Absolute Time Dominion remained active.
The universe itself had fallen silent.
No wind moved.
No stars traveled.
No waves crashed against distant shores.
Every living being remained trapped inside a single frozen moment.
Except two.
Kronos.
And Yura.
The silver symbols floating around the battlefield continued glowing faintly upon the frozen warriors of Reikosha Academy.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Kronos continued observing her.
Studying her.
Analyzing her.
Trying to understand something that should not exist.
"...Move."
Yura blinked.
"...What?"
Without warning—
Kronos vanished.
His fist appeared directly in front of her face.
Yura's instincts screamed.
She threw herself backward.
WHOOSH!
The punch missed by less than an inch.
The pressure alone shattered the frozen stone beneath her feet.
Yura landed awkwardly.
"...What was that for?!"
Kronos ignored the question.
"...Again."
He disappeared.
Another strike.
Yura twisted away.
The attack narrowly grazed her shoulder.
A third attack followed.
Then a fourth.
Then a fifth.
Each one faster than the last.
Each one forcing Yura to move.
To react.
To survive.
The silent world became a blur around her.
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
Her footsteps echoed across the frozen battlefield.
Kronos stopped.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"...Interesting."
Yura's breathing grew heavier.
"...What are you doing?"
"Testing."
"...Testing what?"
Kronos calmly answered.
"...You."
The answer irritated her immediately.
"What does that even mean?"
Kronos stepped forward.
"Nobody moves inside Absolute Time Dominion."
"Nobody."
"Not kings."
"Not monsters."
"Not gods."
His gaze locked onto hers.
"...Yet here you are."
Yura looked away.
"...I already told you."
"...I don't know why."
For the first time...
Kronos seemed genuinely annoyed.
Not angry.
Annoyed.
Because she wasn't hiding information.
She truly had no answer.
And that answer made even less sense.
"...Impossible."
Yura crossed her arms.
"Well, I'm doing it."
"...So maybe your ability isn't perfect."
The statement lingered.
Kronos stared at her.
Then—
He smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"...Careful."
"Confidence becomes arrogance very quickly."
The ground beneath Yura suddenly shattered.
Kronos appeared again.
This time...
He was serious.
A kick.
A punch.
An elbow.
A palm strike.
One attack flowed directly into another.
Yura barely avoided them.
Again.
Again.
Again.
She wasn't winning.
She wasn't even fighting back.
She was surviving.
Yet something strange began happening.
Each dodge became smoother.
Each movement became cleaner.
The hesitation slowly disappeared.
Kronos noticed first.
"...Hm."
Another attack.
Yura avoided it.
Another.
She reacted faster.
Another.
Even faster.
Kronos stopped moving.
The silence returned.
Yura looked at her hands.
"...What..."
Something felt different.
Not stronger.
Not more powerful.
Faster.
Her body felt lighter.
The frozen world felt...
More natural.
As though she was slowly learning how to exist inside it.
Kronos stared at her.
"...You're adapting."
Yura blinked.
"...I'm what?"
"Adapting."
His expression grew serious again.
"Every movement."
"Every second."
"Your body is becoming more synchronized with the stopped world."
The realization unsettled even him.
Because adaptation should not be possible.
Not inside Absolute Time Dominion.
Yet it was happening.
Right in front of him.
Yura looked down.
Then back up.
"...Is that bad?"
"...For me?"
Kronos slowly laughed.
A low laugh.
Cold.
"...No."
His silver eyes sharpened.
"...For me."
The atmosphere immediately changed.
For the first time since activating Absolute Time Dominion...
Kronos released a fraction of his true intent.
Not enough to shake the universe.
But enough.
Enough for Yura to understand.
He was no longer testing her.
The next attack would be real.
Yura instinctively lowered her stance.
The two faced one another across the frozen battlefield.
Neither moved.
Neither blinked.
Then—
Kronos suddenly stopped.
His expression changed.
A tiny shift.
Barely noticeable.
But it was there.
His head slowly turned toward the distant horizon.
Far beyond Reikosha Academy.
Far beyond mountains.
Far beyond oceans.
Toward another battlefield.
The battlefield where Lady Chõko fought the Dimensional Clan.
Within that frozen moment...
A single finger twitched.
Only once.
Yet Kronos felt it.
His smile disappeared.
"..."
Yura noticed.
"What is it?"
Kronos didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the horizon.
For the first time since activating Absolute Time Dominion...
A feeling he had not experienced in centuries surfaced.
Uncertainty.
One anomaly could be studied.
One anomaly could be understood.
But now...
There were two.
Kronos quietly narrowed his eyes.
"...Another one?"