[ Previously on Earthshaker's Shadow... ]

"What coming war? Who is this enemy?"

Chaos sighed again, then looked him in the eyes. Percy suddenly wondered how old she really was. "My brother."

Chapter 5: The Final Prophecy

"Your brother?"

"Yes." Chaos' eyes darkened. "My brother Order. He is my antithesis, everything I fight against. I am original darkness, from which everything is born. He is original light, in which everything ends. I build up, he burns down."

"And he's your brother? Have you always been enemies?"

"No. We were best friends, until we had one little argument, long ago. I won that fight. But there was a price. I lost my only brother. The Universe that you know is only the good realms, my realms. There are other Shadow Realms, right beneath our noses, where all of our enemies lurk. The Shadow Realms are the prison I built, where I spread his consciousness far and wide, much like the Titan Kronos you defeated."

"You mean, Order has a chance to reform? Like Kronos did?"

"Exactly. He has been amassing followers. You already know a few. Kronos reformed as part of Order's plans. Gaea, my own daughter, went mad because of Order's corrupting influence. Order has been pulling puppet strings from the shadows. Even you are not strong enough to resist."

"What?" An ugly feeling was settling on his heart. "Wait, earlier, what did you call him? The original light?" And then everything clicked. The white light.

"Exactly," said Chaos, as if she could read his mind. "It was Order, not you."

"No," said Percy. "Part of it was me." He shivered to the bone. "I heard him. I heard his voice in my head, and it was so soothing, so friendly. And it told me the things that I myself had been afraid of thinking, my darkest secrets. And then...and then..." Percy almost began to sob.

"You have to remember, Percy. You have to confront your own demons. Just remember, Order's light will never fight off those shadows. It will only cast more." She looked Percy in the eyes. "This may seem counterintuitive, but the only thing that can fight shadows is darkness. Original darkness."

Percy nodded.

"Now, try to remember."

He closed his eyes, allowing the darkness to overcome him.

Percy felt Gaea's dagger plunge into his chest.

I'm going to die, he thought. Sorry, Wise Girl.

And then some part of Percy wondered what he had done to deserve such a death. His entire life, all he had done was fight for the sake of the gods, for the sake of his "family," and what had he earned? A brutal death. His entire future, his love, taken from him.

You deserve more! some voice whispered to him, deep in his heart.

And then some part of Percy was angry, that the gods treated their children like this. Expected their children to fight their wars, and then once the wars were over, treated them like trash, like disposable tools. Some part of Percy began to rage. In the end, no matter everything Percy had done to try to change them, the gods were still the same.

And some part of Percy was furious to the bone, that all his fallen friends had died in vain. That Luke Castellan had died in vain. In the end, the cycle remained. A prophecy, a war, demigods killed like sacrificial lambs, and then a short peace before the next war.

And Percy decided, then and there, that there would be no more wars. There would be no more pain. Yes, the voice in his heart said. No more pain. Only light. Light to drive away the darkness, forever.

And Percy felt the blinding white light surrounding him, taking over his vision. He felt Riptide shining like the sun. He felt...invincible. Like he could put an end to this cycle of evil. Like he could destroy the world.

Percy gasped. It felt as if he was drowning. He blinked, and opened his eyes. He was sitting cross-legged, in the middle of the star fields. Chaos sat beside him.

"You felt it, didn't you?" she asked.

He nodded, still fighting to breathe. "That was—terrifying. I was—I was terrifying."

"You see now?" she asked. "What I'm trying to fight?" He nodded. She laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry, Percy. Sorry for dragging you into this. I know you resent being used like a tool. Please, please understand what I'm fighting for. And please forgive me."

"Forgive you? What for?"

"I started all of this, at the beginning of time." As Percy stared into her eyes, he could almost envision the memories unfolding. "In the beginning, there was darkness. Nothing but darkness. Only me. And I felt so, so alone. So I created something. I created light, and gave him a name, and called him brother, though he was more like my son. And that started my obsession with creation. I perfected my skills, created stars, galaxies, planets. Eventually, I created Earth, and life. And that was when things went out of hand. Life, my creations, began to do things that I had never expected them to do. They began to act with cruelty, to act evil. Order blamed me. He wanted to burn it all down, to start again from a blank slate. But I couldn't do that. I loved all of my children too much. So we fought."

"And you won?"

"I won, but I lost him. Forever. I split his essence apart, into all the light in the universe, and scattered him across the realms. And you know what the last thing he told me was? Sister, you say only darkness can overcome darkness. But if that is the truth, then only evil can overcome evil. You were right, sister. I cannot destroy your creations. They must destroy themselves. I will sow the seed of evil, and I will show you how the thorns grow and choke themselves. I will show you how wretched your creations have become."

Percy frowned sadly. "You lost him to everything he was trying to prevent."

And Chaos, to Percy's shock, began to cry. "Ironic, don't you think? He hated evil, but he who fought monsters became a monster himself." Chaos broke down into sobs. And for a second, though Percy knew how old Chaos really was, she seemed so young, just a heartbroken girl.

Percy didn't know what to do, so he put a comforting arm around her and said, "It wasn't your fault, Granny. He made the choice. And you know, if he's at rock-bottom, the only way he can go is up. Maybe he'll come back to you."

She shook her head. "He won't. Not if the Final Prophecy holds true."

Percy froze. The dreaded word.

"Prophecy? What Final Prophecy?"

"I'm not sure if it's even a prophecy. It's a dream I had, right after I defeated him long ago. Light and Dark shall meet again. This time, it shall be the end."

"What's so bad about a dream?"

Chaos rolled her glowing eyes. "Use that brain I made for you, Percy. Everything I imagine becomes reality. So if I dream about something..."

"You mean...oh, gods. No way." Percy shivered. "And I thought cryptic prophecies were bad. This one makes complete sense, and it's guaranteed to come true, and that just makes it scarier!"

"Exactly," said Chaos. "My brother is the light. I am the dark. If we do meet again, if we fight, the Universe will be destroyed. That's why I need you, Percy."

"Why?"

"When the day comes, I will fight Order. But who will fight the legions of shadows that he unleashes on Earth? He knows me well, he knows I have a soft spot for my creations. He will try to destroy my children on Earth to distract me. I need to be prepared for that." She gazed at him for a long time. "That's why I have you. That is, if you're still willing. When Judgement Day comes, I won't be there to protect the world, but you will. Won't you?"

Percy didn't hesitate. "Always."

[ AN: I know, I know, the cliche old prophecy. Chaos vs. Order, battle of the ages, yada yada. Bear with me. It will get better ;) ]