-BANG
Kronos leapt from where he stood, the obsidian ground beneath his feet cracking as he did.
-CLICK
Before he reached Hades, who commanded his darkness cloak upward, he snapped his fingers.
-SHUUU
Hades was quick to feel the heavy and constricting feeling that suddenly befell him.
However, it did little to slow his movements as he didn't even blink, his cloak wrapping around him, engulfing him then shrinking, swallowing the man.
Kronos caught himself before he travelled any further, unable to locate his son.
-WHOOSH
Kronos snapped his head back, the grin never leaving his face, his eyes meeting with Hades who had manifested from his cloak behind him, shooting out his hand to grab the old man.
And to this, Kronos made a small gesture with his hand.
-ZMMMM
Hades' hand was met with air as his opponent disappeared, his figure almost glitching as if this were a scene of a broken TV.
Kronos reappeared with his arm pulled back before Hades' wide-open ribs.
'Damnit!'
Hades cursed.
However, perhaps it was because he didn't have time or maybe he had something else in mind that made him turn his body rapidly with the help of his cape, coming face to face with Kronos and pulling back his fist.
-BOOM!!!
The two fists clashed and the air…no, the entire realm the Throne Room was in shook.
The heavy blue clouds dissipated in the distance while the echoing howls paused.
The ground shook and a few weak pillars in the area crumbled as heavy quakes were sent through the air.
'The power of a Titan will never cease to amaze me.'
Hades thought, wincing slightly as he stared at Kronos' simple smile that made the wrinkled skin around his eyes make it so his pupils were barely visible.
Despite this, his expression carried a menacing aura, the same as a deranged sociopath.
'Despite not even having half his power, his strength alone is making me struggle.'
"Please, Hades. I think we both know you weren't gifted with my strength genes."
"Show me the power of the "Dead" you always boast about."
Kronos taunted, Hades clicking his teeth as his cloak enveloped him.
The quaking and catastrophe that came from the clash disappeared with Hades as his cloak appeared a few metres away.
As it expanded and unfolded, it revealed Hades with both hands pointed into the sky.
"Arise!"
-FUASH
Wind started to circulate in the Throne Room as the immediate surroundings became illuminated by the blue glow that suddenly appeared between Hades and Kronos.
That blue glow mixed with the circulating wind as the two combined, forming a shape.
Then into a silhouette and finally into the figure of a person, as a few others appeared beside it.
In the end, six glowing blue and translucent figures stood before Kronos.
"Is that all? Six humans to fight me?" Kronos asked, chuckling as the scene amused him.
"That's all I'll need."
Kronos listened to Hades say this, these words doing little to convince him.
-WHOOSH
However, as he blinked, one of the six blue figures now stood before him, holding a spear as his arm was pulled back.
Kronos didn't have time to be surprised.
The figure didn't even make any noise, nor could Kronos sense him.
If Kronos didn't know any better, he'd have guessed the figure was standing there all this time, silent and ready to pounce.
With dark armour with intricate designs, despite the blue glow his skin let out, a fierce aura exuded from his eyes despite them simply being a glowing blue ball.
[Hero: Achilles]
The figure shot forth his spear that seemingly flickered with ghostly flames.
Despite this, Kronos' typical smile returned to his face as he raised his hand.
-FWIP
However, Kronos's hand shot backwards, his counter blocked before he even had a chance to move any further as he widened his eyes.
But it wasn't Achilles.
No, he had seen it. It was an arrow.
An arrow shot from a ghostly figure with a dark cloak, his armour was practical yet elegant and he carried a finely crafted bow with metal tips at the end.
[Hero: Odysseus]
But Kronos was only able to catch a glimpse of the figure before looking back at Achilles who was inches away from him.
Bending his legs, Kronos prepared to leap away, but his eyes narrowed.
He didn't even need to look back to know if he took another step he would regret it.
Besides, he could see one of the blue figures had disappeared.
Specifically, the Spearman mounted atop the winged horse.
[Hero: Bellerophon]
Knowing this figure made it so he couldn't retreat to the sky either, and he was cornered; Kronos grinned crazily, his innocent facade crumbling as he raised his hand.
"Amusing…show me more!"
The very air palpated around Kronos's fist as it rocketed toward the dangerously close spear of Achilles.
And as they were about to make contact…
-WHOOSH
"What…"
Kronos blinked, and the spear-wielding Achilles disappeared, replaced with a shorter and more bulky figure.
He wore a shimmering breastplate and flowing dark robes that billowed like smoke.
But that wasn't what Kronos stared at.
Instead, it was the round bronze shield he held before him that seemed as though it reflected every ray of light that touched it.
[Hero: Perseus]
And as Kronos fist made contact with it…
-CLANG!!!
Kronos wore a dumbfounded expression as his arm flung backwards, almost blown off his shoulder, while Perseus hadn't moved an inch.
'All the force I put into it…was reflected…'
"This is just a fraction of the true power that comes with the dead." Hades' voice entered Kronos' ears.
-WHOOSH
As it did, Kronos blinked, the scene before him changing once again as Achilles appeared between him and Perseus.
"In a single exchange, they were able to break down your defence and expose you for a killing blow."
It was true.
That reflected attack left Kronos stumbling backwards, his breath uneven and his dominant hand barely functioning.
After all, even he wasn't immune to his immense strength as a Titan.
"It's pointless. You're fighting nothing and something."
"Something that isn't supposed to exist, therefore, isn't governed by the natural laws of the world."
"You'd have better luck swinging the wind itself."
With this, Achilles leapt off his feet, arching forward so his body was horizontal.
In the next second, he kicked his feet out, slamming them into Perseus' shield with a BANG.
-ZIP
And like last time, all this force was reflected, sending Achilles shooting forward like an arrow at the defenceless Kronos.
However, Kronos watched as Acilles shot past him at blurring speeds, shooting past the pillars of the throne room till he'd reached one a small distance away from them.
And to this, Hades wasn't surprised a single bit.
This was because…
-SHING!!!
-SHATTER!!!
"It took me a while to figure it out."
Kronos, or at least, what was once thought to be Kronos, cracked, soon shattering to a million pieces as Hades watched Achilles thrust his spear clean through a distant pillar.
"Let me guess, you conjured yourself from a different timeline to fight for you."
"A timeline where you chose to fight rather than run like you are trying right now."
Hades deduced, seeing the old man with the spear thrust through his chest behind the pillar, a green sphere that seemed to have countless circles rotating within hovering over his palm.
Hades didn't need an explanation to know what Kronos was attempting all this time.
Kronos needed time to reverse his own time to a point before he was inside the throne room without undoing his gained souls.
Despite being arrogant, Kronos was smart.
He knew he couldn't defeat Hades with only 40% of his power.
Hades knew this…and it amused him as he, for once, cracked a smile.
"Tell me, Kronos. Are you scared of me?"
-ZMMMM
Kronos forced his body forward, pulling himself out from the spear.
Gold blood dripped from the wound and the corner of his lips as he waved over the hole in his chest, watching it instantly reverse to before he was hurt.
Without wasting a single second, he pulled back a back fist as he stood, twisting his hips for maximum power at the pillar.
-RUMBLE!!!
-CRASH!!!
But before he could, an enormous spike of solid magma shot through the pillar, destroying it and melting it at the same time, shooting through Kronos and splitting his body in two.
-ZMMMMM
Not a second passed before Kronos' body glitched, repairing itself as he dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, his expression contorted with rage.
"You…bastard."
Kronos muttered, witnessing the blue figures disappear.
Hades was left standing before him with his dark eyes, void of any emotion.
"Kronos…you're going back to your prison. You will never see the light of day again."
Saying this, Hades' arms rose upwards, and with it, the entire realm grew darker as they went.
The bluish hue that came from the similarly coloured clouds disappeared as darkness prevailed.
A regular human wouldn't be able to see a single thing, but Kronos could see it clearly.
He could see the shadows and darkness take form behind Hades, almost becoming tangible as it rose.
And as Hades waved his arms, the wave of darkness surged toward the downed Kronos.
Barely rising to his feet, he clicked his teeth as he braced himself for the darkness crashing onto him in the next second.
As it did, even his eyes became useless as he couldn't see past a few feet.
No matter how much he swung his fist, nothing made contact.
It was like he was fighting his own shadow.
But outside the void, Hades watched, the surroundings returned to normal.
Silence prevailed as a sphere of darkness lay where Kronos once stood.
"From the depths of torment, I call your name. Punish, unyielding flame. Hellfire…"
Hades' thumb and middle finger met as he directed it at the sphere.
-CLICK
"Incinerate."
-FUA
Though on the outside nothing much had happened, only a few embers of black flame dancing atop the dark sphere, for Hades, it was almost like he could hear the cries from Kronos trapped within the prison filled with literal Hellfire.
This sight made Hades feel a certain way as he continued to stare with a straight face.
It was almost soothing, so much so that it was hard to look away.
But eventually, he did. Turning as he prepared to…
-PAFF
Hades paused in his steps as the muffled noise of what seemed like a small explosion rang out.
-PAFF!!!
Hades slowly looked back, the noise becoming louder as he witnessed the sphere bulging from within until…
-BANG!!!
The sphere popped like a balloon as the dark flames had also disappeared.
Instead, what emerged from the sphere was a tall muscular figure with nothing but a ragged rag around his waist.
One would expect it to be Kronos, but this man fashioned well-groomed black and white stubble for a beard and slick back black hair with strands of white, as opposed to the long white beard and hair previously.
Additionally, if the clear signs like the reduced wrinkles and taller and bulkier frame didn't indicate this was two different people, perhaps the lack of disgust and rage in Hades' expression did so.
"How…"
Hades muttered out loud.
It wasn't that he suddenly lost his emotions of loathing, but more like they were overpowered by his surprise.
"How, you ask? Well, I guess the methods you used to seal my soul are less reliable than you thought."
"It was only when I needed it the most that they seemed to find their way back to me." The figure deduced.
As he did, Hades' expression soon reverted to a familiar one as he stared at the figure's bright Golden Eyes.
"What did the boy call it before? 40%? By that logic, I should be at around 70%, right?" Kronos grinned menacingly.
***
Behind a far pillar where this all happened, a small green figure lay in a fetal position.
His arms were wrapped around his head and his eyes closed shut as he jumped at the frequent BOOMS echoing from behind him.
'How…do I leave…'
This was Grimnar.
After briefly looking for an exit and failing, he took cover from the battle happening not too far away from him…
-BOOM!!!
'Damnit damnit damnit damnit!'
Grimnar tightened the grip around his head as he continuously cursed.
He didn't know why he wasn't running at the moment.
Even if he failed to find an exit, he still needed to get as far away from the battle as possible.
No, that wasn't true. He knew why.
It was because of a voice that repeated like a broken record in his mind.
"You're wrong, there's a fourth type. Those who can break away from their destiny and create their own power at the top."
"The type who do whatever they want and laugh at such nonsense."
However, right after this, the voice of another interrupted.
"You were wrong. There is only the strong that rule and the insignificant that suffer. That is all."
It was true. What could Grimnar do against the monsters behind him?
And?
Did Illian ever stand a chance?
No one believed a child could ever do even half the things he did, including Grimnar.
Yet he died living by his code.
And though he was gone, he would forever be remembered as the boy who tricked the gods.
'But…I'm too scared. I can't be like him. I can't do what he did.'
Scared. Scared of death. Scared of Kronos and Scared of Hades.
However, he was also scared of knowing he'd probably live if he was obedient to Kronos as the Titan said.
It scared him that he'd live as a slave for the rest of his life, looking over his shoulder.
No, that wasn't right either.
Scared wasn't the word. More like Hate.
It made his heartbeat grow restless and his teeth instinctively tightened.
He hated it. And that hate was far stronger than his fear.
With this, Grimnar slightly opened his eyes, looking at a transparent piece of cloth that was stuffed under his rag.
'Dying a legend…that was what he chose rather than living meaninglessly.'
'Is it the right choice? I don't know. But…I don't want to continue like this.'
Tightening his grip around the cloth, Grimnar's face contorted in determination mixed with anger, despite the tears formed within his eyes.
"I want to change. I want…I will be better…"
He mumbled, and for once in his life, he said something that contradicted the very belief he once lived by.
"I will do what I want!"