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Zagreus and Melinoë left the Crossroads, stepping onto the surface. Unfortunately, this was one of the parts of their parents' city that was still destroyed and where enemies continued to roam. Their uncles said they would send workers someday to restore everything, but only after repairing the cities where living people still remained.
They had to choose this particular part because Zagreus still… had a rather poor understanding of the local rules, as did Melinoë. She had undoubtedly lived on the surface longer than her brother, but unfortunately, because her attention was focused on battles, the girl simply hadn't noticed the laws here, which were vastly different from the laws at the Crossroads.
As a result, now they were both trying to explore this new world on their own, in an area where their shame would hardly be noticed or remarked upon by anyone. Moreover, there were no people here, so they wouldn't have to learn to interact with mortals on the surface.
Zagreus, hands on his hips and smiling contentedly, took a deep breath.
"Ah, fresh air!"
He said. Melinoë only chuckled softly at this.
"Let's hope the fresh air doesn't drive you crazy and you don't do anything stupid."
She said, smiling. The young man waved away her words.
"Oh, don't worry, everything will go fine without any incidents."
"If that were true, my son would not have asked me to keep an eye on you two."
A displeased voice sounded from above, causing Zagreus to flinch and look guiltily at the speaker. As expected, standing behind him was none other than Chronos himself. He looked very displeased, and he had his reasons. Right now, the Titan of Time HIMSELF, not using a projection or servants, but personally, had set foot on the surface, and not for just any reason, but to watch over his grandchildren as if they were mere children.
Melinoë and Zagreus understood perfectly well why this had happened. During one of their walks, her brother had accidentally destroyed one of the houses, nearly getting himself and his sister buried under the rubble. And that was without taking into account their other mistakes. Their parents were simply afraid to leave these two alone on the surface, given such track records.
After much deliberation, it was decided to give Hades's children a chaperone. But who exactly would it be? First, Hecate was suggested, since she was the one who most often went to the surface to find students like Medea or Circe. Unfortunately, she declined due to being too busy, as she had to restore many things. Then Persephone was considered, as she also frequented the surface. Unfortunately, she also had too much work, as did many other candidates.
As a result, only Chronos remained. Although he had been dead for a long time, he still knew how the mortal world worked and what special rules existed there, even if some of them had changed slightly. How Hades had managed to come to an agreement with his father about this, no one knew, but after their secluded dialogue in the God of the Underworld's office, both persons were very angry, yet the Titan of Time nonetheless agreed to keep an eye on his grandchildren above ground.
And now this very chaperone was glaring at Zagreus with a withering gaze. The young man smiled awkwardly, spreading his arms.
"Well, at least we'll spend time together!"
He said. Chronos only clicked his tongue in displeasure once more.
"Being near a grandson whose main job is to cause chaos? What a joy."
The man replied, rolling his eyes. The young man coughed awkwardly, quickly approaching his sister.
"Is he… always like this?"
He asked quietly. Melinoë, sighing, slowly nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. But at least he's not trying to kill you."
"Oh, how lucky I am…"
Zagreus replied weakly, glancing at his grandfather. The latter had already shifted his gaze to the destroyed houses, having completely forgotten about his grandson. Brother and sister only shrugged at this, also turning their gaze to the houses that, by some miracle, were still standing.
"So, since we're here, let's look for something interesting. You know, our father forbids so much different literature from the surface. Either because it's bad, or because it's too fantastical."
"Or perhaps my dear grandson hasn't read the entire library in the house and thinks certain books are missing due to censorship, and not because he simply hasn't found them."
The young man decided to tactically remain silent at the Titan of Time's remark, approaching one of the houses, until suddenly his path was blocked by a golden staff.
"My boy, I do not advise entering this place."
"Why?"
Zagreus asked, looking at Chronos in confusion. The latter, squinting, shifted his gaze to the young man.
"If you, my dear grandson, had looked carefully at the house, you would have noticed a huge crack in the supporting structure of this building. That means that from any awkward movement, it could collapse, and given your behavior, that moment could come at any time."
"I saw many such cracks when leaving the Crossroads. Not a single building with them ever collapsed, even when I hit them with an axe or sickles."
Said Melinoë, frowning slightly. At the mention of an axe and sickles, her brother looked at her with interest but decided to remain silent. The Titan of Time slowly nodded and replied in a somewhat calmer voice.
"True, but my child, you are missing one important detail. All small events, whether the blooming of a flower bud or the splitting of a stone, happen by my will and the will of those maidens. This is done so that the world lives, rather than merely exists. After I imprisoned the Moirai, to my great regret, they still had access to reality, albeit a limited one. So they could set the destruction of this house in motion, but they could not bring it to its climax."
After this, he pointed to the young witch.
"And another thing. You tried to get rid of me, and of course, the Fates will want to help you in that. After all, so-called luck is also their doing."
"If changes in the world happen by the will of the Moirai, then why was there so much destruction during your war?"
The girl asked, deep in thought. Chronos waved his hand, continuing.
"Because I too can influence the course of many things. It is thanks to me that their desires can begin to act."
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but could you explain to a person who doesn't understand much about the workings of reality why exactly this building isn't collapsing, and what our grandfather and Nyx's children have to do with it?"
Zagreus suddenly asked, having been looking back and forth between Melinoë and Chronos the whole time. He had been trying to process everything said, but unfortunately, his lack of experience in such matters prevented him from doing so.
The girl just smiled at this, patting him on the shoulder, while the Titan of Time again looked at him with a displeased expression.
"I promise I'll explain everything to you. But later."
She said, and the young man nodded.
"Alright, in that case, let's go… There!"
He pointed to another building, also slightly damaged, but more richly decorated. The brother shifted his gaze to Chronos, who was carefully examining the structure.
"Of course, if our beloved grandfather allows us to go there."
He said, waiting for an answer. The Titan of Time was silent for a while, then nodded.
"Yes, this structure is holding up best, and unlike that house, it was built more solidly. Apparently, it was the home of one of the council members. Of course, my army long ago took anything of value from there, but perhaps you will find something truly interesting for yourselves."
Melinoë and Zagreus breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward the house, but for some reason, Chronos continued to stand still, surveying the area. The girl looked at him in surprise.
"Aren't you coming with us?"
She asked, tilting her head to the side. The Titan of Time sighed heavily.
"Unfortunately, my child, I need to correct some temporal anomalies in this place. I am well aware that, thanks to your patrons, you tried to meddle with my essence. That is commendable, but without my permission, one can easily make a multitude of gross mistakes that could lead to catastrophe. In Tartarus, I have corrected most of them, but on the surface, not yet."
"Oh, alright."
The young witch nodded awkwardly, then quickly ran after her brother, who had already entered the building and was examining it with childlike curiosity. Chronos watched this for a while, then decided to move away from the house, toward the edge of the forest.
The man, unfortunately, first of all, had no desire to be in this place. The surface was laid bare for all the Olympians to see, and he did not want to attract unwanted attention from those parasites. They already thought that the Titan of Time himself had surrendered because he had proven too weak against his granddaughter, who was pumped full of their blessings, so why give them further cause for dirty rumors?
Secondly, he knew perfectly well that someone had given his granddaughter absolutely abhorrent spells. They worked, certainly, but her teachers (or whoever they were) simply did not see the problems these spells caused. It was a barbaric use of space. It was strange that even Selene had decided to dabble in such things. Chronos knew that far too strange thoughts could appear in her head, but to decide to place oneself above Time itself? That was sheer childish foolishness, no less.
Closing his eyes, the Titan of Time immersed himself in the subsurface layer of the world. He hoped that no one would find him in this state, as he did not want to lose his body because of such foolishness. The man began to distance himself further and further from the world, ceasing to feel anything or anyone.
Slowly, Chronos separated the tangled times, isolating the threads of the past and present that had become too tightly intertwined. Some timelines had to be removed due to severe damage, but fortunately, it was not critical. A day would simply pass a couple of milliseconds faster. Most likely, no one but the Titan of Time would notice.
How long he was engaged in this was unclear. Chronos had simply decided to check on the real world for a couple of seconds, to see if his grandchildren had finished exploring the ruined house, when he noticed something strange. It was as if the surrounding world had darkened by a couple of shades, even though Selene should still be shining brightly and there was not a single cloud in the sky.
The man opened his eyes and, looking up, clutched his cane in his hands. A small tree branch hung neatly above his head, calmly blocking the moonlight from the titan. How fortunate that this branch had just now accidentally hidden him, preventing Selena's rays from blinding him. Of course, he remembered perfectly well that it hadn't been there before; it had hung a little further away and much higher.
Chronos narrowed his eyes, about to say something, but thought better of it. He was not going to waste words on someone who did not even use them. The man quickly stepped out of the shadow, walking toward the richly decorated building.
"Dear grandchildren, I believe you have spent enough time examining this building."
He said, looking inside. Melinoë and Zagreus, who had been examining the personal scrolls of the former owner with interest for a few minutes, looked at their grandfather.
"What? Oh, well, we just…"
"I remembered that in the depths of this part of the city, there is one of the statues of your parents. Apparently, one of the satyrs grew attached to them, so it was not badly damaged."
Chronos said, straightening up. The girl and her brother quickly exchanged glances and, putting the scrolls back in their place, exited the building. They immediately ran in the direction the man had indicated, actively discussing how mortals depicted Persephone and Hades. The Titan of Time glanced briefly at the edge of the forest and at the tree whose branch had returned to its original place, then slowly walked after his grandchildren.
The sooner he finished with this foolish situation, the sooner he would return to Tartarus, where there was no trace of her damned influence.