One second, he was throwing his life away against an indescribable monster; the noble act was for himself and had nothing to do with saving his life or his "friends." Chrono stared the beast in the eye and held no fear in his eyes; there was only emptiness and acceptance. He did not fear death; he craved it. Lifting his head up, he met the beast eye to eye and let out a primal yell of rage, anger, and bitterness. His body levitated off the ground and pure energy emanated from it. Marle stood at the sidelines, weakly muttering, "No. Don't. Please…" before losing consciousness.
Magus watched on in awe at the power; he recognized it because he too possessed that power. Only those who had become consumed by bitterness had the ability to wield it. However, Magus had no desire to throw away his life like this boy was doing. And with one last yell, his world faded to white.
He felt a cold wind against his cheeks, wondering if he had fooled whatever God there was and made it to heaven. It wasn't as if he'd ever believe in such a…monster. Who else would throw so much misery upon me?
"Chrono?" It was Marle's voice. Marle, the person that had finally pushed him over the edge. Marle. He hated Marle; he must have been sentenced to hell after all. He opened his eyes and felt her arms around her. If he had any energy left, his body would have cackled with anger. 'How dare she touch me after…' With his last ounce of power, he harshly pushed her away. Then, he passed out.
When he awoke, he was well aware he was at the End of Time, where all six of his companions stood hovering around him.
"Are you alright?" It was Lucca.
"Yea. I've never been better. What happened?" His words were cryptic and deliberate. They explained it all to him—his death, the time egg, his resurrection.
"..and that's how you ended up here."
"Oh." 'Whatever. I would have preferred dying. At least I'd be rid of all this pain, this anger, this…desire to destroy things.'
"Do you think you're ready to fight again?" 'Fight?' He laughed.
"Yes, I'm definitely ready to fight," he said mockingly. No one picked up on it and approached Gasper, where they heartily thanked him.
"No,
don't thank me. I didn't do a thing. I just gave you a place to
begin... If you really want to thank me, make me a member of your
team! By the way, the Wings of Time has come looking for you. It
seems to have a heard and mind of it's own... You wish to fight
Lavos, correct? Many paths lay open to you. You may use that bucket.
Or fly the Wings of Time to The Day of Lavos... Or there's the
Black Omen,
which floats in the sky above your world. Lavos is somehow connected with
it. It's up to you to decide when and where to fight Lavos. By now
you must
realize you are the only ones who stand a chance against him...
However,
you
will not be alone.
I have had vague glimpses of events, people and
placesthat
will empower you... In the Middle Ages, a woman's sheer determination brings
a forest back to life... A fugitive in the Middle Ages, Ozzie, maintains
an evil hideout... There's a task to be done in the Future, where machinery
originated. And there's a very special stone that can shine its
light
on each generation, from the distant past to the far future...
There's
the
ghost of a lofty knight, slain by Magus in the Middle Ages, who
haunts the
present...
There's an object in the Middle Ages that sparkles like a
rainbow...
One of you is close to someone who needs help... Find this
person...
fast. Just as you touch the lives of every life form you meet, so,
too,
will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential,
and
you
will never win... I am sorry that I must simply witness the coming
spectacle
from my vantage point here..."
"No." It was Chrono's voice—deep, dark…he almost sounded like Magus.
"I can't fight anymore, my lad. I'm—"
"Shut up." Everyone gasped. "I'm done. I refuse to fight for a world that has given me nothing but grief and anger. If there's an entity, fuck him. I hope he dies along with the world." Everyone stared blankly at Chrono. "I'm going home. If any of you try to convince me…I'll kill you." The conviction in his eyes showed that he was serious. "Go be heroes and save your precious world. I'm done." He slowly walked towards a pillar and disappeared.
…
He never saw any of his friends again. He wasn't sure if they had stopped Lavos, but on a rainy day he went to the library to read up on magic when an image caught his eye. Frog was on the cover of the book and, apparently, he mysteriously disappeared one day and never returned. A few weeks later, the princess turned up missing.
Chrono couldn't have cared less.