Location: Temple of Temporal Threads – Deep in the God Realm
The Temple of Time existed beyond linear understanding. Past, present, and future weaved together like threads in an eternal loom. Most gods dared not approach it unless summoned.
Within its heart sat Chrona, the Goddess of Time. Pale-haired, ageless, and adorned in robes that shimmered like shifting glass, she stared into her pool of moments.
Ren's face stared back from its surface—again.
He wasn't supposed to be there. Not this soon. Not ever.
She had seen many futures, hundreds, thousands—none like his.
A mortal ascending not by divine favor, but through sheer defiance.
What disturbed her more was this: in most timelines… she stood beside him.
Willingly.
As consort. As queen. As something more.
Chrona narrowed her eyes.
"I'll see for myself."
Location: Outer Skies – Ren's Shadow Fortress
Clouds parted as Chrona descended in a beam of golden hourglass light. Time slowed in her presence—birds paused mid-flight, wind froze mid-whirl. The divine plane held its breath.
Ren stood atop his new fortress, arms folded, waiting.
"You could've waited for the gods to summon you," Chrona said coolly, stepping onto his shadow-forged stone.
"I don't wait," he replied. "I take."
"You're disrupting the timeline."
He chuckled. "There's no timeline that can hold me."
She stepped closer. "I've seen your futures. You've taken cities… worlds. But none of them show peace. Just endless conquest."
Ren tilted his head. "You're wrong. I do seek peace. It just happens to sit at the top—with me."
Chrona studied him, for once unsure. She felt it—beneath the shadows and ego—something deeper.
Not love. Not yet.
But truth.
"I should erase you," she said, though her voice faltered.
"Then why haven't you?"
Silence.
"I could trap you in a time loop," she continued. "Lock your soul in eternal repetition."
Ren stepped forward, his voice low, dangerous, tempting.
"Do it. But you'll be watching me… over and over… until you start to wonder what would've happened if you gave in."
Her breath caught.
No one had ever spoken to her like that. No one had dared. No one had seen her—not as a goddess, but as a woman shackled to eternity.
And for one moment, Time hesitated.
"You're dangerous," she whispered.
"I'm inevitable."
Later – Within the Temple of Time
Chrona stood alone once more, staring into her pool of futures.
The reflections had changed.
In them, she stood closer to Ren. Not under his shadow—but beside him. Powerful. Alive.
"Have I already chosen?" she asked herself.
She didn't know.
But her heart, once beyond emotion, had begun to shift.
Meanwhile – Central Divine Realm
The other gods began to stir.
They could feel it.
Another goddess… had begun to slip.
The Goddess of Life, Goddess of Destruction, and Goddess of Compassion exchanged uneasy looks.
They needed to act.
But Ren wasn't coming for just one of them.
He was coming for all of them.
And some… weren't sure they wanted to resist.
End of Chapter 44