The morning light streamed in through the windows faintly, the light curtains in place ensuring that the light remained subdued and casted a soft glow over the room.
The TV in the front room added to the faint light, its sound barely audible from the dining area.
The light from the screen reflected against the walls and all, the light brightening, dimming, and changing as the scenes changed, but all this were just enough to brighten the dining of fortress Khronos without disturbing its dark vibe.
The breakfast had already been laid out, Cronus, Gwen, Zeus, and Metis were all seated at the dining table, the warm scent of freshly baked pastries, and steam rising from the breakfast dishes filled the air.
Zeus and Cronus listened, as Gwen spoke animatedly, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she recounted a mischievous event she and her friends had pulled off.
She laughed, her slender fingers gesturing as she described the situation.
Zeus smiled, his eyes crinkling as he tried to keep up with her rapid fire delivery of the event.
Metis smiled affectionately at Gwen's antics, her eyes warm with affection and worry. "I am glad to see you are in good spirits dear, but isn't that dangerous?" She asked gently.
"Come on mom, you should know, I've always been a master in these things." Gwen said dryly.
Cronus laughed loudly, as Zeus chuckled shaking his head in amusement. "You are going to get yourself in trouble one of this days." He teased.
Gwen's eyes sparkled with mirth, her laughter dying down to a soft smile. "I doubt that." She said confidently.
Metis turned to Zeus, her expression curious and caring.
"Is something wrong?" Zeus asked her, a brow raised.
"Nothing is wrong," she said. "I was just wondering if... you know. If it disturbs or affects you in any way." She asked, trying hard not to mention the abyssal creatures.
The room went silent, Gwen picking up her phone, and scrolling through it.
"Everything is fine." He assured her. "You do not have to worry, Cronus and I have it all under control."
She nodded in relief, turning to Gwen as Cronus and Zeus exchanged glances. "Gwen, you're not supposed to use your phone while eating. Why do I always have to remind you?"
"Please. Just for today." She pleaded looking up from her phone.
"No." Metis said adamantly. Gwen turned the phone facing down, dropping it besides her, she focused on her meal, occasionally glancing at her phone.
Just then a servant materialized out of the dim light, his footsteps quiet on the floor.
The servants of Khronos were trained to be like this, hardly seen, and barely heard, but everything was also done.
He approached Metis, and whispered something in her ear, his voice a soft murmur, barely audible. They spoke in hushed tones, Metis glancing at Zeus briefly. She nodded, dismissing the servant with a flick of her wrist. The servant bowed and walked away blending with the walls.
"Is everything alright?" Cronus asked.
"Yes, everything is fine." She answered her expression smoothed out. "Your father will be arriving from Dogan soon, so we will need to return back to the palace." She said looking at Zeus and Gwen.
"Really?" Gwen squealed, her expression brightening. She looked up at Zeus, and toned down her excitement, twisting her lips. But he smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine."
He went back to eating his food, not enthusiastic about the news.
The day wore on like any other day when a curfew order was Imposed, the sun obstructed by a thick grey cloud.
Zeus and Cronus stood side by side in their archery field, their shotguns at the ready. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and moss, the sound of hawks shrill scream as they hovered in the sky.
The clay birds were released, and they raised their shotguns, and firing in perfect synchrony. The sound of the shot echoed through the air as the clay targets shattered into a hundred bits.
"You almost missed." Cronus commented, but he shrugged. He broke open the shotgun and ejected the spent shell casing's, loading two new shells.
"Are you not training today?" He asked Zeus, inspecting the shotgun in his hands before he ejected the shell casing's and loaded new ones.
"Not in the mood for it." He answered, aiming, and shooting.
"That's new." He said making his own shot.
"Really." Zeus said, his brows raised as he waited for the target to be launched in the air.
He raised his gun, aiming for his next shot. Without warning, he felt the world tilt on it's axis, and he fell into a void with no bottom. The sky and ground blurred together, and he was weightless, lost in a space that was nothing like he had ever experienced before.
He tried to stand up and make sense of where he was, but it was like trying to navigate a living thing.
The darkness was thick and smoky, like a fog that shied away at touch, it shifted and writhed around him, making it impossible to get a grip on anything.
Just as suddenly as he had fallen, he was pushed back out, landing with a thud on the grass. He stumbled, disoriented, his eyes struggling to focus on familiar surroundings. His cousin was looking at him intently.
"What happened?" His eyes narrowing slightly. "You just missed the bird."
Zeus looked at Cronus in confusion. He looked around him, taking in the targets pushed to the side, and everything else. It all seemed normal, but he knew he had been elsewhere. And that did not make sense.
"I don't understand what just happened." He said frustratedly, not noticing that Cronus had moved back, giving him space.
"What is happening?" Cronus asked, his voice laced with horror. "What's engulfing you?" He pointed all over his body.
Darkness seeped out of him, swallowing him whole. He felt a terrible migraine, his head spinning as he struggled to stay in control. He stumbled back, desperate for something to hold on to, but there was none.
"It was painful, he was hurting." That was the last sure thing he remembered.
It was night, the moon almost at its full brilliance. Zeus stood in a forest, in front of a lifeless body, as he slowly came to. His hands were stained with an abnormal oil like looking blood.
The sound of his mothers voice pierced through the haze, and his bearings snapped back into place. Panic set in as he took in his surroundings, his body shaking with fear.
"What... what just happened?" He muttered stepping back. "What did I just do?"
Metis, Gwen, and Cronus emerged from the trees, all gasping in shock once they saw his hands, and the body.
"What did you just do?" Cronus asked jerking him at the collar. "You just ended someone's life?"
Metis hushed him quickly, thinking fast.
Gwen face turned green, and she moved away quickly and threw up, emptying her stomach contents.
"She is not one of our species, I saw her draining someone's life force, and she erased the person." He said trying to defend himself, but he was not sure.
"Are you trying to defend yourself?" Cronus asked.
"Cronus leave his collar and help me clear this mess." Metis ordered. "You've also killed people too." She added.
"Only for good reasons." He said defending himself.
"I am pretty sure you heard when he said she was taking someone's life force." She pointed out looking briefly at Zeus who stood aside, his expression lifeless.
"We can't bury the body," she said calculatingly. "It's too risky." She said. "We'll have to erase it."
"Cronus, go around and check if there is any site where the power dampeners doesn't reach." He glared at Zeus briefly, and walked away to do what Metis said.
"What?" Gwen exclaimed looking at her mother in horror. "You can't be serious."
"I am." Metis replied looking at Gwen pointedly.
Gwen's eyes narrowed. "Why do you talk like you have done this before?"
But Metis shrugged. "Desperate times."
Zeus and Gwen were pushed aside, and later sent home, as Metis and Cronus handled the disposal, carrying the body to the spot they found.
Time passed quickly, dawn nearing.
Zeus watched from afar feeling awful about what he had done despite a part of him telling him he had done the right thing. He zoomed in on what they were doing, and watched them water the spot where the body had been, pour acid on it, and then set the entire spot on fire.
As the fire died down, he saw the way Cronus clenched jaw released in relief. He knew they both felt no guilt. But he felt as though it was eating him up alive.
He walked into the house through the back door, heading straight for his chambers.
It was difficult to wash off. He scrubbed at his skin willing it to all go away.
"This should not bother you." A part of his mind spoke. 'Count this as your first kill to the many that must happen in the future. You are the future head of the high council.'
He closed his eyes, squeezing them. He felt another migraine coming up.