Prophecy:
Order rises from its chains,
End cannot be restrained,
Heroes of the past face ancient evil,
The cost of life shall stop upheaval.
Allies will be unmasked,
And Death will be tasked.
Previously
Anybody, except Theron. He still stood watching as the fading began to climb up the Titan's stomach, then his chest and then his arms. "Where you are going, you will not bother anybody. When I first figured out that I could do this, I promised myself I would never use it on anybody. Yet here I am, another promise I couldn't keep."
Oceanus wailed as the fading reached his neck. His mouth, nose, eyes soon followed. He was gone. Oceanus was no more, faded away like a speck of dust in the wind. The only thing left behind was a small, blue-green pearl.
A trophy.
The only reminder that Oceanus had ever been on this planet.
Now
Theron knew one thing as the fighting around him slowed to a stop; He had lost control. He had faded an immortal, a Titan, to be more precise. And now, he was facing his actions. The person who had taught him this had been a friend. He had made Theron promise to only use it for good, if not at all. And he had just broken that promise. His friend, Wyliame, had told him everything he knew about the fade spell or its official name, Delerortis Felia. The spell translated from the Aeshmi language, a now-extinct species known for their wrath and uncontrollable rage. He had told him its origin, when it was first used, and what it felt like. He had described as numbing. A slow, cold numbing that traveled throughout the body until there was nothing left. Theron thought that that was a mercy. A painless death. But Wyliame cursed at him for it.
Would you want to die, feeling your body slowly disappear? Wyliame had said. Would you want to die, feeling your body no longer under your control, knowing you are about to be banished to a place worse than Hades's greatest punishments, or Tartarus's deepest pits?
And he had lost control. He had done exactly that to a Titan.
Theron stared at the pearl, the trophy. He could take it, boast about it to the rest of the world. He could sell it. He knew quite a few places that would buy highly for the Titan of the Sea's immortal essence. He could destroy it, destroy the only thing that kept Oceanus's name on Earth.
"What the Hades was that?!" a voice behind him exclaimed. He turned. Jason stood behind him, pale as a ghost, looking at the pearl that glimmered in the sunlight, taunting them.
Theron remained quiet as he turned back to the pearl that jeered at him, wishing to be examined and mulled over. The blue-green pearl was extraordinary, it shined with a glassy blue and emerald color. Such a beautiful piece of art was bound to be collected.
"Where's Oceanus?" he heard Jason ask him. Had nobody seen the Titan fade?
"Gone," Theron responded, walking over to the pearl and keeling down. "Faded. Dead forever."
"Did. . .did you do that?" the son of Jupiter questioned him quietly. He heard him flip his coin, his Imperial Gold Sword now pocketed.
Theron said nothing, confirming Jason's suspicions. The Commander reached down and picked up the pearl. It was about the size of a quarter. Such beauty.
He heard Jason retreat back to his friends, he heard them talk quietly to one another.
"Pe- Theron," a feminine voice sounded from behind him. It was pained and laced with exhaustion. The Commander stood and whirled around. An Iris-Messaged stood before him, Stardust leaning against a wall, battered, bruised, and bloodied.
"Star?" he asked frantically. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"We got ambushed by Pallas," she explained after seeing Theron's questioning gaze. "the Titan of Warcraft. We lost a few demigods but we managed to take her down in the end. I just wanted to let you know."
Theron cursed. "Chance had the same thing happen to him. Do you think-"
"Holy shit," he heard Star curse. "Artemis save us all."
He heard a laugh, a laugh so dark and filled with glee that it made him shiver - even though he was hearing it through the Iris Message. A laugh so familiar that it sent chills down his spine.
"Star?" he inquired. "What is it?"
"It's. . .it's him," she whispered. The Iris Message turned, revealing a muscular man with curly, black hair that fell to his shoulders. He held a scythe, a big, black scythe shaped like a crescent moon with a thick handle that was wrapped in metal. The man turned toward the Iris Message, a feral grin painted on his face.
Theron sucked in a breath. His eyes. The man's eyes were gold. The same golden color Luke had been possessed by. The same golden color that had killed so many of his friends.
Kronos was back.
"Star, get the hell out of there," Theron shouted at the Iris Message, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Get out of there NOW! That is an order! Meet me back at the Empire State Building. Try and contact the others and tell them to meet us there. "
Star nodded, her face growing paler by the moment.
"Chase!" Theron barked at the daughter of Athena. Annabeth turned toward the Commander, questions dancing in her stormy eyes. "Are you and everyone else okay?"
Annabeth's eyes flickered to her bloodied siblings and friends. "For the most part," the daughter of Athena told him. "Why?"
"Tell everyone to pack their things quickly," Theron said it with such finality that there was no room to argue. He pocketed the pearl. "We are heading back to the Empire State Building."
"Why?" Annabeth asked again.
Theron turned toward the group of demigods, all of them studying the Commander. Theron turned his eyes to connect with Annabeth's.
"The Crooked One is back," he whispered. So softly, and so gently that they had to lean forward in order to pick it up.
Most of the demigod's looks held confusion. Who was the Crooked One?
"No," Annabeth stated, her eyes held disbelief. "That's. . .that's impossible. We killed him. He killed him. He can't be back." her voice getting quieter with each word.
Theron just nodded, running a hand down his cloaked face.
Piper placed a reassuring hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "Who?"
"Kronos, the Titan of Time,"
The silence was deafening. So deafening that when the first sound came, it felt like a relief.
"Liar!" Nico shouted at him. "You're. . .you're lying, right?"
After seeing the Commander's sunken shoulders and shakey hands, Nico let out a soft gasp.
"Start packing everything up," Theron told the demigods, twisting the hilt of his sword so that it turned back into its ring form. "We are leaving to defend Olympus."
(A/N: ^I may use this picture in the future to signify time skips.^)
It felt amazing. All of it. The wind in his hair, the sun on his back, the dirt in between his fingers. Even the aching in his lungs felt like bliss. After all this time, he finally had his body back. Not a vessel. Not a mortal body that withered beneath his power. Not a body of a weak, unreliable demigod. His own, original body. And, boy, was he ready to use it.
"Lord Kronos," a muscular, pale boy approached him, bowing his head. Silver armor was strapped across his body and a sword was sheathed at his side. "The opposing army is retreating."
"Good," he said, grabbing a shirt from one of the fallen demigods and wiping his blood-encrusted scythe on it. "Tell the armies to start moving northwest where we shall meet up with Porphyrion."
The boy bowed again and walked away to inform the army of his orders.
A faint vibrating startled him. Kronos reached into the pocket of his chiton and pulled out a small, circular device. He struggled with it for a minute before eventually turning it on. The device dropped to the ground and a life-size holograph of Order appeared.
"Order," he greeted with fake politeness, his eyes scanning over the elder immortal. Order wore an obnoxious red peplos, the color of blood. Her hair hung loosely around her head and her eyes danced with power. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He felt an invisible force push him to his knees and direct his eyes to the ground. He gritted his teeth as his kneecaps dug into the rough cement.
"You will bow to me, Kronos," Order hissed, he could hear the venom in her voice. "You are below me."
"Yes, My Lady," Kronos got out, gripping his scythe even tighter.
"Say it," she demanded, the force pushing into his back multiplied.
"I. . .I am below you."
The force vanished and Kronos took in a sharp breath of air. He didn't dare rise.
"How was the attack?" she asked.
"Successful, my Lady," Kronos told her, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "The rebels fled as soon as they saw me."
Order chuckled. "Good. There has been a slight change of plans," Kronos remained silent, his eyes still trained on the ground. "You will continue to meet with Porphyrion at the Madison Square Garden. When you arrive there will be more reinforcements to help with the upcoming battle. If I hear that there is one mark on him before the battle starts, I will personally cut you into tiny pieces and send you consciousness into Tartarus. Got it?"
Kronos visibly swallowed. He had witnessed Order's short temper and did not want to be on the receiving line of it. "Of course, My Lady, the man shall not be harmed."
"Good."
The holograph shut off but still, Kronos did not rise.
"Would you like help, My Lord?" a Dracaena offered him a scaly hand.
"GAH!" he screamed, swiping his scythe through the Dracaena. The monster burst into dust. Monsters looked at him with fear from their designated positions. "What are you looking at?!" they flinched. "Start moving!"
Kronos took deep, leveling breaths as the army obeyed his command. He had been embarrassed in front of his entire army. He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palms.
The entire march was quiet. Not a monster nor demigod dared to make a sound in the Titan's time of rage. They finally arrived at the Madison Square Garden. Porphyrion's army was already there. Monsters and demigods alike were patrolling the streets. He made his way to a group of Cyclops.
"Where is Porphyrion?" he demanded. A Cyclops flinched and pointed inside.
Kronos made his way to the doors and shoved them open. Indeed, Porphyrion was in the lobby of the building. But somebody else was inside, too. A man was talking animatedly to a mortal. Kronos froze. It couldn't be. The mortal pointed toward him and the man turned.
"Hello, son," the man smiled. "Long time no see."
"Ouranos," Kronos breathed, looking between his father and his half-brother. "How are you alive?"
"No warm welcomes?" Ouranos snarled. "No 'Hey, Dad! What have you been up to for the past four billion years?'"
"How are you alive?" Kronos repeated. He looked the same; long, dark hair, skin that changed from the lightest of blues to the darkest of blacks.
"You can thank Lady Order for my body," Ouranos grinned as he flexed his bulging muscles. "You have no clue how much I have waited for this moment. The moment I could move my fingers and wiggle my toes. Oh wait," he smirked. "That Jackson boy gave you a taste of your own medicine, didn't he? Too bad he isn't here. I would have given him my blessing."
"Don't speak his name!" Kronos snarled, raising his scythe.
"Ah, is that a sensitive subject?" Ouranos teased. Porphyrion and the mortal stood near the doors, silently watching the encounter of father and son. "I watched it all. I laughed when I saw Zeus, your own son, cut you into pieces with your own scythe. And I laughed, even more so, when a demigod, not even in adulthood yet, killed you, once again scattering your body into pieces of dust."
"I will kill you!" Kronos screeched lunging at the Primordial.
"Ah ah ah," Ouranos easily dodged the attack and wagged his finger. "What did Lady Order say?"
Kronos froze. "You're our ally?"
The Primordial of the Sky chuckled and nodded his head. "She gifted me with a body, did she not?"
Kronos growled but did not attempt to attack the Primordial any farther.
Porphyrion coughed from his position by the door, gaining the attention of the two. "We should probably get ready to start moving. . ."
Ouranos smiled at the Giant. "Of course! Wouldn't want to be late to the fight, would we?"
Ouranos sauntered out the door, leaving Porphyrion and Kronos by themselves. They stared at each other for a minute in uncomfortable silence. You know when you haven't seen a friend in a while, and you're suddenly brought back together and need to reconnect? That's what it felt like.
"Okay, I know that we are in the middle of a war right now, but I really can't help myself," Porphyrion fished a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket. "I am like your biggest fan and I was wondering if I could. . .get your autograph?"
Kronos cocked an eyebrow but broke into a cheesy grin. "Of course!"
Porphyrion hesitantly approached and gave Kronos the paper and pen. "You have no clue how jealous my brothers are gonna be when they see this!" the Giant gushed as Kronos signed the paper. "Thank you."
Kronos smiled and pat his half-brother on the back. "No worries. We are brothers, correct?"
Porphyrion nodded.
"Great, let's go get our army set up."
The two brothers walked out the door.
A/N: Okay, I have an excuse. I wrote this chapter and published it about a week ago. However, I was really disappointed with the outcome and wanted to edit it. So I go back to edit it and turns out it didn't publish even though I SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER HITTING PUBLISH. So I rewrote the chapter, regaining my confidence in my writing skills and boom. Here I am.
I also then decided to have an argument with my friend @Watermelon55670 about if it would be a big deal if Netflix lost 2 billion dollars which delayed me about an hour. But I am 100% sure I won so it was totally worth it.
Words:2,440
Published: December 21st, 2019