As the black mist thickened and began to flow faster, something strange started happening to Kronos inside the ice.
Yet Konan, Gojo Satoru, Albedo, and the others outside the frozen zone noticed nothing.
To them, Kronos was simply engulfed in a dense black fog.
"Since Captain Kronos is taking action, he should be able to come out soon..."
Konan spoke calmly as she watched the growing mist.
Everyone nodded in agreement, unaware of the transformation happening within the ice.
Inside the black mist, Kronos' consciousness began to slowly return.
But even though his mind was waking, it was far from clear.
His thoughts were chaotic, scattered—he couldn't focus on anything.
Only fragmented memories flashed through his mind, one after another:
—The world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk.
—Erica and little Hina in that familiar tavern.
—Floating bubbles over the Sabaody Archipelago.
—Sea Kings lurking in the dark, silent depths.
—The Marine headquarters during the Summit War.
—The taste of strong wine in a backwater bar.
Names, faces, and fleeting moments flashed through his mind in no particular order—wild and out of control.
Meanwhile, the black mist enveloping Kronos began to flow more rapidly.
And then, something shocking occurred—
Kronos' right hand began to fade, its form slowly dissolving!
Within moments, it turned completely black, transformed into pure mist.
The transformation didn't stop there.
The rest of Kronos' body followed—limbs, torso, and head all turning into black vapor.
And yet, he did not disappear.
His form collapsed into countless particles—
but instead of fading away, they began to reassemble under the swirling motion of the mist.
And when they reformed, Kronos was no longer the same.
He still looked humanoid, but his body was now entirely composed of black mist—
a shape barely held together by some unknown force.
Suddenly, the black fog around him surged violently!
A massive shockwave of dark mist burst outward—
From the outside, Konan, Gojo Satoru, and the others saw the thick black fog erupt from the ice in a powerful explosion!
It shattered the frozen prison instantly.
But something strange happened:
The broken ice didn't crumble or melt—it simply disappeared.
No shards, no vapor… it was as if the ice had never existed.
And in the next second, the swirling black mist recoiled—
shrinking back and flowing directly into Kronos' body.
With the fog and ice now gone, Kronos stood exposed at the center of the frozen zone.
But this time, the cold had no effect on him at all.
Even standing within the core of the frozen field, he remained unaffected.
Yet he didn't move. He just stood there—silent and still.
"What... what's going on with Captain Kronos?"
Everyone watching was stunned.
Kronos now looked like a creature made of chaos itself.
His body was no longer flesh—it was a shadowy, formless mass, pulsing with unstable energy.
It wasn't just his appearance; it was his presence that had changed.
To Konan, Gojo Satoru, and the rest, it no longer felt like they were looking at a person—
It felt like something else… something born from the void.
A presence that radiated pure confusion, as if the laws of the world didn't apply to him.
"Is this… a new form?" Gojo Satoru asked, rubbing his chin, eyes narrowing.
"Something's definitely different now," muttered Pain (Tendō), who had silently observed from the side.
His words snapped the others to attention.
"Lord Kronos?" Albedo called out tentatively.
But Kronos didn't answer.
He just stood there like a statue of darkness, head slightly raised, as if lost in thought.
What remained of his face—now just the faint outline of a human countenance—showed no emotion.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
Suddenly, Kronos stirred.
He turned—slowly and silently—toward Konan, Gojo Satoru, Albedo, and the others.
His head tilted, his empty gaze locking onto them… almost curious.
And in that moment, a chilling instinct gripped the group.
A sense of overwhelming danger.
An aura that sent every nerve screaming, as if the universe itself was warning them.
That danger—indescribable, suffocating—was radiating from Kronos…
...a creature of darkness and chaos, reborn.
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