The Captive Titan [ManxMan]

Prologue

[AN: This is Book SEVEN. While some of the other books are optional in order to understand this one, I would highly recommend at least skimming through How to Be a God and then reading The Scared God.]

~Prologue~

Freedom, once gained back, is hard to let go. When it is forcibly stolen, there is often little that can be done to return it without outside help, but then freedom is returned, and life continues, often with a bit more trauma than before. When, even after freedom is returned, one willingly returns to a life of imprisonment, though, one has to wonder if maybe they are better off without that freedom. Even if the willing return was for a good reason with the promise of eventual rescue, as time passes, doubt can be a tireless enemy that can easily worm its way through any certainties.

Atlas' statue is a torture device and prison wrapped upon in one unpleasant metal casing powered by magic and Zeus' hatred for the Titans. The Titan Atlas was never supposed to escape, cursed to spend all of eternity holding up the sky of the Greek realm...not that it needed Atlas for that, as the sky would not just fall if the statue failed. However, the Greeks loved their symbolism, so the rumor of the statue's purpose spread. And because of that rumor, I found and freed the Titan I loved by taking his place, knowing that he would find some way to destroy it permanently since it was the power of his pantheon that fueled the statue in the first place.

However, that rescue never came from him; it came from a small Were woman with a habit of getting into trouble who took my place. She sacrificed herself to save me, and I ran away from the duty she tried to give me, avoiding it like the replacement shackles I thought it was. In my freedom, I learned that Atlas, in a moment of solitary-driven insanity, sought out help from Zeus, who then threw him into Tartarus with the rest of the Titans, which is where he has been since.

Eventually, though, the freedom I longed for began to resemble the prison I thought I had escaped as duties and expectations began to pile at my feet while I was still struggling to pick up the pieces of myself left over from my initial imprisonment, so I took my place back in the statue, freeing the woman after carrying out her wish and returning to my solitary prison once more. And with the help of my friend, Ullr, I managed to stay out of Zeus' hands, as he surely would have hidden the statue away or even destroyed it to keep me from being found again.

Which is how I find myself here, over five years later, in Queen Frigg's Garden in the Norse realm of Asgard, permanently freed from the magic that bound the statue and its occupant together.

A garden which is on fire, occupied by an old friend who's crying, and a former student who is...joined by his worst enemies.

I blink slowly as I try to figure out if I have finally started hallucinating. Again. The people do not change, however, not even as the world wobbles around them. Or, well, I think it is just wobbling for me.

And because it is far easier to hold my tongue when stuck in a statue where I literally cannot speak, I accidentally voice my thoughts out loud by saying, "That's new."

This startles a laugh from the gods in the garden, all of whom looked shocked and lost mere moments ago. However, as they experience the peace and joy that comes from relief, I cannot help but remain stuck in my confusion and the general sense of being on the outside of what is going on, even if I seem to be the center of their attention. I intentionally focus on the fact that all of them seem happy to see me alive and free, but that little doubt that has been growing for years and years whispers in my ear as I step down from the pedestal the statue used to reside on to join the other gods on the ground.

Did I really want to be free?

[AN: So, this book has been fighting me every step of the way so far. Apparently, my writing style has changed so much that how I wrote How to Be a God a few years ago no longer really fits how I write now. I would like to think that is a good thing, but I really hope you guys will tell me if something goes terribly wrong. Otherwise, I hope you guys are doing well, and have a great week!]