The Ancient Prophecy

62 : The barracks - Phedora

"You will banish Kronos once and for all and fulfill your fate , Phedora ." Athena spoke to Phedora as the crowd of fighters circled around the gods and titans , trying to have a look at what was happening .
       The daughter of Zeus glanced down at the body of Kronos that stood on the ground , pierced before her gaze . She then rose her head to look around the crowd , trying to spot any of her friends . But she saw none . Even Petros , who was just some minutes ago right behind her , got engulfed by the mass of curious demigods and demititans . They were all gazing at Phedora , the girl feeling more nervous with each instance she felt all their eyes on her .
        Through all the nerves , Phedora slowly nodded to Athena . She still had not recovered from the shock of the won battle . She , a demigod , had stunned  Typhon with her power good enough to make him collapse to the ground . The girl was surprised by the heights of her own power even after knowing that she had a multitude of blessings from many gods .
        With a trembling hand , she reached to free one of her daggers from its scabbard , avoiding to look at the stabbed body of Kronos . In an instant , the goddess of wisdom stopped her hand before the dagger was out of the belt "That will not do . Ordinary weapons do not work for such a job ."
        Phedora rose her head , gazing at the goddess' serious grey eyes in question . Before she could open her mouth to speak , Athena handed the girl her spear . The crowd went silent as they watched the scene unfold .
       The daughter of Zeus glanced in shock at the neatly forged celestial bronze . She grabbed the slender handle of the spear , feeling the cool metal on the skin of her palm . A surge of power rushed through her , making the girl shiver . The spear was heavier and longer than any of her daggers . She was not skilled in wielding a spear , her grip on the weapon slightly loose . Her gaze finally settled again on Kronos' pierced body . The only way to make sure he never comes back is to cut him into tiny pieces , as  he did before to his father . Phedora pointed the tip of the spear to the ichor stained flesh and drove it through .

                                                    ***

        The process took a while to be done , the sun now sparkling on the sky . In the end a messy pile of diced flesh stood in the middle of the circling crowd of fighters . Phedora averted her eyes , feeling her stomach lurch at the sight and the images now forever rooted into her mind .
"I-It is done ." she looked to Athena , searching for a sight of approval . The girl's voice wavered slightly as she spoke , stretching her hand to give the ichor stained spear back to the goddess .
        Athena's gaze was set onto the pile . She nodded slowly then turned her eyes to Phedora , taking her spear out of the demigod's hand "You did a great job . We will take care of the rest ." she nodded to the Finders' base "You go finish your mission ."
        Phedora froze , expecting the finders from the crowd to oppose . But instead the army parted , making a narrow way for her to head to the base .
        She stepped away from the gods and titans , making her way out of the crowd , feeling dozen eyes on her as she strolled away .

                                                   ***

        The army started marching away slowly , led by , as Phedora realised , her friends , Charis , Petros and Sot , the son of Hermes seemingly being helped to walk by Petros .
        The daughter of Zeus stood facing the massive building that belonged to the Finders , looking at its dark obsidian walls and small windows that glinted purple in the sunlight . It was only a day and some hours ago when I sneaked inside this exact place and now I can just get inside through the front entrance . She took some steps closer to the base .
      Then the girl heard the faint sound of running behind herself . She stopped in front of the doors , turning her head to look backwards . She saw an approaching sillhouette running towards her with hurried steps . Phedora recognized him before she even saw his face properly .
"Alk..?" she muttered to herself , gazing at the boy as he ran .
       She waited in the building's entrance until Alk came to stand in front of her , breathing heavily from the stamina spent by running .
"Why have you ran all the way here ?" Phedora asked , searching Alk's face for any sight of an answer .
        The son of Hyperion took some seconds to respond , catching his breath "I want to help you ." he spoke in a breathless voice .
        Phedora rose both her eyebrows "Why would you ? I almost killed you ." her voice faintly cracked at the end of the sentence .
        Alk smiled weakly at her "But I survived . I am alive and standing ."
"How though ?"
"We do not have enough time for an explanation , do we ?" he took in a deep breath "There is something you should know before you venture inside the base in the search of a key .."
        Something familiar sparked inside Phedora's mind at the mention of the key but she could not make the contours of what it was "Yes ?" her tone was questioning .
        Alk grabbed her by the shoulders tightly "There is no key to the Vault , Phedora . It never was ."
        Phedora finally remembered . The dream she had during the two years of denying the Prophecy . The  narrow and dark corridors of the Prison . The voices that spoke inside her head as she ran quickly . The screams of pain from the prisoners . The altar with the poisoned dagger . So it was all true . Still, her eyes were wide , gazing into Alk's pitch black ones with shock . But the shock was not of the realisation of the inexistent key but of the realisation of what was yet to come in the last part of her mission "I ...I know ."
       Alk's brow furrowed "What ? How do you know ? This information was told to us generals only . Not even the majority of the finders themselves knew the truth ..."
       Phedora shook her head "We do not have enough time for an explanation , do we ?" she copied Alk , shaking her head slowly . Especially for  this explanation .
       The boy slight frowned "Fine . Let us go then . I will lead you through the base ." he let go of her shoulders and made his way to the entrance . Phedora followed close behind .