Fear.
Fear; the exact beast that voracious devour it's susceptible and impeccable target alive. The same monster that completely substitute a victim's mind and dictates with pure sadism and inhumane barbarity. The identical sinful varlet who solely pretension in life is to disseminate and occasion itself into others so it can proliferate the sensation of sweet merriment that it can only receive in its prisoners excruciatingly painful misery.
And the whole world was filled, basically generated, by it. It was the powerful source of its existence and the significant fundament of its ongoing rotation which formally develops into the cruel contrivance of another kind of the emotions that are correctly label 'bad'.
Pain.
Pain; the creation that branches off from fear when it reaches an attitudinal level too great for any perpendicular, unaware soul that it might spring onto in any and many matters or forms. Pain can take the illusion of physical battery and cause fear of being appalling beaten onto the victim in a harsh corporeal manner. Pain can appear in the mask of mental challenges that can confusedly impugn and negatively affect someone when it come to their instructional intelligences or their discreet thinking. But the most hurtful, mysterious torture pain can ever come in is emotional-mainly because love.
Love.
Love; the most savage monster, the most ferocious demon that could ever be infected into a poor being heart, and when it is directly rejected or merely valueless to the object of the strong, passionate affection... No words could describe the pain.
Well, no words that Nico Di Angelo have yet to find.
Ever since the victorious end of the Giant War and Gaia was put back to sleep, Nico left and has lived, and continues to lead, a life away from the demigods he was once acquainted with. He packed his belongings the same night the battle ended and when everyone was celebrating the win for the Greeks and the Romans. He left when they all left the field, there he escaped to the shadows like he normally did and traveled back to his cabin to gather his things in his suitcase and he was gone from there.
He kept his promise in the end. His took the seven to the doors. He delivered the Parthenon back to Camp. He fought for the Gods. Now he was done and gone. He went away and he never looked back, or even considered the thought of looking back. Not for anyone. Not for Jason. Not for Hazel. Not even for Percy. It's not like they cared, anyway.
He concentrated firmly on himself to find a place where there was no one who could ever find him. Where no one could get in reach of him, not even the Gods. Hell, a place without any life form in anyway would be fucking perfect. He visions a place in the northern region of Alaska where no one lived and saw a small empty cabin and he was soon there.
He fell face first into the snow-covered ground and landed with a thud. He quickly got up and travel over to the home to begin his new life without anyone else there to fuck it all up. He was alone. Completely alone- and he couldn't be any happier.
He was free. Absolutely at liberty from everyone else. He was no longer consumed by Jason Grace and his constant suggestions of his love filled confessions he should perform to his long-time crush nor his always watching eyes on him, filled with endless pity and concerned. He was no longer companied with Hazel his sister who didn't even really want him around, deep down inside. She never really knew him and if she had the chance, she would get ridge of him since she felt like she was nothing more than a second-best sister to him after Bianca died. And, the fucking best of all, he was finally away from Percy Jackson.
Percy.
Percy; the only person in this whole world that made Nico just want to die and finally be stuck in the underworld with his father forever. And, at the exact same time, made him want to run back to camp and stay there for the rest of time, if he was there. Nico Di Angelo hated Percy with every burning fiber of his being... Yet, he loved the hero with his entire heart, soul, and life.
Percy was the same person who went onto the same quest that his sister died on, and Nico wanted him dead on the spot once he told him. Yet, he couldn't let that skeleton warrior hurt him when Percy was about to be defended and possibly killed.
Percy was the same person who dropped off the face of the earth for over half a year, driving all his loved one with worry, making Nico being the first one to find him at the Roman Camp and he had never been happier to see him to where he couldn't even hide it completely, to have it all crushed once he mentioned his vague memory of his true love- Annabeth Chase. Yet, he came to his recuse when Nico was locked away in a jar that was guarded by the two Giants that capture him as he was going through Tartarus.
Percy was... Percy was his hero. His bright example of a true shining knight in amour that was destine to save the day. Hell, Nico was destined to fall head over head for him and be fucked over by being in love with him for the rest of his life, cursed to never can get over him.
He was forever damned to love him. To love him through it fucking all. All the fear he has if Jason ever spilled about his encounter with Cupid and confessing his feelings for him and still lying about being over him. All the pain he had whenever he was around him and his was just being his stupid perfect self with his stupid perfect girlfriend. All the... All the love him had for Percy Jackson... And having to hide it, fake it. Just so he could live with being completely broken.
That's why he left. The real reason why he left. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't go on with the lie to himself. He needed to get away so he could breathe again and live his life without being hurt. He had to move on, even if it seemed hopeless. He had to at least try to move on so he could finally be happy. For himself.
He spends three years in that cabin that soon became home to him, or, well, the closest he'll ever get to the feeling of home. It was lonely but that's what he liked. He liked being alone so nothing bad could happen to him. He enjoyed his life in that cabin for three years. He was content and away from anything that could ever hurt him, and he was extremely happy.
That is, until those fucking hellhounds came in and destroyed all of that.
Seriously, wasn't Alaska the land beyond the gods? And if so, why the hell and where in hell did they come from?
Nico remembers laying down in his bed at a late hour into the night and was just about asleep when his window in his bedroom is shattered, shooting out broken glass, and there was one of them right in front of him and his bed. The hellhound was even bigger than normal, one of the biggest ones Nico has ever seen in his whole life, with big red eyes that were the same color of blood. And it was glaring straight at him, growling and baring his teeth. He was too stunned to move for a moment, till the thing pounced at him to attack.
Nico moved out of the way at the very last second before being crashed. He bragged his sword and barely managed to kill the thing before it ate him. Nico soon traveled down stairs to find two more who were eating and crashing everything they saw. Rage filled Nico and he soon attacked and killed them.
After the fight, he was energy drained and his lovely home was literally destroyed beyond repair. Nico was left with no choice but to leave and find another great escape. And he had to do it fast since he could sense more nearby. He could hear the dark growling growing rapidly till he was certain they were behind him, next to the last wall left standing so thankfully he could escape before they saw him.
Nico quickly shadow travel to somewhere else, he didn't even know, and was soon there. He landed on his feet and observed his surroundings. He was in a forest, and no one else was there. He liked it so far.
Nico traveled onwards into the small opening that soon relieved a tiny path farther into the wilderness. He was very tired but he knew he had to find shelter somewhere for the night before he could rest.
He lazily followed the trail for who knows how long. His feet started to ache and he felt like he would soon pass out onto the ground and fall asleep. He was freezing in the cold since he was only in sweat pants and an old t-shirt. His not no shoes, leaving only socks to cover his feet.
The son of Hades was cursing out every god he could think of at the moment, as he walked on, looking for some kind of shelter. He just needed a small space with a tree without a bunch of rocks and animals hanging around, so he could rest his head till morning.
The young man walked till he couldn't anymore and he was almost falling over in sleep. He couldn't keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. He finally gave up and sat down by an old oak tree, and hoped that a snake won't come up and bite him or something.
Of course, that would be his luck. He survived the Titian War, Tartarus, the Giant War, and his heartbroken from Percy Jackson, and he would be known as the idiotic son of Hades that died from a simple snake bite. How pathetic.
He leaned his back onto the tree and closed his eyes, trying to sleep as comfortable as he could with it being freezing cold outside and having a pointy rock up his ass.
He was just about asleep and on his way to blissful dreamland until something bunked him on the head. He fell over to his side as the fallen object scattered to the other side.
Nico's head was thumping with pain as his vision was blurry to a point of where he couldn't make out a single thing in front of him. He felt lightheaded and he couldn't real think of anything other the pain for a moment.
When his head stopped and finally cleared, he looked over to the heavy object that laid on the ground under leaves and spikes of dirt. It was long and made of dark iron that almost faded into the shadows. One end was an ebony handle with a curvy design of lines that travel up onward to the rest of its body. The other end was a very sharp point that might have cut you by just looking at it. He even checked the back of his head for a bloody cut.
Nico had never seen a sword like this before. He hesitated on touching it at first but slowly reached out and brought it over to himself. His held the weapon very carefully. It was about four feet long and it gave off a strong aura of intimidation and power.
Nico looked back up the tree. His mind raced with questions and theories of what it was but none of them could possibly be right. He glanced down to the sword again and finally took proper hold of the handle, like he would do if he fought in a battle with it. Soon he realized there was an iron cover over the actual blade. He took hold of it and slightly struggled to snap it apart but managed to. A pure glowing silver blade with no detailed design was discovered. It looked to be freshly made and never used. Nico brought it closer to his face, studying the blade, wondering how it got up in a tree.
The blade suddenly glowed a light blue color, it was almost blinding to Nico's eyes. The son of Hades jumped back in shock and pulled the sword away from his face. He watched in total shock as the blade grew brighter. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw a similar bright light from somewhere behind him. He turned back to find the same bright blue shine beaming out from the inside of a giant rock with a deep cut on the top. He wondered how he didn't notice that before.
Soon, the demigod stood, sword still in hand and still glowing, and slowly walked over to the rock. He stood in front of the small boulder with a sharp ended oval cut in the center. Nico held the blade up and studied the end of the pointed blade again, and then glance back to the cut that looked about the same size.
He did what came naturally to him. Nico held the handle with both hands and pointed the sword down above the cut. He harshly thrust the sword into the cut, shoving the blade about half way through. The glowing continued, but nothing else happened. Nico pushed the sword even deeper with all his strength and, soon, all of it went into the rock to where only the handle was visual. The bright light was gone.
For a moment, nothing happens and Nico wasn't sure what to do. Then the ground shook violently, causing him to trip backwards and almost fall over. He was used to the earth under his feet shaking but never this harshly. He stood back up and tried his power over the earth himself, concentrating to halt the shaking to a stop.
He didn't even realize he had his eyes close until he opened them to a bright white light that conjured his entire vision. He could see nothing else and he was going blind from the sight of it. The shaking had completely stopped.
He thought for a terrifying moment that he was dead. But then the lighting faded down a bit and it soon reviled a new setting.
Nico had no idea how he got there, but, at that moment, the son of Hades stood in a beautiful grassland location. The new area he stood in had a grass up to his mid-thigh and it was spread out as far as he could see and possibly even further. The sky was a light, brilliant blue with only the bright sun, no clouds. The grassy field had several tiny hills scattered throughout. On the tallest hill, far out to the edge of the field, there stood a castle like structure made out of pure marble with pure gold, emerald green, and black iron accents and designs with linear lines and loose curves. There was a bell tower at the very top, tall and straight, proud and strong looking. Its bell was like any old fashion bell, but instead of gold or copper, it was made from sliver. The same kind that he sword was made of, Nico was sure of so.
Nico took a look behind him to only find more of an empty grassy field that he saw in front of him. He realized then he was trapped inside of this new, magical place and had no idea of how he was going to get out.
At first, panic rose inside him like a bolt of lightning as he began to search for an exist. He found none and was left with only one more option. He turns back towards the direction of the house and started to make his way there. He soon approached it and walked up it's huge steps up to the front entrees with wide, marble columns on each side. He first knocked the wooden door and was probably ten times his own height. No answer. He soon took the knock and turned it. Unlocked. He pulled the door, which was surprisingly light, and entered into the mystery castle.
The room he was now in was made of pure marble as well, except the floor that had plush, cream colored carpet, which he found odd but didn't dwell over it. The floor was made into a perfect circle that held crystals and other precious jewels in its golden accented steps that lead its way down. On the farthest wall was a golden accented rail staircase that had the same fancy carpet on the steps but it was blood red instead of cream, and swirled around in circles like a spring as it leads up to the higher level. The ceiling above him was completely made of mirrors so Nico was starting straight at himself at about twenty feet over his head.
He let out a low whistle. He was blown away from the sight. It was defiantly the most beautiful place he ever been in and had ever seen.
Then he realized that he might not been alone.
"Hello?" Nico called out. He looked around more for a form of life in any kind. Although he was praying that it wasn't in a form of a hellhound. He received no answer. He soon traveled over to the steps and made his way up them. He called out again for anyone to see if they were there. Still silence. His own voice echoed off the walls and came back at him like a loud bullet.
Nico walked farther into the open second floor that was just like the first except the walls were now made of mirrors like the ceiling. But one wall was bare, and was made into a window out into the area behind the plaza. Nico looked out of it and found exactly what he already saw but, farther out in the distance, the grass gradually changed over to sand that transformed into a beach with beautiful, sea green waves that crashed onto the shore. Nico quickly looked away.
To his right, there was an opening to another staircase to the next floor and he decided to go up there. The steps lead him up to a hallway that held about five rooms and another staircase on the other end. He went straight to the staircase, not looking into any of the rooms, and soon arrived into the bell tower.
Nico went up onto the next few steps to the circled area that held the silver bell. The sunshine that streamed from the openings glowed onto the bell and it radiated with pure beauty an it's looked very lovely. He almost with blind with the light, and he was starting to get tired of almost going blind from the things in this place.
He approached the bell as he stepped into the circle, but something, from the corner of his eye, flashed into his sight. Something black.
He turned to find the sword that hit him earlier on the head. He just realized then that he was parted from it when he came into the new setting. He grabbed the sword and kept a tight hold onto it. He when over to one of the openings that were arched into a perfect dome like entree.
He looked out into the outside world, hoping to find an exist. But all that was there was more grassland.
He cursed under his breath. He wanted to leave. He wanted to leave and find another escape from the old life that he was running away from. He wanted to get back to being away from the whole Greek God world and be completely out of the mess. But no. He couldn't even leave... But that also meant that no one could ever enter. Not without the sword anyway...
He was alone. No one else was here.
Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.
Just then the earth shook, vibrating violently under his feet, almost causing him to fall over onto the ground. The shaking, luckily, was short lived and, once he regains his balance, Nico stood to capture the sight before him.
About two steps in front of him, a small glowing white hole broke through the stone ground. It just glowed brighter to where it almost blinded Nico, but the young man could still make out the large, clear lining of a pair of hands that grasp the two opposite sides of the circle. Within a second, the same clear, outlining shaped the silhouette of a mortal like figure with a large head, two eyes, a nose and mouth. Nico stepped back and rest his hand on his own sword, preparing himself for a fight. The figure rose entirely out of the hole, which soon faded away back to the way the stone floor was before.
The figure stood straight and tall, almost a whole six feet, if not taller. Nico recognized what it was right before him in a minute, but he could tell something was off about the figure in front of him, who Nico could clearly class as a man.
The spirit man in front of him stared back at him with soulless black eyes, like Nico had himself.
It was the living who spoke first.
"You're a ghost." Nico stated. "An undead spirit."
"Yes, I am." The ghost spoke but there was something off about his voice. Unlike most, if not all, ghost or spirits he has encounter, their voices were small and spread out, like a warm breeze that was smooth across the entire air, barely able to hear sometime. This ghost's voice sounded as if it was a roar from a hollow place. Like his voice came from an enclose and concealed closure.
"Hello." Nico nodded for his wave. "I'm Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades. What is your name?"
Over the years and his from his experiences in the Underworld, Nico has observed and learn that the death was just like the living with it came to encountering and meeting new people. They liked to be given respect and some information of the stranger they are seeing. Nico really couldn't complain from that request since he was the same, if not stricter and demanding of it.
The saw the spirit's eyes go wide and fill with an emotion Nico wasn't too familiar with.
"Hello, My Lord." He spoke. "My name is Bradshaw. I am your humble servant."
Nico raise a brow to him. "Pardon?"
"I am here to serve you." Bradshaw responded. "I am the immortal servant to all the Kings of Oltre Malavita."