Kronos vs Calypso

Calypso took a moment to breathe in and then breathe out as she sat meditating on the ground. The morning dew had yet to evaporate. The early morning sun filled her body with warmth. Calypso listened to the woodland surrounding the clearing she would fight her old childhood friend in. The one who she was unsure how she truly felt about. One day, she despised him for his weakness and heritage. The next day she wanted nothing more than to keep him safe from anything that would harm him. Damn you, Kronos. It’s like the gods created you solely to torture me. A scent made Calypso open her eyes. Here, at last, are you?

Kronos walked through the woodland, surrounded by four Sintar Dragon warriors, serving as an escort and insurance he wouldn’t try to run away. Kronos found that to be unnecessary; this was a battle he had to fight. As he walked through the woodland foliage, he allowed his childhood memories to run rampant in his mind. He was surprised at how many of them featured Calypso. Even though I detest what she’s become, I can’t truly hate her. I know this will likely end with one of our deaths, probably mine. But I can’t help but hope to find a better option.

Calypso stood when her guards entered the clearing, having brought her opponent as she instructed. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed them, then confidently strode to meet him.

“ Kronos!” She said brightly. “ How lovely to see you! I do hope you’re enjoying this morning, for I promise it shall be your last! You know-“ she stopped short as she noticed his appearance had altered. His face was covered in charcoal, and written in white paint were ancient Sintar characters that translated to “ Glory to the gods and kin.” Kronos smirked as he saw the confused expression on Calypso’s face.

“ What’s with that look Calypso? I thought you wanted me to embrace my heritage. I’m only doing as you’ve requested,” Kronos said, tilting his head slightly. “ Or did you mean you wanted me to get on my knees before the Ishtar and perform lip service, as the rest of our race has done?” Kronos thought that would get a rise out of her, but to his surprise, all Calypso did was stare. With a shrug, Kronos continued.

“ Before our tribe aligned with the Ishtar, every warrior would paint their faces with meaning unique to them. Usually, it’d serve as a prayer the gods found them worthy to claim them in the Netherworld. Of course, in an attempt to please our overlords, this is one of the many traditions our people have forsaken.”

“ I’m well aware of the history behind it,” Calypso said slowly. “ But I am stunned that you, a Half-Breed, would dare do that. That was only reserved for Pure-Bloods. You’ve spat on the history of our people.”

“ Wrong,” Kronos said. “ There was a time where one’s heritage did not matter to any Abnormal. The fact we’ve allowed such a caste system to be ingrained in us, that is where the dishonor lies.” Calypso stared at him for a moment longer before a small smile spread across her face.

“ If only your life had some meaning behind it. Who knows how far you could have gone in our society. Unfortunately, since you’re scum and scum alone, I’m afraid I have to exterminate you,” she said, adopting a battle stance. “ Brace yourself. Here I come.”

Kronos only had time to blink once before Calypso’s foot entered his gut. He choked and bent over, gagging. He was then kicked in the jaw, which sent him stumbling back. He tried to throw a punch, but Calypso caught his fist and wrecked his arm. In her other hand, Calypso conjured a small orb of pale green wind that she slammed into the torso of Kronos. The Half-Breed yelled in agony as he felt his body cut into his body.

Another kick sent him on his back, and Calypso planted a foot on his chest, looking down at him in disgust.

“ This is even easier than the last time we fought!” She shouted, stomping on his chest over and over again. Usually, she’d take joy in spilling the blood of her opponents but not this time. Weak! You’ve always been weak! Just then, her Ryuijin activated on its own, startling her. When she looked down again, Kronos was not lying on his back, nor was there any blood. Slowly she looked over her shoulder to see Kronos, unharmed, his own Ryuijin open, a smirk on his face.

“ You put me under an illusion? How?“ she asked. “ There’s no you could have-“

“ Ordinarily, you’d be correct,” Kronos commented. “ Which is why I planted one in your mind.”

“ When did you….” Calypso trailed off as she suddenly recalled when she and Kronos had nearly come to blows, when Kronos had mentioned Apollo. He had activated his Ryuijin. “ You planned this.”

“ Originally, I was going to use the illusion I planted to make you set all the prisoners free,” Kronos told her. “ But that opportunity never presented itself. So I shall accomplish that the hard way.” Before Calypso could brace herself, Kronos had rushed over to her and sent her flying with a punch to the jaw. Her eyes widened as she could taste her own blood. What? He’s never been able to punch me that hard before!

Kronos was upon her in an instant, punching her again and again with white lightning-infused punches. Kronos was relentless as he pummeled her into the ground, knowing he couldn’t afford to let her have a moment to right back. He had to keep the pressure on. But such a straightforward strategy would never work on his old friend. He had prepared another punch when a piercing pain entered his chest.

Grunting, he stepped back, yelling in pain as he felt the piercing pain in his body, again and again, blood starting to flow from his body. Breathing hard, Calypso stood up, cut and bruised. A look of pure fury on her face as she continued to cut Kronos with her wind blades.

“ Bastard,” she growled. “ You actually think you have a chance?” A powerful gust of wind caused Kronos to fall on his side hard. The wind was so mighty he couldn’t get to his feet, no matter how hard he tried. Calypso, on the other hand, could. She jumped up in the air and landed on the head of Kronos. She began to rapidly stomp on his head, her blood lust ruling her. She was going to cave this weak Half-Breed’s skull in!

Suddenly she lost her footing and received a white lightning bolt in her chest. She flew back, causing the mighty wind to stop. She managed to land on her feet but couldn't do anything about a barrage of white lightning bolts slamming into her. She fell to her knees, trembling, blood starting to flow from her mouth. Another lightning bolt, one large than the rest, collided with her. The lightning bolt then transformed into Kronos, with a left eye swollen shut, who then grabbed her by the neck and punched her as hard as he could with a lightning-infused hand to the gut.

Calypso spat blood out of her mouth and glared at Kronos. Damn you! How is it you’ve become so much stronger?! Don’t tell me I’ll have to use effort to beat you! With hate filled growl, Kronos tossed Calypso in the air and flew after her. He tried to punch her again, but she suddenly vanished, causing Kronos to stop mid-flight. He looked around, trying to sense where she could be. Purely on instinct alone, he whirled around just internet Ike to catch Calypso’s lance.

Calypso gritted her teeth, fighting to impale the uppity Half-Breed. But the resistance of Kronos was too great. Suddenly an idea entered her mind. With a smirk, Calypso tossed her lance to the side and planted her left hand on the chest of Kronos. Before he could counter, she summoned a vortex of slicing wind. The vortex turned into a funnel that spun Kronos around, cutting every inch of his body to ribbons before spitting him out towards a part of the woodland. With a burst of cruel laughter, Calypso flew towards his crash spot.

Kronos lay on his back, feeling blood flow from his body steadily. But he knew he couldn’t allow himself to rest; he could tell Calypso was on her way to him. In fact, he was starting to be able to make her out. Still, he waited, gathering Mana in his mouth. His instincts screamed at him to get out of the way, but still, he waited until Calypso was a few feet away from crashing into him, before opening his mouth and firing a large burst of white lightning.

Calypso didn’t have time to dodge or guard before being engulfed. She was thrown several yards away, granting Kronos a short reprieve. She groaned and forced herself to sit up, her whole body feeling like she had spent too much time in the sun. She noticed the burn marks covering her body and all her cuts and bruises. Kronos, you bastard! Still, as she got to her feet, a broad smile was on her face. She wanted to be angry, furious even, but all she felt was joy. This is the fighter I’ve always wanted you to be, Kronos!

After taking a minute to assess her injuries, while hurting like hell, weren’t serious, Calypso held her hand above her head. After a few moments, her lance returned to her hand.

“ You can’t hide Kronos!” She shouted, swinging her lance. A mighty burst of wind sliced through the woodland before her, cutting through trees, animals, and foliage; nothing was spared. Kronos too was affected, his body becoming even more cut up. Hearing his shrieks of pain, Calypso floated in the air and headed his way.

Kronos was using a tree stump to keep upright, breathing hard, his clothing in shreds. He tensed when he heard someone behind him. He turned around to see Calypso. Gritting his teeth, he extended a hand and fired three bolts of lighting towards her, none of which connected. She was able to dodge them expertly and rushed Kronos, kicking him on the jaw, so she’d, Kronos felt something shatter.

He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Before he could think of mounting any defense, Calypso planted a foot on his stomach and smirked.

“ I must say I’m impressed. I thought you’d be done by now. You’ve clearly trained hard. So I think I’ll torture you a little as your reward.” With cruel laughter, she created a whip of pale green wind and began to strike the bloody body of Kronos again and again. Each time, Kronos let out a high-pitched wail of agony. The whip that cut his flesh felt sharp as any blade.

Calypso laughed as the air whip disappeared. She looked down at her victim, malice in her eyes. She lifted her foot up and stomped on his hand. Kronos screamed in pain and fired a lightning bolt from his right hand, which Calypso barely had to move to avoid.

“ Pathetic,” she snarled, stomping on his hand again. Kronos found himself able to stop her from stomping on his hand repeatedly. Pain raced through his body; his vision was starting to darken. He could feel bones being crushed by Calypso. With a pained grunt, he stuck two fingers up with his good hand. Calypso had moved to his arm now, relentlessly stomping it while mocking Kronos.

“ Come on, Half-Breed! Don’t tell me you’re done already!“ she shouted gleefully. Suddenly she screamed as a lightning bolt slammed into her back. She stumbled forward, but before she could recover, she found herself in an orb of white lightning that was levitating a few inches. Kronos slowly got to his feet, unable to move his left hand or lower arm. Still, he was smiling.

“ Let’s see how you like being tortured,” he rasped, placing his good hand on the orb. Several lightning bolts per second shocked Calypso, causing the general to wail in agony. With each lightning bolt that shocked her, the sphere grew hotter and hotter. With a smirk, Kronos withdrew his hand, which caused the orb to explode so violently, that it threw Kronos back. Sitting up, he noticed Calypso, facedown in the earth, not moving and seemingly not breathing.

Kronos stiffly got to his feet and conjured a sword made of lighting. He limped towards Calypso and kicked her over on her back. He took a moment to examine her bloody face and torn armor. He closed his one good eye. Forgive me, Calypso. He raised his arm and stabbed downward but stopped before he could finish the job. He started trembling, cursing himself but relieved. I can’t do it. I can’t just-.

He suddenly stood upright and looked down, noticing Calypso’s lance buried in his stomach. He stepped back, catching Calypso’s left eye glaring at him with chilling hatred. Grunting, Kronos grabbed the handle of the lance and slowly pulled it out, and tossed it to the side. Calypso also began to stir, forcing herself on one knee.

“ Should have finished the job,” she rasped. Kronos was surprised to hear the humor in her voice. “ But I’m not surprised. You’re just not a killer, are you? You have never been. You’ve always lacked the edge a dragon needs to survive. What a truly terrible life you have loved. Being such a gentle soul in a harsh world,” she said, looking at him, activating her Ryuijin. Before Kronos could look at it, the world around him warped and bent, transforming to the day his village had been massacred.

Kronos looked around as soldiers killed the residents of the village. Kronos growled; he knew this was only an illusion, but he knew Calypso was showing him this for a reason. The crying of a child caused him to look to his left. Immediately his good eye widened as he watched Icarus crying over his mother's body.

“ Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” The boy yelled. Kronos longed to reach for the boy, to hold him and let him know it would be okay. But it was a mere illusion. Nothing more. The boy’s crying was stopped when a soldier cut him down. Kronos gasped as he watched the young child cut down so heartlessly, so callously. Kronos gritted his teeth so hard he was convinced he cracked a tooth. You bastard! I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!

Just then, the scene around him transformed to when Kronos had been captured and tortured at the hands of the Naga. Once more, he found himself chained to the wall as he was subjected to the sick whims of the Naga who had nearly broken his spirit all those years ago. Kronos coughed up blood as he felt the pain all over again. He glared at the Naga soldier that poked him with a razor-sharp blade and cut bits of flesh off his body, then applied burning venom to the wound. I remember thinking I would never get free, that I would be tortured to death. That I would never be saved.

As Kronos relieved his torture at the hands of the Naga, he allowed his thoughts to run free. They were the reason I wanted to stop fighting, why I stopped training. Why I tried to run away from home. I wasn’t able to get over what I went through. Had Calypso not tracked me down and forced me to go back to the village, I would have been gone for good.

Just then, the scene melted away. They were back in the clearing. Kronos was on his knees, losing a good amount of blood, his vision fuzzy. Yet he could still see Calypso standing before him, with what appeared to be tears in her eyes.

“ I hate you!“ she screamed, then slapped him. Kronos blinked as his head jerked to the side. Calypso was seething now, breathing in and out heavily. “ I hate you!“ she screamed again before slapping him. “ Why did you try to leave me?! When I needed you most, you ran away! Why?! Why?! Why?!” She screamed, slapping him after each question.

“ You think I wanted us to end up like this?! You think I want to hurt you?! I needed you, Kronos! I needed you! So why?! Why did you try to forget about me?!” Kronos summoned all the strength he could muster and punched her in the stomach. Calypso gasped and stumbled back.

“ I’m sorry,” Kronos mumbled, looking at her. “ I’m sorry for running away back then. But I had to. I couldn’t stay there.” Calypso marched towards him and kicked him in the chest.

“ You could! You knew I relied on you! You knew, and still, you left!” She grabbed Kronos by the neck and lifted him up, sticking her face in his. “ YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOU HURT ME THAT NIGHT!” Kronos snarled and head-butted her nose, feeling no satisfaction as he heard the crunch. She dropped him and stumbled back, clutching her nose.

“ You don’t get it!” Kronos told her, forcing himself to his feet. “ You never could understand.”

“ You swore to always be by my side!” Calypso shouted, her voice muffled behind her hands.

“ What they put me through was too much to bear! I couldn’t handle it! I left because I had to! I had to! You have no idea what they did to me!” Kronos shouted back.

“ Because you never told me! Damn it, Kronos! I tried being there for you, but you just pushed me away!” Kronos opened his mouth to retort but stopped. He couldn’t refute that. He just stood there and raised his good hand to the sky, sending white lightning in the sky.

“I never knew you cared that much. I was too blind in my suffering and my self-pity. I thought I was on my own. That nothing I did mattered because I didn’t matter. And I pushed you away because it was the only thing I could think to do. And all I can say about it now is, I’m sorry,” he said softly. “ But that was another time. It’s time to end this with my best technique.” Dark storm clouds covered the sky, thunder announcing the arrival of a storm. The white lightning then morphed into a roaring white dragon.

“ I know we typically don’t name techniques, but in this case, I think I’ll make an exception,” Kronos announced. The storm Kronos had summoned was violent; fierce wind began to blow, and rain began to pelt from the sky. The thunder was loud enough to deaden, the lighting in the clouds bright enough to illuminate the darkest night. Calypso stared at the dragon mass of lighting, awestruck, her blood-covered hands removed from her face, exposing her broken nose.

“ When did you create this?” She whispered.

“ I’m thinking of calling it ‘ Blinding Dragon Strike,’” Kronos said, ignoring her question, then shook his head. “ On second thought, that’s not a good name.” He looked at Calypso mournfully. “ Forgive me,” he said before pointing at Calypso. In the blink of an eye, the dragon roared and rushed at Calypso, biting her, exploding as a result. The entire clearing was engulfed in a blinding light, and then there was nothing but deathlike silence and stillness.