Kronos was called the crooked one for good reason.
Assaulting Olympus when a prophecy, despite what the Fates say, was rigged against him? Merely a ruse to something greater.
No, with Gaea rising and the emperors of old waiting in the wings, it was...
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They had no home because of him.
SMACK!
A large portion of Asterion's forest had been destroyed because of him.
SMACK!!
Brontes, Steropes, Asterion, Flippy, and Lord Hyperion had yet to reform (and he doubted they ever would) because of him.
SMACK!!!
Queen had been reduced to a sobbing mess because of him.
SMACK!!!!
Jack was out riding Chewie at all hours of the day searching for the impossible, because of him.
SMACK!!!!!
And Grandma May was gone forever... because of him.
The hammer fell out of Knight's hand as he collapsed to his knees; tears prickling at the corners of his eyes once again. I ruined everything...
One week had passed since their childhood delusions were dispelled and their eyes opened to the harsh reality of Tartarus. It wasn't some wild paradise that the titans just couldn't see like Jack had thought. It wasn't a slow changing, boring expanse as Queen had thought. Nor was it even a land that could be tamed and civilized as Brontes and Steropes had taught him. No, Tartarus was a living, breathing entity of pure evil that delighted in the suffering of those who called it home and would torture those who rose its ire. Even death offered no escape from its horrors, as Tartarus would simply reform them again and again to watch them suffer for all eternity.
Or worse...
They had learned the hard way that humans don't reform when killed in Tartarus. They didn't reform anywhere for that matter; their souls being taken to the Underworld for all eternity. But only if they perished on Gaea. While no mortal had ever perished in Tartarus before, it was unlikely that Thanatos would risk venturing down to collect the soul of one old woman. Especially when the god probably didn't even know she existed...
So where is she?
That was a question Knight asked himself constantly and pretended not to know the answer. But no matter how much he pretended, the truth always worked its way out: Tartarus had her. Tartarus had Grandma May, Brontes, Steropes, and Flippy and was torturing them for his pleasure.
And it's all my fault.
Knight wiped his tears away with his forearm and pushed himself to his feet; taking far more effort than it used to. He picked up the discarded hammer that had almost halfway sank into the ground and went back to work.
SMACK!
Their home was gone, and they dared not approach the remains; not even Jack. Not after their grandmother's lifeless body was pulled into the hate-filled ground. The workshop's entrance still remained but no one bothered going in, as none of them wanted to risk going below ground. Asterion's sanctuary no longer lived up to its name, as it was now being invaded by predators on a constant basis. Truthfully, it mattered little where they went, as it was still Tartarus, and now the ground beneath their very feet was trying to pull them down. But there was one domain that offered some shelter, as even Tartarus was hesitant to anger its master.
