nearly two full repetitions inside.

They felt every pull. Every stretch. Every moment of their bodies being torn apart. over and over without pause or mercy.

Aiden sat on the cliff’s edge, looking out at the land where the ocean used to be. Lucina’s heat had boiled it away, leaving nothing but dry ground.

He let out a breath. "All in a day’s work."

——

Eventually, thirty minutes passed.

Andrew Inside the loop, Herxes and Lucina had experienced that moment over three thousand times by now.

Finally, Aiden stood up and stretched his arms above his head before lowering them with a satisfied look on his face.

He then snapped his fingers, and time within the loop resumed its normal flow.

The black hole expanded one final time, and Herxes and Lucina were pulled in.

Then they crossed the event horizon for good.

The black hole collapsed inward before Aiden made it dissipate entirely with a casual wave.

And that was it.

The end of Lucina, Goddess of Fire and Light, and the end of Herxes, The Messenger God.

—

High above in Eden, within Rhyos’ temple, the gateway god had watched everything unfold.

Finally, he could bear no more.

He averted his eyes slowly, turning away from the gateway as his shoulders sagged.

"Farewell, Herxes," Rhyos whispered.

"You brought this upon yourself my friend."

——

Aiden stood alone on the cliff, staring at the empty space where two gods had been moments before.

Then the familiar translucent screens appeared before his eyes.

[You have Eliminated both gods justly]

[You have been granted +5 Level Ups]

[You are now due for a Rank Up]

[Would you like to rank up to Elder Dragon?]

Aiden’s lips curved into a smile as he read through the notifications.

"At least their deaths still counted for something," he muttered.

He dismissed the rank-up prompt for now. There would be time for that later.

His gaze drifted toward the spot where Herxes had fallen earlier in the fight, and a thought occurred to him.

Aiden then activated his Item Replication skill, and the short winged staff that Herxes had wielded materialized in his hand.

A perfect copy down to the smallest detail.

Aiden examining it with curiosity. "I wonder what this really does," he said aloud to no one in particular.

With another thought, the staff vanished into the his already large treasury for safekeeping.

Aiden took one last look at the ground below, then used the law "All things must return to their rightful state"

The ocean returned, and with a smile on his face, Aiden turned away from the cliff and teleported back to Dragonhold.

—-

One day later, inside the main room of Ravens Grave, the atmosphere was tense. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

By now, everyone had learned the truth.

That Laela was alive and well, that her death had been an elaborate ruse orchestrated by Aiden to draw out the goddess who had tried to kill her, and that both Lucina and Herxes were now dead.

Relief had spread through the guild the moment they learned Laela was safe.

But now, this morning, something else held their attention.

Katherine stood at the front of the room, and behind her were two figures who looked distinctly uncomfortable under the collective gaze of every guild member present.

Well, just one of them.

Kayden’s sister, Amelia, didn’t seem to care at all.

Ambrose, however, kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, with his hands clasped in front of him, and his expression caught somewhere between apologetic, annoyed and unsure.

The rest of Ravens Grave stared at them with looks ranging from suspicion to outright anger.

Piers leaned forward slightly from his seat at one of the long tables. "You’re joking."

Kayden crossed his arms, frowning deeply.

Elena whispered something to Oliver beside her, and he nodded without taking his eyes off the two newcomers.

Katherine raised a hand to silence the room before anyone could continue.

"Alright," she said firmly. "I want everyone to welcome two of our newest members — Ambrose and Amelia."