As they trudged through the battle, all hope vanished. The doors were too far for them, and with Annabeth blind and Percy enduring the pain of a thousand deaths, they knew that they could never make it. Their legs gave out and the two teenagers fell to the ground. Rolling over, the echoing roars of the monsters chasing after them resonated around them.
We didn't make it. We're going to die. We came all this way just to die. Next to him, Percy could hear Annabeth sobbing as the realization hit them both. We are going to die.
The pain was unbearable. Not the sharp stabbing in his side or the unyielding pressure in his head, but knowing that he was not able to save Annabeth, not able to go any farther, even though the doors were only a few meters away.
Percy mustered the strength to ask her a question. "Do you ever regret it? Leaving home, coming to camp, becoming so involved with this war?"
She replied without hesitation. "Never. Because if I had never gone through this journey, I would have never met you. Never had this friendship with you. I would have never fallen in love with you."
Even though he was stuck in the deepest pits of hell and death was certain, Percy had never felt more at peace.
"The only thing I regret is the fact that I'm never going to see the world again." With every word she spoke, another wave of tears pooled out of her white eyes. "I'm never going to see camp again, or New York, or my family, or even just the sky. I'm stuck here knowing that I'm never going to know what it's like to not feel pain."
He had never considered what it was like for her. And although he couldn't save her, he could grant Annabeth one last wish. But this world was too twisted, so he created one of his own.
"It's nothing like it was before, it's so beautiful. Just like camp. There are millions upon millions of stars in the sky and they all shine for you, but none of them can compare to your beauty. This is the kind of night sky that will last forever." Through her tears of pain and despair she turned to him and smiled grimly.
"But not even stars last forever." With a final breath, peace was brought onto the beautiful couple, and along with them, the stars.