Chapter 2674: Reckoning
Chapter 2674: Reckoning
What followed was a whirlwind of violent clashes.
Emery stood tall, his emberflame sword blazing, Elysian roots swirling around him like a living shield. He faced not just one, but three versions of Kronos, each one radiating dangerous, condensed temporal energy.
The battle echoed with sharp strikes and bursts of spells. Scythes cut through the air, temporal magic rippling like waves.
Yet, Emery didn’t falter.
The time-bending advantage that had once made Kronos near invincible… was now useless.
With every swing of his scythe, Kronos tried to distort the battlefield—slowing time here, hastening it there—but Emery moved like he existed outside of time itself. With his newly gained comprehension of temporal law, he could read and resist every motion.
It became a pure battle of raw power, and although Kronos pressed with fury, Emery deflected, parried, and countered every strike.
Kronos’ smirk began to falter. The amusement in his eyes dimmed.
“You’ve grown so much…” he muttered between blows. “You and your friends… truly remarkable talents. If only you had listened—if you had joined us. Together, our factions could’ve ruled the Alpha Quadrant.”
His tone was wistful, even sincere—but Emery’s gaze sharpened like a blade.
“Stop spewing useless words,” he said coldly.
His voice dropped to a growl.
“Whatever future Earth has… you’re not in it. Your life ends here.”
With those words, Emery unleashed his full potential.
Nature pulsed from him—not just one element, but all eight. A whirlwind of magical harmony surged through his being. Each spell was crafted with perfect efficiency:
Wind and lightning enhanced his speed.
Metal and earth fortified his defenses.
Water healed his wounds.
Fire and ice lashed out with destructive fury, along with his Elysian roots.
Kronos was stunned. He never expected such elemental control from someone so young. With each passing moment, Emery pushed him back, pressing harder, faster, stronger.
After dozens of clashes, Kronos’ spirit pool began to strain. Maintaining two clones while fighting himself taxed even a Grand Magus.
With a growl of frustration, he watched Emery crush his phantom bodies—one by one, until they disintegrated under the pressure of Elysian vines and elemental blades.
But Kronos still had one trump card.
Grinding his teeth, he let out a guttural growl and whirled his twin scythes. Time twisted around him, distorting the very light in the air.
[Chrono Reversion].
Tick… Tick… Tick…
A ghostly clock unfurled above him, its hands spinning backward in violent reverse. The battlefield warped. Time itself bent to his command. Emery could feel the reset: Kronos’ wounds vanished, fatigue erased—he had returned to peak condition.
This time, there were no phantoms.
Kronos fought with his true body—all of his cosmic power condensed into one perfect vessel, one final chance to reclaim his dominance.
Across from him stood Emery, burning with elemental fury.
Their eyes locked.
Kronos struck, he unleashed his most devastating strike—[Chronos Cleave], a temporal attack so powerful it shook the very fabric of the bubble. Reality seemed to blur as the scythe cut forward like the hand of fate.
But Emery did not retreat.
He raised his sword, enhanced by his deep understanding of nature and the Dao.
[Dao Edge].
Not with darkness or light. Now it pulsed with harmony, eight elements woven into a singular devastating force, and at its core, the power of the Elysian Tree glowed like an ancient heart.
The two forces collided with a cataclysmic roar. Space rippled. Time paused.
Neither side held dominance.
Kronos snarled, stepping back, panting—but not broken.
“…impressive,” he muttered. “But you can’t outlast me.
Kronos gritted his teeth. He still had more spirit energy—his pool had been fully restored. A battle of attrition favored him.
But Emery had no intention of letting this battle drag on.
Across the battlefield, his dark counterpart was locked in his brutal fights. Morgana’s cosmic flames clashed with the dark elf’s spells, and Vayarel was only barely holding the line, helping Livi fight the skeletal beasts. No one had the upper hand. There was no time to waste.
Without hesitation, Emery unleashed a relentless barrage of his strongest attacks
Kronos was forced to match him blow for blow, his scythes spinning through the air as he weaved time-magic with every movement. But with every clash, his power drained faster.
Within just a dozen exchanges, his rhythm broke.
His strikes slowed. His breathing grew heavier.
His movements began to slow.
On the other side, Emery moved like a force of nature—relentless and unyielding. The power of the Dao allowed him to cast every spell with flawless efficiency, while the Elysian Tree continuously replenished his strength.
“How… is this possible!?” Kronos roared in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe it.
The boy from Earth—this nobody from a lower realm—was overpowering him. First Julian. Then Morgana. Now Emery. One after another, Earth’s champions rose above him.
“How can you all grow this strong!?” he roared in frustration.
In desperation, Kronos reached for his last resort—his hourglass artifact, the source of his temporal might.
But as his fingers grasped it—
CRACK!
The artifact shattered into dust.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“No… How?!”
Panic surged through him.
No more resets.
No more rewinds.
No more second chances.
Kronos was cornered.
Emery came charging, his elemental aura blazing. Kronos tried to hold his ground, but each strike forced him back—again, and again—until a wall of roots burst through his defense and entangled his limbs, locking him in place.
“Wait—WAIT!” Kronos cried, his voice trembling now.
“You can’t kill me! I— I can help you!” his panic turned to pleading.
“The dark elf—yes! I can help you defeat him! I can help you break out of this temporal prison!”
Emery hovered closer, eyes calm, expression unreadable.
“Yes, you’re right… I understand now. I understand why you’re here. I need you… I need you to pass this trial.”
The words lit a spark in Kronos’ eyes. Hope flared across his face.
“Yes… yes! That’s right!” he said quickly, eagerly.
But Emery wasn’t finished.
He raised one arm. His claws began to glow, surging with power as he channeled a spell.
Kronos froze.
“W–What are you doing?!!”
Emery’s gaze sharpened like a blade.
“This is for everything you’ve done.”
Without another word, he drove his glowing claws, pierced into Kronos’ chest.
A pulse of energy erupted as the spell activated—not to kill, but to devour.
[Spirit Devour]
Emery began to extract Kronos’ power—draining it from the source. What he needed for the trial was the temporal essence—the time-induced energy that had been the core of Kronos’ strength.
Kronos screamed.
“No—NOOO!!”
He struggled, writhed, tried to break free—but the Elysian roots held him down. He clawed at the air, his body convulsing as his divine energy was stripped away piece by piece.
Emery’s mind flashed with memories—faces.
Lord Izta.
Fuxi, the Eastern Sage.
His predecessors.
His mentors.
The fallen legends who had paid the price for Kronos’ ambition.
“This is for them,” Emery whispered.
Kronos’s cosmic body withered, a look of disbelief remained on his fading face, and His voice turned to echoes.
“…no…”
But Emery kept draining.
Until Kronos’ power was gone.
Until the last fragment of his soul disintegrated into nothing.
And then Kronos was gone.
The god of time was no more.