"What…?" Akito breathed.
Kronoran stood at the center of the hall, his posture straight, hands clasped behind his back. His voice was calm… yet within that calmness lingered a strange, heavy tension.
"Look at reality," he began, slowly turning toward Akito. "I've watched your world. Studied history. Read chronicles soaked in blood…"
A pause.
"And do you know what conclusion I came to?" his voice lowered slightly. "Humans never fight for justice."
Kronoran took a step forward, his eyes gleaming in the hall's half-light.
"They kill for resources. For power. For those scraps of paper they call money.
There's enough land for everyone.
But it's never enough for them."
He stepped closer to a pillar and ran his fingers across the marble surface.
"They're willing to destroy cities. Burn nations. Erase entire generations…
All to fill their own pockets."
Silence.
"And you call this civilization…?" There was bitterness in his voice.
"I don't understand your world, Akito.
And to be honest… I don't want to."
He fully turned around. Their eyes met.
"Tell me, young Lord of Guardians,
Why is it that humans are never satisfied?"
"Yeah…" Akito began quietly, taking a step forward. "I understand that it looks that way."
He looked at Kronoran. There was no fear in his eyes—only resolve and weariness.
"Yes, people fight wars. Yes, greed rules this world.
Everything now revolves around money, and without it, you're nothing.
That's true."
Another step. His footsteps echoed through the hall.
"But not all are like that, Kronoran. Not all.
There are those who help for no reason.
Who give even their last.
Who love, even when they're not loved in return."
Akito stopped at the very center of the hall.
"So because of the mistakes of a few… should everyone be destroyed?"
He looked straight into Kronoran's eyes.
"Then how would you be any different from them?"
A short silence hung in the air. A flicker of restrained fury crossed Kronoran's face.
"Akito…" he said slowly, "those are just childish fantasies.
Humans will keep killing for profit.
You can't even compare them to animals. Animals kill to survive…
Humans? For amusement.
For resources.
For power."
Akito stepped closer to the center.
"Kronoran, listen.
If you start destroying humanity, you won't just kill the guilty.
You'll kill children. Innocent people just trying to live their lives."
"I'll give them a better life…" Kronoran interrupted. "In another world.
I'll move them to a different reality with my power.
There will be no division.
No war.
No hatred.
No betrayal.
No one will cry over the bodies of their loved ones, taken unjustly.
I'll create a perfect world for them…"
"If a fight starts… I won't last even a minute…" flashed through Akito's mind.
Kronoran had already turned toward the doors when the space beside him flared with light.
He appeared.
The Creator.
Akito didn't even have time to blink—Kronoran had already looked at Him. In the next instant, the Creator's finger touched Kronoran's chest—and a burst of light engulfed everything.
When the glow faded, Kronoran was trapped within a cage of light, its energy denser than any metal.
There was no escape.
Not even for him.
"Good thing I made it in time…" the Creator said softly.
"If he had entered his second form… and remained in it for just thirty seconds…
I wouldn't have been able to stop him.
I would've had to fight him seriously."
"So…" Akito said slowly, "Kronoran is a threat even to you?
But you have the Guardians…"
The Creator looked at him, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes.
"The Guardians would've been useless. Even together.
Even Karmas—with all his strength, righteousness, and justice…
wouldn't have survived against his second form."
Akito opened his mouth to respond…
…but didn't get the chance.
Suddenly, Kronoran appeared behind the Creator, wrapping his arms tightly around Him, pinning his arms against his body.
"Forgive me, Father… but this is necessary," he whispered.
A flash—and both of them vanished.
In a fraction of a second, they had transported hundreds of kilometers away from the palace.
And in the next moment—
The cage of light shattered.
The real Kronoran stepped out of it.
"I knew he'd appear…" he said calmly. "That's why I left a clone.
Now… we can begin."
He stood tall.
Around his body, a strange energy began to coil—tight, oval, and rotating. It pulsed like it was breathing. The very air distorted around him.
"That… is the second form?"
Akito's blood ran cold. "Damn… I have to act now. Otherwise, he'll destroy everything."
The Blades of Chaos appeared in his hands.
A burst of energy—he lunged forward, slicing through the air.
A sharp strike—but Kronoran deflected it with his hand without even blinking. For a moment, all energy around him dissipated like dust.
"Ghh—!"
Akito had no time to react before a crushing kick landed in his stomach.
He flew like a ragdoll, smashing into a marble column. Cracks split the stone, and chunks of marble crashed down.
"Damn… — raced through Akito's mind. I broke his transformation. That's good…
But holy hell, he hits like a truck."
Kronoran began focusing again.
He couldn't immediately enter his second form—the Creator was still nearby, his presence holding back the transformation.
And at that moment—from the archway of the great throne hall, movement flickered.
White cloaks with crimson lines, one after another…
Footsteps.
Presence.
The Guardians had arrived.
[Noxveil]
Hey there, reader!
If you've made it this far, thank you so much. I'm writing this story in Russian and translating it into English — so I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Even one small comment gives me huge motivation 💬💙
Let me know who your favorite character is so far!