WORLDS BEYOND ( pjo )

𝐱𝐯: the cost of war

Possibly the most horrible thing about the revelation was that, Kia could see it. It wasn't even that hard to discern. The touch of regality in their faces was something one couldn't miss; they shared the same hard set of the mouth even when their lips were titled differently, and the same bitingly cold pride shone in their eyes, though Zoë's seem to be more diluted, like it was gene that had been polluted by her mother's heritage. It looked a thousand times more evil on Atlas—the essence of a Titan, mingled with the determination to bring his enemies down. If there were a man made of all of the darkness surrounding Zoë, Kia decided, it'd be Atlas.

"Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded.

Atlas strolled leisurely to the 'goddess in chains.' "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis interrupted, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked, a crooked one. He knelt next to Artemis on one knee and tried to brush his index finger against her right cheek, but she bit at him, almost taking off his fingers clean.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled annoyingly, withdrawing his hand like they were touching the embers of a flame. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

Kia glanced at Annabeth that moment, frankly getting tired of Atlas' boring super-villain speech (did he count as a super-villain if he wasn't the ultimate antagonist in this weird ass pseudo-greek story?), and she saw her and Percy having some sort of exchange while motioning her head to Luke.

Kia had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but her pupils caught onto a strand of her matted blonde hair that wasn't blonde—it was grey.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered so quietly Kia almost hadn't heard her. "The weight should've killed her."

Wait, then this meant—

"I don't understand," Percy said, his eyebrows furrowing like a confused puppy's. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

A beautiful story ending with tragedy. That's what the Greeks were famous for, right?

He approached the demigods, studying then like an interesting specimen under a microscope. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

"Is this coming from the dude who was bearing the weight of the sky like a little bitch at Zeus' orders not even a week ago?"

It was quiet for a moment, and everyone was staring at Kia with similarly flabbergasted expressions. Thalia and Percy were staring at her like she'd literally just made a death wish (which wasn't far off the dot), Zoë was looking at her horrifically, Luke's jaw was wide open at the gall this idiot possessed, and Annabeth's eyes widened (Kia thought she would've called her a dumbass if she weren't gagged in that moment). What suicidal moron calls a literal fucking Titan a little bitch?

Most memorably, Atlas' reaction was... not pretty. For a moment, he lost all of the control he'd gathered and his rage became the only thing Kia saw: falling stars decimating all life on planets, hordes of armies marching at his command to smear blood on the chests of the enemies' families. His completely black eyes grew warmth as if they emitted their own heat and Kia was pretty sure she saw a vein bulge near the corner of his forehead. Hey, at least the stupid speech solidified the notion that, Titans did, in fact, have veins. Yippee?