Cronus' system: Against the gods

[Warning: Core instability detected. Reality fracture potential: 78%]

Rex exhaled through his nose, tapping his spear on the ground. "Great! Since you're starting to get serious...expect no less from me either grandpa"

The old man thrust out his hands. Spikes of ice erupted in every direction, dozens at once, converging on Rex like a storm of swords.

Rex blurred. His body vanished, reappearing meters away in less than a blink.

[Agility: 2029]

The afterimages of his movements shimmered across the battlefield, his Eternal Afterimage skill syncing perfectly with his speed. Dozens of Rexes seemed to dance around the storm, each dodging, weaving, or taunting.

"Too slow, Frostbeard! I've got arthritis jokes older than you!"

One spear of ice grazed his cheek. Rex clicked his tongue. "Okay, fair enough...you almost got me. Respect."

He vaulted forward, his spear glowing faintly with stored kinetic force. With a roar, he slammed it against the ground—shockwaves cracked the frozen terrain, throwing debris high into the air.

The old man snarled, encasing himself in an icy cocoon. Rex's grin widened.

"Oh no, the shield trick again? Grandpa, we just did this!"

Eclipse Rend – Activated

[-400 Aether]

His spear ignited with Aether, the blade splitting across multiple timelines. With one swing, he struck—not once, but in infinite slashes layered over each other.

SHHHHHHHHRRRRRKKKK!

The ice cocoon cracked, splintered, and then shattered into shards, the old man staggering back with frost-blood spilling from his lips.

Rex twirled his spear, cocky smirk plastered across his face. "Newsflash, old-timer. If you're gonna play defense, you'd better bring something fresher than freezer burn."

The old man roared, eyes blazing. His aura flared, warping the air with sheer cold. The ground itself fractured into glaciers, jagged spires of ice shooting upward as he unleashed another storm.

Rex gritted his teeth, his barrier flickering up instinctively.

[-25 Aether]

The frost slammed against him, but this time it didn't push him back—it bent. His sheer Strength and Endurance held firm, his new stats finally flexing.

"Not bad…" Rex muttered, lowering the barrier. He cracked his neck and grinned. "But me? I don't break that easy."

He vanished, reappearing right in front of Frostbite. His fist cocked back, not even bothering with the spear.

"Here's a little warmth for your cold heart!"

BOOM!

[STRENGTH: 2000]

His punch connected with the old man's chest, the impact ripping a shockwave through the storm. Frost cracked across the man's body, his eyes widening as he was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through a frozen tower.

Rex exhaled, shaking the frost off his knuckles. "Demi-god strength or not…" He smirked, raising his spear again. "I'm still your worst nightmare."

The storm howled louder, the old man's distorted body rising again from the wreckage, more monster than human now.

Rex's grin dropped as he facepalmed "oh great! Why can't my fights ever end with one round? I'm supposed to be a one-punch....er....whatever"

The old man's chest cracked wider, a jagged fissure of ice running across his body as steam hissed out from within. His flesh peeled like broken frost, veins of frozen blue light crawling up his neck.

"You dare—" he rasped, his voice warping with rage and pain, "—mock me?!

" yeah, yeah....I heard it the first hundred times," Rex cut in, tone flat. He spun his spear once and then lowered it, letting the weapon dissolve back into particles of Aether.

His eyes narrowed, threads of Aether spiraling inside them. For once, the cocky grin was gone. His voice was colder than the storm itself.

"Let's end this."

The battlefield shifted with that single line. His Aether roared to life, not as a flare but as a quiet inevitability. The air stilled, pressure thick enough to crush lungs. Even the howling storm froze mid-motion, icicles hanging motionless like they were afraid to move.

Rex's fists glowed faintly — not burning, not sparking, just dense..... Aetherly densed.....the mixture of aether coiling around his fists even caused his high tech armor to peel off a bit. The pressure was terrific

[-200 Aether]

He stepped forward. Then the next instant —

VMMMM!

[AGILITY: 2029]

The world blurred. One step, and he was gone. Not vanished in speed, not hidden by afterimages — gone, like time itself refused to register his movement. A massive crater formed under his legs with each step he took

He reappeared in front of Frostbite, fist cocked back.

The old man braced instinctively, summoning walls of jagged glaciers, layer after layer of ice, screaming in desperation.

Rex didn't throw the punch. He didn't have to

He exhaled once.

The breeze of his motion carried forward.

The wind of his fist — just the wind — struck first.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The shockwave was surgical, slicing through glaciers, ripping apart the storm, and caving into Frostbite's body. His ice cracked, shattered, and exploded outward, chunks scattering like meteors. The man's scream was cut short, his body hurled backward in ruin — his own aura snuffed like a candle in a hurricane.

Silence fell.

Rex lowered his fist, eyes dimming back to normal. His expression didn't change.

"Pathetic," he muttered, voice even, detached.

Around him, the battlefield looked like the aftermath of a natural disaster — entire spires of ice leveled, the storm erased, the world scarred by a punch that never even connected.

Rex dusted off his coat, muttering with a cold smirk, "Guess I'm done warming up."

He walked forward slowly, boots crunching through shards of ice. The old man's body lay half-buried in broken frost, chest split open like a cracked glacier. Steam hissed from the fissures across his skin, but the light in his eyes was nearly gone.

Rex stopped over him, staring down in silence. He tapped his knuckles once against his palm, sighing.

"…Should've just checked earlier." His tone was flat, self-mocking. "But nah, I just knew I was stronger. Instinct."

He crouched, eyes narrowing.

"Alright, let's see who you really are, Grandpa Frostbite."

[God's Eyes – Activated]

Golden light flared in Rex's irises, symbols spiraling like clock hands unraveling time itself. The old man's body glowed under the scan, information flooding Rex's vision in lines of data.

But the moment the name appeared—

Name: ???

Title: #######

Race: ?????

Level: ???

The rest was scrambled, flickering like a broken code, each attempt to read it only making the air around Rex heavier.

"…What the…?" Rex blinked, his face finally twisting out of its calm mask. His breath caught as the fragmented words formed enough for him to know.

He recoiled slightly, eyes wide.

"You've got to be kidding me."

For the first time since the fight began, Rex wasn't smirking. He wasn't taunting. He wasn't cold.

He just stood there, staring at the man's ruined body in disbelief.

"…Of all people… it's you?"

The frost around him cracked again, groaning as if the world itself was disturbed by the revelation.