Cronos first noticed upon opening his eyes that they were outside the Estuary. The familiar darkness of the void of Ariel's Tomb greeted him with a cold air.
For him, no more than a moment had passed since he had spoken with his master.
Cronos looked at Uriel. He had changed a bit—his height had increased by a full centimeter, and his hair had grown slightly longer.
Something he noticed almost immediately was that he was much stronger than before. His will was firmer and broader than it had been moments earlier.
"What happened?" Cronos asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just a little crazy crossing that hallway with Runes again, but nothing serious."
Cronos nodded, unsure if he was telling the truth or not.
Uriel looked at the amulet and, after speaking a few names which he wove into a single verse, Daeron appeared, examining his surroundings immediately.
"How much time passed?"
"I don't know. Perhaps days or weeks," Uriel replied, standing up.
The three left the Estuary after that, returning to the edge of the great river.
During the journey, they were attacked by multiple abominations that had increased their activity. They had to fight some while simply avoiding others.
After some time traveling, they finally returned to the great river, whose current weakened with each passing moment.
Uriel was in his Black Dragon form, soaring through the skies. Daeron and Cronos were on his back.
"We're going to Fallen Grace first," Cronos indicated.
Uriel increased his speed, heading upstream from Verge toward where Fallen Grace was located.
The journey was peaceful, with an occasional abomination attacking them, but nothing they couldn't handle.
Uriel took the opportunity to begin taking subjects to form his black army and gain access to a greater amount of soul essence.
After a few days of continuous travel, they finally sighted the enormous city, which had multiplied its size several times over.
Enormous island-ships had attached themselves to Fallen Grace, forming a mega-city with hundreds of millions of inhabitants.
All came from the scattered cities of the future and the past, the Outlanders, the River Nomads, the people of Weave, cities built by civilizations, and all of Twilight.
Everything had united into a single impregnable bastion that defended itself against the continuous attacks of the abominations, thanks to the Transcendent Champions, the Ascended, the Awakened, and even the Mundanes who were given weapons made from the corpses of creatures to fight equally for survival.
When Uriel began to approach the city, all its inhabitants started pointing at him, some even preparing for battle.
But before chaos could erupt, Cronos extended his will, making everyone recognize him.
As if a dam had broken, a cry of jubilation, happiness, emotion, hope, and other feelings escaped in unison.
Uriel landed his enormous body on the wooden surface, causing a slight tremor.
A multitude of countless eyes were staring at them intently.
From his back, Daeron jumped, landing on the ground, followed by Cronos.
Uriel transformed back, returning to his normal appearance.
"It's our King Cronos! Our king is back!"
"Look, it's the Serpent King!"
"Our ruler has returned!"
"Who is that accompanying him?!"
"I know him, it's Lord Uriel!"
Uriel almost fell over upon hearing that last part.
'I want to hide,' he thought, looking for the darkest place nearby. In moments like this, he envied Sunny's powers, who could easily disappear among the shadows.
Cronos stepped forward, his will as a Sovereign extending, his voice prepared to reach all the inhabitants of the great river gathered in one place.
"People of Fallen Grace, inhabitants of Twilight, Nomads of the River, and Outlanders from beyond the Tomb. After being separated for so long, we are finally all gathered together."
Cronos smiled, his eyes looking at the enormous multitude of gathered people. A chorus from the crowd was heard.
After waiting a few moments for everything to calm down, Cronos continued speaking.
"I am Cronos of Fallen Grace. And after being on a long journey, my mission has finally been completed. Today we return as victors. The great river has been destroyed, and with it, the moment of our freedom is closer than ever."
"Thanks to King Daeron, who helped us by offering his aid, we managed to travel to the Estuary and destroy time to allow everyone to gather here today. But above all, all of this happened thanks to one person—an Outlander from beyond the great Tomb of Ariel, whose strength, intelligence, and Will allowed us to succeed and remain alive." Cronos turned and gestured to Uriel, who wanted to escape and disappear from the immense embarrassment he felt.
"Let me introduce you to Uriel, the Lord of Darkness, that warrior who came and helped us, promising our longed-for freedom far from the claws of this hostile world."
Cronos turned back to the crowd.
"However, although I promise by my name that I will make you free from this world, there is still time. Terrible threats will descend from the great river to kill us. But do not worry. We, the people of the river, will survive the terrible trial, and in the end, we will achieve our victory. I, Cronos, King of Fallen Grace, promise you this!"
If the enormous multitude of inhabitants was already excited and euphoric, Cronos's speech had ignited something difficult to extinguish—the flame of hope. A wave of voices struck like an enormous hurricane that traveled thousands of kilometers.
Uriel sighed, looking at Cronos.
"Did you really have to say all that about me?"
"It's good propaganda, Master. Accept it."
Uriel rolled his eyes.
Well, at least on the bright side, he could rest a little from the endless battles he had been fighting since he delved into Ariel's Tomb.
Soon, a guard escort arrived to accompany them to a new palace built in the new city, which was named "The Ark of Time." Among the guards was Ananke, who was overjoyed to see them.
Alongside Ananke was a woman of dazzling beauty with long black hair that fell down her back, yellow eyes, and a calm expression.
Cronos, upon seeing the woman, ran toward her without hesitation, giving her a tight embrace.
"Darling, I missed you so much. You don't know how much I missed you," Cronos said, beginning to cry without caring that millions of people were watching.
"There, there, my love. I'm glad you returned safely from your journey," the woman replied.
Cronos pulled back before giving her a deep kiss.
'Damn it, take your romance somewhere else,' Uriel thought with some annoyance.
After that scene, Cronos introduced his wife, who was strangely named Rhea—a sorceress of extraordinary talent in rune manipulation who helped in the construction of the Time Hunter.
They chatted for a while, and Hecate thanked Uriel for taking care of her husband.
The procession continued calmly until they reached the enormous palace made of white and black stone. The palace was impressive and dazzling in its design—a palace worthy of the greatest kings in the world.
Upon entering the palace, they were received by a great banquet and a welcome party. Inside the castle were the leaders of the various forces of the now-great city, as well as their representatives.
During the following hours, it was a strange experience for Uriel. He enjoyed the food and drinks, listening silently to the conversations and participating here and there occasionally.
He learned that since their departure, a full year had passed, with most of that year having occurred inside the Estuary.
So he calculated that it had taken them two weeks to reach the Estuary, and they had spent eleven months inside the Estuary to destroy the Guardian and the river, as well as to exit the Estuary.
During the time they were not on the river, Ananke had fulfilled her part. She had traveled across the great river, both into the future and the past, to gather them.
The first were the River Nomads, who, after obtaining their help, helped her spread her words. Slowly but steadily, they convinced each tribe and city of the great river.
Some were easier, others more difficult, but in the end, she succeeded.
When the great river lost its mystical properties that kept them bound to their cities, all the cities began to migrate toward Fallen Grace. One after another, they joined together and built new ports.
Due to the influx of large quantities of souls, the abominations were not long in coming, but they were eliminated by the Awakened.
When Twilight had arrived, they began to be constantly attacked by the Profaned. The warriors of Twilight, especially the Transcendent Champions, acted as the vanguard, dealing with the army.
However, something happened.
Uriel heard how, about two months ago, in a devastating battle where they were losing, an enormous dark being that covered the sky with darkness descended upon the Profanation army, annihilating them completely before rising and disappearing as it had appeared.
They called it the Dark Wanderer.
Finally, after the feast, Daeron announced to everyone that they had a plan to end the source of the Profanation.
This left everyone stunned and shaken. The source of the Profanation had been in the Tomb for thousands of years, destroying them and slowly bringing them to the brink of extinction. Declaring that it would be destroyed once and for all brought mixed emotions.