Athanasios Perseus Apollyon - The Forgotten Tide

Chapter 26: An Impossible Task

Percy's POV

The air was thick with the scent of ancient power and blood. As I crossed the threshold into the alternate reality, I could feel the weight of its history bearing down on me. This was not my world, and yet it bore the unmistakable imprint of the Titans' reign. The sky was dark, lit only by the distant glow of a sun that seemed perpetually on the verge of setting. Othrys, the mountain fortress of the Titans, loomed before me, its massive peak piercing the heavens like a spear aimed at the heart of the universe.

This was their domain. The place where the Titans still ruled supreme, untouched by the hands of time. Here, they were not the defeated foes of Olympus but the undisputed lords of creation. The task before me was monumental: to retrieve the Orb of Othrys, an artifact of immense power, and in doing so, confront and defeat every Titan that had ever existed.

I tightened my grip on the trident, the symbol of my own dominion, as I began my ascent. The climb was treacherous, the path winding and steep, but the challenge only fueled my determination. I had faced countless foes in my time, but this... this was different. This was a battle against the very forces that had shaped the world.

As I reached the entrance to the fortress, I was greeted by a sight that sent a chill down my spine. Standing before me were the first of many obstacles: three Cyclopes, each one larger and more fearsome than any I had encountered before. Their single eyes glowed with a malevolent light, and in their hands, they held massive clubs, each strike capable of reducing a mountain to rubble.

They roared in unison, the sound echoing across the landscape, and charged at me with the force of a hurricane. But I was ready. I had fought and bled for centuries, and I was not about to be stopped now.

I dodged the first blow, the club smashing into the ground where I had stood moments before, and countered with a strike of my own. My trident flashed in the dim light, its prongs sinking deep into the Cyclops' flesh. It roared in pain, staggering back, but I was already moving, spinning to avoid the second Cyclops' attack. The air crackled with energy as I unleashed a blast of water, the force of it knocking the second Cyclops off its feet.

But the third was upon me before I could react, its club crashing into my side and sending me flying into the mountainside. Pain exploded through my body, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand. I couldn't afford to be defeated here. Not now.

With a roar of my own, I summoned the power of the seas, the water rising around me in a massive wave. The Cyclopes were caught off guard, their massive forms swept off their feet and slammed into the rocks. I wasted no time, using the momentum to launch myself at them, my trident striking true. One by one, they fell, their roars of pain fading into silence.

I stood over their fallen forms, my chest heaving with exertion. But there was no time to rest. The real challenge lay ahead.

I pushed open the massive doors of Othrys and stepped inside. The fortress was as I had imagined it, vast and imposing, filled with the relics of an age long past. Statues of the Titans lined the walls, their expressions cold and unyielding, as if daring any intruder to challenge their might.

As I made my way deeper into the fortress, I felt the air grow colder, the shadows longer. And then I saw them, standing in the great hall: the Hecatoncheires. Three of them, each one a towering behemoth of a hundred hands and fifty heads. They were the last of their kind, ancient beings of immense power, and they regarded me with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

"We have been waiting for you, Perseus," the first one rumbled, its voice like the grinding of stone. "We have fought and bled for the Titans for eons. But now, our time has come to an end."