Chronos sat behind his desk, contemplating Seamus’ death.

“Looks like I won,” a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

“Yes yes, you won. Now leave, I have to decide whether or not to bring him back,” Chronos replied.

Hermes strode out from behind Chronos, giving him the eye before settling down on the computer keyboard, once more a cat.

“Well, he did die with flair, I have to give him that,” Hermes ignored Chronos and continued speculating.

“He is quite amusing to watch, especially that inner turmoil. It’s hilarious watching him decide whether or not to go against what he thinks a ‘Hero’ is,”

“This is not meant to be entertainment. The world is at stake.”

“Pfft, the world’s been at stake since it’s very conception. Every age has made its mark against it, this is just another notch. Plus, haven’t we already given it a few billion tries?”

“Three thousand five hundred and eighty,” Chronos interjected.

“Yeah yeah, same difference. Look, we’ve tried using way better people, way stronger people, way more skillful people...how about we just pick someone who will be entertaining? Maybe he’ll surprise us,”

“Hmm…” Chronos scratched his chin.

“You make a good point, but why not somebody else?”

“This one thinks differently, and every fiber of his being contradicts itself at every interval. Before, he was the last to die because of how scared he was. Now, he goes into a dungeon at his very first opportunity, alone I might add. It takes a certain kind of crazy to be able to do that,” Hermes licked his paw, then added, “And that’s the crazy that’s most entertaining.”

Chronos contemplated that for a minute. He made a valid point, and he had gone through almost every other ‘special’ person he could think of.

A few seconds passed, then Chronos rewound to the very beginning. This time, he re-watched it with fresh eyes. He was no longer looking for the most efficient moves, nor was he searching for Seamus’ best outcome. This time, he was watching it purely for entertainment.

And it was glorious.

Suddenly, the door to the office slammed open. Athena strode in, fists clenched, and anger was visible on her face.

“YOUR CHAMPION DIDN’T EVEN MAKE IT TO MY CHAMPION!” she slammed her fists down on the table. If it were an ordinary table, it would have easily broken in half.

“That is not my fault-”

“BULLSHIT! YOU JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE HE DIDN’T LOSE TO MY CHAMPION!”

“Athena. Calm down. Take a second. Breathe”

Hermes got off the table and transformed into a human, before rolling on the ground in laughter.

“She wanted her champion to beat him up! And he would have lost so badly!” he let out another giggle.

“Shut up, Hermes!” they both said in unison.

“You had better choose him again, or so help me Zeus, I will come back here, and it will not be pretty,” she threatened.

“Noted.”

She left, slightly less pent-up but just as angry as when she came in.

“It looks like your decision has been made for you,” Hermes finally stopped madly giggling, wiping away the tears from his eyes.

“I was already going to choose him,” Chronos complained.

“Then go ahead already!”

Chronos clicked a few times, pressed a few keys, and it was done. The previous iteration was deleted, and a new one loaded up. More importantly, Seamus would remain his champion and gain another life. Hopefully, this one could be as entertaining as the last.