I'd like to say Atlas took Hyas' death calmly.

But that would be lying.

Atlas had brought a spear and shield to our meeting."Hyas is dead..."

"Yes, father." Hyas' death still weighed down on me. He was my only brother. Now, I was Atlas' sole son.

"Do you know why I named you Kathryx?"

This was it I thought. I would finally get to know more about my past. Names symbolized what you were after all.

Atlas looked at me meaningfully. Then his face morphed into anger.

"I named you Kathryx because it means NOTHING!"

He waved his hand and I was sent crashing into the wall behind me. Cracks spread through the wall. One of my bones was definitely fractured and I had a hard time moving my ankle.

But Atlas wasn't done yet.

He rushed forward, dropping his spear and gripping my throat tightly. He raised me up to his face, nearly 20 feet off the ground.

"YOu ARE TOO LEAVE THE PALACE AND STAY IN THE WOODS FOR A WEEK."

I nodded quickly.

"Get your belongings," Atlas said.

Nodding quickly first, I headed to my room. But when I glanced back, Atlas had his face in his hands. A single tear fell from his face and onto the ground.

I exited the room.

I walked, hoping to dissolve in my own misery while going to my room.

The Palace was huge, covering the entirety of the top of Mount Othrys. It had taken me centuries to memorize the layout of the first floor. And the sleeping chambers were on the second floor.

As I walked, I passed the Hyades, Hyas' only full siblings.

They laughed as they walked through the hallways, playing like children.

"Back so soon Kathryx?" Asked one of the sisters, Eudora, "I was wondering where Hyas is. We have a wonderful surprise waiting for him."

My heart ached. When my voice came out, it croaked.

"Hyas... Hyas is gone."

The Hyades stopped laughing.

"Is this a joke? It certainly isn't very funny Kathryx!" Polyxo said.

"Hyas is gone. Killed by a boar. Ask Father," I replied.

"No! You lie!" Phaisyle yelled. With tears coming out her eyes, she ran away from me as fast as possible.

"See what you've done Kathryx?" Eudora said but now, a tear was also falling from her face. "I'll never forgive you for this!"

She led the Hyades away from me, leaving another heavy anchor on my heart, just barely making the guilt feel tolerable. Pain this strong could not be felt through physical means.

I walked in shame to my room, gathered the few personal items in it, and headed towards the exit.

As I walked out, the world seemed to be filled with sorrow.

Walking through nature had once been calming. The gentle rustle of the trees, the soft blow of the wind.

Not anymore. All I could think about was the warm smile that always emitted from Hyas' face. A smile emitted from a face that I would never get to see again.

A gentle stream flowed off to my left, providing me with splash sounds.

The sun flowed harshly, imposingly, as if Helios was blaming me for Hyas' death.

A stick cracked below my feet.

I remembered one time I had cracked a stick and caused the prey to run away.

I'd failed at hunting it properly.

One of Hyas' last words had been that I was a good hunter. I couldn't imagine making up a lie further from the truth than that. I waited for the wild to absorb me, to end what seemed like centuries of useless reflection and guilt.

"Please! End my suffering," I called out to the wild.

The wild remained as beautiful as always.

Mumbling curses to the trees, I walked over to the stream.

I kicked the water. It sure didn't do much except make the soil more wet.

I decided to walk around for a bit. Perhaps that would make the pain go away.

As I walked, I found myself staring at the vibrant colors of nature. Nature made life feel like an illusion. It camouflaged the cruel way trees starved younger ones by taking their sunlight through making both vibrant green.

Life wasn't vibrant. It wasn't wonderful. It was full of enough death, sorrow, regret, and pain to make even a grown titan cry.

Soon however, I found myself standing in front of a large teenaged young man. This man had the same eyes as Zeus, Kronos' dead son had.

"You look familiar," he said.

"Perhaps you've mistaken me for someone?"

"No... Ah! Right! Kathryx," Zeus-man said.

Zeus-man looked pleased to see me but I couldn't remember when I'd last seen him.

"I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with you. Who are you?" I asked.

"Zeus. I'm about to rebel against my dad. Want to join?" He said.

My brain short circuited. What was a circuit anyway? I wasn't sure I was supposed to know what a circuit was in the BCEs.

"Want to come?" He repeated.

"Uh, what?"

"Just tell me where the palace is then," Zeus-man said.

I waved vaguest towards the north.

"Thank you!" Zeus-man walked off in the direction of south.

I suppose that encounter was so strange that my mind tried its best to forget it as if it was information that might harm me if I remembered.

For a moment during that exchange, I'd forgotten about Hyas. For some reason, that conversation made me feel different. What was the best way to proclaim your respect to a dead man?

I took out an elegant bow. It wasn't mine of course. But maybe it would soon be.

I gripped the bow tightly with one arm and pulled an arrow back with the other. I aimed at a tree branch, just an inch or so in width.The arrow flew right through the thin branch, severing it's ties with the rest of the tree.The arrow flew faster than I'd expected, as if the bow was helping me.

Perhaps maybe I could come to terms with Hyas' death this way.

Perhaps.