Kronos (Book Two)

Truth Pt 2

Zeus crouches down to a disturbed Takashi's line of sight. He smiles from what the two confessions will do to the mortal pawn.

He raises an index finger. "First, we both use people like steppingstones to get what we want. When you say "reset", I say "jump" to escape that ghastly woman followed by "rewrite" to drop you at any place you've been to before. You're like a tree that bends to my wind. Secondly, we are both mass murderers."

Taki's eyes widen in confusion before it hits him like a freight train. Tears crawl down his face.

Zeus continues to explain to rub it in. "When we both disappear from a timeline, everything and everyone unravels. It cannot sustain itself without the both of us. Somehow, they manage to keep some pieces of memory from the old lines."

His heart almost breaks from the guilt. Tearing apart Adonis and Chloe countless times. Every innocent person screaming from the chaos. Killing the people he cared for three times already. Children like Karisa, Alex, and Maria crying out for help only for them to be snuffed out like blown candles.

Plus, saying "reset" twice would make his family wait even longer for his return. The emotional and mental torment would continue for them. The thought of his bronze goddess and daughter in tears breaks his heart like glass. The light in his eyes goes out, but the tears continue to flow.

Zeus sighs as he motions the phone to the mirror. The beeping of the messages adds to his heartache. After all the messages clear, the deity tosses it away.

"So, with all that in mind and that I won't come after your loved ones at all. Do we have a deal?"

He could only shake his head yes. Red bracelets form around their wrists to solidify their promise.

The god-king waits for him to collect himself. He has all the time to be ruler of both worlds. Takashi is the one with the time restrictions. His eyes glance at the ordinary watch. Today marks as April 12th. He calculates the length of additional pain he will inflict on his family. The two resets will lead to Jan 1st.

Over a full year that he would abandon his loved ones. 

Missing Karisa's steps while holding onto furniture. Skipping the birthdays of his loved ones, including his own. His helplessness drowns him.

He takes an inhale to break the surface. "Reset."

His body dies while his consciousness jumps backwards in time. The seal around Nyx breaks her out of the trap. A dark bolt shoots out at Zeus for harming her children.

"Jump."

His presence disappears from her sight. The world of Gaia suffers. The waters and earth crumble into each other. The sky cracks like broken glass. Men, women, children, and animals try to run. Screams fill the sky.

Briseis holds onto Avgi as the destruction approaches them. She shields her sister with her body. Her clothes and body cells are pulled apart.

Avgi cries out. "Big sis! Takashiiiiii!"

The world and the planets implode into nothingness. A white space travels beyond what the eyes can see.

"Rewrite", Zeus says in his pocket dimension unaffected by the destruction. Darkness occupies the emerald steam of time. He picks a certain point and throws the consciousness of the imposter inside.....

Takashi collapses onto the wooden floor with the recent reset filling his head. He screams out while trying to regain his sanity. The last moments take away his strength. The truth of who he is: a pawn in a war between gods. His 5th failure to make things right. Zeus was right. He's a killer just like him.

Endless tears hit the deck until he can no longer see properly. His mind couldn't think of what to do next. No strength to even stand up to see where he is. The blurry vision begins to clear. His eyes recognize he's in the small boat Odysseus had given to him.