Kronos slowly raised his right hand.
The silver symbols circling around his arm expanded without end.
They spread beyond the shattered gates of Reikosha Academy.
Beyond the forests.
Beyond the mountains.
Beyond the seas.
Beyond the sky itself.
No spiritual pressure exploded.
No violent shockwave erupted.
Instead...
Everything became unnaturally quiet.
Kronos slowly opened his hand.
"...Absolute Time Dominion."
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The silence of existence itself.
The battlefield froze.
Shougo remained locked in his fighting stance.
The flames of Yaki no longer burned.
The darkness of Yami no longer twisted.
Griffin's sword remained suspended only centimeters from completing its swing.
Judas's blade stopped in mid-slash.
Reji's chains hung motionless in the air.
Dracula's lightning no longer crackled.
Tyouro's flames stood perfectly still.
Kairo's Black Spartan halted before its target.
Dust no longer fell.
Broken stones remained suspended where they had exploded.
Even the wind...
Forgot how to blow.
Far beyond Reikosha Academy...
The oceans stopped.
Towering waves remained frozen before crashing against the shores.
Rain no longer fell from the heavens.
Every droplet remained suspended exactly where it had been.
Volcanoes ceased erupting.
Clouds stopped drifting across the sky.
Across distant kingdoms...
Across forgotten continents...
Every living creature became perfectly motionless.
Birds remained frozen in flight.
Leaves no longer fell from ancient trees.
Even the beating of countless hearts ceased.
Far away...
At the Blackstone Highlands—
Lady Chõko's battle against the Dimensional Clan instantly froze.
Raizen's Dimensional Sword stopped inches away from Lady Chõko.
Ayame remained suspended in the middle of her attack.
Hiroshi's relics no longer moved.
Kaizen's calculating gaze became perfectly still.
Haruto.
Yurota.
Every member of the Dimensional Clan...
Frozen.
Lady Chõko herself...
Smiling...
Unable to move even a single finger.
Elsewhere...
Mr. Fushi quietly stood upon a lonely cliff overlooking the horizon.
For the first time in countless years...
His thoughts stopped.
His body refused to answer him.
Even someone like him...
Could not move.
Above the world...
The stars no longer shimmered.
Their light ceased its endless journey through the darkness.
A lone comet crossing a distant galaxy remained suspended forever in its path.
Planets no longer revolved.
Galaxies no longer turned.
Even the endless expansion of space itself...
Had reached absolute stillness.
Down to the smallest particle...
Down to every atom...
Existence itself had become silent.
Only...
One thing continued.
Tap...
A single footstep echoed across the motionless world.
Tap...
Another.
Tap...
Kronos calmly walked through a reality where nothing else could.
His expression remained unchanged.
Neither joy.
Nor anger.
Only quiet indifference.
"...This..."
"...is time."
He walked past Griffin.
A silver mark appeared upon the frozen instructor.
He passed Judas.
Another mark.
Shougo.
Tyouro.
Reji.
Kimimaru.
Dracula.
Aoi.
One by one...
Kronos placed invisible Marked Actions upon every warrior.
When time resumed...
Each mark would become an unavoidable strike.
He eventually stopped before Kairo.
"...You possess potential."
"...But potential alone cannot overcome centuries."
Kronos gently touched Kairo's shoulder.
Another mark appeared.
Without another glance...
He continued walking.
Finally...
He reached Yura.
She remained frozen with one foot barely touching the broken earth, her fist still clenched from the previous exchange.
Kronos quietly observed her.
"...You..."
"...will become troublesome."
He turned away.
One step.
Then another.
Suddenly...
A tiny sound echoed behind him.
...tap.
Kronos stopped walking.
His silver eyes narrowed.
Slowly...
He turned around.
Behind him...
Yura's index finger moved.
A tiny movement.
Impossible.
Then...
Her hand.
Her arm.
Her shoulder.
Her eyes slowly opened.
She looked directly at Kronos.
Then...
She took a single step forward.
Tap.
The only other sound within a reality where absolutely nothing should have been capable of moving.
For the first time in centuries...
Kronos's calm expression disappeared.
His eyes widened ever so slightly.
"...Impossible."