CHAPTER:0 PART:2 [NOVA]
Eren's last bitter thoughts faded as he drew his final, ragged breath. But instead of ascending peacefully into the afterlife, his soul deliberately strayed from the designated path and plunged into the realm of an unknown, terrifying being.
"Ugh…"
Eren woke with a violent jolt as strange liquid flooded his nose. He sat up straight, heart hammering, and slowly opened his eyes.
He saw… nothing.
Literally nothing.
The entire realm was whiter than white — an endless, blinding void filled with a strange, thick liquid that didn't feel like liquid at all. It moved, breathed, and watched him.
As Eren stared into the liquid, the liquid stared back. A chill ran down his spine. Suddenly the liquid surged forward and wrapped around him — not with malice, but with pure, overwhelming love, like it was welcoming a long-lost child home.
Eren laughed despite himself as the liquid playfully tossed him high into the air, then gently caught him again, embracing him like a warm hug. For a brief moment he forgot his pain… until the memory of his death crashed back in.
The liquid sensed his worry instantly. It set him down gently on the ground. Then a portion of the liquid rose and transformed into a humanoid shape.
Eren stared in confusion.
"What… is this place?"
The liquid figure tilted its head, equally confused. Before Eren could speak again, a voice so deep and dominating thundered through the realm that the entire white foggy world shuddered in fear.
"Boy… why are you here?"
The voice was ancient, dangerous — it felt like invisible blades slicing straight into his soul. Then the voice spoke once more.
"Ita… bring the boy to me."
The liquid figure panicked and frantically motioned for Eren to follow. As they moved through the endless white, Eren asked curiously,
"Is Ita… your name?"
The humanoid figure narrowed its pure white eyes and nodded silently. Eren stayed quiet the rest of the way.
Soon the figure stopped and pointed upward.
Eren's breath caught in his throat. A gigantic white throne pierced the lifeless sky, so massive it seemed to defy reality. And sitting upon it was a being so enormous that its head was lost somewhere in the blinding heights.
Suddenly Eren began floating upward at terrifying speed. Higher and higher he rose, the throne never seeming to end. Finally he reached the summit and came face to face with the being.
"Wha… what the hell are you?!" Eren screamed, terror flooding his veins.
The being was pure white, matching the realm itself. It had three eyes — two of them violently gouged out, leaving empty, bleeding sockets. The single remaining eye in the middle burned with blinding golden light.
The being's voice shook the entire realm as it looked down at the tiny soul.
"What am I? Let me ask you the same question. What are you… and what are you doing here? This is not a resting place for souls."
Only then did Eren realize the horrifying truth — this place was not the afterlife. His voice quivered under the crushing pressure.
"I… I don't know how I got here…"
The being fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a heavy sigh.
"Strange… indeed strange. A being whose soul is already tainted by chaos."
It looked at Eren's puny soul once more — this time without pressure — and sighed again.
"Ah… why did you have to come here of all places?"
The entire realm began rumbling violently. The being looked at Eren with something almost like pity.
"Boy… you will have to take it from here."
Eren was completely lost.
"Umm… what am I going to take?"
The being's voice grew heavier.
"You… are going to become the new host of the power I hold."
Eren's jaw dropped.
"Wait — what?! I probably ended up here by coincidence and you're just handing over your responsibility to me?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire realm shuddered and began cracking apart like glass. The being looked up at the sky now covered in fractures and spoke with pure terror.
"Oh… oh no… they are coming."
Eren opened his mouth to ask who, but the being suddenly gouged out its own golden eye. With a sickening crunch it shattered the eye, and a brilliant white crystal floated out.
The being grabbed the crystal and slammed it straight into Eren's soul.
Eren fell into a trance as the being's mighty voice echoed inside him.
"There are many problems with this power. It is like poison — the longer it stays in your body, the faster you die. But if you die… you will be completely erased from existence."
Eren took a shaky breath.
"At least tell me your name…"
The being answered.
"N0VA."
Eren couldn't hear it clearly. The entire realm shattered apart. The being waved its hand and Eren vanished from sight. It then turned to Ita.
"Protect the boy."
The humanoid figure disappeared instantly.
The realm completely broke open. A gigantic humanoid figure with six blazing wings descended, bringing blinding light and an army of similar angelic beings with him. He looked down with a sarcastic smile.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't NOVA the Chaos."
The newcomer held a long spear forged from pure light itself.
NOVA greeted him coldly.
"It's good to see you too, Archangel Michael."
Michael smirked.
"Right. Now tell me — what were you doing in this desolate world?"
He slammed the spear into NOVA's legs, forcing the giant to kneel. Several angels rushed forward and clamped golden shackles around him.
(Now tell me, NOVA… what were you doing just before we arrived? Why did you expose yourself now?)
NOVA smirked through the pain.
"I don't know. Why don't you find out yourself?"
Michael bashed his head with the spear and leaned in close.
"NOVA… tell me what you were doing."
As Michael leaned closer, NOVA suddenly spat a mouthful of glowing white blood straight into his face.
"Why don't you ask God? He would know."
Then NOVA started laughing — a mad, defiant, world-shaking laugh.
Michael's face twisted with fury. In one clean motion he beheaded NOVA on the spot.
As Michael prepared to ascend, the severed head — still barely alive — spoke one final time before disintegrating.
"Michael… Chronos will never die."
Somewhere across the vast tapestries of the worlds, a soul that should never
have existed awakened inside a different body.
END OF CHAPTER:0 PART:2