Chapter 285
Hair and eyebrows as white as snow, with a delicate appearance.
However, Zeke soon realized that the person in front of him was not Kaisir.
The eye color was a different green, and he noticed the subtle difference that this was a female body, not a male one.
Zeke opened his mouth again while looking at her.
“Are you Lady Chronos?”
Chronos nodded, her green eyes shining.
“Yes, that’s right.”
After the dizziness subsided somewhat, Zeke straightened himself and stood up.
Then Chronos said to Zeke,
“Come this way. If I remember correctly, you liked tea. Is that right?”
Zeke was surprised that Chronos, the Hero King of old, knew he liked tea.
“How do you know that?”
“Let’s just say it’s a power of the Dragon of Time.”
Zeke nodded and followed Chronos into the reception room.
While Chronos prepared the tea, Zeke looked around.
Through the window, he could see the cityscape.
‘Where is this…’
Zeke asked Chronos,
“Is this place actually Chronos?”
Chronos nodded while pouring tea into a cup.
“Yes. In your timeline, this would be where Baranaon is located.”
“Are you saying Baranaon is where Chronos was?”
“Yes. In your timeline, the eastern continent is the center with Midland, but in our timeline, the west is the center.”
Zeke turned again to look at the landscape.
A city as clean and beautiful as the new city of Atlas, almost unbelievable for a place created two thousand years ago.
“Tea should be drunk while it’s warm. Come here quickly.”
Zeke sat down and drank the tea Chronos prepared.
‘This fragrance…’
It was similar to the tea he had in Ishtar, but while Ishtar’s tea had a more concentrated aroma and flavor, Chronos’ was more subtle and elegant.
“It’s a gift from the High Elves. How’s the taste?”
Zeke nodded.
After silently drinking the tea and putting down his cup, Zeke said,
“I didn’t expect you to summon me directly to the past.”
“I didn’t think this was possible either. I think it’s possible because it’s you.”
“What do you mean?”
Chronos put down her teacup and said,
“Zeke, you’ve already traveled back in time once before.”
Zeke was startled by Chronos’ words.
No one had known about his regression until now.
‘Is it because she’s the Dragon of Time?’
As Zeke unconsciously took a guarded stance, Chronos smiled and said,
“Don’t look at me like that. It was me who prepared the irreversible promised power in the Elder Dragon’s relic.”
“Are you saying you prepared emergency measures, Lady Chronos?”
“Yes, almost like a gamble. But since you’ve come to find me, I’d say it’s a success.”
Zeke was confused by her words.
It was hard to immediately understand that she had made such arrangements for him two thousand years ago.
As if reading Zeke’s thoughts, Chronos nodded.
“You must have many questions, but you know, right? If we’re not careful, we could both be erased by touching the timeline.”
Zeke nodded at her words.
Chronos took a sip of tea and said,
“What I can tell you now is… the Demon King will be resurrected in your timeline.”
Zeke was stunned by the mention of the Demon King. After a moment, he asked,
“Is the war over in this timeline?”
Chronos shook her head.
“No, not yet. Kaisir hasn’t even left for the fairy realm.”
Zeke was surprised by her words.
“If that’s the case, can’t we stop the Demon King now?”
Immediately, Zeke realized the contradiction in his own statement.
“It’s because of Karma, isn’t it?”
Chronos nodded.
“Yes, I know the future. More precisely, I know various possibilities that could happen in the future. If I try to arbitrarily adjust the present world for events that haven’t happened yet, Karma will erase me first.”
“So, the reason you called me here is to prevent the Demon King from resurrecting in my timeline?”
Chronos looked at Zeke and said,
“There is a possibility of that.”
The future was not yet determined and always existed only as a possibility.
As the Dragon of Time, Chronos could read these possibilities and only speak about the future in the form of prophecies within the limits allowed by Karma.
This was also why prophecies were often vague and ambiguous – to maximize escaping Karma’s restrictions.
Chronos said to Zeke,
“Zeke Draker, you are truly important. I believe you are the only one who can stop the Demon King.”
“What does that mean?”
“One who has gone against fate.”
Chronos looked at Zeke and said,
“You have denied the fate originally given to you of your own will, and by going back in time, you are writing a new destiny. This is something… even Karma cannot predict.”
Zeke was shocked by Chronos’ words.
“Does that mean I am outside the laws of Karma?”
“Exactly. Everything that exists in the present world cannot escape Karma. However, Zeke Draker, you are the exception. Even now, you exist before me by reversing time.”
“Why am I the only one capable of this?”
“It’s the result of numerous coincidences and necessities, countless possibilities intersecting. But… it’s also possible because of your will, stronger than anyone else’s.”
“The power of will…”
Zeke felt Chronos had left something unsaid, but he couldn’t probe further due to the clear limits imposed by Karma.
Chronos stretched out her hand when Zeke pulled out the watch.
WHOOSH!
A haze-like substance rose from the watch and seeped into her palm.
After absorbing the haze, Chronos murmured,
“Ah, so that’s how it is.”
She nodded as if convinced, then opened her palm over the watch again.
Rune characters appeared on the back of her hand.
WHOOSH!
The light of the rune characters seeped into the watch.
A message soon appeared before Zeke’s eyes:
[Authentication key has been updated.]
[???’s watch is activated.]
[Main Quest Mission completed.]
[Karma Points of 1,000 points are awarded as compensation.]
[Two random boxes are awarded as quest compensation.]
[Quest compensation: Chronos’ power of Reversal is granted.]
[Seal of the Cursed Great Dragon Bahamut’s heart has been lowered to 45%.]
‘Power of Reversal?’
It seemed to be a time-related ability, given it was Chronos’ power.
“PHEW.”
After updating the authentication key, Chronos looked at Zeke and said,
“I’ve reactivated the watch. My power will definitely require this watch.”
“Looking at the name Reversal, it seems related to time…”
“Correct. It’s quite a complicated power for a human to use. Consider carefully when to use it. If misused, the present world could collapse even before you encounter the Demon King.”
Zeke nodded at her words.
Suddenly, his heart began beating strongly.
“URGH.”
Overwhelmed by sudden dizziness, he clutched his head.
Chronos said,
“If you stay here longer, your body won’t be able to endure.”
She placed the watch in Zeke’s hand. Concentrating her power, different characters appeared on the back of her hands, emitting light.
Holding Zeke’s hand tightly, Chronos said,
“Zeke Draker, I can only tell you one last thing.”
Looking at Zeke, who was sweating coldly, she said,
“Beyond the Dark Sea. The truth is hidden there.”
BOOM!
Zeke’s body began violently vibrating.
“GRRRH.”
Experiencing pain that felt like he was being torn apart, Zeke twisted his body.
Simultaneously, an even stronger light flowed from Chronos’ hand into the watch in Zeke’s hand.
WHOOOOSH!
A massive vibration rang out, and Zeke’s body began to blur.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
A burst of light enveloped his body, and with a loud noise, he disappeared.
CRASH!
Chronos looked at her empty hand with a bitter expression.
“…Please, Zeke Draker.”
BANG!
The door suddenly burst open, and Kaisir entered.
“What’s going on? I felt a strange wave even at the city’s edge.”
Chronos smiled and said,
“I just made a prophecy.”
“Oh? What did you see this time?”
“I saw something, but I’m not entirely sure. What I can say is… a knight with black eyes. A knight with an incredibly strong will.”
Kaisir clicked his tongue and said,
“If such a guy exists, bring him before me. I’ll make him my disciple and teach him the Elemental Sword.”
“Weren’t you going to teach Jiemens?”
Kaisir’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Jiemens… But this guy Sethon hasn’t shown his nose anywhere. Hey! Sethon! You there!”
Kaishir called out to the innocent Sethon and left, causing the smile on Chronos’s face to quickly fade.
She looked down at her hands.
Her hands were trembling slightly.
“It’s not time yet. I need to endure a little longer.”
She stood up from her seat and approached the wall, pressing firmly on a specific spot.
CLUNK!
The wall made a rattling sound as it opened, revealing a black box inside.
When Chronos opened the box, a black dragon figurine was inside.
She looked at the dragon figurine and spoke.
“Please watch over us, Elder Dragon.”
WOOOOONG!
Zeke was transported somewhere once again in a burst of light.
KUGUGU!
As his vision returned, Zeke looked around.
‘Th-This place is…….’
It was a museum, just before closing time.
The approaching security guard was still frozen in place.
Zeke glanced at the watch he was holding.
The hour hand had moved one notch forward.
At that moment, time, which had been frozen, resumed.
The security guard finally started moving again and was about to shout at Zeke.
“It’s closing time! You need to leave… H-Hold on? Could you be the Knight of the Sea… S-Sir Zeke Draker?”
The security guard recognized Zeke’s face.
It seemed that news about the Knight of the Sea was frequently featured in the gazettes, making his face quite well-known.
Zeke gave a small smile and slowly stood up.
‘UGH.’
Due to the side effects of time travel, his head was still throbbing, and his stomach felt queasy.
Even with his healing factor, this motion sickness-like symptom wouldn’t go away.
The security guard, noticing how unwell he looked, spoke in a worried voice.
“S-Sir Zeke, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Actually, could you call a carriage for me? One heading to Nirvana’s central branch.”
Zeke soon got into the carriage the guard had called and headed back to the central branch.
Drinking a potion inside the carriage to calm himself, he finally managed to settle down.
‘Time travel… Definitely not something to do twice.’
Even now, he couldn’t believe that he had actually traveled to the past.
As Zeke sat there, still somewhat dazed and trying to recover, the carriage arrived at the central branch, and he slowly stepped inside the building.
But the central branch lobby was in an uproar.
‘What’s going on?’
A large man was yelling at the top of his lungs in front of the lobby while security golems tried to drag him out.
However, the man was so strong that even with two golems restraining him, he didn’t budge an inch.
“Please! I beg you! Just help me this once!”
The man’s voice echoed through the hall, but the mages passing by paid no attention whatsoever.
‘What’s happening here?’
The man wore a thick leather coat, and his face was covered in a thick beard, making him look like a bear from the forest.
Then, at that moment..
[The compass is recalibrating to find the optimal direction toward the ‘Fairy Lake.’]
[Information has been updated.]
[Guiding to a new direction.]
Startled by the sudden message, Zeke pulled out his compass to check where the needle was pointing.
The needle was aimed directly at the bear-like man.
‘Could it be… that man?’
It seemed he had found the druid of Aten.
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