Race Against Time - Percy Jackson

Chapter Twenty

-Chapter Twenty-

"No-" the son of time said in both shock and realization. He shook his head, trying to think of some other response. "No, they can't."

Chronos was uncharacteristically silent, his face showed a range of emotions that Yorath couldn't exactly identify. There was one thing that was certain however. The two were filled with a feeling of sadness and anguish. Yorath could deny it as much as he wants, but he knew deep down what they did. They traveled forward in time.

Time travel was finicky. Both fickle and dangerous. They could very easily time travel forward in time with basically no consequence other than the slight concussion.

But that wasn't why time traveling forward was dangerous. Going forward was easy. Going backward was a whole different equation.

Yorath was gobsmacked. He couldn't speak nor form any coherent thoughts. His mind was all jumbled up. They should've killed Kronos right then and there. They didn't account for the fact that he might've had more fight in him after being demolished by Percy. He shook his head, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"We got to find something to bring them back." he tried to reason but was met with silence. Chronos was in a state of despair and silence.

"Yorath. I may be the primordial of time. But time itself is very fickle. I don't know all of its secrets. I can't do anything." the primordial of time stated as Yorath stepped back in denial.

"I-" he stammered out. "There's got to be something we can do!"

Chronos stared at the ground solemnly, trying to come to terms with the recent events. "There's nothing we can do, son."

Yorath couldn't hold back anymore. His tears started to flow freely as a flood of emotions started to seep into him. All the hard work, all the things that they have been through, all of the stuff that they had to endure to cure Percy of his illness.

All of that was for naught. They may have cured him of the Time Strain. But now Percy was trapped in a one-way trip through time with no way to get back.

They faced Titans with basically no energy remaining. They managed to survive with a time constraint. With a literal doom clock on Percy. They managed to push through and defeat an empowered Kronos with the little energy they had left. They planned and went through literal hell, all for it to be sent down the drain like it was nothing.

Everything seemed fine a few moments ago. An overwhelming happiness consumed Yorath when they went through the portal and finally went back home. That happiness was soon after sucked from him like a black hole. 

Yorath dropped to his knees, the physical and sudden mental toll getting to him. His breath was ragged, his breathing was irregular. He had a hard time processing what was happening. His mind starting to go haywire. 

He knew it, there was no mistaking it. The area was still coated in temporal energy from the time jump. There was no mistaking it. Kronos jumped forward in time, this time bringing Percy with him. His brother was lost in the vast expanse of time with no way of getting back.

-Fifteen Years Later-

Yorath sighed, his back pressed flat on his bed. He was inside his room at the Chronoscape. It had been quite a long time since the incident happened. He still couldn't fathom the idea of his brother disappearing without a trace. He tried not to think about it too much. Fifteen years have passed, years have come and gone, yet everything felt dull and monotonous. 

His slowed aging came to an abrupt halt when he turned eighteen. Now he was eighteen for the rest of his immortal life unless he dies by other means. In a few more hundred years, he'd be able to change his appearance by will. Perks of being the son of a primordial. With his brother missing, he'd inherit the Chronoscape eventually. Yet he didn't want any of that. He didn't want fame or glory, all he wanted was his brother back.