My Dragon King System-Chapter 249: Making Amends

Meanwhile, right after Aiden had left with Jorus, the time variant reappeared in Thamoryn’s office.

Not long after it materialized, the overwhelming divine presence that had been pressing down on the room, vanished.

This was when Aiden and Jorus along with his sons had left for Eden.

Rin let out a breath of relief as she steadied herself upright.

Thamoryn’s expression shifted from strained to concerned as she looked toward the variant.

"What was that?" she asked. "That presence..."

The time variant replied evenly, "Gods. Three of them, to be specific."

Thamoryn’s eyes widened. "Gods?" she repeated, as if saying the word aloud might help her process it. "Here? In Dragonhold?"

The variant nodded. "They came to summon the real Aiden to Eden. He’s handling it now."

Thamoryn leaned back in her chair, looking even more troubled.

"Gods," she muttered again, shaking her head. "First, demons and now gods are showing up uninvited."

She lifted her face to look at the variant again,

"In less than thirty days, Dragonhold has faced so much."

For a momentthe room was silent, then Thamoryn sat up once more and turned her attention toward Rin, who had also just recovered.

Thamoryn stood slowly from her chair and walked around her desk until she stood directly before Rin.

Then she bowed her head. "I owe you an apology."

Rin said nothing in reply, instead was turned to another direction to avoid looking at Thamoryn and getting annoyed.

Thamoryn continued without lifting her head yet. "What I did to you... it was wrong. No justification exists for treating another that way."

The time variant stepped closer then and placed one hand gently on Rin’s shoulder.

Rin glanced briefly at the variant who was now smiling beside her, then she turned towards Thamoryn who had now straightened up her posture.

The Grand Magus spoke even further.

"I know words alone cannot undo what I’ve done, so allow me do this"

"Effective immediately, I’m making you a member of Ravens Grave."

Rin’s eyes blinked twice in surprise. Even the time variant’s expression was just as surprised.

"You’ll be enrolled in magic classes at the Initiate level," thamoryn said. "You’ll have access to all guild resources and privileges afforded to any other member."

She met Rin’s stunned gaze directly now.

"You deserve a chance to live freely,"

Rin stared at Thamoryn for several long seconds without speaking, as though she couldn’t quite believe what she’d just heard.

Then finally, her arms unfolded and some smile appeared on her face as she nodded.

——

Thera and Aiden reached her temple shortly after leaving Umgadi’s domain.

The structure had glowing emerald vines coiled around the massive pillars. Trees grew up through the temple floor, with their roots woven into the foundation, while a gentle stream flowed through shallow channels carved around the columns.

It felt, alive.

"Welcome to my temple," Thera said, gesturing around with a warm smile. "I’ve always preferred something closer to the ground, so to speak."

Aiden nodded while glancing around.

She led him toward a raised platform near the center of the temple where two simple stone seats sat facing each other across a low table.

Thera gestured to one of the seats, and Aiden sat in it.

Thera settled into the seat across from him, crossing one leg over the other as she studied him with those captivating golden-amber eyes.

"You’re surprisingly calm for someone who just walked into Eden surrounded by gods who may or may not want you dead," she said teasingly.

Aiden smirked and tapped his chest lightly. "Black Dragon here, remember?"

Thera laughed again and shook her head. "Fair enough."

There was a pause as they sat comfortably in silence for a moment, then Aiden leaned forward slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" he began.

Thera tilted her head curiously. "Of course."

"Why would one of you be so hell-bent on getting this boon?" Aiden asked. "I mean, it’s not like I can even grant such a thing right now."

"There’s a story behind that," she said. "One most gods remember well."

Aiden waited silently for her to continue.

Thera began. "A few centuries ago, there was a High God named Kortar, and he was friends with a vessel of the Black Dragon from the past. I don’t know all the details of how it happened, but eventually... that vessel granted Kortar a boon."

She paused briefly before continuing. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"He was the God of Storms, and now with the newly received power, he became ambitious, and utterly captivated by the idea of surpassing his station."

Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.

"The boon gave Kortar access to the power of destruction at the level of a dragon," Thera said. "I mean it wasn’t the full authority itself but that singular power he was granted made him nearly unstoppable among gods."

She let that sink in for a moment before adding:

"Kortar then challenged Adam directly."

"Hm.." Aiden muttered

Thera nodded. "And right before Kortar was finally put down... he took two Archon Gods with him. Two of my siblings."

Thera’s gaze drifted downward for a moment before she looked back up at him.

"After that happened," she said, "Adam made a new rule that any god who receives a boon from a dragon would be exiled from Eden permanently."

She paused again, then added with a faint smile:

"But here’s the thing... ever since then, every god has secretly wanted that same power. Even Adam himself has tried at different points to befriend the Dragon of Destiny for a boon."

Aiden scoffed lightly and shook his head. "That’s hypocritical."

Thera chuckled at that. "Well," she said with an amused grin, "he is the All-Father. And while he’s far from perfect... he’s also the only person that role would fit."

"So are you being nice to me so that I could possibly give you a boon one day?" Aiden asked, almost teasingly too.

Thera smirked and tilted her head playfully.

"Who knows? Maybe... maybe not."

Aiden smiled at the response, then his expression grew more serious again as another question formed in his mind.

"How did they finally put Kortar down?" He asked.

Thera’s smile faded as she answered:

"The All-Father had to use his special item," she said. "The Holy Grail."

Aiden’s attention sharpened immediately at those words.

Thera continued:

"It’s the only item we possess that could possibly stand against the power of a dragon, or someone wielding a dragon-level destruction power like Kortar was."

She paused before adding:

"And even then... it wasn’t an easy victory. The nature of Kortar’s boon made him incredibly difficult to kill."

Aiden said nothing but nodded slowly in acknowledgment.

Thera continued even further;

"This is why Adam chose to invite you here as a guest. He might be the All-Father... but he understands that fighting a dragon isn’t something anyone would want to do lightly."

She paused briefly before adding with a wry smile:

"My brother Jorus is quite the opposite though."

Aiden raised an eyebrow at that comment but said nothing yet, waiting for her to continue.

"Jorus is vengeful," Thera explained plainly. "So far as he’s been offended or has taken offense at something, he will always want retribution."

She shook her head as if recalling past incidents involving him:

"I’m honestly surprised he didn’t unleash his power on you when he came to invite you here."