Prologue 1: A New King

They were tired. It was a long battle, and a hard one. The Giants were dead, Gaia was dead, but far too many demigods had also lost their lives.

They could hardly believe it was a win.

And here they were, the fated seven, along with all their friends and allies, standing in the throne room of Olympus and watching tiredly as the mighty Olympians continued to argue.

"This is a triumph for the gods!" Zeus boomed. "We have led the heroes to victory! Victory against Gaia herself, despite my wife's meddling."

"My meddling just saved us all you idiot," Hera snapped at her husband. "If you were any more thick I might prefer to go and bed Heracles."

And there was the first sign. Hera was many things. She hated heroes, she was spiteful and not always a good parent. She would trick and plot against Zeus, scream and shout at him, but in the end she held to her vows of marriage, and would never evenconsider
cheating on him, despite all the times she had caught him with mortals.

Zeus grew angry quickly. "Had you not interfered, none of this would have happened! All the blame lies on you for switching those two."

"We have names you know," Percy semi-angrily stated. He really was too tired for anything more.

Zeus waved him off. "You pitted the Romans and Greeks against each other. It could've ended in a bloodbath."

"It was Apollo," Hera blamed. "Apollo helped the Roman general to wage war."

"Octavian," Jason corrected half-heartedly.

"Apollo, is this true?" Zeus asked.

Apollo nodded dejectedly, thinking of his dead sons, daughters and legacies, including Octavian.

"Apollo! This is a great fault of yours," Zeus told him. "You should be stripped of your godhood to make amends for starting this war!"

Apollo's head shot up. "What?!"

There was a huge noise of protest from the assembled gods and demigods, some of outrage, fear or calling Zeus out on his hypocrisy.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus shouted, lightning crackling at his fingertips. "My decision is final!"

"Perhaps it shouldn't be," Athena interceded, to a round of murmurs and whispers among the crowd. That was the second sign. Athena was a brilliant strategist, always correcting everyone and making everything around her better, but she never,never,
outwardly defied her father. Her loyalty was too strong for that.

"How dare you!" Zeus cried. "You dare defy me, your king!"

Reyna stepped forwards, purple cloak snapping and her two dogs at her side. "With respect, Lord Jupiter, we are tired and we wish to grieve in peace. Please, may we draw this meeting to its conclusion."

Zeus gripped his head as his form flickered for a second. "Use my Greek form, please. I'm not in the mood for headaches. And besides, we have yet to even start celebrating!" Zeus said, to shocked muttering. "Let us feast for this great victory."

And then came the final sign.

"How can you say that!" Aphrodite hissed at him. Her makeup was gone, her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she looked more naturally beautiful than ever before, were it not for the emptiness in her eyes, "Three of my children from Camp Half-Blooare
dead,King Zeus, as well as five of my children from Camp Jupiter and seventeen of my legacies. Some of their ancestors were alive two thousandyears ago, so don't you, not even for one second,darecelebrate."

Aphrodite, the most composed and uncaring god of them all, was snarling at Zeus.

"Be silent! The demigods died, but that is their purpose," Zeus argued. "They died in battle for us, the mighty gods. What better deaths do they want? Is it not so, Ares?"

Ares silently looked up, and with a tiny motion, shook his head.

Zeus looked shocked. "Wha-? Hera and Apollo, you started this war! You disobeyed my orders to not interfere-"

Percy stepped forwards, limping slightly from a cut on his leg. "Let's be honest Zeus, you are the one who encouraged this war."

"How dare you! I-"

"You locked Olympus down when it became obvious that it was time to unite Greek and Roman," he continued stoically. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Hera was right to ignore your orders. At least she tried to unite Greek and Roman, and she succeededtoo."

"Then all is Apollo's fault for encouraging the seer to attack your camp-"

"Don't be a hypocrite Zeus," Percy snapped. "You make foolish mistakes all the time and never get punished for it, whilst punishing the other gods for the same things you have done."

"I agree," Poseidon said. "You are not a good king, brother."

"That's unfair!" Zeus exclaimed. "You can't vote because you'll be biased and vote for your son!"

"The same way you were biased and put all of your children on the Olympian council?" Hades asked darkly.

"They deserved it!"

"So do Triton, Rhode, Kymopoleia and Benthesikyme," Poseidon argued. "You refused me at every turn!"

"I've told you a thousand times, they're not important enough!" Zeus roared.

"What makes Dionysus better than Kymopoleia?" Poseidon roared back. "She controls hundreds of merchant ships who get wrecked! All Dionysus can do is get drunk!"

"They're just minor gods, Poseidon," Zeus told him. "They're still part of your domain."

"Then what about my children, Zeus?" Hades asked. "Why isn't Thanatos on the council. I would say that death is pretty important, wouldn't you agree?"

Hades watched in amusement as Zeus fumbled for words, before eventually spitting out, "I am the king of the gods! It is not your place to question me!"

"I thought that was exactly their place, considering this is a council," Percy said bitingly. "You know Zeus, you really have very little grip on how this is supposed to work."

"Be silent!" Zeus roared, raising his lightning bolt. "A mere demigod shall not tell me how to rule! I would smite you into the ground if you hadn't just saved Olympus. I might still do it if you're not verycareful,demigod!"

"But what if he wasn't?" Artemis asked. She had been cleaning knives and not concentrating up until now.

"What if he wasn't what?" Poseidon asked worriedly.

"A mortal," Artemis answered. "What if he was a blessed mortal? We obviously need a new king and by the laws that we placed down to prevent another Titan monarchy, we gods cannot challenge the reigning king. But a blessed demigod on the other hand..."

"What are you planning?" Zeus roared. "You cannot throw out your king!"

Percy stepped forwards again, having not really cottoned on to what the gods were suggesting. "Perhaps it's time for a new king of the gods."

"You cannot replace me, especially not with a weak, pathetic son of Poseidon!"

"That son of Poseidon has saved you more times than you can count!" Annabeth shouted, stepping forwards by Percy's side, to a round of cheering from the assembled demigods.

Percy smiled gratefully at her. "I love you Wise Girl."

Annabeth grinned. "I know, Seaweed Brain."

"And I can't leave you," Percy finished. "I don't want to be a god. I refuse to be a god."

"And that's how it should be!" Zeus agreed. "Your brat doesn't want to be a god, Poseidon, so why are you forcing him? He obviously wants to stay with his girlfriend. And you know no other demigods are powerful enough."

Annabeth didn't miss the slightly crestfallen look on Jason's face that was quickly replaced by righteous anger.

"Percy," Poseidon pleaded. "We cannot put up with Zeus any longer!"

"And you know that even if one of us could take up the throne we'd eventually become like him," Athena added.

"You're the most disgustingly noble punk I've ever met," Ares finished with a sneer.

"But I don't want to become a god," Percy argued.

And then, out of the hearth stepped Hestia, taking the form of an eight-year old child. She walked up to Percy and placed her hand on his shoulder. "And that is why you will be such a great god, Percy," she told him.

A warm feeling started spreading from the place she was touching him. "What are you doing?" Percy asked, panicking slightly. "Let go! Stop it!"

Hestia glowed as her form became more concentrated. "Demigods, I suggest you leave."

All around, the other gods were powering up too, except Zeus who was shouting at everyone to stop.

Annabeth was the first to realise what they were doing. "Everyone, out the throne room!" She screamed. "All the godly energy will incinerate us, even if we covered our eyes!"

There was a panicked scramble for the door as the demigods ran out to escape the onslaught of godly magic. Now each of the gods (except Zeus) were holding out their hands and firing a beam of light at Hestia who was feeding it into Percy. Annabeth wasthe
only one to remain, staying closely next to the door.

Percy was burning up. He could feel each of the gods power flowing into him. The cool, metallic feel of Artemis right next to the brutal, raging monstrosity that was Ares. Distantly, he could still hear Zeus screaming at the gods to stop, but the rest
ofthe gods ignored him. Then,boom!

The flow of power was abruptly cut off as Zeus raised him master bolt and fired straight at Hestia. But Annabeth was directly behind her. They were sent flying into the walls of the throne room, where they landed in a heap, burned and blackened.

"No!" Percy called, trying to move towards her, but her magic was still holding him in place. "Annabeth! Hestia!"

"You imbecilic demigod!" Zeus called. "Be glad your girlfriend is dead, it means I don't have to punish her too."

Percy looked back at Zeus with fire raging in his eyes. "How dare you. How dare you."

"I am the king. I am all-powerful!"

Percy closed his eyes to calm down, and when he opened them they burnt with black fire. "You, Zeus, are unfit to rule the gods. You have ruled for far too long. Now you must be replaced."

Percy, as if in a trance, raised his hand and fired a beam of blue-white light straight at Zeus who deflected it with his master bolt. Then he started growing to full godly size, squaring up to the king of the gods.

"You cannot defeat me!" Zeus hollered. "No matter how much you are blessed, the process was interrupted, you will never be powerful enough."

"You hurt Annabeth," Percy told him, disturbingly calm. "No one hurts my Wise Girl."

He launched himself at Zeus, slashing and stabbing with Riptide. Zeus deflected them with his bolt but was put on the defensive. As Percy slashed, Zeus came us close and lunged for his neck, and Percy savagely punched him in the face. It had obviouslybeen
a while since Zeushad been in any sort of fight.

Zeus fired his bolt again and Percy was launched across the room, banging his head on one of the columns by Athena's throne and shrinking down to his normal size. Athena looked down at him with a steely cold gaze and Percy determinedly hauled himselfto
his feet. Zeus shrank to match his size and approached. Percy hurled himself at him again and landed a few blows, before detaching himself and panting heavily

Zeus grinned as godly ichor spilled from a cut on his face, already healing. "You can't defeat me, brat. No matter how blessed you are, I am still a god, and you are merely human."

Percy snarled and leaped back at Zeus. He put up a good fight, but he was still woozy from the pain of the blessing and the transfer of the gods' powers. In the background he could see Apollo creeping over to Hestia and Annabeth and healing them as faras
he could with nectar and songs. Hestia was already getting up, burns fading, but Annabeth was unresponsive, laying in the recovery position while Apollo tried to heal her burns.

The fight between Zeus and Percy raged on while the other gods watched impassively. Sometimes Percy looked like he was winning, but Zeus always regained the upper hand and knocked him down again, until Percy dragged himself to his feet and continued thefight.

And then Percy didn't get up again. He lay on the ground, shaking arms bracing himself on the cold floor.

Zeus smiled cruelly. "You see, demigod. I am far more powerful than you!"

He landed a vicious kick on Percy's ribs and an audible crack echoed around the room. He landed another and another, in the face, on the chest in a surely painful display of superiority. Percy looked up. His face was smeared with blood.

Gold blood.

But he was too tired to get up, despite his wounds already healing. Zeus brought his lightning bolt back behind his head, ready to make the final blow. Percy scrambled to get up, panting and gasping as his ribs cracked back in place, ready to defend himselfagainst
the full force of the master bolt-

But it never came. Zeus stumbled and almost slumped on the ground, clutching his head. Annabeth was standing behind him, healing third-degree burns causing her obvious pain, holding her dagger where she had just knocked him hard on the head with the buttof
it.

She rushed to Percy's side and painfully helped him up. "You alright?" She asked.

Percy gaped at her. "You were hit by Zeus's lightning. You should be dead."

Annabeth smiled with a wince. "Did you really think I would leave you so easily Seaweed Brain?"

Percy smiled, rejuvenated, and relaxed as she kissed him and helped him to his feet. "I should never doubt you, Wise Girl. I love you."

Annabeth handed him Riptide from where it was lying on the floor. "I can't stay. Give him hell, Seaweed Brain."

"For you," Percy replied, watching as she limped out of the throne room.

Percy turned back to the fight. Zeus was standing at the other end of the hall in full god form, blinding light shining all over the place. He raised his master bolt once more. Percy stood up straight, power radiating from him in waves.

Zeus roared and the bolt came flying at him. The light dimmed and the gods looked on with awe and pride in their eyes as Percy held aloft the bolt. He had caught it. He spun it around in one smooth motion and threw it back at Zeus.

"No," Zeus whispered in denial. "No! NOOOOOOOO!"

With a bang the bolt hit its owner and exploded into a bright white light that even Percy had to shield his eyes from. When the light faded, the bolt had gone - destroyed presumably - and Zeus lay, battered and fading in a crater.

"You worthless demigod," Zeus rasped. "So you have defeated me with my own weapon." He let out a mirthless laugh before settling on an expression of bitter rage. "Perhaps you will be king of the gods now, o'noble, righteous
like my predecessors, I curse you. Hear me!I curse you Perseus Jackson!"

With a burst of golden and blue light, Zeus disintegrated into nothing, leaving only a crater and a charred scar on the throne room floor.

"It is done," a voice hissed from behind Percy. Sitting there in their knitting stand were the three fates. On the left sat Clotho, spinning away on an old fashioned spinning wheel, in the middle sat Lachesis, measuring it out in long and shortlengths,
and on the end sat Atropos, holding a long gold and blue thread cut directly in the middle.

"It is about time Zeus came to an end," she hissed, as the thread disappeared into the same gold and blue light that Zeus had. "And we could not have chosen a better successor."

Clotho held out a newly spun thread of sea-green and gold. "You are destined to become king, son of Poseidon, and become king you shall."

The three fates held out their hands and Percy was wrapped in light. "Hail Perseus, king of the Olympians, patron of all great heroes, god of loyalty, faith, swordsmanship and time, overseer of all of Zeus's domains!"

"Hail!" cried the Olympians as one, standing from their thrones and kneeling before their new king.

Percy looked on, not quite comprehending. Zeus's throne was changing to something more his style, and he could feel the remaining mortal blood burning out of his body and becoming ichor.

Lachesis, who was still measuring thread, looked at Percy with calculating eyes. "Very soon a mortal archaeologist will discover a sacred Ancient Greek ruin, inside which will be the hidden story of your victory. Then all shall know the true king of the gods."

Percy's shining eyes focussed for a brief second on her, before glazing over and he slumped unconscious to the ground.

Many thousands of miles away:

"What is it Dad?" A boy asked his father as they came to a stop in front of an altar.

The father was wide-eyed. "Most people would call it the thing that will make them go down in history." He stepped forward and gingerly wiped with a delicate brush the dust off the front cover. "Personally I think it's the most ironic thing that everhappened
to the Kane family."

A/N: pls comment, would be rlly helpful, thx for taking the time to read this! Also posted on wattpad under the name Into_Dreams along with my other original story Secrets of the Mountain Slopes, a fantasy tale.

Edited 2 July 2017. Thanks to Juusan13 for pointing out the mistakes, sry I didn't read it through after I copied it onto here from Wattpad.