Crack, crack, crack. The crisp sound of something breaking echoed through the dragon's lair.
A small crack first appeared at the top of the dragon egg. The egg continued to shake, the frequency increasing rapidly. Along the initial crack, more fractures began to spread like a spider web, radiating downwards.
After a few seconds, the trembling egg suddenly stilled, becoming completely motionless.
Bang! In the next moment, a dim light shone through the cracks, and the entire egg exploded. Fragments of the eggshell scattered like flower petals but, strangely, they hovered in mid-air, seemingly held by an invisible force, rotating around the nearly forty-meter-long new life at the center.
It was a small hatchling dragon, curled up and nibbling on its tail tip. It had a large, endearing head, small wings disproportionate to its body, and short limbs and tail. The dragon's horns were mere small tips on its head, fully fitting the appearance of a hatchling, though it was much larger than typical hatchlings.
Reflected in the silver dragon's vision, the hatchling had diamond-like silver-white scales. The irregular multi-faceted scales reflected light from the treasures in the lair, creating a dazzling array of colors.
This was a force dragon hatchling.
Invisible force field energy was converging towards the hatchling, nourishing its body.
Simultaneously, as if sensing the gazes of Garon and Yuna, the hatchling smacked its lips and slowly opened its eyes, revealing an unusual pair of eyes—heterochromatic.
The right eye was a platinum dragon eye, and the left eye was a purple dragon eye, seemingly inheriting the colors of its parents' eyes. This pair of heterochromatic eyes made the hatchling very striking.
Garon squinted his eyes, focusing on the hatchling's platinum eye. Under his scrutiny, the eye seemed like a small vortex, absorbing strands of the power of time.
"An embryonic form of my Time Eye, capable of perceiving past, present, and future."
"Though she has just been born, she is not far from becoming a demigod."
"When she matures at a hundred years old, becoming a demigod should be a certainty."
Garon carefully observed his firstborn, or rather, firstborn daughter.
This was an adorable little female dragon.
"A force dragon with the Time Eye."
"She did not inherit my other time-related abilities, but the Time Eye alone is enough to aid her growth. It is a significant power."
Garon's gaze softened.
The little hatchling blinked her clear eyes, turning her head to look at her towering parents. She raised her neck like a proud rooster and spoke in the dragon language.
"Anna Stacia Yekaterina Daenerys Arceus Aurelian!"
The names Arceus and Aurelian represented the lineage of force dragons, passed down from the progenitor of force dragons and Garon's surname.
"She looks more like me. Hmm, these heterochromatic eyes and diamond-like scales are beautiful. Fortunately, she inherited our good looks, not becoming an ugly little dragon."
Yuna extended her dragon claw.
She picked up the hatchling by the nape, examining her closely with curiosity.
The little hatchling struggled a bit but to no avail. Her short tail hung naturally in mid-air.
"Mother, I'm hungry."
Little Anna looked pitifully at her mother and patted her small belly.
"Oh, eat your eggshell first."
Yuna released her grip, and the hatchling immediately fell.
Panicked, she flapped her small wings, but being newly born and weighing over a thousand tons, she was not yet adept at flying and continued to fall.
Just then, a gentle force caught her.
"Little Anna, calm down and control your strength."
The hatchling turned to see the stern yet gentle eyes of the silver dragon.
The soft force dissipated.
Having adjusted her rhythm, the hatchling flapped her wings steadily and landed safely.
"Though she possesses a high-level legendary life form, she is too inexperienced to use her internal power properly," Garon thought.
The eggshell fragments that had been floating fell to the ground among the many treasures as the hatchling awoke.
The little hatchling stepped on various gems and precious metals, her eyes shining as if contemplating something. Slowly, she moved to the eggshell fragments and began to eat.
She picked up a piece of eggshell and glanced at her parents.
The hatchling started munching on the eggshell, the crisp sound of crunching echoing. She showed a satisfied expression.
Then, every time she took a bite, she would look at her parents.
Seeing the two giant dragons talking quietly without focusing on her, the hatchling sneaked a beautiful obsidian gem under the eggshell piece and stuffed them both into her mouth.
This little female dragon undoubtedly inherited Garon's adventurous spirit and boldness.
No, she was even bolder than Garon had been.
At least Garon had waited for his white dragon mother to leave before sneaking a gem, whereas Garon and Yuna were still present now.
"Eating gems right in front of me... hmm..."
"Does she think I won't notice?"
"My daughter doesn't seem very smart."
What the little dragon was doing certainly didn't escape her parents' eyes.
Meanwhile, the little dragon managed to stuff the eggshell piece and the gem into her mouth. Her heterochromatic eyes squinted with pleasure as her plan succeeded, preparing to roll the gem under her tongue.
However, after several turns of her tongue in her mouth, the little dragon found, to her confusion, that the gem had mysteriously disappeared.
Looking down, the obsidian gem was still where it had been.
"Huh?"
"Didn't I put it in my mouth?"
The hatchling sat down, scratching her big head, pondering hard.
Suddenly, as if realizing the reason, she gave a sheepish smile, turned her head to her parents.
Sure enough, her parents were silently staring at her.
Pretending nothing had happened, the hatchling continued eating her eggshell. Although she behaved more obediently, her eyes kept darting around as if planning something.
Her platinum eye glowed slightly, her mind flashing with many future scenes.
In these scenes, she tried various ways to take a bit of treasure, satisfying her innate craving for riches.
But in the end, she was caught every time.
Little Anna, undeterred, kept crunching the eggshell and using her innate ability to perceive various futures.
However, she didn't know that her tricks had all been outdone by her father.
Suddenly, little Anna's platinum eye lost its luster, and the future scenes in her mind shattered, reassembling into a pair of serene platinum dragon eyes.
"Anna, you are my first daughter."
"I will not be harsh on you and can give you some treasures as a birth gift."
"But."
Garon's tone became slightly heavier, "What I do not give you, you cannot take on your own, understood? Especially when I can catch you."
His tone was gentle and calm like a loving father but carried undeniable authority.
Little Anna nodded, lowering her head, "I understand, Father."
"What's your mistake?"
Garon asked.
Little Anna answered honestly yet righteously, "I was careless. I should ensure I can hide it from you before taking action."
Garon: ...
As expected of his daughter.
"If you can hide it from me, even taking all the treasures in my lair, I would be pleased to see it happen."
Garon didn't correct her but instead encouraged her.
"Okay, Father, I will strive for that."
The hatchling's eyes brightened, her tone determined, as if setting a goal to work towards.
Listening to the conversation between her mate and daughter, Yuna rolled her eyes at Garon but didn't interrupt his unique teaching method.
Then, little Anna blinked her heterochromatic eyes, smiling sweetly at Garon, "Father, you said you could give me some treasures as a birth gift."
She extended her little paw towards Garon.
"One minute. You can take as many treasures as you can within this time."
Garon had long stopped caring about ordinary treasures, only valuing top-tier divine relics like Tartarus.
Upon hearing Garon's promise, little Anna immediately stopped eating and began gathering as many treasures as she could.
She grabbed a large number of gems and gold coins, stuffing them under the scales of her neck, holding some with her short, stout claws, dragging some with her wings, and wrapping her tail around others, covering herself with gold and gems.
As for the amber sealing various primordial gods or entire worlds, little Anna didn't recognize their value, thinking they weren't shiny and pretty, so she didn't take any.
"Okay, time's up."
"Mmmph, mmmph."
The hatchling's mouth was full of treasures, making it hard to speak clearly.
Garon casually created a space crystal, storing the treasures his daughter had almost dropped, then handed it to her.
Holding the space crystal, the hatchling rubbed it against her cheek, showing a happy expression.
At this moment, Yuna blinked her light purple eyes and said to the hatchling, "Anna, why didn't you take your father's time ambers?"
"Huh?"
The hatchling raised her head, looking confused.
Yuna moved her tail, pointing to the time ambers, smiling at the hatchling, "These seal a powerful primordial god, this one is a precious artifact, and this one contains a miniaturized star... any of these time ambers are more valuable than all the treasures you chose combined."
Upon hearing her mother's explanation, little Anna's eyes widened, and her dragon face visibly fell, looking despondent.
A few seconds later, she gathered her courage and looked at the majestic
silver dragon with hopeful eyes, weakly asking, "Father, can I try again?"
"No."
The silver dragon answered firmly.
"Whimper."
The hatchling dejectedly continued eating her eggshell, but the previously delicious eggshell now seemed tasteless. Even the treasures in the space crystal didn't bring her much joy.
However, after teasing the hatchling, Garon and Yuna felt joyful.
The joy hadn't disappeared; it had just shifted.
After finishing the eggshell, little Anna patted her round belly, rolling on the ground piled with treasures, or, like Yuna, she swam beneath the treasures, playing energetically.
"Little Anna, you will grow strong and become the true dragon you wish to be, free from disasters."
Quietly watching the playing hatchling, Garon silently whispered in his heart.
His will now influenced the course of the River of Time.
With this clear thought, little Anna had already received the blessing and protection of the Dragon of Eternity and Time, enveloped by invisible, intangible wings.
This was Garon's real birth gift to his first daughter.
Garon and Yuna, the dragon couple, nestled together, quietly watching the hatchling swim through the colorful treasure lake. The atmosphere in the lair gradually became peaceful and serene.
After a while, little Anna yawned widely, showing a sleepy expression.
Newly hatched dragons were generally very sleepy.
The hatchling flapped her small wings and moved her underdeveloped limbs, clawing at the pile of time ambers to form a small nest. She curled up inside and fell asleep.
Once she was asleep, Yuna stretched her head, gently touching the silver dragon's cheek.
"Garon, why don't you take a look at Anna's future? In case she faces any major difficulties, we can avoid them in advance."
Yuna was also very concerned about their newborn daughter.
The silver dragon thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I will perceive her future but won't tell her."
If he told Anna her future, her life would become extremely dull.
The unknown future is what makes life interesting.
Although Anna also had the Time Eye, it was too weak to see far into the future, which wasn't something to worry about.
The silver dragon squinted his eyes, the platinum dragon eye reflecting the sleeping hatchling.
Scenes of future events rapidly emerged in the silver dragon's mind.
The silver dragon's expression subtly changed.
A few minutes later, Garon opened his eyes, his expression somewhat peculiar.
"How was it?"
Yuna asked.
"Rest assured, she will not encounter any major issues."
"That's good. But did you see something surprising in her future? Your reaction seems unusual."
After living together for over a thousand years, Yuna understood Garon very well.
She could guess his thoughts from the slight changes in his facial scales.
"Yes."
Garon shared a vision of the future he saw with Yuna.
After hearing it, Yuna looked surprised and conflicted, "Then, is she considered our daughter, or..."
The silver dragon smiled slightly, "People always think time is a linear path, but the more I think, time might be circular."
"The beginning often signifies the end, but the end also brings a new beginning."
"The past causes the future, but the future also causes the past."
Pausing, Garon said to his mate, "But regardless, Anna is our blood. That won't change. Let's go with the flow."
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