3 In the Belly of the Beast

Rhea, mother of gods, and Titan of Motherhood knew this would happen.

These beings would not be like her, nor would they be like their father. With each child's power, with Kronos's fear and his never-ending hunger for power, her children would not last long.

She knew this, but when he took her fifth child from her, it hurt all the same.

.....

Hestia was born into a hostile environment, but home cannot be quenched that easily.

She made herself, deep within her father's stomach, built herself from the ground up and created a safe space for her siblings when they arrived.

The hearth and home protects; and its goddess will too.

Demeter was born next, and when she landed she had someone to care for her. Hestia raised her younger sister, ensured that she did not die in the depths of their father's stomach.

She did not make herself – Hestia made her, and the two goddesses vowed together that they would protect their siblings from all harm.

Demeter was a fussy child. Kronos ate only meat and ambrosia, so they had only meat and ambrosia to eat themselves and to feed the child. She was revolted by meat, but Hestia did the best she could for her.

Hera landed in Kronos's stomach third. She was a vain, but kind child. Her two sisters raised her up to be strong and independent.

Hades was fourth to be born to Rhea, the first boy, and the second to last child to be swallowed (although neither he nor his siblings would know that). He was a quiet child, content with both his surroundings and his family, less prone to violence than Hera or Demeter.

They all lived together in Kronos's stomach despondently and longing for freedom.

.....

It is truly dark within his mouth.

There is no way for any light at all to enter once he swallowed me whole, so there was nothing for my eyes to adjust too.

Other than the darkness, the other things that bother me are the wet squishiness of his esophagus and the horrible, rancid smell.

But, other than those disturbing things, after calming down a bit, I am grateful for the time to think.

It feels like once he swallowed me, either I shrank or he grew because going down his esophagus is taking way longer than it normally should, but that makes sense I guess, considering how Athena could fit in Zeus's head.

I start thinking about how I ended up here and come to the conclusion that I died and was reincarnated, there is no way that I am still in the same world as I was before.

I don't know wether or not I am in the Percy Jackson universe or just plain Greek mythology, but that doesn't really matter. What I really want to know is which god I am.

I already know that I am a boy and there are only two sons of Kronos, that actual live in Kronos's stomach so that means that I am either Poseidon or Hades.

I can't help but grow excited and start babbling when I think of possibly being Poseidon. I think and hope that is who I am, but I am not one hundred percent sure because I was extremely disoriented when I first woke up in this new body.

"Shouldn't I have already reached his stomach by now?", I question in my head.

I try twisting around to face the part of his esophagus going down, but then I realize that there would be no point if I turned around because I would not be able to see anything anyway.

"Ahhh...I guess I'll just wait...wish I had one of my audiobooks though", I think while feeling kinda disappointed and bored.

And then I wait.

And wait...and wait.....and wait...and...wait.

Time passes by so slowly while going down Kronos's esophagus that I start thinking that he purposefully slowed down time in his body just to make it more torture for his children.

I wait for what feels like years while slowly moving through his wet, rancid smelling, pitch black esophagus.

I honestly start thinking that what I saw before was an illusion or dream and I actually entered a coma and am still in that hospital room being fed by a tube.

But the occasional chunks of meat and what I think is ambrosia that pelt me during my consciousness and during my sleep keep me believing.

I have to force myself to eat some of the chunks that fall on me to satiate my hunger, but those chunks are always so awful and vile that I end up throwing up around half of it every time.

I can't help, but smile though whenever I think, "Hey, this dude is eating my throw-up and the occasional sh*t isn't he?"

And apparently gods can decide whether they want to poop or not.

But I can't help but wonder what is keeping me from going insane due to the isolation, darkness, and living conditions. After pondering for a while I think that it is because my body is no longer human. Gods live forever and anyone could go mad from that alone, so their brains and minds must be built differently from humans so that they can stay sane.

After doing my daily dose of thinking, the waiting continues and my body grows and changes.

And I wait.

*Plop*

"Finally!!!", I scream out in Ancient Greek, but then my screams of joy turn into screams of anguish as I bathe in the stomach acid of the king of Titans.