of the deaths, of the sacrifice, of the old timeline.
The memories tore through the space like a slit of light.
The neon clock, fused to Tsuki's chest, began to pulse.
And the universe trembled once more.
The Last Secret
Tsuki then understood what the Dragon had whispered at the beginning:
"Time cannot be saved."
"Just retold."
He was neither a hero nor a god.
He was an accountant — the chronicler who kept the universe coherent.
And, disguised as a detective, he would continue writing about the days,
Correcting the flaws, and living a thousand lives in one,
While the gods hunted him, and time tried to forget him.
The following morning, he opened the newspaper and read the headline:
"Prophet detective predicts catastrophe — and disappears."
He smiled, put his watch in his pocket, and murmured:
"I don't disappear. I start over."
THE LORD BLACK DRAGON
Chapter VIII — The Rebirth and the Last Artifact
Elara was not human.
It never had been.
She had been moulded in human form — the perfect vessel for a living relic.
His body was an illusion; his soul, the essence of the lost artifact.
The ancient priestess had called it The Seed of Eternal Return.
The artifact capable of uniting or tearing time apart.
Tsuki, now one with the Dragon, understood.
In all timelines, Elara died.
It was the inevitable sacrifice, the heart that sealed the cycle.
But this time, he wouldn't let it happen the same way.
The Return to the Original Moment
He's back.
Not years, not months — it returned to the moment.
The point where it all began.
The first sound of the rupture.
The first echo of the fall.
The world seemed suspended.
Reality, frozen between being and ceasing to be.
Tsuki crossed the threshold with Elara in her arms, now reduced to a form of pure light, contained within a crystal.
"No longer as a sacrifice," he murmured, "but as a part of me."
The merger is complete.
The artifact became the center of his soul.
The Dragon roared within him — and the universe breathed, restarting.
The Rebirth
The cosmos spun.
The constellations rearranged themselves.
Time folded back on itself.
And when everything quieted down, Tsuki opened her eyes to a world remade —
a year and six months earlier, again.
But now, without the cracks, without the echo of the collapse.
The universe was clean.
The relics, which were previously scattered, now rested under his dominion.
Each one silent, each one purified.
The cycle had been rewritten.
He managed to go to each of the places he had been before everything collapsed, to each of the places he had been at that time, where he had taken each of the artifacts, since he knew their weak points, he took them with him.
The Allies
The ancient enemies, the witches and goddesses who once fought amongst themselves, were now reunited.
As much as Circe, Medea, the Dragon Woman, the Princesses of the Lost Stars, and the Guardian of the Abyss.
They no longer fought each other.
They had been touched by Tsuki's spark, by a mind that understood the pain of time.
Together, they vowed to restore balance.
When he calmly guided them—not with power, nor with desire, but with awareness.
The rumour spread among gods and mortals alike:
"The Dragon Lord has a harem of sorceresses."
But the truth was different.
They were friends, guardians, companions on the journey.
Forged in understanding, united by love that is not carnal, but metaphysical —
The love of those who share a cosmic destiny.
The City of Lovecraft
They set off, and then arrived at the City of Lovecraft that awaited them—a place of eternal mists and breathing cathedrals.
There, time didn't run, it pulsed.
It was the point where reality and imagination met.
Tsuki opened a secret headquarters — a refuge for redeemed entities, for artifacts seeking rest.
He negotiated with ancient creatures, making pacts of balance.
The dragon within him watched, silent, satisfied.
The universe was stable.
For the first time in ages, there was no war.
The Magic of Healing
It was Medea who taught him.
"He who heals can do all things," she had said, gazing at the crimson sky above the city.
The cure was not just for the body, but for time.
Every wound in the universe, every crack in a heart, was a mirror of temporal disorder.
Tsuki learned to heal — worlds, minds, memories.
And with that, the new cycle was consolidated.
The Silence of the Gods
The gods, whom he visited, he manipulated, made them believe he was a seer, not a time traveler, he made them believe he was observing them.
None of them knew what he had done to break fate, nor what he had done to keep the balance restored.
They could no longer touch him.
He made a pact not only with the Dragon and the Man becoming one, but with every alternate version of himself; they, not he, were one.
Now that he had made Elara part of one of his relics —now essence and consciousness—she was his compass and guardian.
"Now, I have been moulded and made to master time," Tsuki said, as he continued.
"I was made to remind you how to start over, to mold it to your liking."
Now that the universe has breathed, when once again the stars have aligned, when the new cycle has begun.
Tsuki — the Black Dragon Lord, in which he walked through the streets of Lovecraft City, amidst light and shadows,
knowing that the end would not come again.
Because he had learned the ultimate secret:
"Time is not conquered with force, but with wisdom; not only with love, but with understanding and wisdom."
The butler called him, opening the curtains of his suite; it was almost ten o'clock in the morning, so he should get up, he had a meeting scheduled for 11 o'clock.
Under the covers, he had to attend a tiring meeting about expenses and taxes.
"You've received more gifts from some suitors and admirers, Lady Circe sent another invitation, and Darkness simply won't give up," Delmos said.
"Well, I know, I realized," Tsuki said.
At that moment, when he got up wearing only his nudes, his muscular body, he went towards the bathroom, staying in the bathtub for a good while, washing himself. He grabbed a towel, dried himself off, and went to his suite. When he went to change out of his red suit, he headed towards the kitchen to eat, where he was greeted with yet another gift.
"They are persistent," Delmos said.
"Oh, they certainly are," Tsuki said.
Flowers in vases surrounded the house, planets and gifts were piled on a counter, and as if that wasn't enough, he received another mountain of gifts: sweets, perfumes, and chocolates, along with some flower vases. He realized that his potential boyfriend wouldn't leave him alone without hearing a "yes," and nobody there would accept "no" for an answer.
He took a liking not to a mere galactic entity, but to a god and sovereign of an entire galaxy. He was there on that visit; he has to remain discreet, not let him appear on Earth so soon.
So Tsuki drove towards the company in his Porsche and parked it in the parking lot.
Upon arriving at reception, he was greeted by the assistant and receptionist who was waiting for him.
"What do we have on the agenda for today, Shoko?" Tsuki asked.
In that city, he assumed a hidden identity to remain discreet, away from the other heroes, away from his children. He needed time; he wouldn't stay close to his plans, risking being questioned. How should he proceed? He needed to plan.