And so I present to you:

Chapter 9!

A cold voice murmured in my head, Greetings, Perseus.

And so starts my visit to hell.

Kronos should at least make this place more comfortable, I thought as I sat down at the edge of the pit. The cold, dirty, and hard edge of the pit.

No thanks for my advice? Luke told me about your little, ah, incident with La Rue.

I glared into the darkness. Then I decided it was better to ignore his comment. "So, what world shattering advice do you have for me now?"

Do you know why your mother is dead?

Insensitive jerk. "Your son."

Which one?

Was he trying to sound innocent?

Well, two can play that game. "The egotistical one that cheats on his wife on a daily basis. I suppose he got it from his father."

I see. Yes, Poseidon does tend to do that. However, I am inclined to think he learns his tricks from his younger brother.

I muttered some things that should never come out of the mouth of a twelve year old. "I was talking about Zeus, idiot."

And you are correct. Tell me, Perseus, have you never wondered why there aren't many children of the "Big Three" in the camps?

I frowned. I thought they just died before they could reach camp, killed by monsters of jealous wives. Like Thalia Grace, Jason's sister. Hera, Juno, whatever she was called, murdered an innocent child without any remorse. Despicable. And monsters apparently think Big Three kids smell stronger than the others (and apparently taste better, according to some dracaena I interrogated).

I thought my theory made sense. In my other life, demigods had a greater chance of survival. For starters, back then, everyone knew the gods were real, not just some silly old myths. So a demigod would eventually realize what- who- they were. And back in the days of my first life, celestial bronze were about as rare as mountains (which weren't exactly the rarest things in Greece). Then demigods would journey to various safe places scattered all over Greece (or go show off, like a certain egotistical son of Zeus, who was named after Hera). But the present was a different story. Now, what with the lack of information, weapons, and safe places, demigods- especially children of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (and their Roman forms)- were bound to die more often.

But something told me it was more than that. Something with a horribly scratchy voice, cold, cruel, and full of an ancient, deadly power. Something in the form of a chopped up Titan lord.

Kronos seemed to have misinterpreted my thoughtful silence to a curious one. The Great Prophecy... Stating that a child of one of the Big Three shall be able to destroy the gods. Naturally, the gods tried to avoid this threat. They got the "Big Three" to swear on the River Styx not to sire any more mortal children.

"Impossible," I muttered. The chances of that being true... Almost zero. But still, it made sense in a twisted, sick sort of way. It would explain why Thalia was killed, why Jason and I were watched so carefully, and why Jupiter/ Zeus tried to kill me all those years ago.

Kronos was telling the truth, then he should be able to recite the prophecy. I told him that.

Very well, Perseus Jackson. Brace yourself for the Great Prophecy:

A hero born to destroy the gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds.

The child's father is two times the sea,

Only poison shall set his soul free.

With help, death he has once cheated.

The ending scene shall be repeated.

Huh. So he was telling the truth. Unless Kronos had some secret poetic talents,which was very unlikely. He couldn't possibly have made up the prophecy.

The prophecy.

It was so ominous, what with the dark, cold setting and unforgiving voice reciting the ancient prophecy. And it certainly explained why Thalia was killed. Of course Zeus would think he's "two times the sea", thinking two times means twice as powerful as. Which he wasn't, anyway.

The prophecy would've been more disturbing if it was about me, though. Even if my dad was the sea god in both of my lives, I wasn't born to destroy the gods. I felt sorry for whoever the prophecy was about. Then again, maybe not. If he/she was born to destroy the gods, then the kid must be exceptionally evil.

Ah, but the prophecy is about you.

So he was reading my mind. Not very surprising, really. Immortals never seemed to be able to grasp the meaning of the word "privacy".

And how could it be about me?

"You're wrong, because last time I checked, I wasn't born to destroy-" I stopped abruptly, remembering what Kronos said a long time ago. Something along the lines of "I am the reason you are alive". He brought me back. I'd figured that out years ago. And now I know why he did it.

Kronos couldn't resist explaining the brilliance of his plan.

I had to take advantage of the prophecy. A chance like that would not come again for millenia. It took me decades of plotting to work out the plan. I had to bring back you, as your father was once the god of the sea. Then I had to combine your soul with a child of the sea god's body with the intention to destroy the gods, and the first, third, and fifth lines of the Great Prophecy would be fulfilled.

Of course, there is more to the plan, but it would not be wise to tell you now.

Next, I had to put the plan in action. It was quite a task to find a mortal woman who would catch your father's eye and compel him to break his oath. Once I found her, I altered the flow of time and orchestrated a few "accidents" that lead to your parents' first encounter. Then, I released your soul from it's starry prison. As your mother gave birth to you, I merged your soul with your body.

I was the one who orchestrated your rebirth.

Mark my words, Perseus; when the time comes, you shall join the Titans. Together, we shall lead my army to triumph.

Yeah, I know, the chapter's short, especially after making you guys wait so long. But it's very essential to the plot, and explains some of the mysteries. It took a while because I had to smooth out Kronos's plan (Which is quite ingenious, in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just becoming an egotistical, delusional idiot). I also had to fix the prophecy I made up about a million times.

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