âAsk away!â
âFrom the creation of the Dragon God to the birth of the first hatchling, there is no historical event in all of Samael that this king has not witnessed.â
âEspecially if itâs something ancientâsomething few rememberâthen that is truly my specialty!â
âGo on, ask whatever you want.â
The three of them exchanged bright-eyed glances.
âReally? We can ask you anything, Elder Noa?â
The old ancestor patted her chest, raised a thumbs-up, and even flicked her tiny tail.
âBut of course.â
It was clear that the old ancestor was quite excited this time.
After all, ever since the Final Battle of Ultimate Terror, she hadnât had a chance to come out for fresh air.
âFinally getting to stretch my legs againâeven if itâs just as a living encyclopediaâis better than nothing. Staying cooped up in that bratâs head all the time, I was starting to rust.â
âAlright then, Elder. Weâd like to ask you about the God of Time, Chronoz.â
Seeing Noaâs confidence, Rosvisser didnât bother with pretense and got straight to the point.
Howeverâ
The moment Rosvisser uttered the name Chronoz, Noa, who had been so full of herself a second ago, suddenly froze.
She blinked.
Instead of answering immediately, she asked:
âWhat did you just say?â
âUh⊠The God of Time, Chronoz. Weâd like to know more about TA.â
âNo, no, no. Not that questionâthe one before it.â
Rosvisser was caught off guard. She didnât understand why Noa had suddenly turned so serious, but she still answered honestly:
ââReally? We can ask you anything?ââ
The second Noa heard that, she began to vibrate.
Xiaoang and Rosvisser hurriedly stepped forward, each grabbing one of her shoulders to hold her down.
âAnyway, since you said Noa can come and go as she pleases, she can always just dive back into the Bookwormâs consciousness space whenever she wants.â
But at that very moment, the Bookworm inside the consciousness space was actively blocking Noa from returning.
âYou little brat! You dare defy the heavens?! This is my territory!â
âMy consciousness space, my rules,â Noa replied flatly.
ââŠâŠâ
Her attempt to flee had failed.
Her usual high-and-mighty ancestor act wasnât working.
Faced with this situation, Noa had no choice but to turn back to Aurora and Rosvisser.
Under the combined pressure of the three of them, Noa finally spoke the truth.
âI assumed youâd be asking about the history after the Dragon God Tiamatâs creation of the world. I didnât expect you to bring up someone like Chronozâone of the Primordial Gods.â
Aurora raised an eyebrow.
âEven you donât know much about this, Elder?â
Noa nodded.
âChronoz, Zeus, Apollo⊠Theyâre all gods from the same era as the Dragon God. But I was born after the Dragon Godâs fall.â
âBy the time I had the power to travel across the continent, these gods had either gone into seclusion or had already merged into the very fabric of the world itself. So, yesâI donât know much about them.â
After a brief pause, Noa offered a simpler analogy:
âItâs like how you might know a lot about your peersâyour siblings, your friendsâbut when it comes to your parents or grandparents, your knowledge is much more limited.â
Aurora nodded in understanding.
âThereâs no such thing as a truly omniscient being. No matter how much of a âwalking history bookâ Noa may be, she only rose to power in the post-Dragon God era.â
Rather than saying she was well-versed in that era, it would be more accurate to sayâ
She was that eraâs defining symbol.
But everything before that?
That belonged to the Dragon God and the Primordial Gods.
Unless the Dragon God had personally recounted their past to Noa in full detail before their fall, she truly had no way of peering into the splendor and events of that distant era.
"Alright, we understand, Elder."
Noa nodded, took a deep breath, and said,
"So I can't tell you much, but I'll try my best to answer your questions."
"Thatâs already more than enough. Thank you, Elder."
Rosvisser raised her hand slightly, then immediately asked,
"Iâd like to knowâdo you have any knowledge of a key that Chronoz created?"
"A key�"
Noa muttered under her breath, her thoughts racing.
She absentmindedly clapped her fists together as if something had clicked in her mind.
"Oh, you mean that spear?"
At those words, Rosvisser couldnât help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Yes! A golden spear!"
During the battle between the dwarves and Carlâs group, Xiaoxue had transformed into that very spear.
And based on Leon and Rosvisserâs deductions, that spear was likely the true form of Chronozâs key.
"The Dragon God once told meâafter creation, every god would do their part to fill the missing aspects of Samaelâs world."
"For example, Apollo, the God of Light, used his own body as kindling to ignite the sun."
"Or Zeus, the God of Elementsâaside from the primordial essence, all fundamental magic in this era originates from TA."
"And as for Chronoz, TA granted the world the very concept of time, giving everything its order and place."
"After fulfilling these duties, most gods would ultimately fall, having exhausted their power. However, before that happened, they would find a way to preserve their existence."
"As for the other gods, I donât know what methods they used, because their influence on the world unfolded gradually over time. By the time their deeds were recorded in history books, I had already sealed Ultimate Terror and put myself into a deep slumber in the Far North."
"But time is different. It had to be defined the moment creation beganâand that was Chronozâs duty."
"In other words, before the Dragon Godâs fall, Chronoz had already prepared an escape route."
"And that golden spear isâ"
Leon and Rosvisser slowly processed the weight of the concepts being revealed.
They had already learned bits and pieces about the great feats of the Primordial Gods, but this was the first time they had heard that time itself was established from the very beginning of creation.
"So that means," Rosvisser mused, "Chronoz is fundamentally different from the other Primordial Gods. Unlike Zeus, Apollo, or Athena, TAâs power was not divided among living beingsâbecause the power of time directly affects the entire world of Samael."
"Itâs more like⊠a crucial component in the operation of an intricate machine."
Leon narrowed his eyes and asked,
"Elder, did the Dragon God ever mention what this key is meant to open?"
"The Palace of Time."
Noaâs voice was firm.
"After creating the concept of time, Chronoz further structured the flow of everything in Samael with absolute precision."
"As for TA, Chronoz has forever remained seated upon the Throne of Time, maintaining the stability of the Web of Time."
"And all of itâincluding Chronoz themselfâis stored within the Palace of Time."
"That golden spear is the key to unlocking the palace."
"The Dragon God said that Chronoz left behind the key because, in the Web of Time, TA foresaw that one day, far in the future, a rebellious fool would arrive."
"This fool would use the key to open the Palace of Time, and thenâ"
Noa suddenly paused.
Leon and Rosvisser, hanging on to every word, immediately pressed further.
"And then what?"
"ThenâŠ"
Noaâs voice grew solemn.
"They would take Chronozâs placeâand be eternally imprisoned upon the Throne of Time."