NOVEL NEXT Chapter 167: The Eternalist Awakens
"archangel Michael, whom I created, granted you an SSS-rank ability: Time Manipulation. It was the highest limit, the supreme gift, the ceiling of mortal power. But you… you shattered that ceiling."
Nolan's heart thundered.
"Because of the essence mana within you, your fate has been rewritten. The prophecy no longer binds you. Your script has been erased and rewritten in my hand. You are no longer man—you are god."
The void shook. Time itself seemed to quiver like glass under strain.
"You are now a Chronogod." The voice roared like galaxies colliding. "The King of Time. The Eternalist. Your authority stretches across the endless river of time. With your will, you may slow a heartbeat into eternity… rewind a world back to its birth… or hurl existence forward into its final death. That is the dominion now entrusted to you."
Golden light wrapped Nolan, burning like molten suns. He felt seconds freezing at his fingertips, hours rushing in his veins, eternity whispering at the edges of his mind.
"A god? Me? The Chronogod…" Nolan whispered, staring at his trembling hands, as visions of entire histories crumbled and rewove in his grasp.
The throne's brilliance pulsed one final time, its decree thundering through the void:
"Yes. The SSS-rank ability you once wielded was but a fragment. Now you are the Chronogod—the Eternalist—the Master of Time."
"But wait—please. I don't understand!" Nolan's voice cracked, echoing through the endless void. "What do you mean by Chronogod?"
From the throne of blinding light, the Creator's voice rolled like thunder across eternity.
"You still do not see? Then listen well."
The presence around Nolan grew heavier, pressing on his soul until he could hardly breathe.
"You have transcended humanity. You are no longer bound to mortal limits. You are a god. To be precise—you are the Guardian of Time itself."
Nolan's heart raced. His hands trembled. "Guardian of… time?"
"Yes," the Creator said. "It is you who now rules over the flow of seconds and centuries. You may glimpse the future if you wish—but beware. Meddling too deeply will unravel the balance you are meant to protect. There are laws, even for you, and you must follow them."
The void darkened, like the closing of a massive eye.
"Know this: not every deity is a Chronogod. There are other gods who wield fragments of temporal power—time travel, time distortion—but none stand above time as you do. If they break the rules, it will be revealed to you. No matter how powerful they are, you will know. And it will be your duty to pass judgment upon them."
Nolan swallowed hard, his throat dry. The Creator's words struck like hammer blows.
"Your status will no longer be what it once was. It will shift, grow, and reshape itself. You are no longer a man with just SSS-rank ability. You are the Chronogod—the cosmic guardian of time."
The voice paused, then spoke like the sound of a thousand clocks striking at once:
"That is what you are."
Light swelled around Nolan's form, sinking into his skin until he could feel time itself bending at his fingertips.
"What's… what's going on?!" Nolan's voice echoed through the void as if the darkness itself were listening. "What's happening to me?"
In an instant, a flood of knowledge tore into his mind—images, equations, symbols of power he couldn't name, all burning like fire behind his eyes. Concepts of time he had never imagined unfolded within him: the ability to halt it, to rewind it, to accelerate it, to rewrite it entirely. He saw lifetimes compressed into seconds, moments stretched into eternity. He understood how to rewind a person's age, to make someone young or old at will, to restart a life from its very first heartbeat.
Every law, every secret of time entered his consciousness, embedding itself into his soul until it became part of him.
The glowing light surrounding his body pulsed one final time, then faded. He felt its warmth leave his skin, but the power—the power remained. Slowly, Nolan opened his eyes.
"Wait… what just happened?" he whispered, staring at his trembling hands. "Is… is that it? Is that all?"
He looked at the endless void and shouted, "What do you mean? I'm just a mere human! How the hell did I become… a god?"
His voice cracked, but the knowledge inside him thrummed like a heartbeat. He could feel time itself—its weight, its flow, its endless rhythm—wrapping around him, bending to his will. The title bestowed upon him pulsed at the edge of his thoughts, a name not spoken but felt.
"My… my existence…" Nolan murmured. "It's transcended. I… I can feel it. The power. Time itself. The title—Chronogod."
That was when Nolan noticed movement. Out of the endless radiance before the Almighty's throne, another figure emerged. The presence was overwhelming, divine in a way that made the void itself bow in silence.
The figure stepped forward, then bent down on one knee before the Almighty Creator. The aura he carried was one Nolan recognized immediately—brilliant, holy, and sharp as a blade of light.
Nolan's eyes widened.
The man rose, golden feathers of his wings shimmering faintly in the void. Then he turned toward Nolan, his gaze steady, voice carrying the authority of eternity itself.
"We meet again," the figure said.
Nolan's breath caught. "M–Michael? Archangel Michael?"
Michael's expression softened ever so slightly, though his presence still radiated divine power.
"Yes. It is I," Michael replied. "You look surprised… but I told you, mortal, that our paths would cross again."
Nolan's thoughts spun. "Wait—Michael… what are you doing here? Why now?"
The archangel's eyes glowed with an unshakable light. He took a step closer, his words heavy with meaning.
"I am here," Michael said, "because this moment was written long before you were even born. You are not just simply human. You are a Chronogod.
Nolan's voice trembled as he spoke, confusion etched across his face.
"But… you told me it would take years of training. You told me that when I finally reached level one hundred, I might still be weaker than you. What you're describing now—this power—it's nothing like what you told me."