Cronus' system: Against the gods

Rex's chest heaved, each breath a jagged rasp that tore through his lungs. He collapsed onto the ashen ground, his limbs sprawled out. Every muscle screamed in protest, his body heavy and unresponsive, as if carved from stone.

The battlefield reeked of sulfur and blood, and the crimson skies of Hades churned above him, casting long, malevolent shadows over his battered form.

His Aether reserves were completely drained, leaving him hollow and vulnerable, like a warrior stripped of his armor in the heart of a storm.

A dark thought flitted across his mind, unbidden. Even Truck-kun would be more merciful than this...(Not sure if our MC knows who Truck kun is)But no, Rex knew better than to dwell on defeat.

"That was…" he panted, his voice faltering like a sputtering flame. "That was one hell of a fight. I… I…"

"Indeed, thou hast shown an unyielding temperance befitting of an Harbinger!" Cronus's deep, resonant voice echoed in Rex's mind, each word tinged with a strange blend of mockery and reluctant admiration.

"But dost thou truly believe thy battle is concluded?"

Rex turned his head, forcing his bleary eyes to the blood-red sky. The glow of the ever-shifting heavens seemed almost alive, pulsating with a malicious energy that made his stomach churn.

"Yeah… Yeah, I know…" he croaked, his words barely audible. "But… at least… let me breathe, damn it…"

A low chuckle rumbled in his ears, cold and unnerving. "Hehehe."

Rex clenched his jaw, willing himself to ignore the eerie mirth of his celestial companion. He had no strength for cryptic games right now. His trembling fingers summoned the familiar status screen, its glowing interface a faint comfort against the chaos of his surroundings.

"If I'm going to collapse, at least let me attribute my stat points." But something was wrong.

No notification. No level-up. No XP gain.

"What the hell?" Rex's voice sharpened with disbelief, his mind jolted from its haze. "Why isn't there a system notification? I defeated the Erinyes, didn't I?" His fingers swiped through the glowing panels in front of him, desperation creeping into his movements.

Status Panel

Name: Rex Xander

Level: 38

XP to Next Level: 2,700/1,900,000 XP

Race: Human (Hero of Time)

Class: Cerberus Slayer (Effect: Gains 2x more XP from wolf-like creatures)

Strength: 258

Agility: 282

Endurance: 194

Intelligence: 174

Aether: 0/180

Available Ability Points: 0

Active Skills:

Aegis of Eternity (Lv. 1) (XP to next level: 100/300)

Cost: 5 Aether per second.

Description: Create a timeless bubble to isolate from time's flow. Inside, immunity to damage and rapid healing occurs.

Passive Skills:

Fate's Eyes

Titan's Will (Cooldown remaining: 24 hours)

His heart sank as his eyes darted through the unchanged stats. No new XP. No progress. Nothing. Just the same familiar numbers staring back at him, mocking his exhaustion.

"What the…?" he whispered, his voice barely above a breath. His hands balled into fists. "Cronus, what's going on? Why haven't I leveled up?"

The laughter in his mind deepened, the sound sending chills down his spine. "Hehehehe! Did I not warn thee, Harbinger? Dost thou truly think this battle is over?" Cronus's words reverberated with cruel amusement, a twisted pleasure in Rex's growing realization.

Rex's gaze snapped to the spot where the Erinyes had fallen. Her form had crumbled into nothingness, a rain of dark ash and shattered crimson light but now, something impossible was happening.

The remnants of her body, fragments as small as motes of dust began to stir. They swirled together like a malicious wind, coalescing into a glowing, infernal mass.

"No… no way," Rex whispered, his blood running cold. His trembling hand gripped his side, forcing his battered body upright as he stared, horrified.

The fragments grew brighter, fusing together into a silhouette far more menacing than before. Her form solidified, her once-pristine armor now jagged and licked by flickering crimson flames.

Her eyes snapped open, blazing like twin infernos, filled with wrath and an unyielding thirst for vengeance.

Rex's heart slammed against his ribs like a war drum, each beat a reminder of the danger surging toward him. Before him, the Erinyes rose anew, her fiery gaze drilling into his very soul.

Her form was no longer fractured; she now radiated raw power, her crimson flames casting shadows that danced across the scorched battlefield. She wasn't just back, she was stronger, a terrifying embodiment of divine wrath.

"What in Hades' name is going on?" Rex muttered, his voice shaking as his legs threatened to give out beneath him.

A cold, mocking chuckle echoed through his mind. "The Erinyes are immortal beings," Cronus intoned, his tone maddeningly calm. "They cannot be killed."

Rex's jaw tightened as a wave of dread washed over him. "You mean to tell me," he growled, "that I'm supposed to just stand here and let her kill me?! Is that the plan?!"

Cronus's laughter deepened, a dark melody of mirth. "I'm afraid so, Harbinger. Thou art destined to dance on the edge of despair!"

Rex's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me!"

The Erinyes stepped forward, her every movement precise and menacing. The blazing whip in her hand hissed and crackled, its flames licking hungrily at the air as if eager to taste flesh.

Her voice thundered with righteous fury, reverberating through the ashen wasteland. "Thou art steeped in sin, mortal! Thy defiance, thy arrogance, it ends here! I shall deliver judgment, swift and unrelenting!"

Rex's breath hitched as she advanced, each step radiating an aura of suffocating heat. He instinctively stumbled back, his feet crunching against charred remains scattered across the ground.

His mind raced, but his body screamed with exhaustion. Dammit! His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. His Aether reserves were bone-dry, his once-powerful abilities now as distant as a fading memory.

Even if he had Aether left, what difference would it make? This wasn't a battle, this was an execution. The Erinyes was an unstoppable force, a divine predator, and Rex was nothing more than prey.

Desperation clawed at him as his thoughts spiraled. What did I even do wrong?! he demanded inwardly. All I did was free the Shades from their torment.

They were trapped in an endless cycle of guilt, their regrets amplified by those damned anchors tethering them to this hell! I freed them, his chest tightened as the irony hit him. was that my crime? Offering mercy?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He gritted his teeth, frustration boiling into anger. His muscles trembled as he forced himself upright, his body screaming in protest.

"This is insane," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "She's punishing me for giving them peace?"

The Erinyes raised her whip, the weapon glowing with molten fury. Flames rippled along its length, twisting and snapping like the jaws of a ravenous beast.

Her eyes burned brighter, twin suns of divine fury. Rex's own reflection shimmered in their fiery depths, a broken, exhausted mortal standing defiant against impossible odds.

"I don't regret it," he said, his voice hoarse but steady. He locked eyes with the Erinyes, drawing a deep, shuddering breath. "I freed them. They deserved peace. If that's a sin, then so be it."

The Erinyes' fiery whip lashed out, a blur of molten light that cracked against Rex's chest. Agony exploded through his body as the searing flames tore into his flesh, leaving a charred gash across his chest. He screamed, his knees buckling, but he didn't fall. He refused to fall.

Pain rippled through him in waves. Blood seeped from the wound, dark and glistening, pooling at his feet like a crimson stain on the blackened ground. Rex staggered, his breaths shallow and ragged, but his eyes never left hers.

"Thy punishment hath only begun, mortal," the Erinyes snarled, her voice layered with wrath and contempt. She dragged the whip back, the barbs glowing with Rex's blood, sizzling as it mingled with the flames.

Before he could react, she closed the distance between them with terrifying speed. Her clawed hand shot out, gripping his jaw in an iron vice.

Rex struggled, but her strength was overwhelming, her touch burning like acid against his skin.

"Thy blood carries thy sin," she hissed, her forked tongue flickering between jagged teeth. Her eyes bore into his, twin suns of righteous fury. "And now, with thy blood, I shall mark thee."

The Erinyes ran her tongue along the blazing whip, licking the blood smeared across its fiery length. The moment his blood touched her lips, her eyes widened. The fury within them twisted into something unrecognizable shock, confusion, and pain.

"No…!" Her voice cracked, her grip on Rex faltering. Her body stiffened as if struck by an unseen force. She stumbled back, clutching her throat, her fiery aura flickering and dimming.

Rex blinked, stunned. He watched as cracks began to spiderweb across her flesh, glowing with a pale, celestial light. Her molten armor crumbled away, piece by piece, disintegrating into fine ash that swirled in the wind.

"What… What's happening?" Rex whispered hoarsely, his knees finally giving out as he collapsed onto the ground.

He could only watch in awe as the Erinyes' form began to dissolve, her once-mighty presence unraveling into nothingness.

The Erinyes screamed, a guttural, inhuman sound that reverberated through the scorched wasteland.

Her fiery whip disintegrated in her hands, the flames extinguished as though snuffed out by the heavens themselves. She clawed at the air, her body breaking apart in radiant shards that vanished into the void.

Cronus's voice rumbled in Rex's mind, calm and almost amused. "Fascinating, is it not? The Erinyes, those relentless arbiters of divine punishment, reduced to this… frailty."

Rex turned his head weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. "What… the hell just happened?"

Cronus chuckled. "The Erinyes are creatures born of Uranus' blood, bound by the laws of the heavens themselves.

Their essence is rooted in purity, their existence a testament to divine wrath untainted."

Rex's eyes narrowed, confusion etched across his battered face. "And…?"

"And as an harbinger, you carry my blood," Cronus continued, his tone turning cold, "when she consumed thy blood, Harbinger, she committed the ultimate transgression.

Thy blood is that of the one who mutilated Uranus, the blood of defiance, of rebellion. By tasting it, she betrayed her very essence, and the heavens exacted their vengeance."

The skies above them churned violently, the crimson clouds swirling into a vortex that seemed to reach into eternity. Lightning crackled within the vortex, casting blinding flashes of light across the wasteland.

"The heavens," Cronus said, his voice heavy with finality, "do not forgive such betrayal."

The Erinyes let out one final, piercing shriek as her form disintegrated entirely, the celestial light consuming her until there was nothing left but silence. The oppressive heat of her presence vanished, leaving the air cold and still.