CHAPTER 179: THE HEIR OF CHRONOS.

(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don’t hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

(Don’t forget to join my discord. https://discord.gg/gwRQnjbQDK)

Power stones people, Gimme it.

---------------------------------

His son had just shattered a wall like it was paper.

Erevan smiled faintly.

But not displeased.

Not at all.

If the world thought it could test his heir—

Then it would learn.

Just as it always did.

The Duke of Chronos turned back to his desk.

And reached for the next file.

-------------------------------------------------

The cavern lay buried beneath layers of stone and silence.

It was not ancient, nor was it natural. The walls bore the faint marks of fights and scuffles—tunnels carved cleanly, deliberately, by magic rather than erosion. Mana suppression runes pulsed faintly along the edges, old but well-maintained. Whoever owned this place understood discretion.

Outside the Chronos estate.

Deep within the Tylon Barony.

An up-and-coming territory. Recently expanded. Recently granted autonomy. Recently watched.

Two figures met within the cavern.

Both cloaked.

Both masked.

Both careful.

The first leaned against a stone pillar, posture relaxed but alert, arms crossed beneath his cloak. He had been here longer. His presence had already settled into the cavern like a shadow that belonged.

The second arrived silently.

Not through teleportation—too risky this close to Chronos influence—but through a concealed passage that sealed itself the moment he stepped through.

"Getting into the dukedom is becoming a nuisance," the second said, voice muffled by enchantment.

The first snorted. "You’re telling me this like it’s news."

"I’m serious," the second continued, removing his hood just enough to exhale. "I had to come in the regular way."

"That’s on you."

"No," he replied flatly. "That’s on Chronos tightening the net."

The first shifted his weight. "You’re still breathing."

"Barely," the second said. "Permits. Registrations. Cross-checks. I had to polish more hands than I’m comfortable admitting."

"Bribes?" the first asked.

"Donations," the second corrected dryly. "Official ones."

A pause.

The first chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse," the second said. "They’re not just watching borders. They’re watching movement patterns. Supply chains. Personnel rotation. Even minor nobles are under scrutiny."

"That’s Erevan for you," the first replied. "Man runs his dukedom like a living organism."

"And yet," the second said, "someone still wants me here."

The first tilted his head slightly. "That’s what I wanted to ask."

Silence stretched.

The second glanced around the cavern. Not casually. Precisely. His senses brushed against the walls, the ceiling, the mana suppression layers embedded beneath the stone.

"Not here," he said.

The first nodded.

He gestured deeper into the cavern.

"There’s a room," he continued. "Shielded. No residual signatures."

The second smiled an nodded. "Lead."

They moved without sound.

The room was small. Circular. Reinforced with overlapping enchantments—anti-scrying, anti-teleport, mana dampeners stacked like layers of armor. The second waved a hand, activating an additional seal.

A low hum filled the air.

Privacy.

The second exhaled and pulled back his hood fully.

"Orders from above," he said.

The first didn’t react.

"They want the Chronos heir removed."

The cavern room went still.

Then—

Laughter.

The first doubled over slightly, shaking his head. "You’re joking."

"No."

"That’s—" He laughed again, louder. "That’s insane."

"Not my call."

"They can’t even get agents into the dukedom without tripping alarms," the first said. "And now they want to remove the heir?"

"Again," the second replied evenly, "not my call."

The first wiped a tear from his eye. "You realize how absurd that sounds?"

"I realize how suicidal it sounds," the second said. "Which is why I’m not involved beyond delivery."

The first sobered.

"So you’re the courier."

"Yes."

"And I’m the idiot they expect to execute this."

"Seems so."

The first paced the room slowly. "They know who he is, right?"

"They know what he is."

"That’s worse."

Silence.

The first stopped pacing. "And you risked coming all this way to tell me this... why?"

The second reached into his cloak.

Slowly.

Carefully.

He withdrew a small pouch.

Black.

Sealed.

Unmarked.

He placed it on the table between them.

"I was instructed to give you this," he said. "And nothing more."

The first stared at it.

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

"You didn’t look?"

"I was explicitly told not to."

The first frowned. "And you followed that?"

"Yes."

Another pause.

The second produced a folded sheet of paper and slid it across the table.

"Coordinates," he said. "A location."

The first unfolded it.

His brow furrowed.

"...That’s inside the dukedom," he said.

"Yes."

"But not within the estate."

"Correct."

The first’s eyes narrowed. "That area’s accessible."

"For you," the second replied. "Not for me."

"So they want me to take this," the first said, gesturing to the pouch, "and drop it there."

"Yes."

"And then what?"

"Nothing."

The first laughed once. "That’s it?"

"That’s it."

The first leaned back. "No timing?"

"Within a week."

"No conditions?"

"No."

"No guarantee I won’t die?"

The second met his gaze. "None."

The first stared at the pouch again.

Whatever this was... it wasn’t simple.

Chronos territory. Heir involved. Instructions vague. Oversight minimal.

It reeked of either desperation—

—or confidence bordering on madness.

"You’re sure this isn’t bait?" the first asked.

The second shrugged.

The first smirked faintly. "Fair."

He reached out—but stopped just short of touching the pouch.

"If this goes wrong," he said slowly, "I die."

"Yes."

"If it goes right?"

The second hesitated. "Unknown."

The first nodded.

"Figures."

He picked up the pouch.

It was heavier than it looked.

"Anything else?" he asked.

The second shook his head. "No."

The first tucked the pouch into his cloak. "Then you should leave."

"I intend to."

The second turned toward the exit.

Paused.

"The Chronos heir," he said. "They’re calling him... problematic."

The first chuckled under his breath.

"Yeah," he said. "That sounds about right."

The second disappeared into the tunnel.

The cavern fell silent again.

The first stood alone.

He looked down at the pouch.

Then at the coordinates.

Then toward the distant, unseen heart of the Chronos estate.

"...The heir of Chronos," he muttered.