"Leave her out of this. This is between you and I."
"How chivalrous. I was not aware that you were so stupid as to let her in here by herself."
"She slipped past me."
"Oh, no one needs an Eye to tell that you are lying, Brandon. Now then..."
"Yeah, yeah, skip the speech, where's the coffin?"
As I took a step forward, I evaluated her position. It was a little farther than we had expected, but otherwise, it was fine. The guards were in position. He was on time. Everything was perfect.
"Getting right to the good stuff, huh? Very well then, Lord Kronos is right over here." He gestured to the center of the room, right where I wanted it to be. "In there are the remains of our Lord. His remains will stay there; his mind will enter your mind."
"Yeah, yeah, save the speech, let's get on with it."
S turned and nodded. Sentries were immediately placed over any feasible exit from the cave. They even had one climb into a hole in the ceiling . I was going to stay inside until orders were given.
"Now then, the Lord beckons you. Inside the sarcophagus, now!"
"Ok, ok, you don't need to shout." I started to walk towards it.
3...2...1...I paused and turned. "Wait. I need an oath from you."
"Brandon, we could kill you faster than you can blink."
"Good luck finding another person worthy to be Kronos's vessel then, S."
He gritted his teeth. "Fine. What is your request, you pathetic whelp?"
"Careful with that mouth. My first request is that you or any of your team harm or touch Ashley Stone, the Ashley Stone in this room, deal?"
"Fine, fine."
"The second is that you will not touch or harm Brandon Lee, the Brandon Lee in this room."
"Speaking in third person now, are we?"
"Just taking extra precautions."
"Very well, I accept."
"In the River Styx."
"In the River Styx."
"Great." I pushed the lid off of the sarcophagus. The inside glowed so bright that I couldn't even tell what was inside. "Well, wish me luck." I climbed in and lay down. I closed my eyes and immediately began preparations.
I switched on autopilot for my heart and brain, allowing me to think and breathe at a slightly more normal pace and think at a slower rate. I manually overrided the controls and switched them to another position. I opened up a second seat with the controls that I was used to.
I activated a seal on my body, preventing anyone from leaving my body. I looked Callum in the eyes. "Now you have to take a break."
I understand. Good luck, Brandon.
"See you soon." He dissapated, leaving me in the shadows of my mind with nothing to do.
Suddenly, the whole control center shook. The systems flashed warning signals as the ground launched into a brainquake. Something was coming, something big. I rearranged everything to get it all back in position and switched on the special switch that I had installed onto my seat.
The ground trembled and the control room began to glow a light golden color, before falling into a deeper, darker yellow. A crack slowly began to form from the crevice of my brain.
A golden arm clawed itself from the Earth and emerged. It was a pure yellow entity whose face I couldn't see. All I could make out was shining.
"So you must be Kronos."
"Yes, and you must be the puny mortal that I'm inhabiting."
"Great. Welcome to the BL control room. Glad to have you. Let's get you started."
________________________________________________________________________________
I awoke in degrees. First, I reached up to clutch my throbbing head before I realized I was handcuffed. I tried to stand up before I realized that I was chained to the wall. Finally, my eyes opened.
I was in a chamber surrounded by guards covering every nook and cranny of the room. S was standing in the center, gazing thoughtfully at the sarcophagus. Inside, the case was glowing rapidly, almost shining a laser show as the light came on and off every few seconds. I coughed and sat up.
S barely moved. "Oh, you are awake. Lucky for you, you are supposed to be unharmed and untouched. Brandon has insured your safety."
I almost sighed with relief. Brandon was here. Then, I felt my stomach drop. I couldn't see him anywhere in the room. The only place where he could possibly be was...
The sarcophagus.
I wanted to run over, open the lid, and slap him in the face as hard as I could for doing the stupidest thing in the world. But I couldn't. I was chained up, trapped as I watched the being of destruction's birth.
S was grinning like a madman. It was the sort of expression that signified victory, that he had won and that everyone was screwed.
The cap exploded off of the sarcophagus and flew into the air, shattering on the ceiling. The light bathed the room, causing me to close my eyes and to turn away. S began to laugh giddily and the sound of footsteps rang through the chamber.
Finally, the light dimmed down. Brandon stood inside the sarcophagus, smiling the same smile that S was. He looked different. He had his chest puffed out. He seemed more confident. His eyes were now a metallic gold.
S smirked and bowed. "My Lord, welcome back."
I was one of the first people to witness the King of the Titans trip and fall on his face.
