I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Eccar sat quietly inside the cave that had once belonged to Krono. The cavern remained saturated with ancient and powerful Magic energy, its walls still carrying the lingering remnants of Krono’s existence.

That was only natural considering Krono had called this place his home for an unimaginably long time. Neither Eccar, Erend, nor Aesa knew how many thousands or perhaps millions of years the Time Dragon had spent here before meeting them and entrusting his power to them.

Golden particles of Magic drifted faintly through the air like fireflies dancing in the darkness. The walls occasionally emitted a dim golden glow as if responding to the fragments of Time power residing within Eccar’s body.

Even after Krono’s death, the cave itself seemed unwilling to let go of its former master.

Eccar sat cross-legged near the center of the cave and rested his back against a large stone formation.

He originally came here hoping that the silence would help him clear his thoughts, but it had done the exact opposite.

Silence was cruel when he carried regrets.

Without the distractions of battle or conversation, his mind became noisier than ever. Memories he had buried long ago resurfaced one after another. The image of his destroyed world. The countless lives that had been lost. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness when he had failed to protect the people precious to him.

Most of all, he remembered his wife.

No matter how much time passed, he still could not forget her face during their final moments together.

He remembered the warmth of her smile and the promises they had made to one another. Even after gaining unimaginable power as a Dragonborn, there remained one thing he could never recover.

Her, his wife.

Sometimes he wondered whether he had truly accepted her death or if he had merely become better at pretending that he had.

The vision he had seen through the Black Rage had only reopened wounds that he thought had long since healed.

After remaining silent for several minutes, Eccar finally let out a quiet sigh.

"Let’s talk again, Krono."

The cave naturally gave no response. But a moment later countless golden particles gathered before him and slowly formed the figure of a tall man with long golden hair wearing black and gold robes.

It was Krono. Or rather, it was merely the image of Krono created by Eccar’s own mind.

The Time Dragon did not truly stand before him. The manifestation existed only because Eccar wished for it to exist. No one else would have been able to see him.

Krono glanced around the familiar cave before smiling bitterly.

"I miss this place," he said softly, his voice carrying both nostalgia and sadness.

Eccar chuckled faintly and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry. I thought this would be the best place for me to think."

Krono shook his head. "No. I didn’t mean that as a complaint. In fact, I should be thanking you for returning here. I can no longer come back to this place on my own, after all. So, what is it that you wish to ask me this time?"

Eccar remained silent for a moment before speaking. "You saw the vision I experienced during the Black Rage, didn’t you?"

Krono nodded lightly. "I did. I lived inside your mind after all."

"I saw my wife again," Eccar said quietly. "The Chaos God killed her, and after all this time, I still haven’t been able to forget it." He clenched his fists unconsciously as the memories resurfaced once more. "Tell me, Krono. What am I supposed to do?"

The manifestation of Krono became silent for several moments. Unlike before, he did not immediately answer. Finally, he sighed softly.

"I cannot truly give you the answer you seek, Eccar. Some wounds cannot be healed by the advice of others. They are wounds that only you can overcome. However, I believe there is one thing you should do."

Eccar raised an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"You should return to your world."

"My world?"

Krono nodded.

"Return to the place where everything began. Visit the places you once called home. Retrace your own footsteps and remember the person you used to be before all of this happened." He smiled faintly as he continued. "Perhaps you have become so focused on moving forward that you have forgotten to look back. Grief is not something that disappears simply because time passes. Sometimes, we must confront it directly."

Eccar remained silent as Krono’s words sank into his mind.

He had spent so many years fighting and becoming stronger that he had never truly allowed himself to revisit his own past.

Everything he had done since becoming a Dragonborn had been about moving toward the next battle and protecting the people around him.

He never once returned to his original world. Perhaps because he had been afraid.

Afraid that revisiting those places would only make him suffer even more.

"Maybe..." Krono continued, "there are still things waiting for you there. Memories that need to be revisited or answers that have yet to reveal themselves. You may even find something that will help you understand yourself better."

Eccar lowered his gaze and thought carefully about Krono’s suggestion.

Returning to his world would mean facing everything he had spent so many years avoiding. He would have to revisit the ruins of his homeland and confront the memories of his wife’s death.

Part of him wanted to refuse immediately.

But another part of him knew that Krono was right. He had been carrying this burden for far too long.

Eventually, Eccar let out a long sigh. "I guess I really do have to do that."

Krono smiled softly. "Besides, your journey isn’t over yet. You’re now thinking about becoming stronger so that you can fight whatever cosmic threat appears next. But strength isn’t everything."

"What do you mean?"

"You’ve gained incredible power as a Dragonborn, but I think you’ve neglected something equally important."

"And what’s that?"

"Understanding yourself."

Krono pointed toward Eccar’s chest.

"The Black Rage is not just amplifying power. It exposes what you have buried deep within your heart and uses it to control your soul. If you wish to master it completely, then you must first understand the emotions hidden inside yourself. Your grief, regrets, guilt, and the things that continue to chain your heart to the past."

The Time Dragon smiled knowingly.

"You cannot fight cosmic beings while fighting yourself at the same time. You saw what Erend did."

Eccar chuckled bitterly. "When you put it like that, it sounds pretty troublesome."

"It always is," Krono replied with a small laugh. "Even Dragons are not immune to such problems."

The cave fell silent once more as Eccar looked around the familiar surroundings. Now he felt as though he finally had some kind of a destination in mind.

Not another battlefield or another world. But home.

Perhaps before fighting gods and cosmic entities once again, he first needed to confront the ghosts of his own past.

And maybe somewhere within the ruins of the world he had lost, he would find something.

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