Chronos had climbed up and was now sitting atop Empress Shi Kong's shoulders, his tiny hands grasping at her soft locks of hair. He looked down at his chubby legs and gasped,

'What's going on with me? Did I actually just scream out that there's a translucent bitch in the sky?'

'Who says shit like that?'

'And why does kicking my feet back and forth like this make me so happy?'

'Oh my word and it took me this long to notice how much I enjoy riding on this grown woman's shoulders!!!'

While Chronos was lost in thought, making sense of his strange quirky child-like demeanor, The Emperor and Empress were having a telepathic conversation of their own.

'Our baby boy seems to have inherited your cheekiness…' Empress Shi Kong smiled as she glanced over to her husband.

He grabbed her soft hand, held it firmly and replied,

'He's got your looks and by the looks of things the Tai Kong Clan's affinity for time and space…'

'Even his hair! Argh… and he only inherited my… youthful cuteness??'

'Ughhh I hope he awakens … or my old man is going to kick my ass'

Empress Shi Kong let out a chuckle but the picturesque scene was interrupted by a sudden approaching giant ethereal claw!

However, the couple stood unfazed. Empress Shi Kong radiated a protective aura surrounding them while Emperor Aion lashed forward at the translucent claw made of energy.

His blade released a giant slash of fire that tore through the air like a blazing comet. The sound of the slash was deafening, a roar that shook the world around us even though it was still suspended in a period of stasis.

The world of purple and white seemed to shatter like glass at the point of impact of the claw and slash. A sonic wave sent the family of three flying backward. Unfortunately, the claw shattered the fiery slash after only a moment's delay and proceeded to clash into the invisible barrier that was cast around them.

*Flash*

Just before the claw got past the barrier, they teleported a distance away, Empress Shi Kong quickly handed Chronos over to Empress Dowager Tai Sui and disappeared into a mist of purple energy particles.

"Come baby boy, Grandmama will protect you…" the elderly said lovingly.

Chronos was still stunned by the show of godly powers. Lost in thought, Chronos started climbing onto his Grandmama absentmindedly.

'Hoho … I'm in a world of superpowers?!'

'And it seems like I'm a prince? Hehehe after those nightmarish 15 years… I'm finally bout to live it large!'

Just then, Chronos looked down and once again saw his rocking tiny feet.

'WTF? Why am I up here again?'

Ignoring his peculiar propensity to ride on the shoulders of grown women, he looked up and marveled at the light show. His parents were locked in combat with the otherworldly face in the dark clouds. This time, they both had forms of energy projecting titanic versions of themselves.

"GO !! KICK HER BUTT !!"

Chronos started cheering excitedly, by now, he had started embracing his childish quirks. He was after all a newborn child, the thought of re-doing life all over again, sent a wave of anticipation within him - This time it seems like he had been dealt a Royal Flush, quite literally.

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At first, the fluid coordination of the purple and maroon forms of the couple seemed to give them an upper hand. Their movements were fluid and graceful, as they dodged the evil being's attacks and landed blow after blow.

But as time went on, the constantly recovering face in the sky hinted at the couple's ineffectual attempts to damage it. Soon, their attacks perceptibly began to lose force, their movements became slower and labored. The face in the sky, sensing weakness, let out an eerie grin as it struck them both with a pair of brutal deep red lightning bolts.

Suddenly, just as the evil being was prepared to deliver the final blow, a beam of light began to pierce through the clouds. At first, it was a mere speck, but it grew in intensity and size until it illuminated half of the sky. The couple was enveloped in an orb of this transcendent holy light before suddenly disappearing.

The light shone with a holy brilliance, casting an otherworldly glow across the landscape. And as it reached its full intensity, something miraculous happened: the light began to take on the shape of a face.

'Is that… Jesus?'

A thought flashed across Chronos's mind, one so ridiculous even he chuckled at his own silliness.

"Vorta! Have you no respect for the rules?!" The holy figure roared, her voice echoing with transcendental might.

"RULES?! WHAT RULES??? I had already won! Mother cheated for the sake of two of you and you want to talk to me about RULES ??"

A maniacal rebuttal reverberated from the malevolent red face amongst the section of dark clouds.

"Sister, you have lost your way…"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! You may have managed to send them to the Realm of Destiny but this child will not be spared!"

Before anyone could even react, a bolt of dark crimson lightning struck Chronos, sending him flying off his Grandmama Tai Sui's shoulders.

"TRANSLUCENT B..B…BITCH…"

Chronos screamed in agony as lightning crackled and hissed throughout his being, like the very essence of anger made manifest.

He let out a piercing cry, but the curse was already taking hold. His head began to glow with an eerie red light, as if the crimson bolt had somehow fused with his brain. The air around his body started crackling with an equally red electricity.

"Chronos! My baby! What happened?" the elderly lady who held me in her arms let out a cry of panic and desperation.

"YOU'VE CROSSED THE LINE, VORTA! Don't make me strike you down sister! You are in my realm!"

The face of holy light roared as its radiance began consuming the areas of dark sky.

"Hahaha! My future is imminent Verta, the Realm of Destiny is but a futile attempt to stop the unavoidable and you know it!"

The giant red projection cackled with delight, pleased with the havoc it had wrought. Her overbearing voice trailed off as she disappeared in a burst of dark red energy.

The crimson bolt of lightning that surged into Chronos's body brought an unbearable pain to the core of his existence; It felt as if he were being stabbed and sliced open by a million daggers dead set on leaving no inch unscathed.

The convulsion of torment and anguish made it feel like his brain, his consciousness itself was being torn apart. Millions of micro-lacerations were testament to the indescribable torture, forcing him to blackout.

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<< IN CHRONOS'S MIND >>

I was suddenly a rebel fighter, with a few companions shuffling in the shadows of what seemed like a junkyard. We were running for our lives. As I turned my head backward, I saw an army of red dots on my tail.

Their ominous, soulless gaze made even more spine-chilling by echoes of resonant clatter.

"AHHH SAVE..."

A gut wrenching scream came from my left. All I saw was a humanoid android the likes of the terminator, cleanly ripping my companion into two.

"ARGHHH NOOO!!!"

Shrieks of pain and desperation continued to bellow around me.

Distracted by the nightmarish situation, I tripped and fell. A swarm of what could only be described as metallic rodents piled onto me, each taking a bite of flesh off. I was being devoured piece by piece at alarming speed. I could feel every bit of the excruciating pain as I was reduced to a pool of blood.

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<< THE OUTSIDE WORLD >>

Chronos was awakened from the desolation of death by the pulsating agony the crimson lightning bore. Just as he had reached the precipice of doom, a swirling vortex of white energy drew forth his newborn body.

The radiant light spiraling around him formed a white cocoon of divine energy. He could still feel his body convulsing with the power of the curse, but the terawatts of red slowly started to fall into submission as the divine white light started enveloping him in a warm embrace.

The holy light was consuming the red lightning with overbearing calmness before seeping into the fibers of his body.

An angelic voice echoed within the cocoon,

"I have synergized the remnants of Vorta's divine energy into your physical being…"

"This will evolve your physical form, but her curse remains…"

"Your nights will be consumed by death, all I can do is to bestow upon you some of my divine energy,"

"It will mend the scars after each nightmare and hopefully keep you from falling apart… "

"This is the most I can do for you without going against the laws of Tertius, blessings be with you…"

The ethereal figure caressed the newborn's cheeks with an outstretched hand as she slowly dissipated along with the holy light.

Before Chronos could respond, the white and purple energy particles that had burst out from the inner depths of his being earlier started to return at an unimaginable speed. As if he were a beacon, the waves of whitish-silver and purple got sucked back into him. Time and space reverted to the status quo.

"AHHHHH !!!"

The high-pitched scream of Chronos echoed through the Capital City of Aion. His skin started flashing between a regal whitish-silver light and an imperious purple translucence, a mixture of white and purple visibly coursed through his veins and nervous system.

The fibers of his very existence were pulsating with power unbeknownst to man; Evolving, breaking down and reshaping the very essence of his being. Amidst the swirl of silver and purple, Chronos felt his body visibly growing, his tiny muscles started bulging intermittently and his skin began stretching to accommodate the surge of energy.

It was an unfathomable experience, Chronos felt like he had been transported millions of years forward in the evolution of his species. The raw, untamed power writhing through his physical form threatened to knock past the restraints shackling his human genome.

In a few short moments, a full head of white hair with light purple highlights swayed in the night's breeze. Chronos's body had evolved to the size of a 5 year old. The energy particles soon fully disappeared into his body.

Chronos's eyes slowly closed out of fatigue and his body fell limp in exhaustion. Without the power of the different energy particles, his five year old body started pummeling helplessly downward at the mercy of gravity.

Luckily, a deep purple aura caught him in its embrace, cushioning his downward momentum. I then levitated into the arms of the elderly woman who had just snapped out of her shock and awe. Cradling him in her arms, she whispered lovingly,

"Don't worry… Grandmama's got you."