Chapter 386 – Side Story 1   - Kronos

‘Ah… it hurts.’ The pain was intense enough to drive him to insanity. Funnily enough, the pain had started as a tickle; soon, it had become barely tolerable. And finally, he gave in and screamed at the top of his lungs.

He stood up after and suddenly felt confused. ‘How can I feel pain?’?

“It stings…” he murmured before realizing he could talk. He asked out loud, “What? I can talk too?”

He tried to move his hands. He could see his hands clearly, so he looked down; yes, he could also see his body.

“Wait… I’m alive?” He thought about it for a while before realizing the pain’s origin. “Ants?”

They were actually ant-like monsters, as they were a bit bigger than those pismires but were just as weak, not a huge threat all in all. Currently, these monsters were trying to eat this, clearly alive, man. The man wondered why he was alive for a while; then, he realized he should first take care of these pesky pests.

“Disappear!” He raised his hand and ordered. And… nothing happened, surprising and confusing the man.

A command from him should have been enough to kill such weak monsters, but nothing had happened.

“Be gone,” he tried again, but the result was the same. The pismires, seemingly sneering at him, continued to try to eat his still-healthy body.

“Ackkk!” Soon, he had had enough and abruptly jumped and shook himself. As the ants fell to the ground, he began squashing them with his foot, finally putting the fear of god in them.

He could see his body more clearly. “These aren’t my hands…?!”

It wasn’t the only surprise. He tried to summon his power, but he felt nothing. No matter how hard he tried, there was no energy inside him.

“I… have no magic? Or any other power,” he mumbled, unable to believe his situation.

‘Actually, I can still feel a tiny bit of magic.’?The problem was that he had such little power that it was almost like he didn’t have any. ‘It’s only a tiny amount, but there is still some mana inside this body.’?

But unfortunately, he couldn’t feel any other powers inside him.

“What is going on?” the man mumbled and looked around. “I’m definitely inside the Tower.”

He was sure he was on one of the floors but did not understand how or why he had returned to life after death. He almost had no power and was in a foreign body.

“What happened to you?”

“...!”

Someone approached him and asked. He was so weak that he had failed to sense her, so he jumped in shock.

‘Ah…’?He realized that he shouldn’t have been surprised, considering how weak he currently was. He turned to see the newcomer and noted that she had a pretty face and a voice that could put people at ease. After looking at her for a while, he felt she looked familiar. “Ha-Rim?”

Once again, the man—Kronos—fell into a thought spiral. How was he alive? Why was Ha-Rim here?

“Ha-Rim? You mean the fried chicken brand?” the woman asked him an odd question.

***

Kronos used to be a dimensional ruler—he had killed God. A fake one, but a mighty and powerful foe nonetheless. It was a remarkable feat.

Kronos had decided to sacrifice everything for the betterment and peace of humanity. He had trained inside Chaos to become stronger and had helped to defeat the Creator.

He used to be a great man; right now, even the smallest tasks were proving themselves formidable adversaries.

“Have you never used chopsticks before? You speak Korean and look Korean but act like a foreigner. This is how you hold chopsticks.” Ha-Rim held his hand and helped him learn how to hold the chopsticks correctly.

He used to be an expert in countless martial arts, so it didn’t take Kronos long to learn how to use chopsticks. But Ha-Rim seemed surprised at how quick he was. “Wow, you’re good!”

‘I’m still not used to this new body.’?This wasn’t his body, so he still had some difficulties. ‘This is definitely Ha Song-Su’s body.’? He occupied Ha Song-Su's body, but it seemed unfamiliar to him. The chaos energy from Chaos had weakened and corrupted his original body. Andras had selected Ha Song-Su as one of the Adam candidates, so Kronos had taken that body instead. Over time, he grew accustomed to it as he prepared to battle the Creator.

‘But this body is different from before.’?

Something had changed. His current body felt taller with different features, and it wasn’t too hard to guess why.

‘During the revival process, this body must have been affected by my consciousness.’?

The mix and mash of his soul with Ha Song-Su’s body had produced these changes.

Ha-Rim, who had been munching quietly until now, asked, “What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you always this quiet?”

“...” Kronos studied her face carefully. She was instrumental in shaping Ha Song-Su and was Adam’s counterpart, created by Gaia. The Creator’s attack had nearly killed him, but Ha-Rim had given him all her power to save him.

‘She loved Ha Song-Su.’?Kronos knew that Ha-Rim had fallen in love with Ha Song-Su.

‘She loved him as a friend, a man, and family.’?

Because Ha-Rim loved Ha Song-Su, she couldn’t even let his body die despite knowing it was Kronos’ consciousness inside.

Ha Song-Su could never return, as Kronos had consumed his soul, making them the same entity. Even the Creator couldn’t reverse a change like this. Despite knowing that, Ha-Rim had sacrificed herself to save Kronos, which gave him a chance to reverse time and ultimately help defeat the Creator.

‘And then I died.’?Kronos knew he shouldn’t be alive right now. He had to burn his physical form, soul, and entire existence to reverse time.

‘So how am I alive now?’?Ha-Rim being alive was also a confusing fact.

Looking into her eyes, he asked, “Why are you helping me?”

“We just met, and you continue to talk disrespectfully to me. I killed those ants for you, and I’m even feeding you, so how could you?!” Ha-Rim grumbled.

“Well, I… guess I’m thankful for your help.”

“Haa…”

Kronos had woken up in a deserted location on the 13th floor. Ha-Rim had explained that she had found him while looking for something. Apparently, Kronos had agitated the ants, making the ant queen come to attack. He was ashamed to admit that he had almost died. He only had a tiny amount of power, and mere ants could have killed him.

Thankfully, she had showed up just in time, and when Kronos’ stomach growled loudly, she had even given him food.

“It’s just…” she explained. “For some reason, I feel like I know you. But don’t worry; I’m not flirting with you! I find this situation very strange too…”

She glanced at him hesitantly before adding, “I guess I just want to take care of you… So stop asking me questions!”

“...” Kronos became quiet. ‘She’s definitely Ha-Rim…’?

Even if she wasn’t, there had to be a significant connection.

‘Because just like her, I feel something for her too.’?

Kronos felt like he had also missed her. And that was why he hadn’t refused her help and had agreed to eat with her. He didn’t want to let her leave like this.

‘I want to keep seeing her.’?

A powerful emotion boiled inside him, which was why he didn’t leave her.

‘And I also need to learn more about this situation.’?He believed that Ha-Rim must be in a similar situation, so if they continued to talk, he might find out how he was resurrected.

‘And maybe I’ll find out if the Creator died.’?

There was at least one thing Kronos had learned so far.

“I guess he succeeded,” Kronos mumbled.

“Pardon?”

Kronos shook his head quietly. He turned to study the inside of the Tower. He had built the Tower, but this tower wasn’t Babel.

‘This isn’t the structure I built.’?This meant that he must have succeeded. Kronos realized that Gi-Gyu must have killed the Creator and made all these changes.

‘I’m curious now.’?Kronos no longer had the desire to rule all dimensions. He didn’t have the mind to sacrifice himself for the good of humanity anymore. At this moment, he just wanted to know how he was still alive and how the world had changed.

And there was one more thing he wanted.

“Why do you keep staring at me like that?!” Ha-Rim complained.

Kronos wanted to keep spending time with her. He replied, “Thank you for the food. It didn’t taste good, but I am no longer hungry.”

“What the heck?! What is wrong with you?”

Kronos continued to study her and thought, ‘There must be a reason why he resurrected me.’?

The only person who could have done this was Kim Gi-Gyu, but Kronos couldn’t imagine why he did this.

“I’ll follow you now,” Kronos announced.

“Umm… Have you lost your mind?!”

***

“So… you really don’t know anything?” Kronos asked in disbelief.

“What are you talking about? The world changed? This man named Kim Gi-Gyu killed the Creator?!” She sounded genuinely confused.

Shocked by her ignorance, Kronos asked, “Do you really not know, Ha-Rim?”

“I really don’t! I’m a good player, but I’ve never heard of anything like that!”

When Kronos seemed disappointed, Ha-Rim added, “I mean… If you’re that curious, go to Eden and ask. It has all the records related to the players. Of course, I… doubt they know about this player who supposedly killed god.”

Ha-Rim had proposed a solution, but Kronos remained dissatisfied. Ha-Rim became anxious as she thought he was upset, but this was not the case.

Kronos just needed to know why Gi-Gyu had done this. ‘He saved the whole world and everyone in it, yet he didn’t brag about it? He actually?erased?everyone’s memory?’

He couldn’t understand. Kronos wondered if he had been resurrected in a different reality. Or perhaps he was dreaming at the moment.

‘But this?place Eden… And many things tell me this is still the same place.’?

Kronos was busy in his thoughts, and Ha-Rim muttered, “You’re such a strange man.”

She looked into his eyes and said, “And my name isn’t Ha-Rim. It’s Leah.”

“...?”

“My name is Choi Leah.”