Kronos (Book Two)

Interruption Pt 2

Hephaestus' heart shakes from the news. A fork forms in his mind leading to either Eidothea or Aphrodite. Genuine love versus a forced love.

Zeus lets go of the embrace for his son to stand on his two feet. He didn't need his aura to decipher his son's internal struggle. He conceals his wicked smile. "But I cannot tell you where since I'm busy. Only that it's someone who's like a mirror of Aphrodite. However, Medea may know her location."

"It's true. I think I saw a glimpse of hair she put into the fire this morning", Narcissus vouches. "Knowing her, she must have collected some from that foreigner."

The witch steels her brown eyes to deceive them. She tries to still her rattling heart of fear.

"Hold on! She may not have that!", Orpheus interjects while not knowing the truth.

Zeus clamps a hand around his bleeding neck. "While you deal with that, I must continue."

Crackle. With a lightning bolt in his hands, he vanishes.

Hephaestus walks over to the witch of Colchis with a fiery aura to find any weaknesses. One crack in the armor to expose.

"Have you found her?"

"My lord, she's long gone since Ithaca's destruction."

His sword strikes near her face. Her body is a statue while her heart wants to jump out and run.

"I have felt traces of her! Not of her offspring. But herself. Tell me right now."

Eidothea's pleading words echo in his heart, but his mind refuses to let go of Aphrodite.

"Wait! I might know how to find her", Orpheus interjects. "My song will tell us the exact location better than her magic."

She stops her head from jerking to the demigod. Hephaestus grips his sword to wait it out. Orpheus tunes his lyre before playing notes.

The eyelids of Narcissus and Hephaestus weigh heavier than anchors. The sword of the Olympian thuds to the ground along with his armored body. Narcissus drops face down into the dirt......

Orange irises shake awake. No sight of Medea nor Orpheus in sight. He stabs his broadsword into the ground of Mt Ida. Magma foams while pressure builds. The shaking of Crete startles Narcissus awake. His hand on instinct wipes away the dirt on his perfectly purple tunic.

Citizens rush inside or grab onto nearby buildings for footing. With a raise of his sword, the lava swims through a forest. Deer, boars, bunnies, and bears screech out from the pain before succumbing to it. The waves split from the traveling anger. But no human is harmed in the process.

The fire god lets out heavy breaths. No more games. He turns to Narcissus who stands up straight.

"I-I-I won't betray you, my Lord. I will take care of them once we see them."

Hephaestus gives him an understanding nod. "Good."

He raises his sword up while lighting it with Olympian fire that rivals Tartarus. He searches through all the fires of Gaia to find the answer to his father's hint. He grits his teeth that there isn't a direct fire at her old home.

Crafty like her lying mother. 

He shakes off that thought and finds a small campfire of two hunters near Corinth. Their eyes shake from seeing the wrathful face of the fire god. They quickly back away before the flames shoot up into the sky.

The armored Olympian walks through with Narcissus to take back what's his. The god of forges takes out a seashell from his inner pocket.

"Captain Cheli!"

The seashell lights up. "Yes, my lord?"

"That foreigner is at Harmonia's home near Megara. I will hold her and the others back while you retrieve him. King Poseidon will be back to rule once the time is up."

A moment of silence before the eel clears his throat. "Understood!"

------

Crackling aura meets the pitch black of twins. Black fire continues to burn on the surface of the water. No exchanging of words as the gods of death and sleep fight against Zeus. Eidothea hides in her closet from the terrible fight.

A tinge of black fire irritates the continuous wound of the god-king's neck.

Hypnos closes in with open palms that Zeus backs away from. "We will free our mother!"

With lightning speed and a wicked smile, Hypnos receives a slap into a green portal. Thanatos' butterfly wings tell him his brother is no longer in this world. His mind snaps.

With a flap of his wings, he stands right behind Zeus with his torch flipped upward. Zeus goes for a backhand, but his arms are covered in butterflies that inject their poison. The black fire of the torch envelops Thanatos into a pure white, leaving only his coal-black eyes to be distinct. Zeus trembles from the frightful aura at the god's highest peak.

 "Enkavma (Burn)."

Fwoosh. Boom!

The water around Lemnos stands still from the controlled self-destruction. Black flames fall like leaves from the near fatal sacrifice move of Thanatos. His arm stretches out with fire to finish off a now bald Zeus whose body is decorated with burn marks.

With a flick of his wrist, a green portal swallows the god of death.

Zeus' body shivers while regenerating slowly. "Damn you, Thanatos. You and your mother deserve eternal puni-"

He clutches the back of his neck with a heavy grunt. The bleeding wound is now left with additional pain that burns him.

The wind dances on the dome of his head. With a trembling hand, he summons a lightning bolt that returns him to Mt Olympus. His legs almost buckle, but he refuses to kneel. His hands use the wall for support to get to his room.

Not when I'm this close to victory. No one will ever see me at my weak-

His servant clad in white drops his jaw from seeing the injured god. "M-My Lord, let-"

Crackle. Ashes of the dead servant lay still before being blown away by the wind. Zeus makes it to his soft bed but he can't fall asleep. His ears perk up thinking that Nyx is speaking to him through the wind.

"You will not win in the end."

With a heavy yell, sparks fly from his body. His prized painting of himself burns from his action.

He smugly laughs. "Once I get what's mine, a new painting will be in order."

-----

Megara

Takashi and the others eat leafy salads for lunch with prepared bags to leave at a moment's notice.

Harmonia's fork drops to the floor. Her pupils shake as the last butterfly of Thanatos relays pertinent information.

With a wave of her hand, she throws the pouch of love dust to Takashi. "We need to leave right now!"

Takashi, Echo, and Hippolyta throw their bags on their backs before sprinkling love dust. The gray of the Underworld entrance greets them. The trio jumps through before the portal unexpectedly closes behind them. They are left stunned by the message appearing before them.

"We will stall Hephaestus for time. Don't let our sacrifices be in vain!"

From the far-off distance, a flash of fire emits at Harmonia's location. Salmon-pink aura fights against orange. Cadmus' dragon roar can be heard along with the surprising battle cry of Atlanteans.

Takashi's milk chocolate eyes waver from feeling their pain. White bolt arrows pierce through Cadmus' wings. Whips of water tie him to the ground. Burning chains wrap around the body of Harmonia. Takashi can feel a burning boot on her back. Her agonizing scream pierces the sky.

He runs to help her, but Hippolyta stops him with wide arms.

"They did this for you!"

Her scarlet irises beg him to stop, but Harmonia's screaming calls out to him.

Dark emerald aura flashes from his body. "I can't let her die! Not again!"

He tries to go around her, but the dirt surrounds his whole body leaving his head exposed.

Echo's tears drip to the ground while she pulls him to the entrance. "We can't let you get captured again!"

Her crown of irises and lilies shrink from the inner conflict. She doesn't want to abandon them, but she wants to keep her friend safe. 

Heavy tears flood Takashi's face. He can feel her aura shrinking down to a wobbling ember. He grits his teeth to accept the choice made for him.

Poof!

Hippolyta and Echo's eyes widen in horror. Echo releases the hold to find only specks of love dust on the ground.

The leather of Hippolyta's belt creaks from her grip. She looks out to the battlefield near Megara. "Don't tell me he didn't-"

The mountain nymph's jaw drops from a trace of emerald aura. A single letter engraved to tell him who he's heading for. She grabs Hippolyta's arm and thrusts them into the air with a pillar.

"What is it?!"

Echo tells her which makes her scarlet eyes almost pop out.

D for Demeter.