Chapter 53: A Lie

  “Where are Pix and Balthor?” I asked, bracing myself for what I assumed would be a serious story.

  “I sent them away for this.” Chronos replied, his gaze fixed on the ground beside him. “Even though the only one at fault was Erebus, they’re still blaming themselves for what happened to Dolos, and I didn’t want them to relive it again.”

  I swallowed hard, pointing to the Darkness blight on his neck. “Should I be worried about you passing out on me again with them not around?”

  He shook his head. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’ve consumed enough Essence of Time to keep me strong.”

  I recalled the term from my previous time here. When Pix and Balthor submerged Chronos inside that glowing liquid. “What exactly is the Essence of Time?”

  "How to explain…" Chronos rubbed the back of his head, seemingly searching for the right words. “It’s basically the force of life. Time is life. It’s everywhere around us. When it flows, life exists. When it stops, life ceases. Also, coincidentally – or not – it’s what I’m made of.”

  “It’s what you’re made of?” I echoed, turning his words into a question.

  “Yes.” Chronos nodded. “Erebus and I are similar in that regard. I'm made of time - of life, while he is made of pure Darkness – the essence of it.”

  It was all too confusing for a mere mortal like me, so I changed the subject. “And yet you choose to appear as a human…”

  “Yeah.” Chronos said, smiling weakly. He gestured to his body. “I prefer this appearance rather than using my true form or a disembodied voice. And since I only ever interact with humans, I feel like it makes everything more personal. Be it with my champions, Pix and Balthor, or…Dolos…”

  “He was a human, too?” I asked, intrigued, though not exactly surprised.

  Chronos nodded. “Yes. My best champion ever. Brilliant and brave. He struggled with the Déjà vu System at first – even more than you did, but once he got the hang of it, he made me believe it was practically broken. He was one of the champions I told you about – the one who defeated Erebus forty runs early…”

  I let the words sink in, realizing the full weight of what Chronos was saying. Not only had Dolos wanted to screw Chronos and his champions every battle, but he was also probably the most qualified person to do so. He had been on both sides: as a champion, he was the best there ever was, and as Chronos’ assistant, he was also highly praised. And worst of all, he was spiteful – unable to forgive, unable to let go. Instead, he set himself on a dark path of revenge that might actually last for all eternity.

  Chronos continued. “Before Dolos joined me, I was already struggling – losing five worlds out of every hundred I fought for. That may sound like a good success rate, but when you consider each of those worlds held billions upon billions of lives that would never return, you realize that losing even once is enough to feel like you’ve failed.”

  He looked up to the sky, looking like he was reminiscing. “Then came the fight for Dolos’ world. Seeing him in action – seeing who he was – opened me to the idea of getting an assistant. He was the first one. After he joined, everything changed. We were on a roll, saving worlds one by one. Pix and Balthor joined us eventually, and by then, we were practically unbeatable.

  "Together, we only ever lost to Erebus once. And even then, there wasn’t much we could’ve done from our side…” Chronos’ face suddenly darkened.

  “And then he left, and everything went to hell. Erebus started winning more frequently. Each world he devoured made him stronger. Soon, I found myself back with the same five-percent loss rate I had when I was on my own. Then it got worse, plummeting even lower…”

  I listened carefully, trying to grasp the sheer consequences of his words. Five worlds lost out of every hundred…What was it like for those people? How did life just end for them – how did their world end? My mind struggled to fathom the idea of the loss of everything.

  I tried to anchor myself with concepts I could better understand. “You told me how Dolos left your side and became…well, whatever he is today. But how did he get to choose his own champions and take part in all of this after leaving?”

  “I was building towards it…” Chronos said, his tone heavy. “As I said, things were getting tough, and I wanted him back. I needed him back.

  “Spying on Dolos’ failed journeys across the realms, I thought maybe he’d want to return too. That he’d remember we treated him like family, that we’d welcome him back with open arms. I hoped he had enough time to understand why I made that decision.

  “So, I approached him. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem like he hated me anymore. Perhaps that should’ve been the first red flag, but I’ve missed it. He was cautious of me – he’d step back whenever I got too close – but he was talkative. That alone was better than the day he left. I took it as a good sign.” Chronos paused, shaking his head. “What a fool I was.”

  Chronos sighed deeply before continuing. “He listened to everything I had to say: about our struggles, about Erebus’ growing power. And when I finished, he gave me his answer.

  “He said he could never return to us – not after everything that had happened. But considering the high stakes of it all, he was willing to lend a helping hand.”

  I stayed silent, slowly beginning to understand as Chronos went on.

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  “During his cursed travels, he acquired dangerous, evil magic – magic that could rival Erebus’ Darkness itself. He obtained a realm of his own – the one we’ve visited together – and proposed something unexpected: that I let him join the fight as a separate party.

  "He wanted to choose his own champion. He wanted to equip them with a new System of his own design. He claimed that together, our two champions could team up, improving our chances of success.”

  Chronos sighed again. “Originally, having more than one champion was impossible for me. Too much of my power goes into maintaining the time loop element of it all. Adding another champion would have to cut the number of maximum runs for both.

  “But with Dolos’ newly acquired cursed magic, he could fuel his own champion’s System and its maximum runs. That would leave me to focus only on my own champion, and the time aspect of things.”

  Chronos suddenly let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Telling you this now only makes me realize how utterly foolish I was. I mean, our champions could never actually team up. That would completely defeat the purpose of the subtle leveling-up the Déjà vu System is designed to provide.

  “Of course, I couldn’t have known that Dolos’ System would allow his champions to retain all their memories. But honestly? I should’ve guessed it. He always hated that element of the System. Hated how it forced champions to grow incrementally instead of exponentially.

  “And yet…” Chronos voice softened. “Despite knowing all that, even back then – despite knowing that the Dolos I knew was likely already gone – in that one moment, I just wanted to believe him.

  “I wanted to believe he was on my side again, even if he wasn’t really there anymore. That we’ll be able to succeed in saving worlds like we did in the past.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “So, I let myself hope. My mind just…shut down, I suppose.

  "And so...I agreed.”

  He shook his head. “We sealed a godly pact – one from which there was no going back. He was forever reintroduced into the timeless battle, this time as an active, independent party.”

  It was surprising to hear Chronos like this. He sounded so much more human than a god. I could even empathize with him, understanding his emotions. Now, I finally knew how it all started. But what happened after that? And what occurred in that final battle they kept going back to in Dolos’ realm?

  “How did it go after that?” I asked, curious.

  “Well,” Chronos began, “in our first battle with this new arrangement, I quickly realized what I told you before – that our champions could never truly work together. Dolos calmed me down, brushing it off as a mild inconvenience. He assured me that his champion would subtly look out for mine. And for a time, he did. Similar to how Goren quote-unquote helped you in the beginning.”

  I nodded, recalling Goren’s “help” that got me into this shitty deal with my existence still on the line.

  Chronos continued. “Both champions managed to reach the finish line together, ready to imprison Erebus. But then Dolos’ champion did something I never imagined – he killed mine, right before the final moment.”

  “He…he killed him?” I stammered, in disbelief. “But…why?”

  “Dolos tricked him, of course. He told him it was a necessity.” Chronos said bitterly. “Killing my champion gave his enough XP to level up fully and unlock a unique ability – one that allowed him to imprison Erebus entirely on his own and save their world.”

  Chronos turned angrier. “When I demanded Dolos explain himself, he said something I’ll never forget. It showed me that our partnership had been over since the day I refused to reset Arabella’s death.

  “He said ‘Well, the world is saved, but will you reset the time to revive your champion? You won’t, right? The lives of many are more important than the life of one. Isn’t that what you told me when you left her dead?’”

  A shiver ran down my spine.

  Chronos’ voice grew quiet as he continued. “And he was right. I didn’t revive my champion. I left him for dead because imprisoning Erebus and saving the world was indeed more important. And from that moment on, I knew Dolos wasn’t only not an ally. He was an enemy.

  “But I couldn’t undo the deal. He kept sending his champions to hurt mine, their System offering them XP for it. Suddenly, everything became so much harder. In addition to Erebus, Dolos was suddenly another factor I needed to take into account. And because of him, we started losing even more.

  “But Dolos didn’t care.” Chronos shook his head, visibly frustrated. “As I told you before, he just wants to make me suffer. And he did. On plenty of occasions. But it was never enough for him.

  “And then,” he said, his voice dropping even lower, “we reached our last battle – the one before yours. That’s when Dolos really outdid himself.”

  “What happened?”

  “Since Dolos rejoined, most of the battles against Erebus played out awfully similar. His champions would employ trickery, trying to thwart mine. I was prepared for that and warned my champions, but that gave birth to a new problem.

  "Retaining the memories regarding Dolos’ champions influenced my champions’ loops immensely, significantly altering their decision-making. Over time, this led to some being marked by Erebus. That’s why I couldn’t let you remember Goren.” He paused, glancing at me. “Perhaps I was too restrictive in that, but past experiences made me cautious. I had to make sure that my champions are first and foremost protected from Erebus.”

  Then, Chronos fully turned to face me, his expression grim. “Then, in the last battle, Dolos played me like a fiddle. Out of nowhere, he offered a deal – a truce where his champion wouldn’t interfere with mine for the entire battle.

  “I knew there had to be a catch, but I was so frustrated with the mounting pressure against Erebus – and now Dolos – that I missed what he was truly aiming for.”

  He sighed heavily. “This deal caused the loop to play out exactly as the first one did – the one after he rejoined. Both champions reached the finish line together. Dolos’ champion attempted to kill mine, but this time mine was prepared. They fought, and both died.

  “Mine killed his, but then succumbed to his wounds before he could imprison Erebus.” Chronos shook his head. “That wouldn’t have been a problem if we had more time, but we…didn’t. It happened in the last possible run of the System.

  “And so…Erebus won. Growing ever stronger.”

  Fear gripped my heart. Their exchange finally made sense. But saying ‘they both lost that time’ was an exaggeration on Dolos’ side. It was obvious only Chronos truly lost there.

  "That's why I keep telling you, Aidan - stay away from Goren as much as you can." Chronos said. "It doesn't matter if he's a good person. Eventually, Dolos will offer him something and he'll betray you."

  I swallowed hard, recalling how at the start of the day I actually considered agreeing to Goren's truce. Perhaps I had dodged an arrow there...

  I recalled a question I wanted to ask Chronos. “Could the last battle be the reason Erebus was already conversing with the High Priestess of Axul a thousand years ago? Because he had grown strong enough to prepare beforehand?”

  Chronos nodded. “Good job on piecing that together despite all the System’s restrictions. Yes, you’re right. But it’s even worse than that. Erebus was so strong at that moment, he was ready to devour your world back then. Two worlds in mere years. The only reason he didn’t was because the Core System was placed in your world. That slowed down his plans – eventually bringing them to a complete halt.

  “Until now, that is…”

  “The Core System was placed in our world?” I echoed, curious. “By who?”

  Chronos grew thoughtful. “I can’t say for sure, but I assume it was my father.”

  “Your father?”

  “Yes.” Chronos said, nodding solemnly. “He’s the one your people call the Creator.”