Cat landed about 100 feet from my motionless body and started moving closer as she watched a body begin to crawl from the ground beside me. As he stood tall and took a moment to stretch out his sore and tired body, Cat had a chance to size him up. Standing well over 6 ft tall with broad shoulders and a muscular physique, he stood wearing only the lower half of a toga, ripped apart just above the waist. He had many scars covering her chest and arms, but any scars that might reside on his chin and neck were covered in a black beard that matched his long, jet black hair that fell behind his ears. Cronus finished his stretching before Cat could reach me, and looked down at me before raising his own left hand. There, clearly shown in broad daylight, was the same sign as on my own my hand, much to Cronus's enjoyment.
"Thank you Gaia, this time away from my family has given me a chance to think hard on how I should rule my land, and now I think it is time I show you what I have come up with." Cronus clenched his left hand into a fist hard as the sign started to glow, encompassing his whole body with the feint yellow light without making the sign spread. As the glow covered his body, Cronus began to float off the ground as he levitated higher up, only to coast back down. When his feet touched the ground again, he unclenched his fist and released the power, causing the glow to dissipate leaving him looking like normal once again. Cronus frowned then looked back towards my motionless body. "You didn't give me all of the power Gaia, I know you want this to be a fair fight, but I don't think this human deserves the power either, so allow me to take it from him." Cronus stood above my body with his left hand raise in the air. A sickle started to form out of thin air in his hand, which he grasped firmly with the intent to chop my hand off and retrieve the sign himself. As he started to swing down, the sickle was suddenly pushed off course by Cat's dagger as she stood between my body and Cronus.
"Stay away from him, titan." Cat's words shot out like venom, but they did nothing to deter Cronus's plans. He smiled malevolently before swinging his sickle quickly at Cat. She was able to move back in time to avoid this attack, but was unprepared for the harsh abdomen punch she received from Cronus's off hand, sending her to the floor a few feet away. Cronus chuckled softly as he watched Cat sit on her knees curled over as she tried to breathe without hurting.
"A god protecting a human, how noble of you child. May I ask you one thing though?" He bent over with his head cocked to the side, emphasizing his waiting for an answer he knew would not come. "I may? What good manners you have, I must visit your parents to commend them on your upbringing. My question to you is who will protect you now child." He smiled wickedly again before kicking her roughly. As Cronus raised his sickle to slash down into Cat, he felt an odd warmth coming from behind him that caused him to turn around.
I could hear someone talking to me as I lay on the ground, but nothing that was said seemed to make any sense to me, it was as if it were another language. My head hurt as I tried to figure out what happened, but one thing came to mind that cleared everything else up for me. "Cat!" I opened my eyes abruptly, hoping to see her close, but found something I didn't expect to see instead. I expected to be laying on the ground where I had passed out, yet I was very clearly laying on a rug inside a well furnished house. As I rose up slowly, I could feel every muscle in my body fight against me, not wanting to move anymore. I persevered through this, knowing that I needed to find Cat, and as I got up onto my knees, I looked around to find the woman who started this mess sitting on the couch smiling softly.
"It's good to see you again my dear, would you like something to drink?" She spoke so casually that it almost made me forget what it is that she did to me. I glared at her and decided to not respond to her question, but this didn't deter her in the slightest. She merely took a sip from her cup and patted the seat beside her own. "Come and sit, the fact that you are moving after putting all of your energy into Hermes and Cronus is a miracle in its own right, but to do so and not be consumed by the sign is simply impossible, and we wouldn't want that now would we?" This sentence confused me just enough to make me want more information, so I did as she said. As I sat down beside her, I realized just how sore I was as I felt my muscles give way again, even my eyelids fighting to stay open, but I knew I had questions that needed answers.
"Why is all of this happening? Why was I chosen for this? What is going on? What do you mean Hermes AND Cronus? Why would the sign consume? I'm so confused and lost, I feel like I'm being placed in the middle of world that's not my own and I don't what's right or wrong anymore, so please answer my questions." As I got the last words out I shut my eyes and gave up on trying to be tough. I relaxed my body and decided to leave my fate in her hands as she began to speak. I wasn't unconscious and she seemed to know this as she began answering my questions.
"That is an interesting order you put your questions in dear, so interesting in fact that I will answer them in my own order. What is going on? Well, the gods you know were not always the ones in power. Before them were a group of beings that lacked in numbers, but took pride in their individual abilities. They were known as the titans for their monstrous abilities that seemed to quintuple that of your average gods abilities today. Of the titans, there were twelve that stood out from the rest and ruled over all of the land, rightfully named the twelve titans. Their leader was a young titan by the name of Cronus, who freed his brothers and sisters, the eleven other titans of power, from their father, the original king of earth. Cronus was a person of great power from a very young age, much like the god zeus is now. Tell me dear, did you come from a rich, prosperous family?" She stopped to ask me this question which confused me, seeing as she seemed to know everything.
"No, I never knew my father and my mother work in a brothel long enough to forget she even had a child." This was very personal information, but I gave it to her as if it was common knowledge. Something about her put me in a zen-like trance that I couldn't help but follow her along as she led me down a path.
"I see, now dear, I have a theory. People who, that have lived a long time with power, are given more power tend to abuse it for they have never known what is like to live without, but people who, that have lived without power, are given power cherish and protect this new power, because they know what is like living on the other end of the spectrum. With or without you, Justin, the titans were going to be released and a war was going to be reignited. I am not fond of what you humans call gambling because I have never found in outcome I didn't already favor, so ,with that in mind, I have decided to change the stakes. I have given you a power on par with, if not greater than any god or titan that dares step foot on this earth. You could rule the world with your own hands, you could crush your enemies mercilessly, or you could watch the world burn from the sidelines. What will be your decision?" As I opened my eyes, I was no longer sitting in the living room of a home, but instead floating in endless nothing. In front of me stood two items, one on my left, one on my right. On my left stood a sickle that looked much sharper than would be needed for harvesting wheat. On my right stood a hand that seemed to extend from a portal made of thin air. Both items seemed to pull me to each other separately, indicating that I must make a chose on the two, but something about the sickle made my stomach turn over like no other. Whereas the hand felt warm and comforting, as if I had held it before. I believe the decision was easy as I softly took the hand within my own and realized why it felt so familiar. As thoughts of Cat came into my mind, I could hear her voice start to get louder.
"Justin.....Justin.......Justin..Justin..JUSTIN DON'T!" My eyes opened abruptly as I had returned to Mt. Crone, and before me stood four beings. On the ground lay a motionless Cronus, being dragged away by a bloodied Phtonus, while two others stood in front of me. The closest to Phtonus of the two was Hermes as he had his hands ready to fight, though shaking profusely they may be, and closest to me stood Cat, with her hand intertwined with my own. As I started to become more away of my surroundings, I realized my body was covered in cuts and gashes from the sickle that lay in my own hand, which I quickly threw aside. Once the sickle left my hands, Cat threw her arms around my neck and proceeded to let tears of joy that I had never expected to see from a god. "Justin thank Zeus you came back, you almost hurt Hermes! I didn't know what to do, I was so scared!" Her crying died down only moments after it began, yet she held on to me still after she had stop before whispering a barely audible," Don't leave me again." As she stepped back again I felt my legs give out and I leaned forward onto her shoulder for support, which she gave willingly. As I felt like I was about to pass out from sheer exhaustion, I looked up in time to see Hermes step forwards for an announcement.
"You are hereby under arrest for attempts to overthrow the guardian government and for the attempted murder of Hermes and Catarsus, may Zeus have mercy on your soul. My eyelids gave way finally as I felt sleep encompass me, but as I faded away one thought lingered.
"He was speaking to me."
