𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐩. 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

You should see me in a crown

Time had stopped altogether for him.

Percy saw Evangeline fall to her knees as she stared down the hole. He saw the tears that were running down her face, and he saw Kronos push her down the hole to her death. But after that all he saw was red.

Kronos turned back to the remaining three with an evil smile. "That's one taken care of, now for the rest of you—"

The son of Poseidon swung his sword at Kronos but the Titan moved out of the way, and the raven-haired boy swung again.

Kronos deflected his attack by interlocking their swords together, Percy swiped Kronos' feet from underneath him, as he jabbed his sword straight for the Titan's head.

The blond rolled out of the way as Riptide plunged into the marble floor leaving cracks where it had hit the ground.

Kronos got to his feet and laughed mockingly. "Don't be surprised, Jackson. That girl was going to die by my hands one day."

Percy gripped Riptide tighter as he attacked the Titan. 

They fought by the hearth, kicking up coals and sparks. Kronos slashed an armrest off the throne of Ares and then backed Percy up to his father's throne.

"Oh, yes," Kronos said. "This one will make fine kindling for my new hearth."

The two's blades clashed in a shower of sparks. Kronos was stronger than him, but for the moment Percy felt the power of the ocean in his arms. Percy wasn't going to let Kronos get away with what he did to Evangeline.

The raven-haired boy pushed him back and struck again—harder this time—slashing Riptide across his breastplate so hard he cut a gash in the Celestial Bronze.

Kronos stamped his foot again and time slowed. Percy tried to attack but he was moving at the speed of a glacier. Kronos backed up leisurely, catching his breath. He examined the gash in his armor while the son of Poseidon struggled forward, cursing him.

"It's too late, Percy Jackson," he said. "Behold."

He pointed to the hearth, and the coals glowed. A sheet of white smoke poured from the fire, forming images like an Iris message.

Percy saw Nico and his parents down on Fifth Avenue, fighting a hopeless battle, ringing in enemies. In the background Hades fought from his black chariot, summoning wave after wave of zombies from the ground, but the forces of the Titan's army seemed just as endless.

The son of Poseidon felt guilt wash over him as he thought about what he would tell them when Nico and Hades looked for Evangeline only for her to be gone.

Meanwhile, Manhattan was being destroyed. Mortals, now fully awake, were running in terror. Cars swerved and crashed.

The scene shifted, and he saw something more terrifying.

A column of storm was approaching the Hudson River, moving rapidly over the Jersey shore. Chariots circled it, locked in combat with the creature in the cloud.

The gods attacked. Lightning flashed. Arrows of gold and silver streaked into the cloud, like rocket tracers and exploded. Slowly, the cloud ripped apart, and Percy saw Typhon clearly for the first time.

He knew as long as he lived, the Jackson boy would never be able to get the image out of his mind. Typhon's head shifted constantly. Every movement he was a different monster, each more horrible than the last.

Looking at his face would've driven the son of the sea insane, so he focused on the monster's body, which wasn't much better.

He was a humanoid, but his skin reminded Percy of a meatloaf sandwich that had been in someone's locker all year. He was mottled green, with blisters the size of buildings, and blackened patches from eons of being stuck under a volcano.