- Chronos, Peter, Lao, Dimitri -
Peter's fight with Chronos was going surprisingly well. While Chronos had heavier swings, Peter's speed and technique were prevailing. Lao was on standby, watching and waiting for anything that seemed like an opening. Dimitri was focusing on the surroundings, making sure he was ready to intercept any new enemies.
Chronos wasn't surprised by Peter's strength. It only furthered his belief that Peter is Death's son. The only anger he felt came from the fact that this was his second difficult opponent. He was being torn apart by Peter's sword. He felt the weight of his imprisonment dragging his abilities down. This fight only made him further realize just how outmatched he had been against Death.
Peter's confidence was static throughout the fight. His contract's time limit loomed overhead. He needed this fight over quickly without alerting Chronos to that fact. Every strike he had landed on the time god had been deep and purposeful. He closed in, hoping to finish the fight.
Chronos swung his scythe wide and created a large wave of blue fire. He was trying to create space but the moment he went to take a heavy step back, he felt Peter's sword pierce the wrist of his scythe-wielding hand. Before he could respond, the hand was severed. He collapsed to one knee as Peter cleaved through his left leg. He put his hand to the ground, but before he could fully spread his blue flames, fell face-first into the shallow water.
'Let's see if the hunter's child can do it...' Chronos thought before his head was cut off.
Peter deactivated his contract and split Chronos's head in two. He was exhausted but still able to stand, if somewhat unsteadily. He turned his back to the corpse of the ancient he had just beaten, proud of what he had accomplished until a thought brought him back to reality.
'He was in pieces when he fell from the canopy...'
"Let's go!" Dimitri waved Peter over.
Peter put his hand up to Dimitri. "Somethin's not right..."
Peter stood and watched Chronos's remains, staring so hard that most would think it wasn't a corpse he was looking at. The horror on his face was shared by Lao and Dimitri as the three saw time start to reverse around Chronos's body.
"How?" Lao mumbled.
"Don't just let him revive!" Dimitri shouted.
Peter ran to the floating remains, slashing at them as they moved. Every swipe he made only seemed to slow the body parts down without actually stopping them. As he swung and swung, his desperate motions, combined with the growing fear on his face, made him look like a mad painter swinging a brush covered in red paint. He found himself surrounded by the blood, flesh, and viscera of a god that refused to stay dead.
"Die!" Another sword swipe. "Die!" Another, his breath getting heavy. "Di...Die!" He fell to his knees.
Lao rushed over and propped Peter onto his shoulder. As he ran back to Dimitri, he nodded.
Dimitri lifted his hands up, creating a swirling orb of water around Chronos's body parts. His hands shook as he made the water spin faster and faster until eventually, the orb was completely red. He threw his hands to the side, bursting the orb in the opposite direction of the three.
The red slush shot out far but before it could complete its trajectory, started to move backward.
"It's...it's up to Death," Peter panted.
Lao put Peter on his back. He and Dimitri ran, fear filling their minds at the thought of having to face Chronos again.
- Chronos and Zeus -
(Past)
Chronos's limp body hung from the chains of the pillar as the grass smoldered behind him.
["Just die!"] Zeus shouted.
Time reversed, healing Chronos's wounds and bringing him back.
["You wanted to be king,"] Chronos mumbled. ["Don't blame me for your inability to rule..."]
Another bolt blasted through Chronos's skull, splattering the grass behind his body.
["You have no idea what actually ruling is like,"] Zeus insulted.
Time reversed, and Chronos was back. He lifted his head to look Zeus in the eyes as he spoke.
["If I can give you any advice,"]
Zeus killed Chronos again.
["It would be that-"] Chronos was interrupted by another bolt through his head.
["Don't spend time worrying about your enemies."]
This time Zeus killed Chronos over and over again, not wanting to hear whatever it is his father was going to say. He shot so many holes into Chronos's body that the chains on the pillar had nothing left to hold on to.
Chronos's body reformed, and the chains shot through him, stopping him as he lunged at Zeus. He was an inch from Zeus's face as he spoke.
["WORRY ABOUT THE TRAITORS THAT CALL THEMSELVES FAMILY INSTEAD!"]
Zeus rolled his eyes and turned around. ["Before I leave,"] he sighed. ["Stay out of Poseidon's head or I'll kill you another thousand times."]
["What are you talking about?"] Chronos groaned. ["Even if I could talk to him, he's not worth it."]
Zeus put another bolt through Chronos's head and walked away.
- Poseidon and Lucifer -
The battle between Lucifer and Poseidon was finally starting to favor Lucifer. He was still the far more damaged one of the two but at least he was actually able to land hits now. Poseidon's torso was now spotted with the burns from Lucifer's magic. Lucifer stood on a roof, eyes locked with Poseidon.
"I can't tell who's winning," said multiple voices among the civilians.
The civilians that had been spectating the match had many questions about the situation, but one that started to grow in interest was how none of them had been caught in a crossfire. They all knew the dangers of watching the battle and yet they couldn't help wondering how no stray attacks had landed near them.
"I can understand lord Poseidon, but the fallen as well?"
Lucifer could still hear the voices below. He was just happy that they had dropped the "mad" before fallen. The civilians' questions did jab at his curiosity as well. Why was Poseidon being so careful? He was already a traitor, so why should it matter if he also causes innocent casualties? These thoughts didn't last long in Lucifer's mind.
'I...I just need to end this,' Lucifer's fatigued mind thought.
He took a step to fly off the roof. He stumbled for a moment, falling to one knee as he went to correct himself. His exhaustion had finally caught up to him. He kept his eyes on Poseidons, waiting to respond to what was sure to be a strong attack. Instead, all he saw was hesitation. He knew his plan to rattle Poseidon had been effective but this seemed too good to be true.
Poseidon stared at Lucifer, readying his hand. However, in his mind, he wasn't looking at just Lucifer. As he stared at the crouched archangel, what he saw were flashes of Chronos. The fierce determination in Lucifer's eyes being swapped out for the severe hatred of Chronos'. He broke his vision away from Lucifer briefly, looking around as he did.
'Underworld. Lucifer. Underworld. Lucifer.' Poseidon repeated in his head.
Lucifer was trying to remember something about Chronos, 'What were his "last words" again? It's worth a try.'
["YOU'LL NEVER ESCAPE ME!"]
Lucifer's voice boomed out over the heavy rainfall. He had put every drop of breath and anger he could muster into that shout. He watched as Poseidon, the god that had previously been dominating him in their battle, broke down.
Poseidon looked around frantically at his surroundings. He tried to block out the images in his mind. Chronos's body coming back to life and ramming a scythe into his stomach. He touched his stomach, searching for the wound. The moment he touched the burnt skin of his stomach his panic grew worse. He turned around and got ready to fly away.
'What did she call this one?' Lucifer thought to himself as he readied one hand at Poseidon's back. 'Prominence-something?'
Two chains of blue fire snaked along Lucifer's arm. As Poseidon went to fly away, a blast of fire shot out toward him. Poseidon had barely heard the attack coming his way when he turned. He covered himself in as much water as he could before slamming into a rooftop. His body steamed as he looked up at the rain clouds he had created.
Lucifer took a breath in and flew over to where Poseidon had crashed. The hand he had fired the attack with was gone, leaving only a burnt stump. He found himself barely able to even fly as he attempted to hover above the roof. As he looked down at Poseidon he could see that the god had two burnt stumps for arms. He landed on the roof as slowly as he could and pointed his remaining hand at Poseidon's head. As a blue flame appeared on his palm, he stopped.
Poseidon was crying. "Why couldn't you just die? Why didn't they listen to me?"
Lucifer felt pity for this pathetic sight. He pulled out his dagger and put it against Poseidon's throat.
"Who didn't listen?"
Maybe it was the blade on his throat, or maybe it was Lucifer being closer to him that made Poseidon come back to reality.
"Do it," Poseidon begged. "I don't want to live with this anymore..."
Under better circumstances, Lucifer would have just killed Poseidon and moved on. Fortunately for Poseidon, Lucifer was at his limit. His body was a horror show of damage. To an outsider looking in, it would seem as if Lucifer's corpse was holding Poseidon at blade point.
"Who...Who did you try to warn about Chronos?" Lucifer asked, trying his best to hide his exhaustion.
"My brothers," Poseidon answered. "I told them we should have asked the other gods of this world for help with Chronos."
"Why isn't Chronos dead?" Lucifer prodded further.
"Can't be killed..." Poseidon mumbled. "Time won't allow it."
"What do you mean he can't be killed?" Lucifer disbelieved. "Every god in this world can be killed, Ragnarok taught us that."
"Not him..." Poseidon shook his head slightly.
Poseidon proceeded to tell Lucifer an abridged version of his and his sibling's past with Chronos. How the time god had been fought to the bitter end. How the three siblings had celebrated the victory at the moment, only to look on in horror as their father came back to life. He told Lucifer about the struggle of dragging Chronos to Tartarus and the losses they suffered in the process.
Poseidon formed a small grin on his face, causing Lucifer to put the dagger closer to his skin. As blood started to trickle out of Poseidon's neck, he spoke.
"Please kill me. I thought I could live with this decision but I can't."
Lucifer looked over Poseidon's body. He could tell that alive or dead, the god was no longer a threat to him.
"Why did you try to kill me in the coliseum match?" Lucifer asked.
Suddenly, the hydras that had been occupying Persephone's roots collapsed.
"I'm a monster," Poseidon mumbled. "Just a monster that had to keep up appearances."