Chapter 1: Battle field

Tragedy. Sorrow. Pain.

The battlefield was drenched in it. The scent of blood thickened the air, mixing with the acrid stench of burning flesh.

Bodies littered the ground, their lifeless eyes staring at the storm-choked sky. The cries of the wounded echoed, swallowed by the relentless clash of steel and the roaring infernos that raged across the land.

Yet, amidst the chaos, one man stood tall.

"Move! Go, go, go!" Chronos' voice boomed above the noise. His sword, stained with blood, was still warm from battle.

"Support and Medics, to the left wing! We have gravely injured soldiers there!"

He didn't wait for confirmation. His sharp gaze flickered across the battlefield, analyzing the tide of war.

"Mages, maintain suppression fire! Keep their forces from advancing!" he ordered, pointing towards the flanking enemies.

A squad of spellcasters raised their hands, unleashing torrents of flames and lightning, but Chronos knew it wouldn't hold forever.

The tide was turning.

This is getting out of hand. His grip tightened around his sword's hilt. I need to locate the sources of the heaviest damage and eliminate them myself.

A sudden chime echoed in his mind.

[System Warning: Four immense pressures detected on the left wing—Five more concealed.]

His jaw clenched. Nine powerful enemies… His eyes flicked toward the left, where the battle was at its worst. Soldiers were being torn apart like paper.

"So that's where they're hiding…" he muttered.

His system was as unreliable as ever—never truly helping, only whispering vague hints at the worst moments. But at this moment, it was enough.

Chronos sprinted across the war-torn field, dodging the splintered remains of barricades and fallen comrades. His boots sank into the muddy ground, the scent of iron heavy in his lungs.

And then he saw them.

A wave of shock rippled through his body. He knew these people.

Once allies. Now traitors.

Twenty years ago, they had stood together as the Twelve Mighty Emeralds, an unbreakable force of elite warriors. Now, nine of them stood as warlords of chaos known as the Nine Lords of Oblivion and they were tearing through his forces like beasts unleashed.

Chronos barely had time to process the betrayal before one of them turned toward him.

A slow clap rang out.

"Well, well… Look who finally decided to join us."

A tall, silver-haired man with piercing golden eyes strode forward. His smirk was razor-sharp.

"If it isn't Chronos," he said with mock admiration.

"The capital's loyal dog," a woman's voice chimed in, smooth and venomous.

Chronos' breath hitched. His fingers curled into a fist. That voice…

Arianna.

The woman he had once loved. The woman who had betrayed him.

She stepped forward, draped in an obsidian cloak embroidered with golden filigree. Her crimson lips curled into a knowing smile.

"How is our dear friend?" she said mockingly. "Did you miss me?"

His stomach twisted. He had spent years trying to forget the moment she turned on him slaying their comrades, watching their blood spill without a flicker of hesitation.

The memory burned behind his eyes, searing him with fury.

"Why do you people trouble me?" he asked, voice cold with restrained anger. "You got what you wanted. Power. Influence. Why do you keep pushing?"

"Oh, Chronos, darling," Arianna sighed, tilting her head. "We were bound to meet on the battlefield someday. Don't be such a baby about it."

He gritted his teeth. How could she speak so lightly of everything she destroyed?

"Aria," he muttered in disgust. "You… You disgust me."

She placed a hand over her heart in mockery. "That's not how you used to talk to me," she said, stepping closer.

Chronos didn't move. His muscles tensed, his knuckles white on his sword's hilt.

Not after what you did.

"You have no right to speak to me." His voice was a blade, slicing through the illusion of familiarity. "You made your choice."

He unsheathed his sword, the steel glinting under the blood-red sky. "And I made mine."

Evangeline, one of the Lords, scoffed. "Do you actually think you can take us all on?" She laughed, shaking her head. "How foolish."

Chronos exhaled slowly. He knew the odds.

Four visible enemies. Five concealed.

They outnumbered him. Outranked him.

But that didn't mean he would back down.

He flash-stepped, vanishing in an instant.

The next moment, he reappeared behind Evangeline, his blade slicing down toward her.

Eliminate the mage first. If I take her down, the rest will struggle to recover.

But before his blade could land

A pulse of energy flared.

CLANG!

Sparks erupted as his sword struck an invisible barrier.

Evangeline smirked. "Too slow."

A blast of heat exploded outward. Chronos barely dodged, leaping back as molten flames scorched the ground where he had stood.

"Predictable," a deep voice rumbled.

Darius stepped forward, his massive scythe crackling with soulfire.

Chronos' stomach twisted. This is bad.

The ground trembled as Garrik, the hammer-wielding brute, joined the fray.

Five against one. Bad odds.

Chronos tightened his grip, his mind racing. He could still win if he played this right.

"Darling," Arianna's voice was syrupy sweet, "we know each other's strengths and weaknesses, remember?"

She raised a hand. A wave of power surged through the battlefield.

The ground beneath him split apart.

Shit.

Chronos flash-stepped, narrowly escaping as jagged spears of earth erupted from below.

Arianna grinned. "Someone's gotten better."

Chronos landed a few meters away, his breath uneven. "And I don't make the same mistake twice."

This time, he moved first.

He vanished, reappearing behind her. His sword slashed down in a precise arc.

But

Something was wrong.

Arianna didn't dodge. She didn't flinch.

Instead, she smiled.

And then

Darkness erupted.

Chronos' vision blurred. His body froze mid-swing.

A chilling sensation crawled over his skin, an unnatural stillness sinking into his bones.

His instincts screamed. Move. Move. MOVE.

But he couldn't.

And that's when he realized

It wasn't just magic.

It was something else.

Arianna's lips curled into a wicked grin. "You didn't think we'd come unprepared, did you?"