Confused by Storm

Chapter 21 - Soul-Splitter

Percy's hands were bound behind his back as he knelt on the ground at Zeus' feet. It was a cold morning – the grass beneath his knees was wet, but despite that the sky was painted a brilliant orange by the rising sun. Long shadows were cast over the caldera in Yellowstone, but they'd be gone before long.

Zeus hadn't rushed into this. If he could stay alive for the first few minutes of the fight, Tartarus would lose his advantage of darkness and Zeus would have the entire day if he needed it to wear the Primordial down. And the rest of the gods had come prepared to help bolster their King's prowess.

Though Kronos had chosen the caldera to give himself a few extra minutes of shade, it may not alter much of the outcome.

The ground rumbled beneath Percy, causing him to pause. The crisp morning air around him felt electrified and power crackled beneath the earth. Percy worked his jaw around the gag – placed there to stop Percy from speaking to Kronos. The gods seemed entirely unaware of the maelstrom beneath their feet.

Percy breathed out, stretching his senses down into the crust. And when he realised what it was, divine energy cracked through his veins.

A giant volcano lay dormant under their feet, the infamous super volcano of Yellowstone.

This wasn't going to be a fight between two immortals, it was going to be all immortals sending power into their respective Kings, and that power was going to tear the world apart.

Percy twisted his wrists. While the manacles had been removed, they had been replaced by simple celestial bronze fibres. And fortunately getting out of rope bindings had been part of Kronos' recent lesson on immortal power being caged.

The Titan watched as Zeus paced, impatiently awaiting for Kronos to arrive. He was wearing classic Greek-style armour, grooves engraved into the silver and lightning flickering across his shoulders. He was, admittedly, quite an impressive sight.

Finally, Kronos stepped out of the shadow cast by a tree downwind. He smiled when he saw Zeus. "You seem prepared," he called to Zeus as Iapetus followed him out. Behind him, the rest of the Titans appeared in their own ways, some going for a flair of dramatism while others simply blinked into existence. Kronos, unlike Zeus, wasn't garbed in any armour.

"Your armour?"

"I won't need it," Kronos dismissed as he summoned Backbiter. "This is all that I'll need."

Percy watched intently as Kronos strode forwards, stopping only once he was halfway between his Titans and the gods. Zeus glanced back at Ares, whom grunted before placing his sword on Percy's shoulder.

Behind Kronos, several of the Titans tensed. Iapetus' muscles coiled and his spear formed in his hand, but Hyperion reached out and muttered something to him as he lowered the spear to face the ground. Kronos watched as Percy shifted slightly, but he didn't protest.

Clouds gathered overhead and Zeus' armour increased its sparking intensity as the god too stepped forward.

"There is to be no physical or elemental interference from any side," Zeus thundered.

Kronos inclined his head. "Of course." He twirled Backbiter in his hand and Zeus summoned his master bolt to his own hands.

As soon as the god's fingers closed around the hilt of his sword, Kronos leapt the thirty feet between them. Zeus parried to the side, the force of the initial blow far too powerful for him to block directly. The god danced back to avoid the fist aimed at his chest.

Percy realised as he watched that Zeus was stronger than he'd thought. Even if he was only backing up in circles as Tartarus advanced, he was still fending off the other.