Asami immediately spoke up, her voice cutting through the tension.

“Chronus, do you even have any idea where the dagger might be?”

Chronus smirked, the faintest glimmer of confidence in his glowing blue eyes.

“Of course. Did you think I’d be wandering around without a plan? Hestia, can’t you feel it? Gaia’s energy—it’s here.”

“Gaia’s energy?” Hestia’s voice was sharp with disbelief. “There’s no way she’s here. There’s no reason she would be unless—” Her eyes widened in realization. “Chronus, what did you do?!”

Her steps were heavy as she stormed toward him, her face twisting in fury.

“What did you do!?”

“Me?” Chronus feigned innocence, holding up his hand. “All I did was… give her a little nudge in the right direction.”

From his palm, he revealed a grotesque sight—a beating heart, its surface muddy and pulsing with life. Grass sprouted from the top, and a single flower bloomed in the moist soil clinging to it. Gaia’s Heart.

Hestia froze, her rage giving way to horror.

“You’ve lost your mind! Do you even realize the consequences of this? You’ve doomed us all!”

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Chronus tilted his head, unconcerned. “I made a deal with her. If Gaia helps wear down Erebus, even a little, I’ll give the heart back. We need every advantage we can get, don’t we?”

Hestia’s voice trembled with a mixture of anger and despair.

“You think you can control Gaia? She’s just as destructive as Erebus! She’ll destroy everything in her path!”

Chronus didn’t answer. With a surge of energy, he leapt to the surface, landing with a crackling burst of electricity. He turned back to the group, his glowing eyes narrowing as they locked onto Shinji.

“You,” he said, his voice commanding. “You can teleport, right? Two miles north.”

Shinji frowned, crossing his arms.

“That’s where the others are headed. What’s Nakamura up to now? His plans get muddier by the day.”

Asami’s voice broke through, calm but laced with suspicion.

“He’s setting a trap,” she said flatly. “Nakamura’s luring Erebus—and everyone else—into one spot so he can take them all out in one move. It’s the only explanation.”

Shinji’s brow furrowed.

“You think he can kill me? That’d be a national achievement.”

Asami’s tone didn’t waver.

“He’s got plans for Erebus, Gaia… and probably you too. That location is rigged with something catastrophic—a bomb, a trap, something we can’t counter. Our best move is to retreat, observe, and strike after the chaos.”

Shinji shook his head, incredulous.

“And let him summon the rest of the gods? You really think that’s the better plan?”

“Yes,” Asami said firmly. “Rushing in blind won’t stop him. Call the others back. My comms are busted—yours still work, don’t they?”

“Are you kidding me”? Chronus remarked. “You are too much of a coward to go, fine I’ll go by myself”.

With that he disappeared in a flash of light.

Shinji tapped on his earpiece as he spoke into it.

“Hey Nerissa, you know where you’re going right now? Turn a 180 and step away from there, y’all are going to die if you don’t”.

He walked towards Asami, as he pat on her shoulder, he smiled as a single bug laid on her neck.

“I’ll be going with Chronus, nothing Nakamura has can completely wipe me off the face of the Earth”.

“Whatever you say, stay safe and keep an eye on him”.

He smiled

“You worried about me? My dear little angel”.

She removed his arm around her shoulder with an annoyed glare.

“Don’t call me that, just go already”.

“Whatever you say”..

“Set Checkpoint”.

Time began to rapidly slow down as he completely disappeared