Percy didn't understand how this could have happened. The Gods said he was gone. Hermes said he wouldn't be able to form a conscience, let alone an entire body, for a very long time. But Percy had the worst luck in the world, and the point was glaringly apparent right now. It was pretty obvious the Universe was not on his side.
He struggled up to the top of the hill. Before him was the endless depth of Tartarus. Black sand covered everything, and small, bare trees dotted the bleak landscape. It was a desolate place, void of anything even remotely happy. You could feel the evil of the place permeate the air. The air clawed at his lungs. It tore at his skin.
Annabeth stumbled up the slope behind him, and he went to help her. Her ribs still hadn't healed even after… Two weeks? Time was hard to tell in this place. There were no days and nights, just varying degrees of pain. But Annabeth was slowing them down, and she knew it.
"Go," she said. "I'll hold him off."
"No, not a chance. I'm not leaving you." Percy replied, looking into her stormy, gray eyes. "Never again means never again."
"He'll catch us, you know," she said. They were too tired to run anymore. Their strength had gone long ago.
Percy's muscles lost their tension. His shoulders relaxed, and his legs slackened. He lost the will to care anymore. At this point, it was just a waste of energy. Percy found it strange that it was so easy to accept his fate. There was no interest in running, or hiding, or fighting. Nothing he could do would change a thing. It was the last stop, the end of the line. The Fates string ended here, on some random hill in Tartarus.
Percy nearly laughed at the sick joke. After all that he had gone though, there would be no valiant end for him. No heroic last stand.
"I know." He looked at the figure that had been chasing them for so long. He was strolling casually up the side of the mountain, his golden armor gleaming even though there was no sunshine. It looked very much like Apollo's, but instead of the warm and friendly feeling, this light was harsh and harmful, ready to burn whoever got too near.
Percy knew this was the end. They couldn't keep running, and there was no chance against a Titan King, Achilles curse or not. Kronos finally made it to the top of the hill, taking his time, though Percy knew he had plenty of it. The Titan stared at the two, anger coursing through his body.
"How?" Percy said, barely audible.
Kronos let out a harsh laugh. "Is that all you want to know? Is how?" His eyes leeched onto Percy, draining what was left of his will to live.
Percy didn't answer. Annabeth looked at him, her face showing nothing but hopelessness. "This is it," she whispered.
Kronos gave them a twisted smile "Well, I guess we have plenty of time." He chuckled at his comment. "After the Battle of Manhattan, I was banished into the void. A dark place, with only pain to keep me company. But my mother managed to piece my essence back together. One wretched piece at a time."
"But it is of little importance now. Here in front of me, are the two demigods responsible for my fall. Gaea truly favors me!"
"I feel really special," Percy commented under his breath.
Kronos' scowled deepened. "You will know the pain I felt, Heroes of Olympus," he mocked. "I will show you the destruction of your precious world you fought so hard to save. I will destroy your minds. You will beg for the mercy of death, but it will never come."
The Titan turned his back to them, scanning the bleak landscape. "Like I said before, why turn people to stone when you can freeze time itself?" Kronos laughed, like the screech of cold knives, as realization dawned on the two teenagers in front of him.
Percy reached for Annabeths' hand, but just before he could grab it, a familiar feeling came over him. It felt like he was wading through syrup, and his arms felt heavier than the sky. They were frozen in time.