We enter through the door, and it leads us to another stairs, spiraling up as far as the eyes can see.

Calypso and I climb the steps slowly and carefully, we don't want anymore surprises from the elder gods. For all we know, the stairs can start crumbling down any minute now.

After a while of climbing the steps, we finally reach another iron door. I look back to Calypso, checking whether she's ready or not. Calypso nods, she looks calm, I guess the magic around this place is not as heavy as the one down there.

I open the door slowly while peeking inside, looking for any sign of trouble. It doesn't look like there's anything alarming or dangerous inside. I step into the room with Calypso right behind me.

The room is shaped like a really small dome, a private small dome. The walls are shiny, the yellow kind of shiny, they're made of solid gold. Actually everything here is made out of pure gold; the ceilings, the tiles, everything in here. The windows are like war bunker's windows, the rectangular kinda one that they use to shoot their enemies from within. There's a large golden clock strapped to a wall with no window, the left side from the entrance. A giant golden hourglass, exactly like the symbol on the letter that was given to us, strapped to the golden clock, mixing the two symbols up. I can hear water crashing into the outer walls of this place. I can actually smell the sea from here.

I step to the middle of the room, looking around, but finding no one here.

'That's weird…' I mutter.

'And what is "weird" about this, Perseus?' A voice calls out from behind me.

I turn around and see a tall old man in a white stripes dark blue suit. He actually looks like Zeus, with the white hair and long beard. Just that he looks way older than him, this man looks like he's in his seventies with wrinkles all over his face. Strangely enough his face looks really clean even with all those wrinkles. He's a bit hunchback, but who can blame him? The man is in his seventies. I look into his eyes, and instead of pupils, he has hourglass in each eye. He's carrying a golden rod that is around his height. At the rod's head is a golden hourglass, floating inside the golden circle that is connected to the road's head. It's like a perfect magnet, everywhere the rod goes, the hourglass stays perfectly still, floating inside the golden circle.

'Let me guess, you're a god.' I say.

He smiles, 'You've guessed well, Perseus. But I'm not just any ordinary god.' He circles me and Calypso, but I keep my eyes locked on him. 'My name is Chronos.'

I uncap Riptide almost immediately, 'Kronos!?'

The man sighs, 'Not Kronos, Ch-ro-nos. I am the personification of time, my dear Perseus. THE primordial god of time. The god of the past, the present, and the future.'

His image becomes blurry all of a sudden, his body seems to be fading slowly, and simultaneously , another thing or another person is taking its place.

I rub my eyes, making sure that what I'm seeing is not an illusion.

The other person grows more vivid as the old man fades. Now the old man is gone and is replaced by a young man in his early twenty, wearing the exact same thing and holding the exact same golden looks like a younger version of the old man just now. The man's eyes and hair are the same like the old man from before, and he gives off the same vibe. They're the same person, Chronos.

He stops walking. 'I must say, I do not like it very much when people keep mistaking me for that fool of a titan.' He looks a bit annoyed.

'Yeah? Well, next time you might want to pick out a name that doesn't sound a lot like another god.' I smirk, mockingly.

He smiles, he starts strolling again. 'We did not get to choose our name, Perseus… From the time we…' He pauses slightly, trying to pick out the perfect word. 'Start to exist… We have known our own name, without anyone there naming us. Not even we, the protogenoi or Chaos himself know why we knew our name from the moment we're here. We simply just knew…' He speaks with such a tone that it sounds like words of wisdom. It feels like stumbling into a truth that is much bigger than finding a treasure island. 'Besides, I'm much older than that fool of a titan, if anything, he stole my name.' He continues.

I roll my eyes, 'Yes, because that's what his parents thought when they named him. "Let's name this little Titan kid, Kronos! You know, because we don't like Chronos that much, so we're going to steal his name.". Get over it.'

Someone laughs, and it's not Calypso, me, or Chronos. Aeon appears out of nowhere from behind us, snickering. I would have never been able to imagine Aeon snickering since it doesn't match his regal face one bit.

'I told you, didn't I? This one is brave.' Aeon says to Chronos.

Calypso quickly hides behind me. She seems uneasy and nervous when she's around Aeon. She was like this when we first met him, and she's like this now as well.

Chronos chuckles, 'Indeed he is.' He turns back to me, 'Tell me, Perseus. Why don't you fear us?' His eyes, or at least the clocks, are filled with curiosity.

'Why did you call us here?' I ignore his question. 'Why are we here?'

Chronos smiles, 'Why the hostility, Perseus?'

'You were the one who send us the letter, weren't you? The mark on that letter, it was your mark, your symbol. So now just tell us why you called us here.'

'Why the rush, Perseus? If you wish for more ti—'

'Chronos.' Aeon interrupts him. 'I already offered him. He rejected it. So let's not waste more time, I think our friend here is in a hurry.' Aeon smiles warmly to me, yet I still find it to be disturbing.

I smile wryly, 'Listen to the Eternity god.'

Chronos sighs, disappointed. 'Very well then, Perseus. But before we move to business, I would like to ask a question.'

I raise my brow inquisitively.

'Tell me. What do you know about Matthew Frost..?' He smirks, full of meanings.

I stiffen, and then I growl. 'Where is this going?'

Chronos shrugs, 'I was just thinking, perhaps you would like to know more about your dearly departed brother. For example, perhaps about the day that he and his mother were swept away by the ocean. The day that dear dad abandoned his little boy.'

My eyes widen. Rage slowly fills up my body. I clench my fists and growl. 'What do you know about that!?'

'We know everything, my dear Perseus.' Chronos leans closer, 'Would you like me to show you, what really happened that day.'

I breathe heavily, I nod slowly.

Chronos smiles. He becomes blurry again, his form begins to change. Now a small young boy, around the age of five but still wearing the same suit appears. The golden rod is now shorter, it calibrates with Chronos' form. His hair is still white even as a child. He's only a third of my size, and yet his presence is still overwhelming.

'They say that to learn about the future, you must know about the past.' He says with the exact same voice he had when he was in his older form. 'If you want to know why the sons of Poseidon are hell bent on the destruction of Olympus, you must learn their past.' Chronos waves his rod and the air in front of me begins to form into a screen. The image is blurry and barely seeable, after a minute, it turns more vivid and clearer.

The screen shows a boy bashing an iron white door in an enclosed cabin with his spear, but the door doesn't budge. After a couple more bashing, he stares at the door. His spear dematerializes back to a golden pocket watch. He keeps it again in his pocket. He rushes back and curls up with a lady in a formal gown. The boy and the lady are wet, their clothes are torn off a bit; they look like a mess. The lady wraps her gentle arms around the young boy, they're terrified. The boy buries his face on the lady's chest. Water is seeping through the iron door, as it slowly builds up. The lady looks gently to the boy, smiling. She shushes him, trying to assure him. The boy looks up to her, revealing his face. It's Matthew, tears pooling up on his eyes, just as they pool up on the lady's eyes. The lady is her mother, that much is certain.

'Matthew…' The lady whispers 'Don't be afraid… You're going to be just fine.' Tears stream down from her eyes. Her mother has the same French accent Matthew has.

Matthew's face is full of fear. He knows exactly that his mother's words are hollow. The fear that I see on his face is not fear for himself, it's fear for his mom. He knows that the water won't hurt him, but it won't be so kind to his mom when it reaches her.

'Your papa's going to be here, the real one… He's not going to abandon us, don't you worry, Matthew.' His mother's words sound more like a prayer as the water now reaches their feet. She's not scared for herself. She's afraid of what would happen to Matthew if she leaves him alone, just like Matthew's fear, they both fear for each other.

I clench my fists tightly, feeling my anger rushes through my vein and into my head. Looking at Matthew's mother remind me of my own. She would have done the same, she would have assured me that nothing bad is going to happen. She's going to smile knowing that nothing bad is going to happen to me even if she knows that she's not going to make it out of there alive.

Matthew notices his mother's tone, he forces a smile. 'Yeah, mum… Papa's going to be here soon.' He's crying, he knows that his words are hollow but I sense that deep down he believes that Poseidon will be coming.

The light coming from the light bulb above them is now dimming, after a minute, the light fades completely. Now there's nothing but darkness in that room. Matthew's mother squeals slightly. I can hear her trembling breath.

The water lights up in blue light all of a sudden. Now light has return back to the room. The water gathers in one spot, it swirls up and forms a person figure.

It materializes starting from the feet, slowly going up to the body. A male figure, wearing a blue shining armor. The person's right hand is holding a trident. I gulp, in horror that it will be my father. I knew how this story ended, Matthew told me that his mother died… That Poseidon abandoned him.

Finally the face materializes, to my surprise and relief, it's not Poseidon. Pontus is standing there with his white hair and beard that makes him look like a Santa in a battle armor. Instead of eyes, he has rippling water in his eye sockets. Pontus radiates blue lights out of his armor.

Matthew looks surprised, a smile forms on his face slowly. For a moment there, the situation baffles me completely, until I finally put all the pieces together.

I glare at the screen, 'Matthew has never seen Poseidon before in his life… Has he..?'

Chronos chuckles, 'No… He has not. And he never met Pontus either… Or at least the god he thought was Pontus.'

'Papa…' Matthew mutters happily. Life and hope return back to his eyes.

I growl and shoot him a murderous glare, 'How low can you people stoop.'

'Not people, Perseus. Gods.' Chronos says it full of pride.

Matthew's mother looks at Pontus, she squints hard, trying to get a better look. I realize then why Matthew doesn't know that it's not Poseidon… Her mother can't see Pontus' face clearly. For all she knows, Poseidon is there, after all they both give off a similar feeling and Pontus appears after materializing from water.

'Matthew…' Pontus speaks in an echoing voice. His face is grim, with no hint of kindness. He nods apologetically.

Matthew's smile of relief and gratitude vanishes in an instant, 'What..?' He mutters.

'Goodbye…' Pontus melts back into water, a lot of water.

Now the entire cabin room is filled with the cold embrace of the sea. It reaches to their neck already. Dim blue lights shine up on the floor, bringing a small comfort since their vision has returned.

Matthew turns to his mother, he's terrified, tears of sadness roll down his cheeks.

'Mum…' He almost whispers. He's loss for words. He knows that this is it, the time that they both share is about to come to an end, for good.

Matthew's mother is shocked. She realizes what's going to happen, and yet she smiles full of compassion to her son. I know exactly what kind of a smile that is. A smile to show that she knows what's coming, a smile that is telling her son that she accepts her fate, a smile that is telling her son that as long as he is okay, she's satisfied.

His mother gently holds his face and wipes away his tears even though her cheeks are flooded with her own tears. 'It's alright, Matthew… It's alright…' She tries to hide her fear but her voice is shaky and her lips quiver.

The water level rises quickly, now it's up to their chin.

'Je suis fiére de toi, mon fils… I'm so proud of you, Matthew.' Tears stream down from her eyes endlessly. 'No matter what, you will always be my boy… And I will always watch over you.'

Matthew shook his head, still crying, 'No! Mum! Please… I can't go on without you..' He whimpers, pleading for her mother not to leave her.

'You are strong, Matthew. You will survive this… You will live a long and happy life… You will have a family one day. You will grow old… You will find a good woman… And then you will have children… And then your children will have children.' She smiles, and kisses Matthew's forehead. 'Live long and happily, my dearest son.'

The water has now filled the room completely. Bubbles of air are coming out of Matthew's mother.

His mother mouths to him. 'I love you always, Matthew.' No sound is coming out of her mouth, but her sentence is as clear as daylight.

Matthew's eyes widen, he screams in terror, 'Mum!' He looks up. 'Please! Anyone up there! Please save her!' His tears keep coming down from his eyes, and they're visible even though he's underwater. 'I'll do anything… Please…' He pleads desperately. His voice fades as despair overwhelms him.

The last air bubble pops out as Matthew's mother closes her eyes. She smiles peacefully, holding out every bit of pain. I know that her lungs and throat are filled with water. The pain she is experiencing must be unimaginable, even more so that she's hiding every last bit of it perfectly.

'NO!' Matthew screams his lungs out. 'MOTHER!'

I look away in anger, trying to calm my emotions down, trying to regain my composure. When I look at my hands, they're bleeding heavily. I must have clenched my fists too tight. I didn't even feel the pain in my hands.

I glare down at Chronos, 'So my father didn't abandon Matthew… It was Pontus who showed up that day Matthew was trapped in that cabin.'

Chronos smirks. 'I wouldn't exactly say that.' He snaps his fingers and another screen appear next to the screen from before. 'Nothing happened in sea without Poseidon knowing, remember? This happened when poor dear Matthew was trapped.'

The image is blurry at first, but it clears up in a minute. The screen shows me an image that rattles my bones with rage.

Poseidon is there, sitting with a wide smile on his face at the dinner table. He's having a feast with Triton and Amphitrite. They all look so happy and cheerful, which only serves to anger me more.

Poseidon did nothing when Matthew pleaded the gods for his mother's life. There's not even the slightest hint of concern or anything on Poseidon's face.

Chronos takes a step closer to me, his childish smile looks innocent but with his voice, it becomes creepy. 'Would you like to see the rest of what happened?' He gestures to the middle screen, the one where Matthew was on.

I look back to the screen. The image appears again, showing Matthew floating there, half-dead. He's still holding his mother's hand tightly, not letting go even though his mother has already started decaying. The dim blue lights on the floor finally vanish completely. There's nothing but darkness. No sound, no movement, nothing at all.

Crack. A sudden noise. Crack. Again, it appears. Then followed up by a loud sound of an explosion, and a door being bashed down. Something glows blue, it lights up the entire room in a second. Willy is there, floating in the water. His right hand is holding a bronze blade while his left hand is holding some sort of a stick that shoots out bright blue light, it looks a lot like a glow stick, a magical one probably.

Matthew's eyes turn to Willy, but there's nothing in his eyes. No gratitude, no hope, no life. His face shows nothing but weariness and despair. Willy sheathes his blade, he swims to Matthew. He grabs Matthew's arms and starts dragging him out of there. Matthew's eyes return to his mother, he is still holding his dead mother tightly.

Willy pulls Matthew closer, 'Brother. Let go.' He pleads to Matthew. His eyes are filled with sadness, he feels sorry for Matthew.

Matthew stays silent, he keeps holding his mother's hand.

Willy squeezes tighter, he leans closer, 'Brother… Let go… She's at peace.'

Matthew slowly looks to Willy. Tears begin dropping again from his eyes. He looks back to his mother, he whispers to her, 'Adieu… Mére… Je t'aime tant.' Matthew lets go of his mother's hand.

Willy drags Matthew out of that room, but not before glancing back at the corpse of Matthew's mother. He takes out a small bronze ball. He clicks it and leaves it at the room. The ball releases greek fire, the fire burns the room, slowly, making its way to the corpse of Matthew's mother. Willy and Matthew leave the room before they can see how Matthew's mother burns.

Willy swims away while still dragging Matthew, they're making their way out of the ship. After they get out of the ship, they start making their way to the surface. Slowly, trying to get out of the cold cruel embrace of the ocean. They surface out of the sea, where there's already a luxurious white boat waiting for them.

From aboard the ship, Marcus is standing there, ready for them. He throws them both a rope. Willy grabs the rope while still carrying Matthew. Marcus pulls the rope, dragging both Willy and Matthew into the ship.

Willy gets up quickly, but Matthew just lies there with nothing but empty eyes and blank face. He stares at the sky, perhaps his mind is as blank as his face.

'Are you okay?' Marcus asks Willy.

'I'm fine, go check on him.' Willy gestures to Matthew.

Marcus kneels next to Matthew, he checks Matthew's condition. Marcus takes out a square of ambrosia from his pocket, he tries to feed Matthew. 'Here, eat this. You need it.'

Matthew stays silent for a minute, he almost whispers, 'Why..? I don't have a reason to live… My family sunk alongside that ship… My real father abandoned me… For what reason should I live..?'

Silent fills the air. Marcus doesn't know how to answer Matthew's question. He's figuring out the right words, but it seems to be difficult.

'For vengeance.' Willy answers. He's sitting down.

'Vengeance..?' Matthew repeats, but as a question.

Willy nods, 'Vengeance… Live to avenge your family, to avenge your mother. Live so you can bring Olympus down crumbling. To bring justice back, to topple the gods from their almighty thrones. Live so you can prevent anyone else from suffering because of the selfishness of the gods.'

Life slowly returns back to Matthew's eyes. He spins and gets up to his hands and knees. He faces Willy, 'To bring down the gods..?'

Willy gets up, 'Poseidon, your father… Our father… Is no difference from the other gods… They need to be reminded that we are not their playthings.' Willy takes a step closer, 'My brother.' He says to Matthew, 'We are also children of Poseidon, from a different time than you, but just like you, we have experienced suffering. We want revenge!'

Rage builds up in Matthew's eyes and face, 'Can it be done..? Can we destroy the gods..?'

Willy offers his hand to Matthew. Matthew stares at Willy's hand, trying to decide something. He heaves out one last doubtful breath. His eyes are filled with resolve. Matthew takes Willy's hand and Willy pulls him up.

'Matthew Frost.' Matthew introduces himself.

'William Knight.' Willy returns. 'Welcome, brother, to our cause.'

The image blurs and fades out. The screens disappear from sight. I don't need to see any more, I already know what follows next.

'Do you understand the past now, Perseus?' Chronos asks me.

I shoot a murderous glare at him, 'I understand that you all are as insane as you are twisted.'

Aeon laughs, 'Don't be like that, Perseus. Now how about we just shake hands and let all of this go. We gods, all after are very civilized.'

Calypso squeals loudly when Aeon reaches out his hands for us. She grabs the tip of my sleeve. Her face whitens, her lips quiver. My eyes widen when I see Calypso's trembling expression.

Aeon smirks, 'My dear sweet Calypso… Don't tell me that you're afraid of me because of what I did last time… What do the mortals usually say..?' His smile grows wider and wickeder. 'Ah, yes… Water under the bridge.'

I roar, 'What did you do to her!?' I scream to Aeon.

Aeon spreads his arms, 'I've told you! I am the personification of Eternity!' He yells it out happily. 'Immortality is based on me, so I took hers away!' Aeon screams it out loud in ecstasy. 'And it felt wonderful… Hearing her scream and squirm in pain as I force it out of her.'

Calypso winces, tears flowing out of her eyes. She squeezes my shirt harder.

Aeon holds his hand out, 'Now come, my dear sweet Calypso. I have more plans for you.'

I uncap Riptide, and I leap without hesitation to Aeon. I wave my sword, full of rage and hatred.

Aeon grins. A double bladed celestial bronze spear materializes in his hand, a blade at each end of the bronze stick. He deflects my attack and manages to knock me back with his swing.

'You wish to challenge me?' He smiles full of amusement. 'I am a god! An elder god for that matter!'

'I've fought much worse.' I crouch in an attack position.

Aeon shook his head, 'No, you have not.'

I fling myself back to Aeon. I stop caring about what I'm fighting against, I had enough of the gods. I don't care if I get myself blasted to dust after this, but for the moment, I'm going to make him bleed and experience pain.

Aeon raises his spear and aims at me. I quickstep to the side to dodge his attack. He smashes the ground with his attack. Gods know what would have happened if I had try to block it. Aeon quickly follows up with a horizontal swing, it makes a sharp cutting noise as it passes through the air. I somersault back, dodging his swing and putting a distance between us. I jump up high to the air, I plunge down back to Aeon with my sword pointing downward. Aeon steps back and misses my blade. He swings his spear once more. I duck down, evading the tip of his blade at a split second. I use my leg and sweep the floor where he stands. He reacts lightning-fast and jumps up. As he lands, I stand back up. He swipes his spear continuously and I keep dodging them by a hair. Each attack that he does would slice me up like butter. I know that from just hearing the loud sharp cutting noise that his spear is making. But I can see his attack clearly, and I keep evading them.

Concentration floods my mind, and power fills my body. Every air that I inhale and exhale syncs with my movement. Exhale when attacking and inhale when I have the chance for a split second rest.

He swings his spear again, it's coming to my left side. I swing my sword in sync with his movement and I deflect his attack. I follow up with a spinning jump kick, it connects with his chest. 'This is for Matthew and his mother!' He stumbles back groaning.

Aeon spins and swings his blade once more, this time it's coming to my right. I swing my sword simultaneously to his movement, and I deflect his blade once more. I follow up with a knee to his gut and continue with an uppercut to the face. 'That's for Calypso!'

Ichor flows out of his nose, Aeon groans in pain. His calm face starts to break and is being replaced by a raging face.

'Oh my…' Chronos mutters. There's a wide wicked smile on his face.

I leap to him, not wanting to give him any time to rest. Aeon is already ready though, he uses both hands to hold his spear. He swings vertically, dropping down his blade like raining down the wrath of a god upon me. I sway to the side. The blade misses me but it shatters the ground when it hits. I would have been pulverized if I had taken the attack. I'm unfazed though by the loud cracking noise, the shockwave, and everything that his attack causes. I push forward and reach right in front of his body.

I plunge my blade deep into his solar plexus and I shove it through his body. I roar. 'AND THIS IS FOR ME!'

Aeon's eyes widen and his jaws drop as he coughs out Ichor from his mouth. Chronos looks as surprised as Aeon is.

The rage leaves my body slowly. I breathe heavily as my head begins to cool down. My composure returns back to me. Now I remember that the person I just shoved my blade into is an all-powerful primordial god… He's probably going to blast me to dusts now.

Chronos's face bursts in happiness, he's ecstatic. He starts clapping loudly. 'Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!'

Aeon's eyes light up. His body starts to glow. This is it. Strangely enough, I don't care anymore. I feel satisfied, watching him in pain. Somehow, I can't help but smile.

Aeon grows brighter, when I blink, Chronos is already in front of Aeon. He pushes Aeon back, sliding him out of my blade in his solar plexus. My blade is colored with golden blood, Aeon's blood.

He holds Aeon's shoulder and pushes him down. 'Easy there, Aeon… I see Eternity doesn't help you with your temper.' Chronos smirks.

Aeon's body stops glowing. He smiles, 'You're right… Forgive me for that.' Aeon turns to me, 'And forgive me for almost vaporizing you, Mr. Jackson.'

'Percy…' Calypso whispers. I almost forgot that she's here all along. I nod to her, assuring her that everything is going to be okay. She stands behind me, trying to hide herself from the sight of the primordial gods.

I snort to Aeon, 'I don't need your apology. I just need you to never lay your hands on my friends ever again.'

Chronos smirks, 'It feels good, does it not..?' He pauses slightly, 'The power… Coursing through your vein just like your blood. You exceed even our highest expectation, Perseus.'

My eyes widen with surprised. I glare and growl. 'Did you do something to me..?'

Chronos strolls, circling me. 'Me? I didn't do anything, Perseus. It was you, you did it to yourself.'

I shook my head lightly, not understanding what he meant.

'He does not understand.' Aeon takes a step closer.

'Let me be clearer then… All of the power you are feeling right now? It entered you the moment you sunk your blade in Matthew's chest.' He smirks, twisted and evil. 'When he dies, his life force is shared among the remaining sons of Poseidon. It makes you all faster, stronger, more durable. It's nice is it not?'

I look at my hands, feeling the power in my body. I have been feeling powerful lately, more powerful than ever… And it's all because of Matthew's death..? The thought angers me.

Chronos shrugs, 'Of course that's not the only reason. All the battles that you have been through..? It serves for you to master these newly power, for you to enhance your combat ability, for your ability to manifest. It worked like a charm; I must say that I am surprised to see to see you grow this strong that fast.'

I shout out, 'Enough! Just tell me why I am here!'

Aeon stands beside Chronos, 'He grows weary… I think we have done enough, don't you think, Chronos?'

Chronos laughs, 'Yes, I think we have.' He looks to me. 'We are here to show you what you are up against, Perseus. Believe it or not, we are here to help you.' Chronos shifts back to his young adult form.

'Show me what!?' I growl louder.

Chronos snaps his fingers, another screen appears right above them. 'This.' He says proudly. 'The greatest weapon the primordial gods can produce.'

The image becomes clearer. But the more that I can see, the more shocked I've become. Fear grows little by little looking at the creature in the screen.

'What in Hades' name is that!?' I shout out.

Dum Dum Dum! Find out what it is in the next chapter!

To be continued...

Sorry, I feel the need to be dramatic right now.