Lukas ascended the final steps of Kairos Castle, his footsteps echoing faintly against the stone as he entered the highest floor—the sacred training grounds that, for centuries, had been both his prison and his crucible. Every step closer, every ounce of strength Lukas had gained during the Trials, had been born here in blood, sweat, and sacrifice. Yet today, the chamber was not merely a place of memory; it was the stage for the inevitable confrontation he had always known would come.

Styx remained below for the goddess understood as well as he did that this was someone that he would have to face alone.

This was his burden, his reckoning.

For all his victories and failures, Lukas knew there would be a day when he would have to face the Man in Green himself.

And there he was.

Before him now stood Kronos, the Titan of Time, poised calmly beside the monumental hourglass that had defined Lukas's trials. Its sands shimmered faintly, suspended in an unnatural flow, reminding him of the Fourth Flip—an act that had set him apart from all who came before. No other soul had endured so long, no other had stood the test of time like Lukas Drakos had. That hourglass had been his torment, his hope, and his measure.

Now, it stood silent witness to the reunion of dragon and god.

Kronos' form was disarmingly unassuming. The god looked no older than twenty, his frame lean, his hair jet black, his eyes green like flawless emeralds. At first glance, the Titan could have been mistaken for an ordinary youth, someone of Jesse's age, someone unremarkable.

But the illusion shattered the instant Lukas truly took a good look at him.

There was no mistaking the endlessness woven into those eyes, the infinite depth of one who had seen civilizations rise and fall, who had borne witness to eternity's cruelty. Though his form was softened, perhaps even repressed, the weight of his presence pressed against the very air; a reminder that Lukas stood before an immortal of unimaginable power.

Lukas had glimpsed true immortality before. He remembered the terrifying beauty of Styx in her truest form, the overwhelming aura of the Titan of Hiraeth when the Hero From Another World had called upon Oceanus and his strength. Yet even those encounters could not compare to the God of Time. Kronos was not a fragment of infinity—he was infinity itself. His essence carried a weight Lukas's mortal mind should not have been able to endure, yet somehow, it did not break him.

Lukas was still himself. He was still whole.

There was only one word Lukas could summon to describe what he felt as he stood before the Titan: Endless.

The Man In Green was not merely eternal; he was the embodiment of time's ceaseless flow, a being who had witnessed beginnings and endings beyond comprehension. To meet Kronos' gaze was to stand at the edge of eternity, to feel one's own insignificance laid bare. And yet, against all reason, Lukas did not feel fear.

Instead, Lukas felt a sense of relief. Perhaps even joy.

At last, Lukas stood before the god to whom he owed everything.

Without Kronos, there would have been no Lukas Drakos. He would have died forgotten as Julien Fronterra, his soul condemned to wander the Underworld in regret for the rest of eternity.

It was Kronos who had heard his helpless prayer, who had granted him a second life. It was the Man In Green who had given him second chance to love, to protect, to belong. It was the God of Time who had given him a family, people he cared so deeply about, and the chance to meet the very woman who now held his heart.

As Lukas gazed into those unending emerald eyes, he realized the truth of his journey: every hardship, every trial, every moment of pain and triumph had been shaped by the hand of the Titan they call Kronos. And now, Lukas stood not as a broken soul, but as someone prepared to face the one to whom he owed both his salvation and his destiny.

The silence between them was heavy, stretching on like the unyielding sands in the hourglass that loomed behind Kronos. Lukas felt the weight of it all press against him, not with malice, but with the sheer immensity that came from standing before a being beyond time itself.

Those emerald eyes studied him, unblinking, unreadable, as though every truth Lukas had ever carried lay bare before the God of Time.

It was Lukas who broke the silence. The dragon straightened his back, his lips curving into a faint, almost irreverent smile, and bowed his head with the slightest trace of respect. "Tell me," Lukas asked, his voice calm but tinged with something almost cheeky, "have I proven to be a worthy investment?"

Lukas finally knew why the High Septon's words had seemed so familiar. The memory came to him sharply now, words spoken the night before the Duel for the Divine Knight Candidate right before Pythia had left the dining hall. Those very words had been first spoken to him not in this life, but in the moments before it began: "I will watch your progress with great interest, Julien Fronterra. Prove to me you are a worthy investment." Even then, at the very brink of death, when Julien Fronterra's soul had shattered and fallen into darkness, it was Kronos who had reached into the abyss and pulled him into a new existence.

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For a moment, the mask of solemnity cracked. Kronos laughed, though the sound felt strangely out of place—foreign, almost fragile—coming from one who embodied eternity. The immortal shook his head, amusement flickering in those endless green eyes.

"Not quite yet, I'm afraid." Kronos answered, his tone both gentle and absolute.

The Titan's answer to his question did not surprise him.

Lukas may have defied all odds, he knew that much in the way Styx and Pythia spoke of Kronos' decision in choosing him. But the God of Time had chosen him because he had known what Lukas was capable of. And Lukas knew that he had not yet met the god's expectations. Kronos had chosen him for a reason, Lukas was certain of that. The question that continued to haunt him however was why? So Lukas asked it now, voice low but unwavering. "Why did you give me a second chance? Why me?"

At once, Kronos's smile faded. The weight of his immortal presence seemed to grow heavier, and his features darkened with an expression Lukas had not expected. It was a deep sorrow that even words could not describe.

"I am afraid I cannot answer that question, Julien," Kronos told him, using a name he bore in a life before this one. The Titan's voice carried a gravity that pressed against Lukas's chest. "That answer is something you must find for yourself. If I simply told you what needed to be done, it would never come to pass. The path must be yours to discover, not mine to give."

Lukas's breath caught.

Kronos' eyes gleamed with a depth that was not power but grief. There was sadness there, a profound melancholy born of eons spent carrying burdens no other could understand. In the god's eyes, Lukas saw loneliness that even time itself could not ease.

"I have seen countless futures," Kronos continued, his tone quiet yet unshakably firm. "Yet only one among them offers a world where I, where we, can live in peace. That is the future I seek to create. And I need you to help me create it. That is why you were given a second chance."

The disappointment stung, though Lukas knew he had no right to feel it. To expect an easy answer from the God of Time had been foolish on his part. Still, Lukas wanted clarity, something to give him a glimpse through the storms of uncertainty that had defined his path; all he needed was a glimpse on what lay on the other side of it all.

So Lukas steadied himself and asked a different question, "And how can I find this answer?"

This time, Kronos's smile returned—not the hollow mask of eternity, but something genuine, almost warm. "That," he said, his voice carrying a note of reassurance, "is a question I can gladly answer."

"If you truly wish to find your answer," the God of Time continued, his voice resonant and steady, "you must leave this place and travel to the land of the Beastkin. It is there that you will meet the woman who holds the truth you seek. Find the High Septon of the Church, Julien."

Lukas' breath hitched as he whispered the name that surfaced unbidden from memory. "Pythia of Delphi…"

The Titan's smile widened ever so slightly, satisfaction glinting in his emerald eyes. Kronos inclined his head, acknowledging the recognition. "Yes. So you know her. She is the one who will give you what I cannot. She will speak to you of the Prophecy—the one that has already bound the fate of Hiraeth within its words."

That single word struck Lukas like a hammer.

The Prophecy.

The dragon's mind reeled, questions pressing against Lukas all at once. Could this be the same prophecy Celina had spoken of with her final, fleeting breath? The same truth that had haunted the Divine Knight even as she succumbed to death? The prophecy that Daerion had somehow used to manipulate Celina into doing his bidding? If so, then perhaps at last, Lukas would find the answers to all the questions that had plagued the back of his mind all these years; the questions Pythia had told him even Varian's records could not answer.

His chest tightened.

For so long Lukas had stumbled through darkness, piecing together fragments, unsure of where his path truly led.

But now, Kronos himself had given him a direction to follow.

The only choice was to trust the Titan—the Man in Green—who had given him this life, who had guided his steps even in silence.

Before Lukas could speak again, Kronos answered the question forming in his heart.

The God of Time reached out and placed his hand upon the hourglass that had loomed silently at the center of the training grounds. The immortal's expression softened, almost wistful, as though the object held memories even he could not escape.

Then, Kronos turned the hourglass with one clean motion.The air shuddered with a rush of magic, a surge so profound that Lukas felt it deep within his very bones. Time itself shifted. The stillness spread outward, wrapping around Kairos Castle like an unseen shroud.

Lukas knew instantly what had happened. With one single flip from Kronos himself, the march of time had ceased beyond the walls of Kairos Castle once more.

"I have given you a month," Kronos said, still gazing at the hourglass as its sands began to fall anew. "A month where time beyond these grounds has stopped. Use it wisely, Lukas. Cherish every single second I have given you here."

Lukas bowed his head, his throat too tight to form words. Gratitude welled in his chest, stronger than any thank you he could ever voice. The God of Time had not only given him purpose but the precious gift of more time itself.

Kronos's smile returned, faint but genuine. "And one more thing," he said. "Treat Styx well. She's family."

Before Lukas could ask what he meant, a flash of green light swallowed the Titan, and in an instant, Kronos was gone—vanished as though he had never been there at all.

Lukas turned, and there at the entrance stood Styx, her figure framed by the stillness of the castle.

Relief and joy filled him as his eyes met hers, and he smiled despite the weight of what had just transpired. Yet curiosity burned alongside his happiness. "What did he mean by that? Family? Were you always close to Kronos?" Lukas asked, tilting his head in the goddess' direction.

Styx regarded him as if the answer were obvious, smiling as she gave him his answer. "Why, of course we're close. The God of Time is my uncle, Lukas. Kronos is Oceanus' brother."

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