4 Anguish Among Siblings

It was never explained what it was like for the gods while they were in Kronos's stomach in the myths, so I never thought much about it.

I was greatly annoyed and slightly depressed by that d*mn esophagus, but that was still manageable as my god brain prevented me from growing insane or getting some other mental illness, so all I felt was annoyance and boredom while I was passing through.

But the f*cking stomach acid is a whole 'nother thing.

It feels like my skin is constantly being burned by fire, but with no smoke to choke me.

It feels like I am bathing in boiling hot water that never cools down.

It feels like my own d*mn skin cells are rupturing and then the d*mn rupturing progressively moves inward.

I scream and scream, but all that does is allow some of the d*mn acid to enter my mouth and burn me from the inside out!

But I can't die, nor can I go crazy from the pain so it is just a continuous cycle of burning then regenerating.

So I grit my teeth endure the abominable amounts of pain while letting out the occasional scream that I instantly regret.

It feels like days pass that way, and I almost start regretting that I am now immortal.

But then I drift into a cavity that seems to have been burned into the flesh of Kronos's stomach.

I weakly claw may way in and then lie there, basking in the feeling of pure euphoria that comes from me escaping that d*mn stomach acid.

I'm so relieved and tired that I don't even question or think about why I can see anything at all while I'm still in his stomach.

Then a chorus of voices ring out from behind me asking if I am alright, I can't help but notice that one is distinctly male.

But I am so tired that I don't even care, and I get annoyed with the voices even though it's probably the first time I've talked to anyone in years.

I almost snap at them,"Do I look like I'm f*cking alright to you?"

But I don't, because I know that these people, or rather gods, are now my family and they all have been through the same thing I have.

I can't help but feel slightly salty that Zeus didn't have to experience this, but then I almost laughed out loud from thinking that the god of the sea is feeling salty.

After I sigh and groan a bit I stand up and face my siblings.

The first thing I notice is that they are all naked....

I don't know what I was expecting, we were all eaten soon after we were born and Kronos's stomach acid would have melted any clothes we had even if we did have any.

Then a sudden thought comes to me...maybe the gods were always naked in their statues and paintings because they got used to it from within Kronos's belly? But then I push that thought aside and look at my siblings to take in their appearances. I don't know how but I can tell who is who immediately, maybe it is a god thing?

Demeter is the first one I see....she has long golden-wheat colored hair, light-green eyes, and exquisitely designed eyebrows and a godly figure. She is a beauty to behold, but that was to be expected as she is a goddess.

Hades was next to her...he had pitch black hair and eyes, pale chalk-white skin, and exquisitely carved face, and a sculpted athletic body.

Hera was behind them....and I dare say she is just as beautiful as Demeter, if not more than her. Hera has pitch black hair that fades into brown at the bottom, the same striking amber-hazel eyes of our mother, slightly tanned skin that I have no clue how she got since we're in a pitch black stomach, lightly curved eyebrows, a small, but straight nose, rose colored lips, and a more heavenly figure than Demeter. She also had a...slightly arrogant expression?

I may have stared at her a lot longer than necessary because of how beautiful she was, and I could now understand why Zeus chased after her so much in the beginning, after all, I almost started drooling myself even though I was basically a eunuch in my last life.

Then I turned to look at my favorite goddess, Hestia, holding a bright fire. I can't say that she was more beautiful than Hera, but the feeling she gave me was like a warm blanket on a cold night.

She had plain, but lustrous black hair, warm and inviting amber eyes flecked with gold and brown, soft looking pink lips, not quite tan skin, and the same godly figure.

And they all appear to be in their early twenties or late teens.

All this thinking and assessing happens in the blink of an eye thanks to my god brain.

"I'm okay....I guess? Just glad to be out of that.", I say while pointing to the acid, that I can now see has a light-greenish opaque color.

"What is your name?", Hera says.

"Poseidon!", I say confidently and proudly.

"Well, welcome to your very own Tartarus," Hades says sounding bored and slightly sarcastic.

"Just ignore him", Hera says while looking at Hades with some slight disdain.

Looks like Hades wasn't liked very much even in Kronos's stomach. But how did he know what Tartarus is?

Maybe it's a god thing.

"Are you hungry?", Hestia says kindly.

"Sure", I say.

Hestia then walks to the back of the cavity for a bit and I talk to Hera about what it is like here.

"It's better than over there, " she says normally while pointing to the acid.

I can't help, but readily nod my head, still scarred by the experience.

Hestia comes back and she hands me a chunk of meat and some ambrosia, although this meat is better dried and less soggy with saliva than what I ate.

I take it from her gratefully, but it doesn't taste much better than what I ate before and I grimace. Hestia smiles at me sadly and I give her a wry smile in return.

I sit down next to Hades and start thinking about what to do now while leaning against the charred wall of the cavity.

I first start by assessing myself.

I can't look at my face, but I can assume some things based on Percy Jackson and the myths.

I currently appear to be around seventeen or eighteen from my height and body shape alone, though it only felt like I was in Kronos's esophagus for eight years, ten at most. And I was in his stomach acid for around twelve to thirteen days.

It doesn't make much sense for my body to look this old unless gods age faster until maturity, but I may be completely wrong as in the myths and in the Percy Jackson books they can look whatever age they want.

I spend sometime going through my now godly enhanced memories and try to use what I remember to make a plan for what I should do after Zeus rescues us. Should I follow the myths, or do what I want?

I eventually give up thinking about that and decide to just wait until the time comes.

.....

Time moves slowly in his stomach, but that's to be expected.

Even within the cavity there is nothing to do, so to entertain themselves they argue over the littlest things.

Due to me already being used to numbness and silence from my previous life I am fine even without the arguments, especially so now because my brain is now a god brain.

The only other person who doesn't join in the arguments is Hestia, so when the others are fighting, I just have little small talks with Hestia about what we're going to do when we get out.

Hestia's a very hopeful goddess, so even after years of being here, trapped in Kronos's stomach longer than the rest of us, she still has hope that we may get out.

Still, she seems to be the one most affected by getting eaten, maybe it was because when she was eaten she was the only one there.

Years pass like that, or what feels like years, you never really know with Kronos.

Until one day...a rock washes up on shore.