"Mother, what is your relationship with the mysterious Dragon of Eternity and Time?"
"Is He truly a Dragon God? If so, why is there no record of Him in our heritage? But if not, what kind of being could He be?"
"And why did He personally intervene when you were in danger? Could it be that you are a devout follower of this enigmatic entity?"
Saga was brimming with curiosity, bombarding her with questions as if he were about to transform into a Brass Dragon.
Upon hearing Saga's questions, the Red Dragoness's pupils narrowed, and she remained silent. A brief hush fell over the grand palace, with only the bubbling of the lava pool continuing to resonate.
After a moment, under Saga's expectant gaze,
The Red Dragoness finally spoke, "There's no need to hide these matters from you."
Saga lifted his head, listening intently.
The Red Dragoness spoke calmly, "Firstly, you must have guessed that I sealed a dangerous entity within volcano. I won't tell you who it was; it might bring you trouble."
"Because of this entity, I reaped great benefits but also fell into peril. My sanity was compromised, and I wreaked havoc upon Rosen Kingdom, drawing the attention of the Mechanar Empire that backs them."
"Heh, perhaps they wanted to flaunt their empire's depth by capturing me. The demigod creation of the Mechanar Empire made their move, but they didn't anticipate what would happen next."
The Red Dragoness's gaze shifted, her tone serious:
"Before this, I had never had any contact with the Dragon of Eternity and Time. To me, He was just a mysterious entity briefly mentioned in our heritage."
Saga was puzzled.
"Then why would He personally come to your aid?"
The Red Dragoness's eyes twinkled as she said, "Because of a deal."
A deal?
Saga was taken aback.
The Red Dragoness continued calmly, "It was a pact with a demigod."
"He helped me through a life-and-death crisis and sealed the dangerous entity I had contained."
"In return, once I ascend to demigod status and enter that realm, He will reappear and summon me to another dimension to fight for Him."
Another dimension. Saga pondered the Red Dragoness's words, feeling as though he had stumbled upon some earth-shattering news.
"The Dragon of Eternity and Time imparted to me some knowledge of space-time—beyond our own, there exist infinite dimensions."
"The universe is vast, space-time boundless. We live in a grand and magnificent infinite multiverse, where anything is possible."
Listening to the Red Dragoness's deep voice, Saga's heart trembled.
Fortunately, he was familiar with similar concepts from his previous life, so he quickly accepted them, regaining his composure swiftly.
His mind wandered, extending even beyond the words of the Red Dragoness.
"Excluding the dimension of time, is the multiverse I inhabit truly an infinite multiverse?"
"Given the endless prime material world and the countless independent worlds created by powerful Casters and deities, the prime material plane and many others are collectively known as the infinite multiverse. But is it truly infinite?"
Saga pondered deeply, sparks of intellectual curiosity igniting.
From what he knew in his past life, many so-called infinite multiverses were actually finite and not truly limitless.
For instance, the concept of an infinite multiverse in Marvel—it's said to be infinite, yet the notable figures within it are few and the same.
[Let's add a setting here: Saga comes from a parallel Earth, which has works similar to those on our real Earth, some are similar, and some don't exist at all.]
To Saga, many so-called infinite multiverses were more accurately finite multiverses.
Drawing from the knowledge of the multiverse in his heritage and his own insights, Saga speculated:
"True infinity should be the accumulation of an infinite number of finite multiverses."
"The multiverse I inhabit is likely just one of the finite multiverses, part of what makes up the infinite multiverse."
Thinking this, Saga's heart suddenly jolted.
The obscure deity known as the Hell Queen, who demands blood sacrifices and skull offerings, couldn't possibly be from another finite multiverse？
"Maybe not. If the truth of the multiverse is as I suspect, crossing between multiverses must be incredibly difficult, even for gods. Otherwise, the number of god-like beings mentioned in our heritage would surely skyrocket."
Saga thought to himself.
In the absence of key information, knowledge has its limits. Saga was merely speculating and not entirely certain of his thoughts.
Meanwhile,
The Red Dragoness, unaware of Saga's active and divergent thinking, chuckled softly and whispered:
"In some dimension, Saga, you are The Little Dragoness, and Yekaterina is a male True Dragon. Your mother is a Golden Dragon, and your father is a Red Dragon. That's also a possibility."
Saga snapped back to reality, lifting his head and saying:
"If that's true, I'd be quite curious to meet the Mother Dragon version of myself."
Then, Saga asked curiously:
"The pact with the demigod. Mother, you must be close to becoming a demigod, right?"
"Once you become a demigod creature, will you be summoned to another dimension?"
"However, as powerful as a demigod is, it shouldn't mean much to the Dragon of Eternity and Time. Why does it have to be you, and why go to the trouble of intervening?"
The Red Dragoness pondered and replied:
"I think it must be because the war in His dimension is taking place in the prime material world. Only this could explain why He needs demigods to fight for Him."
She paused, then corrected Saga's statement:
"You're wrong about one thing; it's not that it has to be me. From the information He revealed, I am just one of the many mighty dragons He has chosen across the infinite dimensions. He is gathering powerful True Dragons from different dimensions, preparing for a war."
Saga smacked his lips, saying:
"I wonder what scale of war would require such a powerful being to be so prepared."
The Red Dragoness took a deep breath and said calmly:
"I'll find out once I'm involved."
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavier.
Saga furrowed his brow, concerned, and said:
"Mother, this war is definitely dangerous, even for you."
"Why not slow down your growth, delay reaching the demigod level?"
The Red Dragoness grinned, revealing her Sharpness fangs, and said:
"Little Saga, you needn't worry about me. I'm also eager to see another dimension, to meet the powerful True Dragons from various dimensions, to experience a grand-scale war."
"I do not fear death. Even if I were to die in battle, I would have no regrets."
"To die in a grand war, to become a fiery blaze, would be a glorious end for me."
After a moment of silence, Saga nodded solemnly, "Mother, I am confident you will emerge unscathed from the war, for you are the Hell Queen who strikes fear into countless beings."
The Red Dragoness laughed heartily, patting Saga's head, and said:
"How could I let down my dragon son's expectations?"
"Little Saga, I promise you, I, the Hell Queen Renata, will not perish in a war across dimensions, even if my opponents are deities."
The Red Dragoness showed a confidence even greater than Saga's, and her dragon chant laughter lightened the heavy mood.
Saga and the Red Dragoness continued their conversation.
A few minutes later, Saga shared his speculations about the finite and infinite multiverse with the Red Dragoness, and they discussed it.
The Red Dragoness was surprised by the depth of Saga's speculation and engaged in a serious discussion with him. She agreed it was very possible but also couldn't be certain, as all these were based on guesses. Without decisive information, even the most reasonable speculation remains just that.
"The multiverse is so vast and marvelous; I cannot allow myself to perish without witnessing enough of its grandeur. Merely reaching demigod status is not enough to satisfy me."
The Red Dragoness was radiant with ambition, saying:
"I aim to soar higher, to see more."
Looking down at the little dragon, the Red Dragoness smiled and said:
"Little Saga, I believe you can keep up with me. Not just as my offspring, but one day, you could become my companion, my ally, fighting alongside me."
"Grow quickly, then join me in witnessing this magnificent, infinite, and wondrous endless world. I look forward to that day."
The little Golden Dragon nodded solemnly, saying:
"I look forward to it as well."
"Mother, I also promise you, I will not stop progressing. I will stand by your side in battle one day, and perhaps even surpass you, standing before you to protect you, just as you once protected me."
His words rang with conviction.
The Red Dragoness burst into laughter.
"Little Saga, do you know what I like most about you?"
"What I love most is your ambition, your boundless confidence in yourself. You want to surpass me, to protect me? Very well, if you truly reach such heights, I will gladly live under your dragon wing! To enjoy the protection of my dragon son!"
"We shall see," Saga said, sticking out his tongue and licking his lips.
Afterward,
Saga and the Red Dragoness soaked in the lava pool together, time passing slowly in the harmonious atmosphere.
"Those two outside, are they legendary giant stone golems?"
After a while, Saga couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Yes, I summoned them from Avernus. They serve as my guards."
The Red Dragoness spoke nonchalantly, unashamed of her hellish powers.
Indeed, Avernus. Saga nodded slightly.
Looking at the Red Dragoness, now comparable in size to the Golden Dragonfather, Saga blinked and asked, "Mother, who is more formidable now, you or father?"
Hearing Saga's question, the Red Dragoness's gaze narrowed, and without hesitation, she declared:
"Although I haven't battled him, I am certainly the stronger one now. If we were to fight, I could beat your father to the point of him searching for his teeth on the ground."
Saga neither agreed nor disagreed, keeping his opinion to himself.
But one thing was certain.
The power the Red Dragoness now possessed was definitely beyond what the Golden Dragonfather had at the same age.
"The Red Dragoness must have gained her power from a powerful Demon of Avernus—the dangerous entity she spoke of."
"Did she seal it within herself? Could it be a Demon Prince almost on par with a deity?"
There's more than one Demon Prince in each layer of hell, with the hellish overlord being the strongest. Saga couldn't imagine that the Red Dragoness had actually sealed the overlord of Avernus, rather than just an ordinary Demon Prince.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas