The Player that Can’t Level Up

Kronos had requested a conversation, and Gi-Gyu had obliged.

“How come you look fine?!” Gi-Gyu was baffled. After all, Kronos’ injuries had healed perfectly, and he had also stopped time for Lee Sun-Ho, likely the real god.

‘How is this possible?’ Gi-Gyu needed to find out.

A dark look appeared on Kronos’s face, and he seemed uncomfortable. “I took Ha-Rim’s power.”

“Ha-Rim?”

Looking sad, Kronos explained, “You might not have realized this, but Ha-Rim possesses a special power. And that was why she stayed with Ha Song-Su.”

Gi-Gyu stayed quiet, and Kronos waved his Scythe of Time, transforming their surroundings instantly.

“That wasn’t a good space to chat, so I moved us. Let me continue. Ha-rim has a special power, and I didn’t take it from her forcefully.” Kronos patted his chest. “She sacrificed herself for the real owner of this body. This might turn into a long story, so I need to hurry. Can you trust me?”

Gi-Gyu nodded. He couldn’t trust Kronos completely, but at this very moment, he was certain of two things: Kronos wasn’t lying and wasn’t hostile toward him.

Gi-Gyu knew that Kronos looked healed because he had temporarily reverted time.

Whoosh.

Kronos swung the Scythe of Time again, and they were in a different place again.

“Where are we?” Gi-Gyu asked while looking around. The new surroundings looked familiar.

“Your guess is correct,” Kronos answered. “This is where Chaos was asleep. Where Babel was built… Everything began here.”

Time was still unmoving. Gi-Gyu had his back to Kronos, who gazed at it heavily, and was looking at Chaos’ wide open mouth.

Kronos continued, “We’re in the underground.”

***

Gi-Gyu and Kronos strolled through the underground, which he found odd because Kronos had said they were short on time, but he didn’t dwell on it. He had been here with Kronos before.

As they walked, Gi-Gyu focused on finding a way to defeat Lee Sun-Ho, even though it seemed impossible. Lee Sun-Ho's power was unmatched and seemed like something entirely different. He had lived up to his claim of being the master of the world. Gi-Gyu felt he had only seen a fraction of his power, which had already been traumatizing enough.

After walking for a while, Kronos finally spoke. "In the beginning, there was a being that was fittingly referred to as a god. This being was very different from the God we defeated with Babel, as you are aware."

The God, the one Gabriel had called fake, killed by Babel wielded Order.

Gi-Gyu asked, “You mean the fake one?”

Kronos stopped walking and looked at Gi-Gyu. "We used all our power to defeat a fake. I learned this when I was inside Chaos. The one we killed was nothing compared to the true god—the Creator, who has existed since the beginning of time. The Creator can create and destroy. He is the real god, whose every whim this world obeys.”

Gi-Gyu could see the truth in Kronos’ eyes, who continued, “This existence was born in and from the void. As time passed, he felt lonely. His power matured, and he began to feel desire. He wished to overcome his loneliness.”

The world around Gi-Gyu and Kronos was silent.

“That is why he created two swords.”

“Lou and El,” Gi-Gyu mumbled.

“That’s right. They are the Creator’s very first creations, existing since the beginning of time.”

Gi-Gyu remembered Lee Sun-Ho calling Lou and El “his tools.”

“However, the Creator still felt lonely; soon, he began feeling other emotions too. So, he willed various species like angels, demons, humans, and such into existence.”

Gi-Gyu had never heard this before, so he listened attentively.

Kronos continued, “But, as time passed, his loneliness only increased. Do you know why?”

Gi-Gyu didn’t answer, but his face said he knew the answer.

“You know the reason, don’t you?” asked Kronos.

Gi-Gyu gulped loudly and answered, “Because everyone revered him. No one considered him their equal.”

Gi-Gyu guessed that this was why the Creator felt an overbearing loneliness. He had created everything and everyone in existence, and their fates were in his hand. Therefore, the Creator could never be one of them.

“I’m assuming this is how you must feel as well.”

When Kronos suggested, Gi-Gyu didn’t deny it. The sync had made him incomprehensibly strong. And over time, he had become something that wasn’t quite human or any other species, and he couldn’t help but feel lonely. This was why Gi-Gyu could sympathize with the Creator.

“But I’m different.” Gi-Gyu’s tone turned respectful. “Because I have Lou and El with me.”

Lou and El treated him without pretense. Because Gi-Gyu had them, he knew his loneliness must be different from that of the Creator.

Kronos smirked, and they resumed walking.

“I’ll continue. The Creator was overwhelmed by his loneliness, feeling empty like nothing mattered. And that was why…”

For some reason, Gi-Gyu could guess what Kronos was about to say.

“He returned everything to the void. He must have believed that everything he built was meaningless. He destroyed the world he created with his own hands.”

The world ended, and the existence of the Creator was lost, resulting in everyone worshiping a fake. No one knew the truth, as there were no stories left.

Gi-Gyu asked, “But how do you know these things? You may have been inside Chaos, but still… It doesn’t make sense.”

Even the memories Lou and El gained didn’t have much information about the beginning of time. So how did Kronos know so much?

“Chaos was the Creator’s original physique. And I was trapped in that.” Kronos stopped walking, looked at Gi-Gyu, and said, “The Creator had destroyed everything except his two swords. As you must know, loneliness grows with time. And the Creator felt this growing solitude for a very, very long time. Ultimately, he made a decision.”

Kronos’ eyes glowed as he continued, “He separated his physique and psyche to eliminate the terrible loneliness. He wanted his existence to disappear so that he wouldn’t have to feel anything anymore.”

Gi-Gyu could understand why the Creator had chosen to do this.

Kronos added, “After separating his mind and body, he placed his body, called Chaos now, in the underground. And in the sky, he placed his mind, called Order now. Those are what we know as God and Chaos.”

“...”

“Just as he wanted, he no longer felt emotions, but he still carried out the wish of his original form, which was to get rid of his loneliness. This was why Order and Chaos restarted his work—they began creating. The world we know… The world I was born into…” Kronos trailed off before continuing, “I’m referring to the time before Babel.”

“Babel…”

"I felt a desperate desire due to my lack of knowledge. I blamed the emotionless God who ruled us without care. I thought the world would be better if God ruled with emotions, which was my wish."

Kronos wanted to become a god to rule the world, so he used Babel to kill God and took his power.

Gi-Gyu felt like this might have been a good idea, but there was one problem. ‘He wanted to be the only ruler of the entire world.’

Kronos continued, “It was a vain desire to become a god with humanity. After Gaia’s betrayal, I learned a lot inside Chaos. I had a lot of time to think, and I made a decision.”

“A decision?”

"I set out to do something different, but everything changes, doesn’t it?" Kronos said with a smile. "As time went on, my thoughts and desires changed. I no longer wanted to rule but still needed to gain god's power. My goal has evolved—I want to free the world now."

Gi-Gyu could feel Kronos’s excitement as he added, “I want to eliminate the existence of the Creator, God, and all to free the world. For that, I had to find the original Adam.”

Gi-Gyu realized that Kronos was referring to Lee Sun-Ho.

“The Creator created Adam after separating his mind and body for the future. With Adam, he could blend among humans, interact with them, and ultimately get rid of his loneliness. Adam was the greatest weapon ever created.”

Kronos’ story was so unbelievable that Gi-Gyu could only listen in silence.

Kronos continued, “Adam was hidden, but Gaia found him. I was so drunk on God’s power that I planned on destroying the Creator this time, but Gaia was different.”

A desolate and guilty look appeared on his face. “She planned on ending the whole world so that nothing could be lost or taken anymore.”

Gi-Gyu felt like he could understand what Gaia wanted. He asked, “She also wanted everything to return to the void, right?”

“Yes. A world with no more pain or joy—a world where nothing exists. And to that end, she found Lee Sun-Ho, the real Adam with Raphael’s physical body and a human mind. Then, Gaia gave him the greatest power.”

“You mean…?” Gi-Gyu gasped in surprise.

“That’s correct. Bitter loneliness was necessary for the original Adam. Because he was the most powerful soldier, he couldn’t be with anyone. This was a necessary condition in Adam, so Gaia created it artificially,” Kronos explained.

All humans feel loneliness, but not one that overwhelms them. Lee Sun-Ho needed to feel lonelier than anyone in the world. Gi-Gyu couldn't imagine how much Lee Sun-Ho must’ve suffered. Lee Sun-Ho had grown up being revered by the Angela Guild and the world.

‘But it must have felt meaningless to him.’

Lee Sun-Ho’s incredible power made him different from everyone else, ensuring he couldn’t be a part of them. He must have felt like he was utterly alone in the world.

“I want to tell you more, but there is no time. So you asked me how I know all this, correct?” Kronos took out his Scythe of Time, but it wasn’t to fight. “With the power I gained inside Chaos, I tried to obtain a piece of Order from the Tower.”

“So you went back to your own time.”

The Scythe of Time allowed Kronos to go against time and space. Kronos answered, “That’s right. I also saw the end of the world. Andras agreed with my plan, but he had another plan. As a matter of fact, everyone had an ulterior motive.”

With a bitter look on his face, Kronos apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“Why… Why are you telling me these things now so suddenly? Why now?” Gi-Gyu asked. Some would say that Kronos was actually an altruist, and while Gi-Gyu didn’t like his plan, he had to accept that Kronos didn’t want destruction and chaos like some.

If they had talked like this before and tried to understand each other, wouldn’t things have turned out differently?

“Why now…?” Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand why Kronos was spilling the beans now.

With an unknown expression, Kronos looked down and mumbled, “Kim Se-Jin.”

“...!” Gi-Gyu suddenly felt emotional because he didn’t expect Kronos to bring up his father. He whispered, “You killed my father.”

That was one of the main reasons he resented Kronos so much. Kronos may have had selfless reasons, but this didn’t change the fact that he has done many evil things.

"I know my apologies won't fix anything," Kronos said, looking at Gi-Gyu. "You asked why I changed my mind, right? Well, after spending a long time in Chaos, I devised a new plan. But my method of achieving it remained the same. I was willing to sacrifice anything in this world to see it through, even after I escaped Chaos.”

Kronos looked genuinely guilty. “My other selves… I was after them to steal the power they had gathered.”

Gi-Gyu still looked tense, his fist shaking visibly.

“And every time I found a trace of them, do you know what I learned?” Kronos asked, but Gi-Gyu didn’t answer.

“I realized that they loved you. Even though you didn’t exist yet, their love for you was real. I’ve met countless versions of me, and every single one was like this. After watching them, I changed my mind.”

Gi-Gyu didn’t know how to respond, so he asked instead, “Who is Soo-Jung?”

Kronos had warned Gi-Gyu before not to trust Soo-Jung. She hadn’t reappeared yet, and she had seemingly lied about his family.

‘She told me Kronos had my family, but this is obviously not true.’

What did she give him false information and create confusion? Why was Soo-Jung hiding Gi-Gyu’s family?

“She’s…” Kronos was about to explain when unpleasant sounds rang from different places. Kronos tensed visibly, and Gi-Gyu didn’t bother asking why. He knew exactly what was happening.

Kronos explained, “Lee Sun-Ho found this place. We don’t have time. Take this.”

Kronos hurriedly handed Gi-Gyu his Scythe of Time, and Gi-Gyu took it promptly. Instantly, it turned into a watch around Gi-Gyu’s wrist.

‘My father's watch.’ The watch still looked the same as before.

Kronos’ forehead began sweating heavily. “Jung Soo-Jung, code name Lucifer, is… Eve… She'll come to find you even if things work out according to my plan. I warn you again—you must not trust her. Never! You must make your own decision!”

As soon as Kronos stopped yelling, Lee Sun-Ho ripped the world into two.

“There you are,” said Lee Sun-Ho, standing in the burning world Gi-Gyu and Kronos had been in before time had stopped.

Gi-Gyu clenched his fists when he heard Kronos whisper in his ears.

“I’ll bet everything I have left to turn back time. You will only get one chance.”

Click.

Suddenly, the hands on his father’s watch began moving anticlockwise. It started slow; soon, everything in the world flipped upside down. When Gi-Gyu regained consciousness, he found Lou and El in his hands, yelling at him.

-Snap out of it!

-Master!

“Give me back what is mine.” Lee Sun-Ho, his eyes white, was gazing at him.

‘Kronos.’ Gi-Gyu became momentarily distracted even though Lee Sun-Ho was standing right before him. He knew there was no time, but there was so much he still wanted to hear from Kronos.

‘But he isn’t here.’ Gi-Gyu couldn’t feel Kronos’ presence anywhere. Realizing what he had meant by betting everything he had, Gi-Gyu squeezed Lou and El in his hands.

“Nothing belongs to you.”

“...!” Gi-Gyu’s eyes burned bright blue as he glared at Lee Sun-Ho. He whispered, “I will not let you take anything from me.”

Clunk.

Brun appeared on Gi-Gyu’s chest and turned into armor.

[Dragon Hunter]

Only a shell of Gaia’s system was left. It felt like time had stopped as Brun connected with all of Gi-Gyu’s Egos.

-You need to get this done.

-We believe in you, Master.

Lou and El chimed in as they connected with Brun as well. Something like this had never happened before, and Gi-Gyu had no idea what would come.

Finally, Brun covered Gi-Gyu’s entire body, including Kronos’ watch.

Whir.

Inside the pitch-black armor, Gi-Gyu’s eyes opened. They shined red, blue, white, and black, and Gi-Gyu looked at Lee Sun-Ho.

[God Hunter has been activated.]

The shell of the system announced.

[God mode enabled.]

Gi-Gyu rushed toward Lee Sun-Ho.