Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Free

With Kronos

–Minutes earlier–

Tremors followed by sounds that seemed like footsteps could be heard throughout the area. A feeling flooded the air—fear. Kronos had a bad feeling. His wife had disappeared after giving him her last child to swallow, just like she had done with the previous six.

He could no longer feel her power; it was as if the earth had swallowed her. But because he had that strange sensation in his body—something he didn’t like—his paranoid mind wouldn’t stop bothering him.

Then he sensed a presence. When he turned and looked carefully, he saw what seemed to be a simple mortal enjoying his wine as if nothing in the world mattered. Kronos approached and saw the mortal fill himself with fear, enjoying the look of terror, Kronos forgot his own ”rule” and completely lowered his guard. After all, it was just a mortal. He could crush him.

”What is a mere mortal doing in my domain?” Kronos said in a threatening voice, making the mortal even more frightened.

”I-I’m j-just a merchant w-who enjoys y-your w-wine, my lord,” the mortal said, terrified by Kronos’ presence, bowing deeply so as not to anger the King of the Titans.

”Give it to me,” the paranoid King said with an authoritative tone.

”It-it’s all yours, my lord,” he said as he handed him a jug made of animal leather, filled with wine. A wicked smile appeared on his face after giving Kronos the wine—a smile Kronos didn’t notice.

Kronos, in his arrogance, enjoyed taking the wine from a man who was enjoying drinking it. Without thinking, he brought it to his mouth and drank—only to notice the ”mortal’s” smile.

”One day your children will take your throne...” The false phrase he had forgotten—the false phrase that tormented him and vanished from his mind the day he swallowed his firstborn—echoed in his head, stronger than ever.

Spasms followed by a massive pain erupted in his stomach. A violent urge to vomit rose up. He tried to hold it back, covering his mouth with both hands.

He lifted his gaze with hatred at the ”mortal,” who kept smiling as if he had won. Just as Kronos raised his hand to crush him, an even stronger wave hit—forcing him to clamp his hands over his mouth again to hold back the vomit. He knew that if he vomited, he would release his worst nightmare: his children.

The ”mortal” noticed another heave coming—and just as Kronos brought his hands to his mouth again, the stranger struck the Titan’s stomach with incredible speed, right in the gut, delivering a powerful blow that forced him to vomit.

Kronos didn’t have time to react. He realized too late that the stranger wasn’t mortal—but his hands were busy covering his mouth. The hit landed, forcing him to vomit. He couldn’t stop it.

Six figures appeared, thrown onto the ground. The small movements and sounds they made were proof that they were alive.

The Titan glared with furious rage at the stranger, who was about to fall after leaping high enough to reach his stomach. Before the stranger could hit the ground, Kronos threw a punch, trying to kill the man who had tricked him into freeing his children.

Zeus knew he couldn’t dodge it. The only thing he could do was cross his arms into an X and brace for impact. He closed his eyes, ready to take the blow... but it never came.

He slowly opened his eyes.

In front of him stood a man taller than Zeus, stopping Kronos’ punch with his bare hands.

Zeus froze in shock. He knew that man was one of his siblings—the ones his mother had spoken about, the ones he barely knew. But he never expected one of them to be able to stop their father’s punch alone.

”GET OUT!” the man shouted, snapping Zeus out of his shock—just as Zeus felt someone grab him by the arms and yank him back. He understood immediately and began to run.

Zeus only made it a few steps before he found himself surrounded by five figures protecting him. As he looked up, he saw three beautiful women and two men—everyone looking behind them with deeply worried faces.

”Please come back.” A thought shared by the five who glanced behind them for a moment.

Their oldest brother had always been the light that illuminated an immense darkness, giving them joy in the worst moments and hope that one day they would be free from their prison, without having to sacrifice anything.

”Where are we going? We can’t waste time,” Poseidon said, asking their unknown brother.

Zeus raised his hand, pointing toward the peak of the mountain that stood out the most in the landscape. ”To that mountain.”

With that said, the six of them didn’t waste a second, hurrying toward the mountain Zeus had indicated.

Kronos pulled his fist back to see who had stopped his punch. Once he saw the man—still unknown to him—Kronos knew exactly who it was. How could he forget those eyes, as blue as the sky itself? How could he forget the eyes that looked at him without fear?

”YOOOU!” Kronos roared, fury and hatred in his voice.

”Me,” the man replied simply, angering his ”father” even more. He had to dodge another punch immediately.

The Titan’s strike slammed into the ground where the man had been, splitting the earth from the impact. The man used the opening and drove a punch into the Titan’s cheek. It barely turned Kronos’ head, but the man quickly jumped back to keep a safe distance, shaking the hand he’d used to strike.

”He’s tougher than I thought,” the man muttered, flexing his wrist as he tried to calm the pain.

The eldest brother knew he had to find a way to leave without giving his father a chance to follow. His mind raced, imagining different scenarios as his eyes scanned the landscape, searching for anything that could help—

Then another Titan arrived.

The moment he heard the heavy blows, he rushed in. Seeing his King fighting an unknown man, he took position at Kronos’ side, protective.

”What’s happening here, my lord?” the new Titan asked, waiting for an answer—ready to defend if the stranger attacked.

”Capture him, Atlas. We can’t let him escape,” Kronos said, hatred dripping from his voice.

”I don’t think you need my help to capture him. I don’t think he’s that strong,” Atlas said, confused by Kronos’ words.

”They tricked me into freeing my children. They made me drink something that’s causing me terrible pain in my stomach. I can’t move freely—I can’t capture him,” Kronos said. ”The one standing there is their leader. The others are escaping—I don’t know where they’re heading—but the biggest threat is right in front of you. You can’t leave. You have to catch him or kill him—whatever you need to do,” Kronos finished.

Kronos’s son cursed mentally as he listened. He could have gone with his siblings because Kronos wouldn’t be able to chase them. But now he would have to fight another Titan—and he needed to end this fast, before Kronos recovered... and even worse, before other Titans joined the fight.

Atlas’s eyes widened at Kronos’s words.

This was bad. Very bad. Then he looked at the firstborn standing in the same place, watching everything around him. When their eyes met, Atlas understood why he was the bigger threat. There was no fear in those eyes. He stood before Kronos—whose hatred was enough to make even the bravest piss themselves—and Atlas, Kronos’ general, felt tense under that hatred.

But Kronos’ son was something completely different.

’This is worse than I thought... he has to die,’ Atlas thought as he charged toward Kronos’s son.

Seeing that, Kronos’ eldest prepared for the coming fight against Atlas. His father was the King—so Atlas would be weaker... right?

He watched Atlas raise his fist and prepared to stop it—bad move. The moment Atlas’ punch made contact with the eldest son’s hand, his wrist snapped instantly from the incredible force.

He jerked his hand and body away from the Titan’s blow, using Atlas’ arm like a springboard to twist aside. He hid his face with his other hand—his good one—then countered with the same punch he’d used on his father, only this time with even more force.

Atlas’ skin wasn’t as hard as Kronos’, and the Titan was launched backward by the impact.

Even the eldest was surprised it hadn’t hurt as much as punching his father.

He prayed silently that Atlas wouldn’t get up. He was at a clear disadvantage—he knew nothing about the terrain. If Kronos recovered, he was finished. And the chances of another Titan arriving after hearing the battle were too high. But then he realized two things: Atlas got up as if nothing had happened, a blood slipping from his lip; and the ground—damaged by Atlas being thrown—had cracked open.

The eldest didn’t understand what it was at first, but then a transparent liquid began to pour out with incredible force. Only he noticed it. A plan formed in his mind, and he started to smile as he walked toward Atlas.

Atlas recovered quickly and began walking fast toward Kronos’ son. He noticed the son was recovering and smiled arrogantly, believing the hit hadn’t done much.

”You lack strength. You’re nothing but a weak child—just a little faster than flies. You’ll be the first to fall, and your siblings will be next,” Atlas said, smiling sadistically as he approached the firstborn of his King.

Instead of being affected, Kronos’ eldest smiled, which confused Atlas enough to stop in his tracks.

”I may lack strength... but you lack intelligence,” he said, still smiling.

The moment those words left his mouth, a massive wave surged with incredible force from Atlas’s right side. Atlas—the Titan of strength—was the strongest of them all, but he was not the Titan of balance. The wave slammed into him, and he lost his footing, dragged away by the current that formed when the earthquake impact broke a huge natural dam. Kronos’ son hadn’t known the liquid was a river, but it saved his life—literally.

On the other side of the river, Kronos was staring at his son. When their eyes met, a deadly silence fell over the area.

”This doesn’t have to end like this,” Kronos said, one hand still on his stomach, not fully recovered. ”Join me, and you’ll be free once we capture the others. Only if you swear eternal loyalty.

This is too big for you—you won’t win,” Kronos finished, trying to bait his eldest.

”That’s all you have to say?” the son asked, hatred in his voice. ”Not even... an apology for treating me like your appetizer along with my siblings?”

He kept going, raising his fist. ”All you have to do is tell me you’ll join me if I swear loyalty?”

He lifted his fist higher. ”I hope you enjoyed your appetizer, because... my fists will teach you glory—” he finished, and the wave rose again, carrying him away into the forest, out of his father’s sight.

Even as he heard Kronos’ furious screams and the ground-shaking rage behind him, the eldest focused on sensing his siblings so he could reunite with them as soon as possible. Only then did he feel the pain in his wrist—so badly broken—now that the adrenaline from fighting Atlas was fading.

Mount Olympus

Rhea cried with happiness at being with her children again. Hera, Hestia, and Demeter cried too, being with their mother for the first time. Even Poseidon had a tear slip out—though he’d never admit it.

That happiness shifted into worry when Rhea noticed one of her children was missing. Her eyes searched desperately, but she couldn’t find him. Everyone realized it at the same time, and a heavy expression of worry and sadness fell over them all.

”Where is he?” Rhea asked Hestia in panic, since she was the closest to her at that moment.

”He stayed behind to buy us time to escape,” Hestia said with a sad face.

”There was no other way. They would’ve followed us if one of us didn’t cover the retreat,” Hades said, so their mother would understand.

”Don’t worry, Mother. He’s strong—he can take care of himself,” he added, trying to calm her... but it didn’t work.

Rhea’s tears of happiness turned into tears of sadness at the thought that she might lose her first son.

”B-but—” Rhea tried to speak, but she was cut off by an unknown sound.

Footsteps—as someone kept getting close —echoed through the area, drawing everyone’s attention. They all turned quickly toward the source of the sound.

”Were you talking about me?” the eldest son asked with a smile on his face.

Rhea stared at her firstborn, standing there calmly, smiling. It didn’t take long before she started walking toward him... then broke into a fast stride, and finally ran in his direction, saying his name through tears.

”Damon!” Rhea shouted as she ran to hug her son.

Damon, Rhea’s firstborn, was a very attractive man with a well-trained body—muscular, but not too much—built with the perfect muscle for combat. He had chestnut hair with a reddish tint, not very long, reaching the middle of his neck, with a lock of hair resting over his forehead that made women’s eyes drift toward him. His skin was very pale—not sickly, not overly so—and he had very intense blue eyes that looked as if, when you stared into them, you were looking at the sky itself through them. He wore simple black pants and a tight black shirt with blue decorations, along with sandals.

Damon hugged his mother, ignoring the pain in his left wrist. She buried her head in the hollow of his neck, still crying from being reunited with her first child. Damon gently rubbed his mother’s back to calm her automatically.

When she finally pulled away from the hug, she noticed the wince of pain on his face. She searched for the source and saw one of his hands with badly damaged knuckles and his wrist completely broken. She quickly started treating it to heal it.

”What happened to you? Your wrist is destroyed,” Rhea asked, worry in her voice as she held it carefully.

Hearing that, the other siblings came closer to see Damon’ condition.

”My knuckles are from a punch I landed on Kronos. I didn’t expect his skin to be so hard. As for my wrist—another Titan showed up, Atlas or something like that.”

When he said Atlas’ name, both Zeus and Rhea tensed. ”I tried to block one of his hits, but I didn’t expect them to be that strong. He broke my hand,” Damon continued before his mother could ask more.

”You defeated Atlas and your father alone?” Rhea asked, shocked, even as she kept healing her son.

”No,” Damon said simply. ”Only Atlas. Kronos wasn’t in condition to fight because of the stomach pain... I think you said that,” he finished.

”You’re telling me you defeated Atlas—the Titan of Strength—by yourself, without help?” Zeus asked in disbelief.

”Brains beat strength,” Damon replied. ”You must be the little one,” he added, tapping Zeus on the head with his free hand, which annoyed Zeus for being treated like he was inferior.

”Zeus. My name is Zeus,” Zeus said, pushing Damon’s hand away from his head.

”Damon,” Damon answered, raising his free hand for a handshake.

Two hours later

Once Damon’s wrist had healed, they all gathered around a large table with a world map carved into its surface. Everything had been built and shaped with Gaia’s help—it was like a massive temple carved from a single enormous block, with a huge table at the center. All of them stared at the map etched on top, discussing where they should be and which would be the best places to fight the Titans in the future.

”We need weapons,” Hades said, and everyone nodded.

”I know where to get them,” Zeus replied, drawing everyone’s attention in the room.

”How?” Hera asked, patiently waiting for an answer.

”The Cyclopes—very skilled smiths and great fighters. They’ll provide us not only with weapons, but also help in future battles,” Zeus answered as he looked at the map and began pointing to a part of it.

”And how do we get their help?” Poseidon asked, still watching Zeus’ hand.

”That’s the problem,” Zeus replied.

”What problem?” Hestia asked calmly, studying the map.

”We have to go to Tartarus to get them out,” Zeus answered, a little tense, as his finger reached the marked point on the map—pointing to what looked like a massive gate. The tension in the room rose the moment he said Tartarus.

”Alright... so what are we waiting for?” Damon said.

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