14The being formerly known as Chaos – but now named Perseus by a young goddess – was very tired. Like, to the point of actually just keeling over and passing out. And now, he was also extremely goddamned pissed, because apparently, said goddess and her nephew – if you notice that Oceanus and Aphrodite are both children of Ouranos, thus, making Polemistís her nephew – had gotten themselves kidnapped by some upstart named Lamia and her beastly pose.
Not only was he going to find them – he would force Oceanus to assist him whether the titan liked it or not – he was going to make that monster fade from existence. She would pay for insulting him and interfering in Chaos' plans of saving his most precious creation.
Chaos took a deep breath to calm his raging emotions, settling on an apathetic expression as he stared blankly at the place the monsters disappeared from.
Without looking in his direction, Chaos addressed his new battle buddy. "Oceanus."
The titan did not respond, choosing to stare off into the distance.
"Oceanus."
Again, the titan didn't seem to hear his name.
Chaos, not being in the mood to be patient with the boy, growled at the Titan of the Ocean.
"Oceanus!"
Said titan turned towards Perseus with a glare. Oceanus raised his voice a bit to express his anger. "What?"
"Don't raise your voice at me, boy." He still wasn't looking at Oceanus. "I am not the one to whom you should be directing your ire."
Oceanus' glare deepened when Perseus called him a boy. "Who are you to call me boy, child? I am the Titan of the River Okeanos, first born of the Earth and Sky. Nephew of Darkness and Night, Destiny and Time, Love, Woe, and the Pit. Champion of Hydros, Protogenoi of Water and Liquids; Father of Pontus, Primordial of the Seas and Oceans. I am the tamer of the mighty Kraken and the current King of the Seas. So I will ask you again, who are you to call me a child, boy? I exceed your age hundredfold."
Chaos still didn't bother to turn to Oceanus as he spoke. Completely apathetic to the titan's Titles of Honor. "Chaos."
Oceanus froze in shocked disbelief, but his shock turned into rage. The lobster claws on his head snapped violently. "How dare you choose to impersonate the Khaos? Your attitude of irreverence towards the Creator is outrageous! Foolish boy! HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING? I wished to believe that what Lamia said about you was false, but clearly, you believe you can just go around declaring you are a being that supersedes the Great Ones million fold!"
Chaos blew air from his nose in annoyance. Oceanus, instead of directing his anger at the one who took his sister and child, was directing all his frustrations on Chaos.
The people of Earth were really getting on his nerves. His patience for the children of this planet was thinning, and Oceanus was currently treading on thin ice.
Chaos clenched his teeth and balled his fists. He hissed out one word, not even bothering to acknowledge the titan's accusations. "Silence."
Oceanus, fed up with Chaos, marched up to his face and jabbed his fingers at Chaos' chest as he spoke. "I do not appreciate being ordered around by some foolish immortal who believes themselves greater. So I, a member of the Titan Council, command you to answer me! Who are you?!"
Chaos' patience and self-control wavered, causing both his eyes to turn entirely black again. Oceanus gasped at the sight of Chaos' eyes and involuntarily stepping back. Those eyes…they held so much concealed power.
Chaos spoke through clenched teeth, sending the insolent titan a glare that promised death by lack of existing. "My name is Chaos. I am the creator of this Universe and every other form of existence there is. Clearly, you are mistaking me for a false persona my children made up long ago in order to greedily hide a secret they have kept from their decedents once I placed them on this corner of the Universe. There is no "the Khaos", there is only Chaos. I AM Creation and Destruction. The Void is my home where I weave the fabric that forms your Universe, and where I destroy what is old, corrupted, and unbalanced. I wouldn't lie about my identity, especially when it is the survival my most prized creation on the line. Your brother will tip the scales of good and evil if he were to continue his rule, as I have foretold to the Fates and Ananke when she stirred in her slumber. I have foreseen it. I know when the Prophecy shall pass, and I know the outcomes of either Kronos' success or failure."
Oceanus starred in suspicion at Chaos. There was only one way to truly know whether or not the man before him is speaking the truth. "Swear upon the River of Styx that what you have said was true."
Chaos scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "River of sticks? Why would I have to swear upon a river filled with sticks for you to know I speak the truth?" This sudden change in the topic made him wonder how sane this guy was.
Oceanus sighed in exasperation. "Not a river filled with sticks, the River of Styx. One of the five rivers of the Underworld. The river of lost dreams and promises."
'I don't see how a measly river could ever decide whether or not I speak the truth, but oh well. Whatever it takes for Oceanus to believe my words will make saving Aphrodite and Polemistís much faster, and journey to the gods much smoother.'
"I, Chaos, Creator of the Universe, swear upon the River of Styx that everything I have said to Oceanus is true."
Chaos noted that Oceanus was obviously waiting for something to happen. Chaos also noticed that Oceanus was confused when nothing happened. Very confused. 'Why was he confused? Was there something supposed to happen?'
"What is the meaning of this?" Oceanus asked out of nowhere. "Why has the Styx not responded?"
Chaos was so incredibly muddled. What was Oceanus rambling about? Did he miss something? This was when Chaos voiced his thoughts. "What? Was something supposed to happen?"
Oceanus' response was loud and annoyed. "Yes! The river was supposed to respond to your oath!"
That single sentence made Chaos worry for the titan's sanity. "How can a river respond? I don't even understand how it's supposed to be the judge of my honesty."
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light followed by the appearance of an albino-like woman with long black hair and eyes. She wore a black dress and Greek sandals. "I believe I can answer that question." Oceanus bowed at the sight of the woman while Chaos just stood still, not knowing who the woman was and not feeling the need to bow to her simply because he didn't like bowing to anyone.
Also because it wouldn't make sense to bow before someone you don't know.
"Lady Styx." Oceanus greeted the woman with the utmost respect.
So that's who she was…
Chaos frowned at the younger male. 'Kiss up.'
"Rise Lord Oceanus," Styx said. She smiled at Chaos kindly. "It would seem that Sir Chaos cannot swear upon my river. Do you know why, milord?" This question was clearly meant for Chaos to answer, but it seemed Oceanus didn't get the memo.
"I do not know Lady Styx."
Styx sighed at the titan's reply. "The answer is simple," she paused for dramatic effect, wanting to poke fun in Oceanus' ignorance towards the 'obvious'. "My river does not have the power to bind him to the oath."
The confusion of both male deities had reached to near-astronomical proportions. Oceanus went ahead and asked:
"What do you mean?"
Styx laughed jovially, like the jingle of bells. "I meant exactly what I said. If Sir Chaos cannot swear an oath to my river, then he is older than I and my sisters. Much like the elder Primordials. So tell me, Oceanus, what oath did the Primordials take other than my river? An oath that is much more binding than mine."
The color that was on Oceanus' face quickly turned pale. "The Creator. They would swear on the Creator."
This piqued Chaos' interest. "Really, they swore on my name? How interesting." His response received a glare from Oceanus. A glare that was dutifully ignored by both Chaos and Styx.
Styx giggled at the deities. "Yes, yes. The Creator. Of course, we know of it differently than the elders. So it wouldn't be on the Khaos because it did not exist. The elders were the only ones who swore on your true name."
"If the talk about my children being the only ones to know my name, then how do you know it?" Chaos asked.
Styx gained a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Let's just say that the night skies and the darkness of the universe cannot keep many secrets. Especially when they find out new things."
Chaos smiled at Styx knowingly. "However, how am I supposed to swear an oath to myself?"
"Just like how you swore upon my river, just the change of title."
Chaos nodded in understanding, and Oceanus was looking at them both incredulously. "Lady Styx?" Oceanus asked. "What happens to the person who lies when they swear such an oath?"
Styx gained a thoughtful expression. "I cannot say. I can only believe that they would simply fade from existence, but I am not sure. None of the Primordials dared to do such a thing when they swore the oath. According to my mother, of course."
Chaos and Oceanus both raised their eyebrows at her. Styx, noticing their looks and blushed goldenly.
Chaos sighed, placing his right hand on his forehead as if he has a headache. "All right. I, Chaos, Creator of the Universe, swear upon…Chaos that everything I have said to Oceanus was true."
Once Chaos finished the oath, the Earth beneath them quaked and the moon and stars dimmed until they couldn't be seen. The wind picked up, causing gale force winds, and the seas raged. On different parts of the planet, volcanoes erupted and tectonic plates spread farther apart (A.N. and that is how Pangea was no more, and how our world looks the way it does. It was because of that oath). Somewhere on Earth, a small meteor hit. Tsunamis formed and crashed against the shores somewhere on Earth, and aliens came out of nowhere and took over the world.
And that is how the world ended.
Alright, the part about aliens and the world ending didn't happen, but the natural disasters quickly ceased as if turned off by the flip of a switch.
Styx, Oceanus, and Chaos were unharmed and practically frightened to death. Who knew the oath would be so powerful? Chaos himself didn't even know it existed, but now he did. He made a mental oath – not on his name – to make sure his children never swore upon his name – unless absolutely necessary – ever again. Such catastrophe was unnecessary when it comes to telling the truth.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Chaos felt a tickling sensation all over his body. Said sensation elicited an uncontrollable giggle from Chaos making him blush platinum in embarrassment.
Chaos cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at the two, his blush still lingering on his face. "Say anything about that giggle and I'll erase you from existence."
Styx chuckled at Chaos' blushing, but involuntarily gulped at the threat. "Understood." She turned towards Oceanus. The Sea Titan was frozen, staring wide-eyed at the sand in front of him with his mouth slightly agape in complete shock. "Oceanus?"
Oceanus didn't seem to hear the Lady of the Black River. He just kept his gaze on the sand. With gasped words, he spoke. "This is impossible. It cannot be here. Creation can't be here."
Chaos knit his eyebrows in concern. "Oceanus?"
Oceanus shook his head, not wanting to accept that his grandfather was actually standing in front of him.
Chaos took a single step forward. With an outstretched hand, he tried to bring Oceanus back into reality, but Oceanus stumbled backward in fear. The titan fell backward and began to scramble away.
Hurt became evident on Chaos' face at the revelation that his grandson feared him. "Oceanus…" he said softly.
The Sea Titan's eyes were wide in fear and the lobster claws on his head were snapping rapidly. "Impossible." He was shaking his head. "You shouldn't have a form. You shouldn't have an actual gender, and…and…" Oceanus glared at Chaos, "you didn't save them!" Oceanus suddenly stood up and marched towards Chaos in anger. His proper judgment was screaming at him to not anger the very being who had the power to destroy everything with a simple thought, but Mr. Reason was thrown out the window and drowned in a lake. "You could have saved them! You could have eviscerated all of those monsters and destroyed Lamia before she could take my sister and son!" He was now screaming in Chaos' face. Oceanus, in his growing rage, shoved Chaos into the sand. The titan straddled the downed Creator and began punching him in the face. Each punch was stronger and faster as Oceanus accused Chaos of cowardice and weakness.
His near bipolar emotions had completely caught Chaos by surprise before he finally noticed that Oceanus was on top of him, punching him in the face until Ichor flowed from the titan's knuckles.
Styx gasped in surprise at Oceanus' rash actions. She scurried towards the two males and tried to pry Oceanus off of Chaos. "Stop! Oceanus, stop this nonsense!"
Oceanus' punches were getting slower and the force in each punch was slowly dying out. Chaos' jaw was evidently broken and he was seeing black spots in his vision. Ichor was seeping from his lips, eyebrows, nose, and cheeks. His face was practically black and blue with a number of bruises, and he was missing teeth.
Styx had finally been able to haul the water deity off of Chaos. Once she let him go, Oceanus fell to his knees in tears. Styx left him to his scattered emotions as she went to tend to her grandfather. She dropped to her knees to Chaos' right and began to heal his wounds. None of them were major, but Chaos would have some major headaches for about a week or so with some sharp pains in his jaw whenever he uses it. He also had a major concussion, but all of this was healed with wads of ambrosia and beakers of nectar. It surprised Styx how he was still conscious.
The poor thing.
Once Chaos' wounds were healed and the Creation deity succumbed to his wounds, Styx stood up and dusted the sand off of her clothes. She turned her sharp gaze towards Oceanus – who was still bawling his eyes out in a fetal position. Styx's gaze softened, she knew why Oceanus was so angry at Chaos. His anger towards the First Being made sense, but beating him up wasn't going to solve their problems.
She marched towards Oceanus, stopping right in front of him. With a harsh voice and a cold gaze, she spoke, "Stop crying and get up."
Oceanus froze and brought his head up to look at Styx through puffy blue eyes. In a hoarse voice and a stuffy nose, he asked "What?"
Styx narrowed her eyes. "You heard me, titan. Get up."
Oceanus, too emotionally disturbed to object, stood up from the sand. He looked like a mess. His knuckles were bleeding golden, his eyes were puffy and red, he had tear tracks lining his face, and Platinum Ichor on his hands.
Styx pointed an accusatory finger towards Chaos' unconscious form. "Are you fully aware of what you've just done?"
Oceanus blinked in confusion at Styx but looked in the direction her finger was pointing, settling his gaze on Chaos. The First Being still had Ichor on his face and the top part of his clothes, but his wounds were healed. Oceanus narrowed his eyes at Chaos and looked back at Styx in defiance. "I have no regrets. He deserved it. After all, he let Aphrodite and Polemistís get captured by Lamia."
Styx glared at her cousin. "No, he did not. He was just as surprised as you were." Her glare hardened and her voice got harsher. "How about you? You are the Titan of the water that surrounds this planet. Why didn't YOU stop them? You could have easily sent those monsters to our uncle if you had summoned a strong enough wave. You shouldn't be pointing guilty fingers at the innocent, cousin."
Oceanus took a step back in shock. She was right. He could have done something, but he didn't. He let his family get captured by Iapetus' goons.
"You're right." He returned his gaze towards Chaos' prone figure. "I could have done something." With that said, he marched up to Chaos. "Just as he could have done something, but we didn't. Lamia would have killed them if we did. Now, instead of directing my anger at Lamia and focusing on getting them back, I blamed Chaos for doing nothing to stop them. I am only making this difficult for him." He looked back at Styx. "That's why we're going to get them back, and you're going to help us."
Styx's eyes widened. "Me? Why do you want me to help?"
Oceanus' lip curled slightly upward. "Because we need access to the Underworld. Lamia is a loyal servant of my brother, so she would most likely be taking them to Iapetus' palace. You are the only one here who can willingly go to and fro from the Underworld without being detected."
Styx shook her head. "Yes, but how are the two of you going to enter without getting caught. It's suicide if you go." She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. "Remember that you will not have access to your domain, so you would be at a major disadvantage."
Oceanus' eyes slowly traveled to Chaos' still form. "That may be true for me, but not for the both of you. You could use your river as self-defense while he uses whatever skills he has."
Styx thought about it. She knew the importance of getting the goddess and demi-titan back, and she also knew the role the child would play years from now. Oceanus may not know it, but that baby has more influence in the coming future than the Creator himself. If Polemistís were to die…well, let's not think too much on that.
She made her decision.
"Alright. I'll do it," She narrowed her eyes at Oceanus. The black eyes were filled with conviction. "But I will want something in return."
Oceanus spread his arms and dropped them against his hips. "Name your price."
"A favor, two actually. I want you to help grandfather in his mission, but I also want to join you." Styx offered. "With our combined help, he has more of a chance of reaching the godlings than without us." Styx walked over to Chaos and sat next to him, and began gently brushing her hand through his black hair. "In his current state, he will need all the help he can get."
"Fine, just as long as we get them back and end this ridiculous war. The sooner the better."
Styx smiled at Oceanus. "Exactly."
Sorry for the long wait, but I've been diagnosed with a terrible case of W.B.S. (i.e. Writer's Block Syndrome). I've recovered, but my doctor said that I can still catch it at any time. Again, sorry, but just like many illnesses, I can't predict if it's coming if there are no noticeable symptoms.
I've kind of also lost interest in this story, but don't worry, I'm not planning on abandoning it anytime soon. It's just...I find the story kind of lacking, but I don't know what it is. I can't say I'll be updating this one as often as the others, but I'll try.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the inconvenience. I wonder if rereading the story helps...
I'm trying, guys, but my school has been kicking my ass. Especially chemistry. I was barely able to update my other stories and "Kakutoku Shita Omoide" had been sitting on the shelf since winter break before I decided to post it.
But whatever. I'm not ofreakingk out!