Kronos (Book Two)

Interruption Pt 1

The second day of Hephaestus' imprisonment. Mount Ida in Crete.

Drip. Drip.

Sweat drops from the heads of Orpheus, Medea, and Narcissus. The sight of the fire god imprisoned by dark sanguine auras drops fear into their hearts. The Olympian's arm keeps reaching out to someone who can't be seen by them. Visible dents appear on his golden armor from the overwhelming pressure.

"Aphrodite", he mutters on a loop.

Orpheus brings out his lyre and strums a few notes. The notes "touch" the barrier only to fly right back to his instrument. His eyes widen before swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Phobos and Deimos are responsible."

Narcissus scoffs, but his legs almost buckle. Out of all the gods to encounter, those two were reported to be the worst.

"Did Hephaestus attack them?", Medea ponders out loud.

The musical demigod shakes his head. "They defended a sibling against him."

Narcissus kicks the ground. "What in Tartarus do we even do now? Demeter would struggle against me, but not you two."

The witch rolls her eyes from the arrogance. He won't even last a second if she's furious.

The proud demigod fishes out Hephaestus' totem from his knapsack. "Let's contact Zeus. Maybe he can free him."

"Not an option", Medea refuses. "No need to bother the king when he's already busy. Let me use my magic first."

Narcissus eyes her with scorn. "That will take too much time when we can fin-"

"No, she's right. My grandfather's hands are tied with keeping the lands in control after losing their gods. Her magic is capable since I've seen it work before."

Orpheus' words dance into the vain demigod's ears. He crosses his arms while letting out a slow exhale. "Get to it." 

The witch of Colchis prepares her mortar, pestle, and ingredients. Despite Hephaestus' emotional pain, she will prolong it to prevent him from ever reaching Takashi. 

-----
Underworld

Hades and Persephone slouch on their thrones while Thanatos sits on the floor after excruciating days of work.

The destruction of Ithaca and its people took them many days to parse through. They questioned what had happened from their point of view. All the seeing Ithacans expressed confusion from the sudden thunder bolt.

Telemachus and others with their telescopes claimed to have seen Takashi hold the weapon responsible, but something wasn't right.

"He saved our fathers. We made great bonds, so why would he kill us?"

Even Odysseus who regained his sight after death expressed confusion after hearing how he died.

"That can't be! Taki would never do that! He's my friend!"

The king and queen found that the mounting evidence was against the foreigner's favor. However, doubts continue to swirl in their minds. A fleeting memory passes between the nobles that they try to catch for their judgment.

During their thinking, the Ithacans were divvied up towards their final places. Most went to sunny Elysium while others served the rest of their eternities in hellish Tartarus or the dead meadow that lies between them.

Hades caresses his wife's puffy cheeks. Tears of sorrow broke from those hazel eyes he loves so much. So many innocent lives destroyed just like in the Trojan War. He kisses each cheek before resting his forehead against hers.

She strokes his pale cheeks with her fingers for the appreciative gesture. The rapid flapping of wings interrupt their moment.

Their eyes widen from the unexpected appearance of Hypnos. Even Thanatos almost stumbles over his feet since it's not his usual wake-up time.

The god of sleep lands on the floor. "Your Majesties! I have urgent news to report!"

Hades and Persephone sit upright to take in the information. Hypnos relays what Harmonia had told him........

The king and queen of the Underworld tremble. Thanatos' butterflies flutter rapidly from the chaos of the situation. He wants to drive his torch right through Zeus. Imprisoning his mother, hiding multiple deaths, throwing Hemera into darkness.....too many reasons to count.

He flaps his butterfly wings, but Hypnos stops him with a gentle embrace.