I woke up the morning after the Evaluation, and went through training as per usual. During a break, I was sitting on a bench in one of Olympus' parks with Kryo, presenting as masculine today, and Chiron stood next to us. There had been silence for a good while, but then I got up the courage to ask some questions that had been swarming in my brain since the Evaluation.

    "Herr Chiron, how am I expected to be able to be strong enough to defeat Typhon if I'm only mortal? Sure, I have the blood of a Primordial God, but I can still be easily killed, and there's a bunch of stories about humans with immense strength who should have won being defeated because of their own dumb mistakes. Plus, I'm expected to surpass the strength of Deities who have existed for millions, maybe even billions or more, of years in just 9 years." I noticed Kryo shifting uncomfortably after I mentioned that, and Chiron considered it for a few minutes.

    When he gave me an answer, it wasn't very comforting. "Cicero, young child, I believe the Olympians expect you to accomplish such an immensely difficult task because they're desperate, and you give them hope. Kryo himself had tried to defeat Typhon before you, but only succeeded in sealing him for a few decades, enough for you to be born and trained. Even if it may be considered heretical for a human like yourself and Kryo to believe this, Deities exhibit much of the same traits as you humans do. We get anxious and scared, and sometimes believe in what might be unreasonable. After the near-failure of Kryo's war against Typhon, we all want hope for Typhon to be vanquished. I believe if you just had more time to train, your potential could truly be unleashed, and you could at least seal Typhon away again. I don't know about slaying him."

    It was silent again for another moment, and then I asked "Can you tell me more about the Primordial Realms?"

    Chiron was stunned, then brainstormed for a moment. "I believe you're asking me how you would enter a Primordial Realm of Time? Well, I wouldn't know. I'm not a Primordial God, and not a god with reign over a primordial element. You could try praying to your father, Chronos, but there is a chance that the Primordial Realms are simply rumors spread for fancying. And even if a Primordial Realm of Time does exist, it could place you far into the future, or into the past. You could be too early to fight Typhon or too late. We really don't know anything about them. So, if you get your father's attention, ask as much as you can."

    "Yes Herr Chiron, I'll do my best."

    When training had been complete, I immediately went over to one of the farthest parts of Olympus, where the Primordial Gods temples were. I wandered into Chronos' temple, and began praying to my father. I asked him to guide me in learning to control my power over time, and, if possible, to show me a way I could train for a longer period of time, and be ready for Typhon. I asked him to give me strength, advice, and wisdom. When I had finished praying to him, I tossed a portion of leftover Nemean Lion meat into the brazier in the middle of the temple.

    A voice spoke from behind me, "I appreciate the food, but all you really had to do was ask."

    I turned around, and saw a man with curly red hair, brown eyes with cat slits, light olive skin, and shiny bronze armor. He had a full grown beard that didn't grow below his chin, and for some odd reason despite it being red, I could imagine it being bright blond.

    He bowed to me, which felt like an odd role reversal. "As I'm sure you can tell, my name is Chronos. I'm your father, and the bender of time. I'm aware you talked to Chiron about the Primordial Realm of Time."

    I stood there, waiting for him to continue talking for a moment, and then realized I was supposed to respond. I felt awkward so I kneeled, and said "Yes Herr Chronos, I believe if I'm able to train without the pressure of a time limit, I might be able to grow strong enough, like the prophecy says. Is there a place like that?"

    "Stand up, boy. I'm your father, not your lieutenant." I stood up, and listened to what he would say next. "The place you seek is the Center of Time. The Center exists outside of the limits of Time, and allows it to flow elsewhere. It is it's own pocket dimension of sorts, and cannot be reached via physical travel. Instead, one must use time magic to transport themselves there. While there, you can train for as long as you wish without having to worry about aging or the passage of time in any other place."

    "So I can just train for eternity like, today, and suddenly be able to succeed in my Evaluations and  be ready to defeat Typhon in 9 years? That's so easy!"

    "Hold on Cicero, don't get too confident. You asked me to impart wisdom as well? Here's some for you: just because you can doesn't mean you should. On one hand, yes, you could train for trillions of years and be able to defeat the Olympians and Typhon. But if you do that, you may lose your mind. Humans aren't made to experience immortality, especially in an environment like the Center of Time. You could be driven mad by such a long time in there, you might not even have a mind to fight Typhon with. Or, in an extremely bad case, you could destroy yourself."

    I realized the implications of what Chronos meant, and thought about everything. "So, I should stop training in there the moment it starts to be draining on my mind. I think I understand."

    "More or less. I'll try to keep an eye on you myself until you're mature enough to monitor yourself, and even then will still check in on you once in a while. Now, I think we've discussed this enough at this location. Would you like to enter the Center of Time, my son?"

    My face lit up with excitement. "Yes Herr Chronos, I think that'd be quite helpful!"

    Chronos put his hand on my shoulder, and we both disappeared from his temple immediately, arriving at the Center of Time in an instant moment.