The roaring current, the dark water. Tumbling down, trying and failing to stop their descents.
When Perseus felt the sword enter his body he knew there was no chance he would survive. Atmor was an overwhelming force, he was nowhere near his league. Perseus fell down to his knees as his opponent withdrew his blade from his body. All Percy could hear was a scream, his eyes were glued to what was left of his sword, its hilt and shards of metal. His vision darkened as he lost consciousness, suddenly he was watching a vision. Percy was reliving the moment where Atmor appeared, where he initially confronted him. Yet he wasn't in his body, he watched as he questioned the primordial. Perseus quickly realized someone was behind him, he turned around to see another Atmor.
"I am giving you another chance Perseus if you destroy Kronos, we will finish our fight then. Do not disappoint me child, do not waste this second chance."
And with that Atmor waved his hand, his eyes flashed golden and time rewound itself.
"H-how..?"
"My domain is the endless, time is endless. Now go, prepare yourself. Kronos will be sending the entirety of his army soon, try not to die."
The spectators atop the mountain were confused and shocked, they had just watched as their most powerful member was taken out like it was nothing. And on top of that, Perseus' opponent stabbed his sword through his chest. And here Perseus was, kneeling in front of the figure.
One of them was much more worried than the others, something that was obvious from the air around them.
Perseus looked at Atmor, his bright red eyes locked with his bright purple ones. And like that Atmor vanished, leaving behind the crater he had made.
Perseus stood there, frozen in place as his friends rushed down to see what had just transpired between the two.
Avara had shadow traveled down to him, using a shadow from a nearby tree to land thirty feet from him. Elras used his enhanced speed to run down the mountain extremely fast. The others had ran down as fast as they could.
They arrived to see Avara throw her arms around Perseus, embracing him. She released him to examine where he had gotten stabbed. She gasped as the found the armor hadn't been penetrated and he hadn't lost any blood.
"What happened Perce?!"
"That guy was a primordial, his power was just to...just to great. I couldn't do anything."
Mazal cleared his throat, gaining Perseus' attention.
"Why did you drop your sword? Why didn't you just back away, why didn't you run?"
Vetas quickly punched him in the arm for asking a series of rude questions.
"You didn't feel his power like I did, he could've snapped his fingers and we'd be dead. No trace left, if I ran he might've killed you guys. He claimed to be here for me."
Mazal nodded his head, understanding his answers and feeling guilty about questioning him.
"Kronos will be sending the rest of his forces against us. We need to defend the main gates and the throne room at all cost, we can't depend on reinforcements from the Olympians."
They took off towards the gates, Avara staying near Perseus as she comforted him.
His mind was still in shock of what had happened earlier, he could still feel the fear he had felt.
They had just arrived at the throne room doors to see a small band of monsters exit them, fires could be seen behind them. Their previous cheers of victory were cut short as they ran into the other demigods and demititan. Fear evident in their eyes, slowly backing up. Mazal quickly called down lightning, striking thirty or so monsters and leaving major burns. The unlucky ones were reduced to dust, others were screaming in pain. Elras finished the remaining monsters, rushing into the throne room.
As they entered, each one of them gasped in shock.
In front of them was Veliri, impaled on multiple spears. Blood was everywhere, smeared along the walls and sprayed on the floors. There was a spear through her chin, going through her skull. Spears throughout her body mainly her stomach. A total of five spears were in her body, blood dripping from each.
Lydia was nowhere to be seen. Another one of them was dead.
Two are dead.
Six remain.
Three more shall perish.
Hestia appeared before Perseus, grabbing him for a hug. A ball of rose up in Avara but she pushed it aside.
"What happened Hest? Where is Lydia?"
"I felt that aura so I came to check on it and found you battling someone, I watched you die. I have no idea where she is, she asked me to go check on you guys and I just returned."
Perseus nodded but Elras spoke up.
"We need to prepare a shroud for Veliri, we must prepare ourselves for Kronos' final assault."
Perseus put a hand on his shoulder, words didn't have to be said to get his point across. We'll find her.
"Mazal we all need to rest, we should take rotations for watching the gates. I'll take first watch, get some rest."
"Wake us if there's a sign of the enemy, wake me in a while and I'll take the next watch."
Perseus nodded at Mazal's requests, as he walked towards the doors Avara stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm here for you Perce, remember that. Remember you can only be brave when we're afraid."
"Thank you Av, get some sleep. Saying something smart will take its toll on your brain, we need you rested."
At his teasing, Avara hugged him. Not the regular hugs she gave him, this one was with much more emotion. To her surprise, he returned it. Pressing his lips against her cheek, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face.
"I know you want to talk about that, we'll talk about it when this is all over. I promise."
And with that he walked away leaving Avara clutching her cheek where he had kissed her, a smile lighting up her face.
-
Perseus sat on top of a palace, thinking back to when he had fought against Atmor. The raw power he could feel from him, the overwhelming aura that made it hard to breathe. His bright purple eyes that held such wisdom, yet it held destruction. One look from those eyes told Perseus all he needed to know. Atmor is the type to destroy everything, the type to kill innocents just because he can.
Why did he want me to fight him if I defeated Kronos? Kronos will be near impossible to kill, and to fight someone infinitely more powerful than him was suicide. For the first time, Perseus didn't know what to do. What's his motives? What's his endgame?
"To destroy all living things Perseus, some people just want to watch the world burn."
Perseus quickly turned around, shocked to see who had spoken to him.
"Lady Chaos?!"
"You can just call me Chaos, or the Creator."
"O-okay... What are you doing here, Chaos?"
Chaos giggled at the boy in front of her.
"I came to give you answers Perseus, I will try to help out as much as I can. I cannot directly interfere, the ancient laws are still binding me."
"Help with what? Atmor?"
"Yes, I am quite surprised that you are still alive. Even if its because he let you live, he hasn't done anything like this before. Mercy isn't in his nature."
"He wants me to confront him if I destroy Kronos, he let me live so I can fight him another time. What is he..?"
"That is a complicated question Perseus, he was born a mortal. A demititan just like you, but he was cursed as a child. Instead of hindering him, it gave him unlimited power, the primordials of his timeline feared him and banded together. They were massacred in a matter of minutes. Atmor forced over forty immortals to fade."
Perseus was in shock, Atmor was born like him and he was cursed?
"How is he so powerful?"
"His power was already far greater than any titans, and the curse only made it increase a hundredfold. However there is a way to bind him, to imprison him. It isn't permanent but it will last millennia."
"How?"
"It takes a sacrifice, you must recite an incantation from the book the curse originated from. From there it opens a passage to the underworld, where the prison is located."
"Is it possible?"
"Yes, only three people alive can seal him away. You, Avara, and myself. I do not understand why only we can seal him, but it must be done. I am willing to trade my immortality to seal him, it will be a small price to pay."
"If you fade, the world will collapse on itself. He will just bring you back, I don't think he would allow you to get close to him. Me on the other hand, I can get up close to Atmor."
And so Perseus and the Creator plotted for hours, devising a plan and multiple backups.
"The most likely scenario will end with me sealing him, Perseus I need you to lock him in combat. Distract him best you can. We have some time before we put this into action, you must defeat Kronos."
"Very well, I will do my best against both of them. Kronos is no pushover though, while he isn't on Atmors level, he's still far powerful than I."
"Don't hold back Perseus, your friend's lives are at stake. Not all of you who remain will survive, but not all of you die."
Perseus nodded, a sad look adorning his face.
"I will do my part, but you have to promise me something."
"Anything, name it."
Perseus exhaled the breath he had been holding in, relief showing on his face.
"You must protect Avara, do everything in your power to keep her safe."
"I will Perseus you have my word, if anything happens to her, I will intervene."
He nodded his head in thanks.
"How did my shard shatter like that? And why is it not put back together?"
"Atmor has a blade of unknown metals, its sharper than anything I've ever seen. I don't have the answer to that question Perseus. I suspect you'll need a new blade, for what is to come."
Soon after she had said that, a sword appeared in her hands. It radiated a large amount of power.
"I believe you are familiar with death? The idea, not Thanatos. Well soon after I had began creating worlds, I stumbled upon a boy. He was stunned to see me, he had dark black hair and eyes like yours. He wore black robes with a white sash across his chest. Anyways he told me he didn't have a name, he was just Death. He was incredible, he could fight against Atmor on an even level. He vanished a while after I met him but he entrusted me with his weapon, the source of his power."
"Y-you're giving me someone's weapon, who happens to be as powerful as Atmor?!"
"Death told me it was a gift, for someone who would stand against Atmor. It was meant for you Perseus."
"How can you know that, someone else could stand against him. Someone much stronger than I."
"I know because Death told me, he was very certain a boy who looked like him would be the one to wield his sword once more."
Perseus made to grab the sword but it started shaking, a light began to shine from the pommel. A large black jewel began flashing. It suddenly broke apart and a small black light flew at him, colliding into his chest and disappearing. A shockwave erupted from Perseus throwing the Creator back, sending her yards away.
When it finally subsided, she got to her feet and ran towards Perseus. She was about to reach him before she felt a change, his aura was different. It was ancient, far older than herself. A pressure was exerting from him, causing her to flinch.
"What's happening?! It hurts! Make it stop!"
Perseus was writhing in pain, black streaks running along his body. Silent screams were escaping his mouth, his face contorted in agony. A long cry of pain, a screech, rang from his mouth as he lost consciousness.
A few moments passed before he awoke, he was confused and rightly so.
She grabbed his arm but gasped as she withdrew her hand, which was burnt. His skin was radiating heat, more so than was usually healthy.
"I'm so sorry."
He raised his hand and a white ivory light enveloped her hand, returning it to its original color.
"How did you do that?!"
"I have no idea, it seemed like the correct thing to do."
Chaos went to feel his aura, but it was dramatically different. It had changed, his power now rivaled that of Kronos'.
"Perseus your power has increased drastically. Do you feel different?"
After a quick moment of thinking, he nodded his head causing Chaos to look concerned.
"I'm famished!"
She face palmed at what he had just said, she couldn't believe her ears.
They heard footsteps in the distance, multiple.
"Percy! Where are you?!"
"I'm over here!"
And so they ran to where Perseus had called out from, revealing themselves as his friends.
"We heard you scream, what happened?!"
"Oh...uh about that, I got attacked by this power that came from a sword."
All of them had an incredulous look.
"What?!"
"Oh hi Avara, good to see you too. Is it your turn already Mazal? That was quick! Time to eat!"
And with that, Perseus ran to the throne room with the thought of food clouding his mind.
The Creator watched him run as fast as he could, she couldn't help but laugh. That child really is something else.
Yet from Perseus' distraction, they missed the sound of an army approaching.
~Location Change~
A man with golden eyes sat upon a throne which was being carried by giants. He had a look of glee etched upon his face.
"Soon Perseus, soon you will feel the true extent of my power. Soon."
I have fixed all the mumbo jumbo from the earlier chapter, thank you for bringing it to my attention! Oh and also if you don't like OC's get over it or stop reading, I feel the need to use them at certain times.