Eternal Undying Chronicles

Chrona watched in abject horror as the Reaper's body regenerated, each torn piece knitting back together until he stood in pristine condition. His sinister laughter echoed through the devastated area, chilling her to the bone.

"Hehehehe…jahaaaaahahaaha!"

Her heart pounded furiously, the sight of the enemy they had destroyed rising again—untouched, unstoppable.

"He's…he's immortal," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"What? No…that's not possible!" Ping stammered, wide-eyed with disbelief as he took an unsteady step back.

"How can we kill something that won't die?" Lucky muttered, his voice trembling, his usual bravado stripped away by fear.

Maya's face was deathly pale from blood loss. "There has to be a way…there has to be…"

The Reaper grinned maliciously. "That almost left a scar," he mocked, his cold voice cutting through the tension. "Now then, you have two choices—submission or death."

"Damn you!" Caden roared, rage boiling over. Without hesitation, he charged forward, his fists clenched in fury, and the rubble around them lifted into the air, swirling at his command as he used his telekinesis to throw everything he could at the Reaper.

"I see you've chosen death," the Reaper said, his voice devoid of any emotion as he raised a hand. "That can be arranged."

Caden's reckless assault began, but Chrona could see it—he was outmatched. They all were. Caden would lose, and they would die.

Beside her, Petra, supported by Anne, tried to speak, her voice barely a whisper, but the chaos around them drowned out her words. Chrona's focus shifted to Petra, who had been inside the Reaper's mind and survived, but barely. There had to be something she knew, something she could tell them.

"Anne, lower her to the ground."

Anne hesitated, her tear-filled eyes locked on Chrona's. But she obeyed, gently lowering Petra to the blood-soaked floor. Petra's lips moved again, faint whispers escaping her, but the words were muffled by the ongoing battle. Chrona leaned in, straining to hear.

"Submit… sub… submit," Petra kept whispering, tears spilling down her cheeks as her body trembled uncontrollably.

A wave of despair crashed over Chrona. Petra, who had glimpsed the Reaper's true nature, was urging them to give up. Was there no hope left?

"No," Chrona whispered back, tears welling in her own eyes.

Suddenly, a defiant roar shattered the fear that had gripped them.

Maya, ablaze with fury, charged into the maelstrom surrounding the Reaper, her body igniting as [Ifrit], her ability, roared to life. Flames licked at her skin, and the very air around her shimmered with heat. She moved with deadly intent, her eyes locked on the Reaper as her power grew in intensity.

"Maya, stop!" Caden screamed, still struggling to keep the Reaper at bay. Maya didn't stop.

She rolled forward, narrowly dodging the Reaper's gauntlet as his sharp, bladed fingers swiped at her with deadly precision. The earth beneath her feet cracked under the heat of her flames, her every movement fueled by pure rage and desperation.

Maya's eyes were alight with determination as she closed the distance between them.

The Reaper's gauntlets gleamed in the light of her fire, a retractable blade sliding out with an ominous click. Before she could react, the Reaper drove the blade into her gut with brutal precision. The sharp metal sliced through flesh and bone with ease.

Maya smiled, even as blood poured from her wound and bubbled at her lips. Her hair ignited, her entire body engulfed in a roaring inferno as she pulled the Reaper closer, forcing him into the flames with her. The air filled with the acrid scent of burning flesh, and her screams, mingled with the desperate shouts of her friends, cut through the chaos.

"No!" Ping shouted, throwing himself over Summer to shield her from the unbearable heat, his face contorted in horror.

Chrona watched in helpless despair as Maya's body was consumed by the flames. The blaze raged for several agonizing moments before it finally died down, leaving nothing but a charred, lifeless husk. And from the ashes, the Reaper stepped out—unharmed, his laughter still echoing in the silence.

His cold eyes locked onto Ping next. With a swift, merciless motion, the Reaper impaled Ping with the gauntlet's blade, driving it through his skull with terrifying precision. Blood sprayed in a sickening arc as Ping's body convulsed before going limp.

"Ping!" Summer screamed, her voice breaking under the weight of her grief.

Before she could react, the Reaper moved again, a blur of violence. His blade slashed through her with ease, her lifeblood splattering across the rubble as she collapsed, lifeless.

"No! Not Summer too!" Lucky cried out, his voice choked with anguish as he charged toward the Reaper. But just as he was about to reach him, his foot caught on a piece of rubble, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground. The Reaper's blade missed him by mere inches—his [Lucky Break] had saved him.

Caden, his face twisted with pain, struggled to intercept the Reaper, but he was tossed aside like a ragdoll, his body too exhausted to continue. The Reaper laughed, a sound filled with cruel amusement.

"No, not you… you will be last. Watch as I end them all… watch as you fail. You can't do anything but suffer… and then, you will submit before your death."

Chrona felt Petra's grip tighten on her arm, her nails digging into her skin. The others had already fallen into despair, the futility of their situation overwhelming them. What was the point of fighting an enemy that couldn't die?

As the Reaper's shadow loomed over her, Chrona closed her eyes, her body numb to the impending death.

"Hopefully, this is the last time," she muttered, accepting the inevitable.

The Reaper raised his hand, ready to deliver the final blow, but before he could strike, Anne stepped forward, trembling but determined.

"No… no, I won't let you kill them," Anne's voice wavered, but there was a fire in her eyes.

The Reaper paused, intrigued. He stroked her cheek with a gauntleted hand, smearing her skin with blood. With a dismissive flick of his wrist, he used his control over gravity to move her aside, her body floating helplessly behind him.

"Anne," Chrona whispered in shock, barely able to comprehend her bravery.

Anne's plea was desperate. "Please stop, don't kill them. You can't kill them!"

"Hmmmm, a little too late for that."

Anne's gaze fell on Chrona, who had already surrendered to despair.

"Chrona, please… don't give up. Not yet… You have to try, again and again. Everyone's counting on you. All your friends are.... you can still save them, I know it's not fair to ask you, but you have to go back again and again... until you get the a perfect run....please...

you can undo all this....please"

Chrona's heart clenched. Was there still hope, even against an immortal enemy?

With a casual motion, the Reaper ended Chrona's life. Darkness swallowed her, but just as quickly, she found herself back—thirty minutes before the Reaper's arrival, with the voices of her friends filling the air. Stay connected with empire

Once again, she knew what was coming.

The weight of that knowledge crashed over her like a tidal wave. Chrona broke into mournful, agonizing tears, her sobs tearing through the room.

"Ahaaa…ahahah!" Chrona cried out, her voice trembling with grief and despair. Her friends rushed to her side, trying to console her, confusion and concern written across their faces.

"Chrona, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Christina asked, her voice full of worry.

"Did something happen?"

"What is it, Chrona? Please, talk to us," Caden urged, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

But Chrona could only sob harder, her body shaking with the weight of what she knew.

Finally, she managed to choke out, "We…we are all going to die in thirty minutes."

The room fell silent, her words sinking in like stones. Everyone stared at her, the color draining from their faces.

"What do you mean?" Ping asked.

With a deep breath, Chrona began recounting what she had already experienced in her previous attempts to change their fate.

She didn't have to explain much, all she did was ask Petra to use her ability to share the memories with the others. One by one, their expressions shifted from confusion to horror as they absorbed the grim truth.

"What…what do we do?" Christina finally asked, her voice barely a whisper as she turned to Caden.

"Do we run away?" Summer asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"No," Caden said firmly, his voice cutting through the silence. "If we run, he'll still find us. And if we leave this city, we're as good as dead anyway."

"There has to be something we're missing, something we can use," Chris muttered, pacing back and forth. "I just can't put my finger on it…"

"We all saw everything from Chrona's point of view," Ping said, his mind racing for answers. "There has to be some clue, something we overlooked."

"What if we…what if we try something different this time?" Maya suggested, her voice trembling. "What if we…change the way we fight?"

"No, that won't work, he's too strong," Chris muttered, shaking his head.

Caden looked around at them all, seeing the fear in their eyes—fear they were trying so hard to suppress.

"How do we kill an immortal being?" Oliver finally asked, his voice heavy with despair.

"We don't," Caden replied, his tone grim. "Our goal isn't to kill him. It's to survive. That's always been our goal since we escaped the labs. We've already established that running isn't an option, and that…thing looked too insane to reason with."

"Yeah, but he became more aggressive after Petra got inside his mind," John, the older member of the group, pointed out.

"And he has mental powers, too," Lucky added, his voice tinged with nervous laughter. "I don't feel so lucky right now…"

"Right, Petra got into his head," Maya said, her brow furrowed in thought. "And then she kept saying 'submit'—like, give up."

Petra lowered her head, her voice barely audible. "I…I didn't know what else to say. It's like he's…invincible."

"What do we do?" Christina asked, looking around the room with wide eyes. "What's our next move?"

"We know he'll kill us all…except Anne," Ping said quietly, but with certainty.

"We can still try running"

"Yeah, so her guardian angel is a Grim Reaper," Summer whispered.

"Right, that shadowy figure…he has to be the Reaper," Maya added, piecing it together.

"But Petra said he wasn't evil. He just wanted to save people," Oliver said, frowning in confusion.

"And the Reaper we fought just wants to kill us all. No way they're the same guy," Maya continued, shaking her head.

"I don't know…maybe they are," John said, glancing at Anne. "I mean, the Reaper didn't kill Anne, not even once."

All eyes turned to Anne, who looked back at them in bewilderment.

"Errh…I don't know what you guys are talking about," she said, her voice small and unsure.

"We mean…the Reaper seems hyper-focused on reaching you, Anne. Even when he started acting crazy, he didn't harm you. Not once."

Anne's brow furrowed as she tried to understand. They explained the situation to her in brief.

"I…I don't understand. Why wouldn't he hurt me? What's so special about me?" Anne asked, her confusion growing.

"Guess we'll just have to find that out."

The group exchanged uncertain glances, each grappling with the terrifying unknowns of their predicament. Caden finally spoke up, his voice filled with conviction.

"Whatever it is, we have to figure it out fast. And I'm not big on making Chrona die again, Which means someone else has to take point this time."