CHAPTER 1137: SHOWED HIM

Erend swiped his claw and struck toward the sound without hesitation, sending a slash of pure lightning that ripped through the air.

The surge split the storm in two, cutting across the smoke like a blade. But his strike hit nothing. The echo of his attack faded into the void. The darkness remained unshaken around him.

Instead, the smoke around him thickened again, twisting and writhing like a living thing, then surged inward.

It wrapped around his body, his wings, and his head. As if they were also trying to devour his light and seal his vision in absolute darkness.

But Erend roared, his voice shaking the air and unleashed his power. Lightning erupted from every part of his body in blinding arcs of blue and white.

The storm of energy burned through the smoke, tearing it apart and erasing them from existence. The world exploded in radiance lightning.

When the light dimmed, Erend hovered there, his massive Dragon chest heaving. His eyes that blazing with lightning swept the battlefield.

He searched for any sign of Krono or of Zerathul. But there was nothing he can see right now. No golden light or his presence anymore.

The words he’d heard moments ago echoed through his mind. "I already absorbed his power."

His heart sank. If Zerathul had truly consumed Krono, if the Time Dragon’s essence was gone... then they were facing a problem that was far worse than before.

The air warped in front of him, and suddenly, Zerathul appeared from nothingness.

He no longer wore his black-and-red vein-like robes. Instead, he stood clad in armor forged from gold, crimson, and black, the surface pulsing with shifting patterns of light and shadow.

The armor’s core radiated a faint golden glow. It was the same color as Krono’s aura.

Erend’s chest tightened. He could feel that Krono’s power was inside that armor. The flow of time itself seemed to ripple faintly around Zerathul. It was undeniable now. Krono had truly been absorbed.

Zerathul remained motionless while gazing at Erend as though enjoying his despair. His expression was unreadable but his tone dripped with mockery when he spoke. "What’s the matter? You seem hesitant. You were eager to attack before... Why stop now?"

Erend’s body trembled with restrained fury.

"What have you done to Krono?" he demanded, his Dragon voice rumbling like an earthquake.

Zerathul chuckled. "I thought I already told you. I absorbed him. The great Time Dragon is part of me now. His power, his mind, and his eternity is mine. I am beyond what you can comprehend."

A growl rumbled deep in Erend’s throat. Flames and lightning spiraled around his body, but he still didn’t strike. He couldn’t attack yet for now. If there was even a fragment of Krono left, he couldn’t risk destroying him.

Zerathul tilted his head slightly, his tone turning sharper and more taunting. "It seems that confidence you carried when you arrived has withered away. Why is that, Dragonborn? Is it because you finally understand that you walked right into the trap I prepared? Every move you made brought you here. You doomed the very worlds you sought to protect."

Erend’s eyes widened. Despair began to gnaw at him.

He had walked right into it. Everything—every battle and steps step—had been orchestrated by this creature.

Krono’s fall was a result of a far larger plan.

Zerathul spread his arms slowly, the space behind him cracking with flashes of gold and black lightning.

"And while you were busy playing savior for those worlds, I awakened an ancient storm god and gave him passage to the three places you so desperately guard. Three avatars that carry enough destruction. Well, three was a limit on the amount of avatars that he can split without losing too much of his power."

Erend’s heart lurched. "Wh... what did you say?"

Zerathul’s grin widened. "You heard me. Your allies are alone now. You cannot protect them. While you struggle here, the storm god brings ruin to their worlds. This was the cost of your action."

The words shattered the last of Erend’s restraint. His rage exploded and lightning whipped violently around him.

The sky screamed with thunder. The air burned from his fury.

Zerathul, however, simply raised one hand and spoke calmly, almost gently. "Now then... let’s make a deal."

Erend’s thoughts stumbled. "A deal?"

His rage faltered for just a heartbeat. "What could this monster possibly want to make a deal for?"

Zerathul’s golden-red eyes glimmered faintly beneath the shadow of his helm.

"You want to be able to be back to your people, don’t you?" he said softly. "Then listen carefully..."

Erend cut him off, his voice rumbling low and dangerous. "How do I know you’re not lying to me?" He narrowed his blazing eyes. "You could be saying anything to break my focus."

For a moment, Zerathul’s smile froze with anger because Erend cut him. Then he laughed quietly, the sound echoing through the sky again.

"You doubt what you already fear. Very well. Let me show you."

He raised one clawed hand, and the air behind him tore open like fabric being ripped apart. A rift of shadow and gold light twisted into existence, its edges sparking with distorted energy.

Within the tear, a vision began to form, a distant yet horribly vivid vision.

Through the rift, Erend saw a world wrapped in a huge storm. A figure that looks like a man, the storm god, hammered a shimmering wall of Magic with bolts of lightning.

His lightning shook the battlements beneath him and scattered fragments of glowing barriers into the wind.

The defenders below screamed and scrambled as the wall began to fracture.

Then the vision shifted into another fortress, this time icy and sharp wind and frost howling across its towers.

The storm god’s fury took the shape of endless gales and slicing wind.

In the chaos, Erend caught sight of Sylmira, standing upon the wall, her hands glowing as she held a barrier spell together against the tempest.

Before he could even blink, the vision changed once more. Now he saw from the god’s eyes directly, a towering view of the sky.

Two figures charged through the air toward him. It was Adrien and Billy. Their blades crackled with energy. Lightning surged forward, ready to smite them.

Erend’s heart clenched. His fear spiked into raw panic. Zerathul wasn’t lying. The ancient storm god was attacking all of them, even his original world that had no Magic at all.

—