CHAPTER 1037: TALK WITH THE GIANT

The red giant froze in mid-air, his massive body hanging as though every ounce of his momentum had been stolen away.

But it wasn’t like an invisible hand was holding him or like a barrier had stopped his fall. No, it was as if time itself had chosen to abandon him and leave him stranded in that single instant while the rest of the world went on.

Lyrel and Caelthar’s eyes widened. Their bows trembling in their grips.

The sight struck them with the same awe as before when Krono had stopped a storm of arrows as easily as breathing.

There was no longer any doubt in their minds that this man wielded the power of Time.

The two Elves stared at him, but Krono’s calm face showed nothing. He stood as though this was ordinary, his hand lowered at his side, golden patterns flickering faintly across the folds of his black robe.

Beside him, Eccar let out a laugh, shaking his head with genuine amusement. "Your power is very convenient, Krono."

Krono only gave a small shrug, his expression unchanged. "This power is too great for me."

Eccar’s smile thinned.

"You shouldn’t flex it too much, or you’ll end up twisted. That’s the kind of power that corrupts you," Eccar said.

Krono shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving the immobilized giant.

"I’m not flexing. I’m telling you the truth. It’s too great even for me to control."

Eccar’s brows drew together, a frown creeping onto his face.

He had a question burning in his mind, something heavy, but after a pause he forced it down, locking it away for now.

Instead, he sighed and muttered, "Alright."

Then Krono lifted his hand and the world seemed to rewind.

The red giant’s hulking body drifted backward through the air and reversed as if someone had wound back the thread of his life.

His giant feet touched the earth again at the exact spot where he had stood before, his rage frozen in his throat until Krono finally released his hold.

The cyclopean red being blinked, his single eye wide with confusion.

He shook his horned head, glancing left and right as if trying to understand what had just happened.

Then memory clawed back through his skull and rage reignited in a heartbeat.

"GRROAAAAHHHH!!! YOU DARE STRIKE THE BLOOD TREE!!"

He lunged again, thundering across the ground in blind fury.

Eccar laughed outright this time. "He must be thinking it was all in his head. He really believes he can just do it again."

And again Krono stopped him. Time froze.

The giant’s leap was severed in the middle of it. His body stilled like a figure in a painting.

A moment later, he was pulled back, rewound, and placed again at the same starting point.

The giant roared once more. Charged again. Froze again, and rewound again.

It happened five more times, each attempt looked more desperate than the last.

By the fifth rewind, even Lyrel and Caelthar were shifting uncomfortably, they actually felt bad for the giant, overcoming their fear.

Watching the red giant trapped in the same mistake again and again felt cruel, like watching a beast batter itself against an unseen cage with nothing else could happen.

Finally, the giant did not roar and did not leap anymore. He stood where he was with his chest heaving. His eye locked on Krono with something he had never felt before, terror and acceptance.

His hands trembled at his sides. The bitter and sharp truth dawned on him. This man in black and gold, with hair gold, had bent him completely.

He was not the strongest here anymore. He was nothing.

For as long as he remembered, no one had ever bested him. He had thought himself untouchable like an undefeated king of these mountains.

But now he understood. The man before him wielded power far beyond him.

The giant let out a long guttural grunt and lowering his head in defeat.

"I... admit my defeat. If you wish to kill me, then do it. I will not resist." His booming voice came softer, heavy with surrender.

Krono shook his head once. "I do not want to kill you. You were only guarding the Blood Tree. I respect that. I only want to know the location of your friend."

The giant’s eye narrowed with confusion. His horns tilted slightly as he rumbled, "My... friend? What do you mean?"

"I have a friend," Krono said, his voice carrying quiet certainty. "One with power over ice. A power unlike any other. I guess you know what I mean."

The giant flinched at the word, his massive body stiffening.

Shock rippled across his rough face. "How... how do you know her?"

Krono’s gaze did not waver. "Because I am her friend as well."

The giant’s single eye blinked slowly, heavy lids dragging over its crimson glare.

"She said she doesn’t have any other friends." His voice rumbled low, hesitant but firm.

Krono’s brow rose faintly, but it was Eccar who caught it first. He glanced sharply at the giant, a thin smile creeping onto his lips. "She? You said she."

The red giant stiffened, but did not correct himself.

Krono’s expression stayed calm, though his thoughts churned. "So... she’s a woman. This other Dragonborn is a woman. Even with my sight, even with Time itself at my hand... I cannot reach her if she wishes to remain hidden. But now, at least, I know this truth."

The giant’s massive shoulders sank, his voice dropping to something almost mournful. "She doesn’t believe in anyone. She only wants to live in peace. That is all she seeks."

Krono inclined his head slightly, his golden hair gleaming faintly as the wind brushed past. "I understand. And I promise you that we only wish to meet her. Nothing more. No harm will come from us."

The giant’s eye flickered uncertainly, sliding from Krono to Eccar, and then to Lyrel and Caelthar who stood tense with their bows still in hand.

His lip curled as he growled, "The Elves... they are bad."

"They are with me," Krono replied softly, his tone carrying weight that pressed through the air like a current. "They will do nothing. Not while I am here."

The giant’s gaze wavered and still looked like didn’t trust them in the way his jaw clenched and his chest heaved.

His eye locked onto Krono once more to search and pierce him, as though trying to strip away every layer of deceit.

Krono did not flinch. His calm face remained unmoved as he added quietly, "I am the same as her. That is why I must see her."

For a long moment, the silence stretched.

The red giant’s breaths rumbled like storms in his chest.

His eye moving between Krono and Eccar again with suspicion and reluctant belief battling inside him.

Finally, with a grunt that sounded half like a growl and half like resignation, he turned his massive body.

His claws dragged deep furrows in the earth as he began to move.

"Follow me," the giant said at last.

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