Prologue
Posted: Thursday November 9th 2023

I stared at the golden sarcophagus before me. A pit had formed in my stomach merely being near it, but my quest was complete and all of the pieces of the ancient titan Kronos which were big enough to matter had been gathered and placed into the sarcophagus.

It pulsed with the kind of energy that made my bones tingle and the hairs on my arms stand tall and it was not something that I wanted to be near for much longer. But this was my only way out. The only way I could escape my mother and Tartarus finally.

Kronos knew that I would be true to my word simply because I was so desperate to finally see the sky and breathe real air.

"Well done cousin." Kronos' voice was carried towards me on the wind as it always was. Originally he had been so scattered that he could only reach me in my dreams, but now he could draw enough power to speak in the waking world again. I had crawled through almost every inch of Tartarus to retrieve all of the pieces of the titan lord, and now all that was left was to take the doors of death to the surface and I would be free.

"The time has come," the voice said, "Thanatos will be here any moment."

Kronos has told me that this would be the easy part. Thanatos, whilst not an ally to monsters and titans, was the only person who could grant me access to the Doors of Death which he controlled. I had hunted the doors down once before, and the god himself had told me I was not destined to leave Tartarus until the titan Kronos did. This was what had led me on my quest to piece him together, and what had led to me standing in this cave waiting for the doors now.

The landscape before me began to glow and some metal doors appeared. A man in a pristine suit stood there. He was gorgeous, I had never seen someone so clean and put together in my entire life.

Once he had taken form and the glowing subsided, he looked at me with an analytical look in his deep black eyes.

"Daughter of Nyx," Thanatos spoke in a smooth voice, "I see you have completed your goal."

"Yes," I glanced at the sarcophagus, "So now I can leave?"

"As it was foretold," the god said. "Be warned child, we gods cannot interfere in what must be, but your path will not be an easy one, you have many challenges you are yet to overcome."

I bit my lip, holding back a retort. I had learnt many years before that my big mouth was not something that helped with immortals who I wanted something from. The god took my silence for what it was and cocked an eyebrow at me. The doors slid open.

"They're waiting for you," Thanatos said.

"Who?" I asked.

"The Titan's supporters." Thanatos said grimly, "you are not the only mortal the Titan has been communicating with."

I didn't say anything, I went around the back of the sarcophagus and pushed it into the lift that was the doors of death. I clambered in with it, having to stand flat against the wall to fit in the lift.

The god looked at me one last time, "12 minutes. The doors will resist your passage, keep them shut. Then the doors slid shut and my last glimpse of Tartarus was obscured from view.

*

Far away three old ladies pulled out a deep black ball of yarn from their knitting bag and began to weave a tapestry of gold and black.

Far away Luke Castellan waited at the other end of the doors of death for the Titan's remains.

Far away Percy Jackson woke up in a cold sweat, as the shadow of the Titan Lord passed over him.

Far away, the god Apollo felt something change.

Here we are! I'm so deep in a Percy Jackson rabbit hole right now with the show coming up and I hope you all enjoy this!
~Em