Twenty Seconds Until Midnight

“Come here.. Lay down on my lap. I’ll fix you up.” Kali says as she motions for me to come closer. I teleported to the same hill that we stopped at before going into Washington D.C.. I assumed that would be our rendezvous point. My assumption was correct.

I walk over to Kali and lay my head on her lap. My left arm is still missing, and I’m able to see the bone that was sliced in half. Before I could go into anymore grotesque detail about my missing arm, Kali’s purple fog covers it. In a few seconds, my left arm is back completely. She also heals the multiple holes in my chest. Kali was never meant to be a death goddess. She has to be the goddess of life and healing. There’s no way that a death goddess could heal someone like that.

“I killed her..” I say, referring to Peitho and not my easily forgettable human sister.

“The gods will come after us.”

“I know they will. They will come, and then they will die. I will be the most powerful god of them all.” I stare into Kali’s green eyes as I speak.

“Just please be careful.” Kali says. I sit up and kiss her. I push her to the ground as we continue to make out. Kali pushes me off of her for a second and says “do you know how much you’ve changed? You don’t look like Thanatos or Kyle.”

“What do you mean?” I ask as I back up off of her.

“Haven’t you noticed yet? Hold on.” Kali says as she sits up and summons a mirror and hands it to me. I look at the reflection and it almost scares me. I have white, like snow, hair with red highlights going through it. My eyes glow a bright red. My face is still Kyles. I lift up my lip to reveal sharp fangs.

“I look different, very different.” I say. I mean Kyle and Thanatos are two different beings. Kyle is a human. Thanatos is a death god. But, I’m both of them merged into one. Hence, my appearance changed. But, where did the white hair come from? Both Kyle and Thanatos had black hair. It must be from the immense stress put on my mind from merging the two personalities, merging the two beings. Should I take a new name? Since I’m both Kyle and Thanatos. So, Thanale? No, that sounds awful. Katos? No, that also sucks. How about Kanatos? Eh, I think I could do better. How about Kanalos? Yeah let’s just stick with Thanatos.

“You had large black wings when you were fighting Peitho. They must only come out in combat. I don’t really understand the point of wings if us gods can fly even without them.” Kali says.

“Could you stop complaining? I think wings look cool.” I say.

“Yeah whatever you say. You're an edgy weirdo.”

“Keep in mind that this edgy weirdo is your husband!” I exclaim.

“Well I didn’t get married to a Ken Kaneki rip-off!!!”

“I”m sorry that I got stuck in some kid’s body and had to become one with him. Hell, saying that probably puts me on some kind of watchlist. Anyway, if you didn’t want me to change then you wouldn’t have let me get imprisoned!”

“ Am I interrupting something?” A third voice enters the conversation. I quickly hop to my feet and look around. About ten feet away, a man dressed in a white robe stands. I immediately recognized him.

“Oh, it’s Hermes. State your business. Also, while you're at it, give me a reason to not kill you.” I say as I stand my ground.

“As you know, I’m merely a messenger for the gods. As mortals say, don’t shoot the messenger. Anyway, I have some very important information for you. But, I can’t tell you until you do something for me.” Hermes says as he also stands his ground.

“What may that be?” I say. If I were to kill Hermes, I would be unstoppable. Hermes is known as being the fastest of the gods, being able to attack someone a ten times before they can even react.

“I want to test your strength. So, fight me. If you win, I’ll tell you very valuable information. Hell, if you can beat me I’ll even join your side. I already know your pla-” Before Hermes can finish I fly at him and grab him by his hair. I throw him down the hill, through a small forest. He smashes through seven trees before coming to a stop. I quickly teleport to him and, in an instant, he is back on his feet. He throws three punches at me in a split second, unbalancing me. He then brings his foot around and kicks me through three trees. Seven vs. three, I like my chances. I get up and shake off my injuries but before I know it, Hermes is before me again. He strikes fast. I try to block as many hits as possible, but the speed is just too quick. Before I know it, Hermes throws me up in the air. I try to gain balance once again, but Hermes is next to me and throws me into the hill. I pass right through it and out the other side, leaving a large hole that grows straight through the hill. Back up in the air, Hermes kicks me back into the ground. When I smash into the ground, I cough up blood. My vision turns red and my body gets engulfed in my red fog. Hermes is next to me again, but he doesn’t attack.

“What the hell are you?” He says as he backs up a few feet. I stand up and charge towards him. He teleports behind me and tries to kick me, but this time I catch his foot. I take his left foot and slam him into the ground. I lift him up again and slam him into the ground on the other side of me. I, then, toss him up in the air. But, before he can do anything to counter, I slam him back into the same hill he threw me through. I teleport back down to him. I grab his head and drag it across the ground, leaving a trail of destruction. After doing that for a while, I threw his lifeless body about thirty feet. I fly back over to him and lean down next to him.

“You better give me that information, or I might just have to kill you.” I say with a smile.

“What the fuck are you? I was beating you, but then you sprouted wings and a red fog surrounded you. You became so much stronger. How did you do that?” He exhaustedly mutters.

“Whenever I start bleeding, it happens. It makes me so much more powerful. I should call it something. I think ‘blood rage’ has a good ring to it.”

“No other god has an ability like that. You could probably beat Hades himself with a power like that.” Hermes says.

“You really think it is that powerful?” I ask.

“I’ve challenged many gods in my time, and none of them were able to counter my attacks. I attack far too fast for any god to react. That was the same for you until you entered your blood rage. I guess I do owe you some information after all.” Hermes says as he sits up. His face is all scratched up and his nose is broken. If I would’ve done the same thing to a human, they would’ve disintegrated immediately.

“Well then, spit it out.” Kali teleports next to me and says.

“The other gods already know of your plan. Zeus told all of the major gods. Lucky for you, none of the major gods are going to come for you. There were talks about sending your mother, Nyx, to deal with you. I was only going to tell you this, then leave you but your power is just amazing! I’ll stay by your side as long as I can watch you fight.” Hermes explains as he sits up.

I hesitate a moment but finally I nod and extend my hand towards Hermes. He takes it and just like that, we are on the same side.

“What should we do now? Do we just wait for Nyx to come to us?” Kali asks.

“We head for Baltimore. I have a feeling that once we get there we will have some company. But, with Hermes' speed and my strength we can beat almost any foe.” I say.

So, we were off. In an instant, I end up on top of a building next to John Hopkins University. We could’ve saved so much time if I was able to teleport this entire time.

“We can just teleport inside-” Kali says as she teleports beside me.

“I’ll go in. You and Hermes stay out here.” I cut Kali off.

“But-” Kali interjects.

“Just listen to me! I’ll be back soon.” I say as I kiss Kali on the cheek. I jump off the building, and slam into the road, leaving a crater where I land.

“What the hell is that?” A pair of guards, armed with assault rifles, open fire at me. The bullets stagger me, but I quickly recover my footing. I keep walking towards them, as the bullets don’t pierce my skin. An amazing thing about gods is that human weapons don’t harm me. The only way to kill a god is by another god. The bullets just bounce off my skin, as if they were rubber.

“I’m out of ammo!!” One guard yells.

“Nothing is working!!” The other guard says as he charges me. I let him hit me with the end of his rifle. But, before he can do anything else, I backhand him. Just that slap is enough to send the man flying.

“We have a code red!!” The other guard yells into his radio and runs inside the building, closing the door behind him. I keep walking until I reach the door. I punch the door, which rips it off its hinges and sends it flying across the room. Inside, there are about 20 guards surrounding the entrance with their rifles pointed at me.

“Stay where you are, Hellspawn.” The guard yells, but I don’t listen. I keep walking. If I keep on going straight, and up the stairs, then I’ll be in the research center for the new technology. But, I sense something strange there. Something that isn’t human. Maybe a god.

“Last warning. If you don’t stop we’ll open fire!” Another guard yells, yet I don’t really care. “Fire!!”

“Wait!” I yell before they shoot me. “If you don’t want to die, then don’t shoot me.”

“You’re full of shit!!! FIRE!!!” A guard yells. At his command, every guard starts shooting. They must have a death wish. Once the bullets stop, I look around to see each and every guard dead. Like I said, bullets bounce off of my skin. They just shot themselves. What a waste of life.

I walk past a few corpses and through puddles of blood to reach the stairs across the room. I start running up the stairs, as I sense the same god-like presence. It grows stronger and stronger the higher I climb. After a few seconds, I reached floor 5. At the door that separates the stairs and the hallway, I feel a certain feeling. I can’t really describe it. Almost a feeling of deja vu. Like I’ve felt this same way before. I open the door and start walking down the desolate hallway. The third door on the left is where that feeling is coming from. It feels as if I was still in hell, with my brother. When I was next to him, protecting him in his constant sleep. I need to find the source of this feeling. When I reach the door, I take a deep breath. I open the door.

“I knew you were coming.” A familiar voice calls out to me. I look around the dark room and yet I see no one. The only light in the room comes from the windows.

“Who’s there?” I ask as I step into the room. The door slams shut behind me.

“Are you feeling tired, Brother?” The lights turn on and there sits a man in a chair. It takes me a second to recognize him, but it’s my brother.

“Hypnos!! My brother!! It’s been far too long!!” I say as I approach him with excitement.

“Stay where you’re at, brother. Say, do you remember? Do you remember our cave in the underworld? Where I slept and slept. Do you remember how you were never able to wake me? Well, brother. I’m tired of your lies! I’ve dreamed of so many things. I dreamed of being awake. But, when I truly do awaken, you’re nowhere to be found. Do you see something wrong with that, brother?” Hypnos soulless black eyes stare at me.

“I’ve been trapped here.”

“I don’t want your excuses. You promised to protect me. All those years ago, the last time I woke up. You disgust me. You’re a man who can’t keep his promises.” Hypnos keeps on rambling on, much like a mad man. “So, I have to get my hands dirty. I’ll bring you back home. But, this time, you’ll be the one sleeping. I will make you sleep for 10,000 years, so you can understand. Maybe, you can become a better man. Now, brother. Come home, or I’ll make you.” Hypnos stands up after he’s done talking.

“Where is this all coming from? There’s other important things I have to do. You know that as well as anyone. I’m the one that brings souls to the afterlife. I’m constantly busy! I can’t always keep an eye on you.” I say.

“It’s not just that! Even mother said that you’ve been up to no good! She said that you’re happy that I was sleeping, so you could do whatever you wanted. Am I really that replaceable to you?”

“So mother sent you! I knew it.” I exclaim.

“Answer my question. What’s more important than your own brother?”

“Saving the world!”

“That’s none of your business!!” Hypnos yells. “You’re nothing but a death god! You have one job and one job only! You bring the souls of the deceased to the afterlife! Whenever you aren’t doing that you should be watching over me! The major gods can deal with what happens in the universes.”

“The major gods are selfish! Having all these gods only causes more and more problems! We only need a handful of gods, and only one universe-” I start to explain.

“You’re the only selfish one! You kill and kill just to get your own way. You will never achieve anything other than more pain! You’ve become corrupt with power. So, I’m here to send you back to hell. I will stop your madness!!” Hypnos interrupts.

“You don’t understand-”

“I don’t need to hear anymore of your excuses. Now, fight me!” Hypnos charges at me. I don’t dodge or react in any way. He punches me straight through the building and I land outside on the street. Hypnos teleports next to me.

“I’m not going to fight-” Before I can finish Hypnos kicks me into the ground.

“I’m really tired of your filth. I will teach you how to act right.” He grabs me and throws me through a neighboring building. I refuse to fight him.

“What the hell are you doing!!” Kali teleports and kneels down beside me. Hypnos teleports to me as well, and is stopped by Kali.

“You’re the bitch that corrupted my brother!!” Hypnos yells at Kali. Kali summons her purple scythe and prepares to fight Hypnos. Hypnos’s body gets covered by a black fog as he gets angrier.

“You seem quite awake for a sleep god!” Kali says as she charges at Hypnos. Hypnos dodges Kali’s attack and kicks her away. My mind is a complete train wreck. Should I help Kali? I can’t. I can’t fight my brother. Before I can even make up my mind, Hypnos teleports away. Most likely towards Kali. What should I do? If he kills Kali, then I can’t ever forgive myself. But, if Kali kills him then I can’t forgive myself. Either way, I’m losing someone that’s important to me. But, all those men at the entrance. They died too. They have people who love them. They have people who can’t live without them. Yet, they died so easily. What’s wrong with this world? Humans and gods both lose so much. What’s the point of it all?

“Pick!” Hypnos teleports in front of me with Kali. Kali is all beaten and cut up. He kicks her down in front of him and puts her scythe against her throat. “It’s either me or her. So pick!”

Why? Why is this happening? I have the strength to do something, but my mind just can’t handle this. I’m a death god. I AM the personification of death. Yet, it terrifies me to pick who survives.

“ I’ll pick for him!” Hermes teleports beside Hypnos and manages to take Kali’s scythe in an instant. Hypnos jumps backwards.

“You too, Hermes?” Hypnos asks with confusion on his face.

“Are you surprised?” Hermes asks with a smile.

“Don’t you underestimate me! I’ll take Thanatos back to the underworld with me.”

“You don’t deserve him-” Kali says as she coughs up blood. “You aren’t that important to him.”

“What did you just say you ugly BITCH!!!” Hypnos rushes towards Kali, and by pure instinct, I stop him. “Thanatos! Brother! Don’t listen to that evil bitch! She’s controlling you!”

“Go back to sleep.” I mutter.

“What?” Hypnos says.

“Go back to sleep!” I yell in his face. So much rage rises in me that I punch Hypnos, pushing him back a few feet.

“Now you want to fight me-”

“Don’t you ever touch Kali! I don’t care if you’re my brother. I’ll kill anyone that touches Kali!” I finally made up my mind. This officially marks the beginning of the fight between two brothers. Sleep and death.

Hypnos rushes me, but I stop him with one hand. He tries to kick me, but before he can I headbutt him. I headbutt him so hard that he slammed into the ground. I grab him and throw him through a building. I teleport to him again and throw him up into the air. He gains his balance and tries to attack me, but his attacks do almost nothing. I put everything I have into a punch, which sends him flying towards the Earth. My anger is immeasurable. I teleport down to him and grab his throat. With him at my mercy, I slam him into the ground once more. But, this time I keep on going. I keep on going until we reach the center of Earth. Or at least where rocks become lava. I keep on going, straight through the Earth and out the other side. Making a hole straight through the planet. We exit rock through the ocean. Once we get out of the ocean, I let go of him, which causes him to fly through the air. Just from all that power, he probably ended up somewhere in space.

Levitating above the ocean, my vision becomes blurry. Suddenly, I blacked out. My last vision was of me falling into the ocean.