FSHOOOM!!! "See, I told you it would work." Prometheus smiled as he erupted next to Kronos.
They were deep in the forest, sitting along a tree, still able to hear what was going on in the battlefield.
"The amount of chaos this will cause is unimaginable." Kronos grunted.
"Ah, don't worry about that, He'll be able to handle it." Prometheus smirked.
***
A few minutes earlier...
"Stage Two!" Hephaeustus shouted.
Prometheus turned around and looked at Kronos, grabbing his hand along with Sky's and pulling them into the forest.
"We don't have time, Kronos, you have to release your barrier on the Nightmare Woods!" Prometheus shouted.
"That could destroy Hero's Stronghold!!" Kronos shouted back.
"It's either that, or we lose Sky's life here today…. It's a gamble but he's been missing for the past couple years and the other camp hasn't made any moves either." Prometheus explained.
"It's highly likely that he's stuck there, and if that's the case we don't have to worry about Hero's Stronghold!" Prometheus tried to reason.
A look of annoyance flashed on Kronos' face followed by anger. He looked at Prometheus and then at Sky and rubbed his chin. Once again the cycle of annoyance, anger then seriousness passed on Kronos' face. Slowly Kronos' head started moving from left to right. Just as he was about to open his mouth Sky interrupted.
"Kronos, last time you weren't able to do anything… but this time you can..." Sky looked at Prometheus who flashed a thank you face before looking away.
A silent and heavy air sat between the three of them as Kronos tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows trying to figure out where Sky had learned such a thing. Suddenly his eyes widened and he snapped to Prometheus.
"YOU TOLD HIM DIDN'T YOU!!!" He yelled.
"He has to know!" Prometheus shouted.
"No he doesn't!" Kronos snapped back.
"If he doesn't know, then how will he defend himself?!" Prometheus shouted back.
"He won't need to -" Kronos started before being cut off.
"Cause you'll be there!?!" Prometheus yelled.
An unsettling silence grew as each prepared his words and counters against the other.
"You can't treat these half-bloods like helpless children, brother." A gentler tone settled in Prometheus' voice.
"Because some day they'll have to fight monsters, beasts, giants and even their own kind and you won't be there to protect them anymore…. You have to change…. Have to…." Prometheus' words grew softer with each break.
Kronos stared into the golden eyes of Prometheus. A cloud of pain moved around in them behind which was a strange sense of adoration and mischief. A sudden urge to resist coursed through Kronos' body as he looked to Sky and remembered the words of his son.
A heavy rock settled in Kronos' stomach as he looked up to the sky and swallowed. He breathed in slowly and exhaled before looking back at Prometheus and nodding. The ground trembled. As the three of them watched, the newly formed pyramid that now sat in front of them shook.
"We don't have too long." Prometheus urged.
"All I need is a few moments, take Sky with you to the battlefield." Kronos ordered as he turned around and ran deeper into the woods.
Prometheus nodded. Sky looked up at him and smiled, to which he winked the two waited patiently as Striker drew closer to Hephaestus.
"Prometheus… what'll happen to Hephaestus if Striker kills him here?" Sky asked, watching as Striker raised the blade above his head.
Prometheus put a hand on Sky's head and ruffled his hair. "Gods can't die Young Sky, his presence will find another place where the spirit of forgery is strong and he'll reform there." Prometheus explained as he slowly caught on fire.
"Now then, shall we go?" Prometheus turned to Sky.
Sky stared in awe, there was a radiant smile sitting on Prometheus' face. It was the first time he'd genuinely smiled. "Yea…." Sky mumbled, struggling to suppress a smile of his own.
***
Present time...
"How's he holding up?" Prometheus asked.
"Better than I expected, but now is when it gets tough." Kronos answered before turning his attention back to Sky.
***
Sky crouched down on all fours. FSHOOM!! He disappeared, like Striker before suddenly reappearing an inch away from his face. While twisting his body Sky clenched his fist, though it felt like he had grabbed something. Ignoring the strange thought he pulled his fist back and swung it forwards, narrowly missing the head of Striker.
A smirk grew on Striker's face before suddenly disappearing as a strange heaviness flashed over his body for a split second. Immediately, he shook it off and swiped with his large sword.
Hearing the voice of Kronos in his head, Sky twisted his body to face the edge of the blade, taking the impact on his forearms and sliding backwards as he hit the ground.
"What was that?!" Striker shouted across the battlefield.
"What?!" Sky yelled back.
"That strange heaviness!" He shouted again.
"Sky when you punched him did you feel anything strange!?" Kronos' voice shouted in his head.
"It felt like I had grabbed a handle of some sort, why?!" Sky asked.
There was a silence as Kronos thought to himself before finally saying. "Sky, throw another punch, but this time imagine throwing a ball as hard as you can." Kronos explained.
Though Sky didn't understand he nodded. Slowly he got into the position of punching. As he threw the punch he imagined throwing a ball a thousand meters. After he had thrown the punch he watched as the ground in front of him cracked in a cylinder. Striker watched with wide eyes as he leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack that went on to drill a hole through the mausoleum.
"Looks like we can win this handily!" Kronos smiled.