Chapter 388 – Side Story 3   - Kronos (3)

‘My future son.’

‘My son who will be born someday.’

‘My son… I waited for a long time.’

Many similar voices rang inside his head like echoes.

‘My son.’

Soon, all the voices merged, tuning into one comfortable and warm voice.

‘Please take care of him.’?

“Ugh!” Kronos woke up, gasping. He looked around to find himself in a dark living room surrounded by crumpled beer cans. “I guess I let my guard down.”

Then, he saw Choi Leah asleep on his lap. He wondered out loud, “Does she trust me this much? Or is she just naturally indifferent to danger?”

She was a powerful player, but that didn’t mean she should sleep soundly with a complete stranger.

“She isn’t waking up,” Kronos muttered, surprised that his considerably loud speech hadn’t woken her up.

“Hmm.” Kronos contemplated for a moment. “My legs are falling asleep.”

This weakness was new to him. Being the son of a ruler, he hadn’t been this weak even as a baby. Somehow, it felt refreshing; he enjoyed it.

Closing his eyes, Kronos thought calmly, ‘I might die like this.’

Now that he had to climb the Tower tomorrow, he was in danger.

‘And I still don’t know why I came back to life.’?Kronos was confused but wasn’t willing to waste this second chance. In his previous life, he had an intense desire to control time. He had been so motivated that he had ignored his other emotions, his family, and everyone else.

‘But now, I want other things.’?Kronos wanted the things he had missed before. ‘Is it because of them?’?

Kronos had returned to Earth after escaping from Gehenna and had sought more power due to his unstable condition. Gaia had created many clones of him; thankfully, these clones had hidden away a significant amount of their power. He had set out to find them by following their trails, making it an easy search.

However, Kronos had been shocked after discovering the first spoor. He frowned, remembering the unpleasant feeling he had experienced at the time. The first piece of the puzzle he had found wasn’t power. It contained a little power, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

‘It was more like a trap.’?This piece had held a bit of power to lure Kronos and a message. ‘Please take care of my son.’?

The message had begged Kronos not to harm the clone’s future child—the clone of Kronos’ son Jupiter. Kronos’ clone had tried to awaken the paternal love inside him, but it had only infuriated him. He had destroyed the piece immediately.

He had been angry because he had felt a long-lost emotion. Kronos had disregarded the message and had continued searching for his clone's trails. After finding more than a dozen such messages, he had finally realized there was a change within him.

Every puzzle piece had held the same message, and his clones had accomplished what they had set out to do. They had awakened the lost love inside Kronos. ‘My power…’?

Kronos felt a sudden energy surge. He realized that the vast power he had accumulated over the centuries was gone, but the power his clones had left behind while pleading for their son's safety was now within him. He was unsure of how this had happened, but a smile formed on his lips nonetheless.

“...” Their power began filling Kronos’s shell. It was meager compared to what he had before, but it felt warm and comforting for some reason.

***

“...!” Leah opened her eyes when she felt the sun. “What the?!”

She screamed seconds after waking up. In all her life, there had only been a few times when she had felt this confused.

“What the hell happened!” Leah jolted up.

“You’re finally awake.”

“...” Leah turned toward him with a dazed look. Kronos had seemingly showered, as he looked clean. He was looking at her while eating something. Leah didn’t know what to say, so she continued to stare at him.

“You were drooling.”

“...!” She quickly wiped her mouth and asked, “Really?”

“I don’t lie.” Kronos looked so comfortable, like he belonged here, that Leah felt speechless. She finally ran to the washroom and slammed the door shut.

“So energetic even in the morning.” Kronos took another spoonful of yogurt.

Leah came out of the washroom in ten minutes.

“...? Your face looks completely different from when you went in,” Kronos commented. In just ten minutes, she had freshened up and applied makeup. He supposed that she was quick because she was a player.

Leah glared at him before looking at the living room. Her pillow and blanket were on the floor, but she didn’t remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was drinking her beer and talking about random things with this strange man.

“Thank you,” Leah controlled her annoyance and thanked him. It was obvious Kronos had gotten her the pillow and the blanket.

Sitting across from him at the table, she asked, “What are you? More importantly…” Unable to hide her confusion, she continued, “What have you done to me?”

“...?”

“Don’t make that innocent face at me like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

In Kronos’ defense, he had never made an innocent face in his life. He wanted to point this out to her, but he didn’t dare to open his lips because the energy Choi Leah was giving off at the moment was shockingly frightening.

Leah was genuinely confused. “I’ve never slept soundly like this in my life. I have had nothing but nightmares every time I have slept.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

Ignoring Kronos’s question, Leah continued, “A night of comfortable sleep—that used to be my greatest wish. After becoming a player, I could sleep a little if I hunted nonstop inside the Tower. The very reason I found you was that I wanted to get some sleep after killing the ant queen.”

“...”

“Yet…” Leah couldn’t believe she had slept so well. She turned red, realizing that she had even drooled.

Kronos answered, “I didn’t do anything. You just fell asleep while drinking beer. If you’re angry about the food I ate from the fridge, I apologize. It has been a long time since I felt hungry, so I acted rashly. I’m sorry.”

“...” Leah became even more confused. Then suddenly, she felt something. “...!”

“What are you?”

“You still have more questions?”

“You…” Leah began gathering her power. The atmosphere in the room changed, and Kronos’ eyes darkened in anticipation.

She asked, “How did you become so powerful overnight?”

Leah realized that Kronos’ power had increased dramatically since yesterday.

***

“You…” Wearing a mask and a hat to hide her face, Leah considered what she should say. After some thought, she said to Kronos, “Don’t get into any trouble. I’m your guardian, so I’m responsible for you.”

“Don’t worry.” Kronos’ nonchalant attitude made her sigh in resignation. “Haa…”

She had never experienced something so strange before. ‘And it’s all because of this man.’

She had only met this stranger yesterday but had already experienced so many unexpected and shocking events. Moreover, she was embarrassed that she had fallen asleep on his lap and had drooled all over him.

“I’ll be back. This is a four-day course, so I’ll come to get you then.”

“Thank you for doing that.”

Leah grinned and asked, “So you aren’t going to refuse my help? You think I should come back for you?”

Kronos replied solemnly, “Yes. You are special.”

Leah blushed and announced, “I’m leaving now!”

Leah had told him she would wait with him until the guide arrived, but feeling too shy, she turned around.

“What a strange man…” Leah muttered and left.

“Hmm.” Kronos looked around. He was on the Tower's first floor, where many players had gathered and waited for their guides.

“Nice to meet you,” someone suddenly greeted Kronos. It was an older man, and nine more people were standing behind him.

.

‘They’re all weak.’?Kronos decided that he didn’t have to worry about them.

The man introduced himself, “I’m Choi Min-Yong, and we are in the same group. The same guide will teach us.”

Including Choi Min-Yong, there were seven men and three women. Their ages varied greatly, and the youngest of them, a girl, seemed to be a child.

When Kronos didn’t respond, a confused look appeared on Choi Min-Yong’s face.

“...?”

Choi Min-Yong still had his hand out for a handshake, and Kronos realized that there were proper etiquette humans followed.

‘Ah! I remember.’?When Kronos had woken up last night, apart from accumulating his clones’ power, he had also watched TV and gathered useful intel from the fantasy box. In addition, Kronos had learned a lot about Earth while working with Andras and still had Ha Song-Su’s memories with him.

“I…” Kronos opened his lips slowly. “Hey, I’m Ha Song-Su. Nice to meet you.”

“...” Choi Min-Yong frowned in displeasure. Kronos was obviously much younger, yet he was speaking very informally. The others behind him also looked annoyed.

But Choi Min-Yong continued to speak respectfully. “Nice to meet you too. By the way, that woman you were with earlier…”

Choi Min-Yong had approached Kronos because they were in the same training group and because of Leah's presence. Newbie players usually couldn't bring companions unless they had a special status.

“She’s my guardian,” Kronos answered.

“Your… guardian?” Choi Min-Yong was flabbergasted. Kronos looked young but not young enough to need a guardian. “Ah, you mean like a custodian? Or…”

The other players wondered if Kronos was the son of an important figure.

“I suppose it’s something like that.” When Kronos replied, Choi Min-Yong and the others nodded in understanding. They now understood why he had acted so rudely toward them. Of course, Kronos had no idea that he was acting disrespectfully.

‘The TV said that one must respect the elders.’?Following that line of thinking, he had come to the conclusion no one was older than him.

Just then, the other players of the group exclaimed.

“There he is! Our guide!”

“Uwah, so he’s the famous guide!”

“Yes! He isn’t super strong, but apparently, he has many secrets. My guild promised to give me a bonus if I find out his real identity!”

Sensing a presence nearing him, Kronos turned around.

“...!”

. He says this in a very informal speech - the way you would do someone beneath you.