How to Be a God [ManXMan]

Chapter Twenty-One: Trust the Trickster

~Chapter Twenty-One: Trust the Trickster~

Rather than a field under the stars or an old but newly-furnished room, I find myself standing in a bathing room. Not what is now called a bathroom, but rather, a room with a large bath in the middle. The steamy pool of water is almost wall-to-wall, with a few feet of stone tile walkway along each of the walls and tall white columns on all sides of the bath. The water is giving off a great deal of steam, but it is still clear enough to see that the bath is quite deep.

A few metres away, the doors to the room fly open dramatically, hitting the walls with an echoing thump, and I summon a knife in preparation for who might be passing through them. The magic I feel is definitely Hypnos', but until I see Atlas or Hypnos for myself, I am not letting my guard down. After all, the last thing I remember is receiving a spear to the stomach from the same god who visited me in my sleep only seconds before because I was too careless in thinking that only Atlas would have the idea to reach me through my dreams. And since I have to be dreaming for Hypnos to get to me, that means I am not yet dead and I have no intention of giving anyone a chance to hurt my mind while my body recovers.

To my surprise, it is not Hypnos, Atlas, Morpheus, or the stranger with the spear, but rather, another familiar face, one that I have missed dearly. Wary but kind brown eyes meet mine and crinkle at the sides when he smiles. Despite his pepper-colored beard, most of his short hair is still dark brown. He is wearing flowing gold robes that, at one time, would have made me roll my eyes at how silly they look. His skin is slightly paler than I remember it being, but at least he looks healthy, considering all the stories I have heard about what happened to him after the Titanomachy.

"Cronus," I greet, overjoyed to see him again. No matter how I feel about Atlas, Cronus is still an incredible Titan and has long since earned my respect. Because I do not fully trust what Atlas told me a short while ago, I add, "I thought you were in Tartarus."

The old Titan's smile disappears, taking any comfort I feel from his presence with it. When he moves closer, I feel the urge to take a few steps back, even if his eyes remain soft. "I am, and so is my nephew," he replies, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder before giving it a squeeze. "However, he is but one of the things I came to talk to you about. Since you refused to listen to Atlas, I have come to warn you of the danger you are in."

"Too late," I reply, and despite the situation, find it rather amusing that the Titan of time was too late with his warning.

"Who?" Cronus asks, his eyes losing their kind edge and this time I actually do take a step back, watching his arm fall from my shoulder out of the corner of my eye since I refuse to look away from his face. Even though I know the anger is not in any way aimed at me, he is still a very scary Titan. His face softens immediately, but I keep the distance.

Since I am unaware of the name that belongs to the owner of that spear, I describe him, "Slightly shorter than me, short dark hair, a sad attempt at a beard, and wielding a spear."

Cronus seems to consider this for a moment before his expression sours. "My grandson, Ares," the Titan sighs. "You are fortunate to be alive."

I cannot help but nod in agreement, as facing a god of war without magic and unprepared for battle would usually mean imminent death. "What else did you want to talk about? I need to check on the person I was with during the attack," I explain, not wanting to make it seem like I was rushing the Titan out of unjustified impatience. At Cronus' raised eyebrow, I add, "He is mortal and could be seriously hurt."

This gains a nod acceptance from the old Titan. "Though I was too late to warn you about Ares, I will still warn you that, if you should be taken alive, my children intend to throw you into Tartarus with us. A room has already been cleared across from Atlas'."