Facing my destiny

{Tartarus, Unknown Time}

Odysseus POV

This was it, the final battle, where I would face him and keep everyone safe.

Kronos.

Kronos stood there, all thirty feet of him, looking like he'd just stepped out of "Titan's Weekly" magazine. Golden eyes? Check. Regal black beard? Check. An aura of "I-ate-my-kids-for-breakfast"? Double check.

I tried to steady my breath, which was about as easy as herding cats in a tornado. The scene before me was like the world's worst monster convention. Cyclopes with bloodshot eyes that would make any optometrist cry.

Empousai strutting around on their mismatched legs like some kind of demonic fashion show. The Minotaur was there too, just to name a few.

And let's not forget the Chimeras and good old Ladon, looking about as friendly as a cactus in a balloon store.

All the monsters' red aura seemed to coalesce into something bigger than even Typhon himself.

I glanced at Melinoe, whose face was as readable as ancient Greek to a dyslexic demigod (trust me, I know). Moros, on the other hand, looked like he'd just won front-row tickets to the apocalypse.

"Well, this is cozy," Moros said, grinning like a madman at a tea party. "I have to say, Odysseus, you've really outdone yourself this time. I guess you could call this a Titanic situation."

I resisted the urge to introduce my palm to my face. "If you have nothing helpful to say, then shut up," I muttered. "Any bold ideas on how we're supposed to get through this without becoming Titan chow?"

He shrugged, still grinning. "Oh, I'm just here for the show. I wouldn't dream of interfering with your, ah, destiny. But hey, why don't you try Krono-punching him? Get it? Like sucker-punching, but with Kronos?"

I groaned. "Moros, I swear to the gods—"

"Speaking of gods," he interrupted, "did you hear about the god of cheese? He only exists in legend-dairy."

Great. Helpful as always, Moros. I turned to Melinoe, hoping for some divine wisdom or at words of encouragement.

She spoke, her voice low and deadly. "That helm," she said, her gaze never leaving Kronos. "It's my father's. That means he can turn intangible and invisible. We need to strike fast before he can use any of his three weapons."

I sighed so hard I thought I might deflate. Because of course, Kronos had to be kitted out like the final boss in some twisted mythological video game. The Master Bolt? Check. The helm of darkness? Check. The scythe that could literally kill primordials? Triple check.

In my head, I was keeping a running tally of all the ways Kronos could obliterate us. It was a very long list.

"Right, fast," I echoed, trying to sound more confident than a sheep in a wolf pack. "Now how do we get close enough to him to do that? There's almost no Mist here, and I don't think my control is good enough to fool the previous ruler of the cosmos."

Melinoe actually cracked a small smile, which was about as comforting as a Fury offering to give you a backrub.

"Hey, Ozzy," Moros chimed in, "why don't you just ask Kronos to time out? I'm sure he'd appreciate the pun."

I turned my attention back to Kronos, wracking my brain for a plan that didn't end with us as godly smears on the ground. That's when it hit me - the monsters weren't attacking. They weren't even sniffing us out like we were some kind of demigod-flavored dog treats.

Nyx's protection.

Her shadow still clung to me like the world's most clingy security blanket, masking my presence from them and my ever-sadistic uncle which would disappear once I used my incantation so that was out of the table making the next battle all the harder.

Still the fact that the monsters and titans couldn't smell me was good though I knew the moment they saw me the protection would be as good as a sheet of paper, and then it'd be open season on Ozzy.

I needed to get ready. Now. I slid down carefully to the base of the plateau with Moros and Melinoe following behind.

I knelt down, pulling out a handful of arrows from my shadow. They were just regular arrows, the kind that wouldn't do much more than annoy a titan. But I had a little something up my sleeve. Or rather, in my shadow.

I reached into the inky blackness that lingered at my feet, digging through it like it was a bag of tricks. My fingers brushed against something cold and smooth. With a grunt, I pulled out a glass vial filled with the venom of Apollo's serpent, I still had two bottles of the venom.

The stuff was lethal to just about anything, even gods, given enough time. Carefully, I dipped each of my arrows into the vial, watching the dark venom coat the tips. I did the same with the blade of my spear, making sure it was drenched in the poison.

Melinoe was watching me, her expression unreadable. "Is that going to be enough to stop him?"

"No idea. Probably not," I admitted, capping the vial and slipping it back into my shadow. "But it's better than nothing."

Then, as if some deep memory tugged at me, I reached further into the shadow, searching for something else. Something I hadn't thought about in a long time. My hand brushed against something solid—something that felt like…a head?

I paused, heart racing as I dug a little deeper, until my fingers wrapped around what I'd been searching for. Slowly, carefully, I pulled it out, turning it so it wouldn't be facing me.

Three heads.

The Gorgons: Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno.

Their faces, though petrified in their final moments of death, still held the power to turn most into stone. I could feel the weight of their stares even through the thick cloth I had wrapped around them. I hadn't thought of using them since even a slight mistake on my part could lead to me being turned into a sculpture, a risk that I hadn't deemed necessary in any of my previous battles.

But now? Now, I might not have a choice.

Melinoe's eyes widened when she saw them, but she didn't say anything. She knew as well as I did what kind of weapon I held in my hands.

I tucked the Gorgon heads carefully back into the shadow, knowing they were my last resort. But before I closed the shadow completely, I pulled out two more items: the manticore venom spike and the lion's head from the Chimera I'd killed.

The manticore spike was sharp, jagged, and filled with enough venom to bring down basically any monster if I shot good enough. The lion's head, however would be the center piece of my plan.

I strapped the lion's head to my belt and tucked the manticore spike into my arm guard, ready for quick access. As I did, I couldn't help but wish I'd brought along the Nemean Lion's pelt too.

Its impenetrable fur would've come in handy against whatever Kronos was packing but I guessed that Ladon's armor would have to do. There was no time for regrets now.

"Feeling prepared?" Melinoe asked, her voice cutting through my thoughts.

"As much as I'll ever be," I replied, standing up and desummoning my spear turning it back into my tattoo before picking up my bow from my shadow along with my quiver where I stored the venom coated arrows and the manticore's spike. "You?"

She nodded once, her eyes cold and hard as steel. "I would die for you, but I'd prefer not too so let's make this quick without hesitation."

I gave her a quick nod.

"Alright," I said, my voice low. "Let's go ruin Kronos' day."

Before we could move, Moros chimed in, his voice laced with amusement. "Hey, Ozzy, if things go south, just remember: you can always Zeus the exit!"

I shot him a glare.

"Aw, come on! Don't be such a Debbie Doom-er!" He cackled at his own joke. "Get it? Because I'm Doom personified?"

That's it, I had had it already, I was gonna face a basically insurmountable challenge and his jokes were just making it worse.

"Shut the fuck up, your jokes aren't funny and all you're doing is repeating the same shit."

He chuckled at my words. "Wow brother quite a tongue you have there but don't worry I'll be quiet from now on. But I'll be watching closely. Very closely."

"Thank you," I said sighing exhaustively.

With that, we moved.