Chapter 285
Delicate appearance with hair and eyebrows as white as snow.
However, Sieg quickly realized that the entity before him was not Kaisir. Her eyes possessed a greenish hue unlike Kaisir’s, and subtle differences gave away that she was female, not male.
Sieg opened his mouth to address her once more. “Are you... Lord Chronos?”
Her green eyes shining, Chronos nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
Having regained his balance as his dizziness subsided, Sieg stood up straight and composed himself.
Chronos then spoke to him. “Come over here. If I remember correctly, you used to enjoy tea. Am I right?”
Sieg was taken aback that Chronos, the Dragon of the Hero King’s era, knew about his preference for tea. “How do you know that?”
“Let’s just say it’s a power unique to the Dragon of Time.”
Sieg nodded and followed Chronos into the reception room.
Leaving Chronos to prepare the tea, Sieg looked around his surroundings. Through the window, a panoramic view of a city unfolded.
'This place is...'
Sieg turned to Chronos and asked, “Could this possibly be... Chronos?”
Chronos nodded as she poured tea into a cup. “Yes. In your timeline, it would be where Varanaon stands today.”
“Varanaon sits on the grounds of ancient Chronos?”
“Indeed. In your timeline, the eastern region where Midland lies is the center of the continent, but in our era, the west is the heart of the world.”
Sieg turned back to gaze at the full view of Chronos. It was a beautifully maintained city, pristine enough to rival the newly constructed city of Atlas. It was hard to believe this place had been built two thousand years ago.
“Tea should be enjoyed while it’s warm. Come, take a seat.”
Sieg sat down and took a sip of the tea Chronos had prepared.
'This aroma...?'
The fragrance was strikingly similar to the tea he had tasted at Ishtar. While Ishtar’s tea possessed a more concentrated aroma and flavor, the brew given by Chronos tasted far more delicate and elegant.
“It was a gift from the High Elves. Tastes good, doesn’t it?”
Sieg nodded.
After drinking his tea in silence and setting the cup down, Sieg looked at Chronos. “I never expected you to pull me directly into the past.”
“I didn’t think it would be possible either. I believe it was only achievable because it was you, and no one else.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Chronos set down her teacup and spoke. “Sieg, you’ve already traversed back through time once before, haven’t you?”
Sieg was startled by Chronos’s words. Until now, no one had ever known about his regression.
'Does she know because she’s the Dragon of Time?'
As Sieg reflexively adopted a guarded gaze, Chronos smiled warmly. “No need to look at me like that. After all, I was the one who prepared that 'irrevocable, promised power' within the Elder Dragon’s artifact.”
“You mean... you prepared that emergency measure yourself, Lord Chronos?”
“Yes. Though I set it up out of desperation—a move that was practically a gamble—the fact that you’ve come to find me like this means it was a success.”
Sieg felt confused by Chronos’s words. It was difficult to readily grasp that such a contingency had been set up for him two thousand years ago.
As if reading his thoughts, Chronos nodded understandingly. “I’m sure you have countless questions, but you know how it is, right? If we make a misstep and disturb the timeline, both you and I could be erased from existence.”
Sieg nodded at her warning.
Chronos took another sip of tea and spoke. “What I can tell you right now is... in your timeline, the Demon King will be resurrected.”
Sieg’s mind went blank at the mention of the Demon King. Regaining his composure after a brief moment, he asked, “In the timeline I’m in right now, has the war already ended?”
Chronos shook her head. “No, this is even before Kaisir left for the Fairy Realm.”
Sieg was bewildered upon hearing her response. “If that’s the case, can’t we stop the Demon King right now?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Sieg realized the inherent contradiction in what he had just said. “It’s because of Karma, isn’t it?”
Chronos nodded. “Yes. I know the future. Strictly speaking, I know the various possibilities that could happen in the future. If I attempt to manipulate the physical plane at my whim regarding events that haven’t occurred yet, Karma will erase me first.”
“Then is the reason you called me here because I must stop the Demon King who will be resurrected in my timeline?”
Chronos looked at Sieg and replied, “That 'possibility' certainly exists.”
Because the future was not yet set in stone, it existed purely as possibilities. As the Dragon of Time, Chronos could read those possibilities and deliver warnings about the future in the form of prophecies—strictly within the bounds permitted by Karma. The vague, dual-meaning nature of prophecies was precisely designed to bypass those cosmic restrictions as much as possible.
Chronos looked directly at Sieg. “Sieg Draker, your existence is truly crucial. I believe you are the only one who can stop the Demon King.”
“What do you mean?”
“A traveler who defied fate.” Chronos gazed at him intently. “By your own will, you rejected the fate originally dealt to you, rewrote destiny by turning back time, and are now carving out a new path. That... is something even Karma could not foresee.”
Sieg was stunned by her words. “Are you saying I exist outside the laws of Karma?”
“Precisely. Everything in the physical realm cannot escape Karma. Yet you, Sieg Draker, alone are capable of it. Even now, you stand before me by transcending time itself.”
“Why am I the only one capable of doing so?”
“It was brought about by the intersection of countless coincidences, inevitabilities, and infinite possibilities. But above all... it was made possible by your own unyielding will, which is stronger than anyone else’s.”
'The power of will...'
Sieg sensed that Chronos was holding something back. However, given the clear boundaries imposed by Karma on what she could divulge, he couldn't pry any further.
Chronos said to Sieg, “Take out your pocket watch.”
When Sieg retrieved the watch, Chronos reached out her hand.
HUMMM!
A haze-like energy rose from the watch and seeped into her palm. Having absorbed all the energy, Chronos muttered under her breath shortly after, “Ah, so that’s how it happened.”
Nodding as if everything made sense now, she opened her palm again and held it over the watch. Runic characters surfaced on the back of her hand.
HUMMM!
The glow of the runes soaked into the pocket watch. Soon, system notifications flashed before Sieg's eyes:
[Authentication key updated.]
[???'s Pocket Watch activated.]
[Main Quest completed.]
[Rewarded 1,000 Karma Points.]
[Rewarded 2 Random Boxes.]
[Rewarded Chronos’s Authority: 'Rewind'.]
[The seal on the Heart of Bahamut, the Cursed Mad Dragon, has been reduced to 45%.]
'Authority: Rewind?'
Since it was an authority belonging to Chronos, the Dragon of Time, it seemed to be a power related to time manipulation.
“Whew.”
Having finished updating the authentication key, Chronos looked at Sieg and said, “I’ve reactivated the watch. You’ll need it to use my authority.”
“Judging by the name 'Rewind', it seems to be related to time...”
“Indeed. It’s a rather tricky authority for a human like you to wield. Consider carefully when to use it. If used improperly, the physical plane could collapse from its power before you even face the Demon King.”
Sieg nodded at her words.
Just then, his heart suddenly began to thud violently.
“Ugh!”
He clutched his head as a sudden wave of severe dizziness washed over him.
Observing him, Chronos spoke softly. “If you stay here any longer, your body won't be able to handle the strain.”
Chronos pressed the pocket watch back into Sieg's hand. As she focused her power, a different set of runic characters glowed brightly across the back of both her hands.
Holding Sieg's hand tightly, Chronos said, “Sieg Draker, there is one last thing I can tell you.”
Looking at Sieg, who was dripping with cold sweat, she whispered, “Beyond the Dark Sea. That is where the truth lies hidden.”
RUMBLE!
Sieg's body trembled violently.
“Guh...!”
Sieg writhed as an agonizing, tearing sensation tore through his entire body. At the same time, an even intense light burst from the back of Chronos's hands, flowing directly into the watch clutched in his grip.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive vibration echoed as Sieg's body grew translucent.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Soon, a burst of radiant light enveloped Sieg's body, and with a roaring boom, he vanished into thin air.
CRASH!
Chronos stared at her empty hands that had just been holding Sieg, a bitter expression gracing her face.
“...I'm counting on you, Sieg Draker.”
BANG!
The door suddenly burst open and someone walked in, casually resting a sword over his shoulder. It was Kaisir.
“What was that? I felt a weird energy wave all the way from the edge of the city.”
At Kaisir's words, Chronos smiled gently and said, “I just delivered a prophecy for the first time in a while.”
“Oh, really? What did you see this time?”
“I saw something, but I’m not entirely sure. What I can say is... I saw a knight with black eyes. A knight possessing an extraordinarily powerful will.”
Kaisir clicked his tongue at her reply. “If someone like that exists, bring him to me. I’ll make him my disciple and pass down this damn Elemental Sword.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to pass it down to Siemens?”
At those words, Kaisir’s expression stiffened slightly. “Siemens is... Wait, where the hell is Shaturn? I haven't seen his ugly mug anywhere! Hey! Shaturn! You bastard!”
As Kaisir stormed out bellowing for Shaturn, the smile quickly faded from Chronos's face, replaced by a dark expression.
She looked down at her hands. They were trembling faintly.
“Not yet... I have to hold out a little longer.”
Rising from her seat, she walked over to a wall and pressed firmly against a specific spot.
With a heavy click, the wall opened to reveal a black box hidden inside. Chronos opened the box, revealing a statue of a black dragon resting within.
Gazing at the dragon statue, she whispered softly, “Please look after us, Elder Dragon.”
HUMMM!
Wrapped in a cluster of light, Sieg was transported once again.
RUMBLE!
As his vision cleared, Sieg looked around his new surroundings.
'T-This place is...'
It was a museum that was just about to close for the day. The security guard who had been walking toward him was still frozen in mid-step.
Sieg looked down at the pocket watch held tightly in his hand. The hour hand had shifted over by one notch.
In that exact moment, the frozen time began to flow again.
The security guard resumed his movement, stepping toward Sieg with his mouth open to shout, “It’s closing time! Please make your way to the exit... Wait, hold on? Aren't you the Knight of Curse-Breaking... Sir Sieg Draker?”
The guard recognized Sieg's face. Since news regarding the Knight of Curse-Breaking appeared frequently in the gazettes, his face had become widely known.
Offering a faint smile, Sieg slowly pulled himself up.
'Ugh...'
Whether as a side effect of jumping through time, his head was still throbbing and his stomach felt nauseous. Even his Healing Factor couldn't cure this time-travel sickness.
Noticing how pale he looked, the guard asked in a worried voice, “Sir Sieg, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Actually, could you perhaps call a carriage for me? Headed for the Nirvana Central Branch.”
Shortly after, Sieg boarded the carriage summoned by the guard and returned to the Central Branch.
Resting inside the carriage while chugging down potions, Sieg managed to regain his composure bit by bit.
'Time travel... It's definitely not something I want to do twice.'
Even now, he could hardly believe he had actually visited the past.
While Sieg was recovering his strength in a somewhat dazed state, the carriage arrived at the Central Branch, and he slowly stepped inside the building.
However, the lobby of the Central Branch was in utter chaos.
'What's going on?'
A burly man was bellowing at the top of his lungs near the front of the lobby, while guard golems struggled to restrain him and throw him outside. Yet the man possessed such incredible physical strength that he wouldn't budge an inch, even with two golems hanging onto him.
“Please, I beg you! Just help me this once!”
The man roared so loudly his voice echoed through the hall, but the mages passing through the lobby paid him no mind whatsoever.
'What on earth is happening for him to act like that?'
Dressed in a thick leather coat with a dense beard covering his face, the man looked like a wild bear straight out of the forest.
Just then—
[The compass sets a new optimal direction toward 'Fairy Lake'.]
[Information updated.]
[Initiating guidance toward the new direction.]
Surprised by the sudden system messages, Sieg pulled out the compass to check the needle's orientation.
The needle was pointing directly at the bear-like man.
'Could that man be...?'
It seemed he had found the druid of Aten.