The Beginning of the Guardian

by Dante Apollyon5680

Dante Apollyon wasn't a normal child growing up. Not very much about his life was normal, even when he met other Demi-Gods who's lives weren't normal, either. When the love of Dante's life cheats on him with one of the Gods he's forced to work for, Dante makes an attempt at his own life because of the pain he felt from her betrayal. Rated M for Adult Content. Mature Audiences Only.

1. Chapter 1

The Guardian of the Hunt series:

BOOK 1

THE BEGINNING OF THE GUARDIAN

WRITTEN BY:
ASHEN UNKNOWN

CHAPTER I

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

~11 Years Ago~

~Dante~

"Whoa!" I said as I looked at the book I had found in my grandpa's attic. Despite the book being at least 500 pages, I was pretty interested in it, even at the age of 6. I may have been a 6 year old, but reading was a hobby of mine, although I still liked playing with some of the kids in my neighborhood. I lived with my Grandpa who was a slightly weird guy, but he was fun to be around. His attic was filled with all kinds of things ranging from swords, spears, guns, bows, armor, shields, random books, etc. The main reason I say he's a fun guy is because he and I end up using his stuff to play some game called, "Training." I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to be training for, but I always thought it was a fun game to play. The main thing that I found weird about him was the fact that he looked to be around the age of a young adult, despite being my grandpa. In fact, he could have passed as my dad because he looked so young, but he said he was a couple hundred years old. That meant that he should have died a long time ago, but hasn't.

Well, getting back to the book I had just found, my grandpa had told me to find it and bring it to him. This was evidently a part of my training, but I was more focused on reading it. Looking at the book made it seem like this book was a lot more valuable that the other books and scrolls he had. This was mainly because he told me I had to be a lot more careful with this book than with his others. Also, when I looked inside the book, the pages were kind of yellowish because of being really old. I ended up looking through the book for a bit before taking it down stairs to my grandpa who was sitting cross legged in a large circle with a couple of candles on the outline of the circle. When I approached him, he asked, "Are you ready, Dante?" I replied with a nod. He then gestured for me to take a seat in the circle in front of him. When I had done so, he seemed to be waiting for something, which I realized after a couple moments was for me to begin reading the book.

Grandpa had felt that reading these books was to be done inside these circles he'd drawn. Something about 'staying safe', but I wasn't exactly sure what we were supposed to stay safe from. As I read through the book, I started to feel something snap in my brain, and before I knew it, the words that were on the book began to dance around my vision before being shot into my mind. As my mind seemed to literally suck the knowledge from the book, I could feel myself starting to fall asleep, but was quickly brought out of that feeling when my grandpa had screamed at me to continue reading. "Dante! Continue reading! You mustn't stop!" He screamed at me, startling me before I continued my task of reading the book. As I looked at the book, I felt as though I could sense some kind of evil around us, trying to get to Grandpa and I. Just before the letters and the rest of the information was absorbed into my mind, I found multiple pitch-black shadows looking directly at me. Despite an ominous aura coming from the group of shadows, I didn't feel scared. That was something I had never felt before, despite the fact that I was staring at a group of things that wanted to hurt me.

I then began to wait for my grandpa to say something to me as I stared at one of the shadows in the eyes. "Dante! Recite the spell from page 412!" Grandpa screamed at me. I took my eyes off of the shadows for a brief moment to see that the entire book was now blank, causing my mind to race as I tried to find the page I was told to recite. After what felt like an eternity, I could see the page in my mind's eye and as I read the page, I recited the words aloud. I wasn't exactly sure what I was saying, but as I was reciting the words, there were shadows appearing all over my body and before I was able to see what else happened, the shadows had covered my vision. I wasn't able to see anything besides the page I was still reading aloud. When I had finally reached the end of the page, the shadows began to draw away from my vision and I found that my Grandpa was standing next to me. "Good work, Dante." He said with a smile on his face. "Thanks Grandpa." I replied.

I then got up from the circle and walked towards my room where I immediately fell asleep. While I was asleep, I felt as though something was happening inside my body and mind. Something that I would end up having to ask my Grandpa about when I woke up. After sleeping for a few hours, I woke up and went down to the living room to find my Grandpa meditating. "Grandpa, I have a question." I said, walking towards him. He then hummed, letting me know he was waiting for my question. "Well, it's about the ritual we did earlier. I was wondering why we did that and why my entire body feels like something's stirring inside it." I told him. "Dante, you should know that the ritual you did was to awaken your abilities. You have special powers that have the potential to bring about the end of the world, even the entire universe if you wanted. Starting today, I will be teaching you as much as I can about controlling your powers and what I know about the Gods." Grandpa said, and I felt slightly overwhelmed at the idea that I could very well destroy the entire universe. "The Gods?" I asked him.

"Yes. The Greek and Roman Gods. You may also meet others, but the one's you should know about are from Greece and Rome." He said, and for some reason, I could remember something about the Greek Gods from a few of the books I had read. "Let's begin your lessons right now, Dante. First, we will start with creating an object." Grandpa said as he stood up from his spot on the floor as he walked up to me. For the rest of that day, I learned quite a bit about creating literally anything I could see in my mind. I also learned how to 'fast travel', or flash, from what my Grandpa called it. While we were training, he had told me that I had enough power to even rival Chaos, the creator of the Universe.

~Present Day~

~In the Olympian Throne Room~

~Third Person POV~

As the Olympian Council sat in their thrones, they were all arguing with one another about some trivial matter. The Big Three, otherwise known as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were all pointing their weapons at one another, in an attempt to intimidate the other person. Zeus, The King of the Gods as well as the God of the Skies was threatening to throw his master bolt at his brothers. Poseidon, usually calm and collected, was also known for his unbridled rage. He was the King of the Seas and was the God of Water, whom was also threatening his brothers with his trident. Hades, the God of the Underworld was pointing a black and silver sword at his brothers, but wasn't really into the argument. He just didn't want to be left out of the argument.

Each of the other Gods sat in their thrones, arguing with the person opposite of them, but everyone stopped their argument when a bright flash enveloped the room, causing the Gods to shield their eyes. When the light died down, the Gods looked at a woman who stood in front of the room with fear evident in their eyes. The power that emanated from the woman before them was leagues above their own, so they stayed silent before her. "You know, for all-powerful Gods, you are really easy to subdue." The woman mused, causing the Gods to look at him with anger. "Stop with the glares. You don't scare me. I'm Chaos, the creator of everything. That includes you." She told the Olympians, smirking at them. They began to silently berate themselves as they looked at the woman proclaiming herself Chaos. Athena, The Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategies, widened her eyes as she looked at Chaos, who's eyes were nothing but a swirling vortex of darkness. Extremely similar to a black-hole.

She then sent a mental message to all of the Gods, telling them that she knew this was Chaos herself. When realization hit them, Chaos smiled at them as she released the Gods from their frozen state. The Gods looked down at her sheepishly as they sat in their thrones. Zeus looked at Chaos as he addressed her. "Lady Chaos. To what do we owe this pleasure?" He asked her. It was almost instantaneous when Chaos replied to him. "I've come to warn you about a looming threat." Chaos replied, sending the Gods into hysteria as they shouted their questions at her. The two Gods who's voices were louder then the rest was Athena and Zeus. Chaos' eyes narrowed as the annoyance bloomed with the Gods. Poseidon, the only one God who was paying attention to Chaos, realized this and slammed his trident into the ground, immediately silencing the room. Chaos smiled at Poseidon and silently thanked him.

"Now that we are passed that childish shouting, I will tell you about the threat. The Primordial Gods are stirring. When they awaken, they will set their sites on Earth since this is the only planet that I've created that is inhabited with life within light years of anything else. The Primordials want to control this little planet. So, while you are not the greatest rulers, you are by far the most benevolent, so I will assist you." Chaos said, finishing with a small smirk and a glint in her eyes. Zeus and Athena were thinking about the Primordials and who they could be since no one exactly knew of them. The eldest beings they knew of were Tartarus and Gaia, but they had been at war with them already. Chaos was still the creator of them, but would she be willing to attack them? Poseidon, Hades, and Artemis were looking forward to the fight, not caring who the Primordials were. Hestia was still sitting by the Hearth, stroking the fire as she emitted a calm aura. Everyone else was frozen in shock, their brains still trying to comprehend the fact that there were older Gods out there, other than Gaia, Ouranus and Tartarus.

"What must we do?" Athena asked, still thinking about the Primordials. "Here's a Prophecy to help you." Chaos said, snapping her fingers causing Apollo to suddenly stiffen as his eyes stared to glow green.

The Eldest of Gods begin to stir,
As the Child of Gods is betrayed.

The Huntress with be the one to save him,

Lest he bring about the end of days.

They will be drawn together,

As their powers will prevail.

The world will be saved by their love,

Or, destroyed by their woe.

When the prophecy was finished, Apollo stopped glowing as he slumped into his throne, exhausted by the energy it took to recite that prophecy. After a moment, his energy returned, allowing him to sit up straight. He looked around to see the shocked expressions on everyone's faces. Apollo just sighed. "What did I just say?" He asked, causing Artemis to shake herself out of her shock. She then recited the Prophecy to him, causing his face to pale at each passing word. Chaos continued to stand in the middle of the throne room, smirking at the blank stares of the Gods. After a few minutes, She was starting to get annoyed, so she snapped her fingers, causing a thunderclap to resonate through the Throne Room. This caused the Gods to come out of their stunned state and look at her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE HUNTRESS WILL FALL IN LOVE?! THAT OBVIOUSLY MEANS ARTEMIS!" Zeus thundered, his face becoming red with fury. Artemis glared at her father as she huffed in indignation. Chaos smiled at this. "Father, I assure you I will NOT fall in love, especially with some boy." Artemis said, ending the sentence with a sneer as she shuddered at the thought. Zeus nodded, his face returning to normal as he settled back in his throne. Chaos cleared her throat as she waited the attention of everyone in the room. "So, now that you know the threat is coming, I will take my leave. But, one last word of advice. You will need a Champion to help you with the Primordial threat. Your Champion will come to you and ask you something unthinkable. You will know it when you hear it. This person will be your Champion." Chaos said as she was just about to leave. "Thank you for the warning, Lady Chaos. We will prepare for the threat, but one last question. When will the Primordial threat become real?" Zeus asked.

"You will have exactly one year before the Primordials have awaken, but five years before they launch their attack since it will take them that long before their strength reaches a point that allows them to attack. Use this time to train wisely." Chaos said, smiling at the Gods around her. She then opened a swirling vortex before her before stepping into it and vanishing, leaving no trace of her presence. The Gods sat in their thrones, pondering Chaos' words before Poseidon broke the silence. "Hey, I just remembered something from the Prophecy. It said, 'As the Child of Gods is betrayed?' Do you think it means..." Poseidon said, his voice trailing off. Zeus sat in his Throne, impatiently waiting for his older brother to finish his sentence. When Poseidon didn't say anything else, Zeus growled and said, "Well?" This shook Poseidon out of his stupor as he looked at his brother, who was looking at him expectantly. Poseidon glanced around the room and could see that everyone was looking at him as well, expecting an answer.

"I think the Prophecy is referring to Dante." Poseidon said as Athena nodded her head. "I think you're right, but that means Artemis will fall in love with Dan..." Athena said before she was cut off. "I will NEVER fall for a boy! Especially one who is so...so..." Artemis started, causing Poseidon to look amused. "What's the matter dear niece? Can't find anything bad about my son?" Poseidon taunted. Everyone knew that Poseidon had adopted Dante when he ended up saving the Gods from Kronos and since Dante didn't have any parents, even godly parents as far as they knew, he adopted him. None of the Gods or Titans knew who his parents were, so Poseidon decided to become his adoptive father. Artemis glared at him with hatred in her eyes, causing him to flinch. "All I was saying is that I won't fall in love. I made a vow and I will stick to it." Artemis said firmly. "So, we established that Artemis won't fall in love and that Dante is probably the child of the Prophecy, so we only have five years to prepare, yes?" Zeus summed up, only being replied with nods of agreement.

"So, what do we do now?" Apollo asked. Everyone looked at one another, expecting someone to come up with something to do. "How about hunting?" Artemis suggested. "NO!" Everyone exclaimed at her, causing her to huff and pout like a child. "What about an Architecture competition?" Athena put out. She received looks that screamed. 'Are you serious?' which offended her, causing her to act just like Artemis before she left the room.

~At The School~

~Dante~

I was sitting on the beach of The School, just enjoying the feeling of the calm atmosphere around me. I had just gotten back from a quest to slay an army being led by one of the Giants, which was pretty easy, to say the least. I was about to go see Grace Holmes, a Daughter of Athena, but I decided to take a break before going to see her for a secret, and well deserved, make out session. Girlfriend... I still can't believe she's my girlfriend! I thought to myself. I then got up from the beach and walked towards the Athena Cabin to find her. As I was in the middle of the School, just a few yards away from the Athena Cabin, I heard a scream coming from the forest outside the School borders. I then snapped my fingers causing a large scythe to appear in my hands as I ran towards where screaming had been.

As I neared the source of the noise, I slowed down before coming to a stop as I realized that the sound wasn't someone screaming in terror... No. It was someone screaming in pleasure... And, to add a cherry on top of the already red cake, it was Grace's screams. I stood there in the dense forest as I watched her throw her head back in absolute pleasure as a head full of thick, dark hair moved rhythmically between her legs. "YES! Harder Heracles, more...!" Grace moaned, causing me to snap out of my shock as despair and rage began to build up within me. The sky above the School had become almost pitch-black as storm clouds gathered in the sky. This wouldn't have been possible since the magical borders around the School only allowed the weather that the School director and Activities Director allowed.

This wasn't the case anymore as I could feel my anger reflect in the area around us. The sea as well as the air around us were all but peaceful as a vortex could be seen coming down directly above Grace, Heracles and I. I may not have been able to harm Grace since I still loved her, but I was going to make Heracles pay. As I was thinking about this, could sense a group of thirteen immortals flash into School, probably wondering what was happening, but I didn't care at that moment. I was becoming further and further enveloped by my rage, which began to manifest as the shadows that had been stored inside my body began enveloping my body once again, and when I looked down, my School clothes had changed. Instead of an Blue t-shirt than read, 'School of Wizard People' and cargo pants, I wore a set of pitch-black metal armor underneath a cloak literally swirling with shadows.

I could sense the Gods appear next to us as Grace and Heracles had finally noticed me and looked at me with terror. Heracles' had started to piss himself as he looked up at me, whispering one word. "...demon..." The Gods then attempted to move towards me in a group, and I heard my adoptive father say, "What? I have no control over how powerful my children are! Even those I adopt!" This was followed by someone speaking. "Well, we must get closer to see what has set him into such a state." Athena said. For some reason, I could feel a couple of the Gods' feelings. Especially one of them who seemed to believe their heart was pierced by Stygian iron. I heard gasps as I knew the Gods had just seen what I was furious about. They found my girlfriend, Grace, with Zeus' son Heracles. Both of them being naked. At that moment, I could hear what the Gods were thinking. 'Oh, boy... Those two are fucked.' I chuckled slightly at this as I wholeheartedly agreed. I then snapped my fingers causing a wall of water about 6 feet tall to crash into the couple, both drenching them as well as making them fall onto the ground. The rain that was coming down all around us was hardened to the point that it felt like shards of glass. "ZEUS! Can't you or Poseidon do something about this blasted rain?!" Hades screamed, trying to be heard over the sound of the storm, even though he was a few feet from Zeus.

"No! We've already tried!" Zeus yelled back. By this time, Grace and Heracles had recovered from being wiped out by tons of water and where attempting to escape by teleporting. When Heracles realized he wasn't able to teleport, just glow slightly before nothing happened, he had an increased look of shock on his face. Grace had even attempted to grab her invisibility cap, but I just blew it away with the wind. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" I roared at them. Because of this, everyone around me, even the Gods, backed away. It was pretty sad, but I didn't care. "W...We were..." Grace had attempted to answer me, but her teeth were chattering because of the ice-cold rain. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. "What you do think it looks like, fuck face? I was pleasuring my girl. Who do you think you are, interrupting us?! Do you know who I am?! I'm Heracles, the strongest man on Earth! The greatest hero to ever exist! I'm the favored son of Zeus!" Heracles bellowed, answering for Grace. I could tell he was attempting to look confident, but it completely failed.

"Who do you think I am? I'M HER FUCKING BOYFRIEND!" I screamed at him, causing lightning to strike the area as the wind began to pick up. "YOU THINK I GIVE A RAT'S ASS TO WHO YOU ARE?! TO ME, YOU'RE NOTHING BUT AN INSIGNIFICANT BUG!" I continued to yell at him. His eyes narrowed with anger at my bug comment. "YOU WILL DIE FOR DARING TO INSULT ME!" Heracles roared before charging me. I could tell the only thought in his mind was 'Kill. Kill. Kill!' Unfortunately for him, that was my thought process as well. Except, it wasn't going to be quick. It was going to be slow. Painful. Tartarus would have nothing on what I was going to do to him. I grinned at this as I looked over my shoulder and said a few words. "This is considered self-defense, right?" I asked before dropping my scythe before standing still, waiting for Heracles to hit me. When his fist finally connected with my face, he brief look of triumph before he realized I wasn't thrown backwards, or even obliterated. I was standing perfectly still, not fazed in the slightest.

Heracles then continued to punch me a couple of more times before he looked down to see his knuckles were bleeding and torn to the bone. "WHAT KIND OF MAGIC IS THIS?!" He bellowed, holding his hands. "Oh, nothing much. It's just, you see... you're not the strongest person on Earth. You're certainly NOT the greatest hero to ever exist." I paused briefly, glaring at him. "If you want to see who the greatest hero to ever live was, then look at the stars. You'll see the constellation of the Huntress, Julia. SHE was the greatest hero to ever live. NOT you. But, I'm sorry to say this, you're not going to be alive for very long." I said as I walked up to him, the shadows that formed my armor rising slightly above the armor, making it seem like my aura was extremely dark. When I had mentioned Julia, Heracles eyes widened. Before I was able to stand before him, Grace stood before Heracles and I. "ENOUGH!" She yelled. I stopped right before her, my eyes softening as the storm began to dissipate slightly. "I did it because I don't love you anymore. No, wait. Let me rephrase that. I did it because I couldn't stand to keep up the facade anymore. I never loved you Dante Apollyon." Grace said, and I felt my heart break into millions of pieces as tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to overflow.

"Wait?! Dante? Dante Apollyon?! As in Dante Apollyon, the guy who saved Olympus from the Titans and the Giants? By himself?! THAT Dante Apollyon?! I got his girlfriend?! WHOO-HOO!" Heracles exclaimed. I glared at him before moving towards him in a slit second. When I was just before him, I picked him up by his throat, squeezing it with a fraction of my strength, causing his eyes to threaten to burst from his skull. His face was turning red, then blue due to a lack of oxygen. "I'm just using a bit of my strength, Heracles. You say that you're the strongest? Well, I highly doubt that. Isn't it evident who's stronger? I'm sure everyone here can tell that I am. I'm standing here, lifting you by your neck, choking you while you have fear in your eyes. The fear of dying. How long has it been since you've felt that? It must have been a long time, but me? I've never had that feeling. I've only been scared for the people I care about to die. That's why I fight. I don't fight for power. For greed. For money. No, I fight so that those I love don't have to. So that they can be safe." I told him, as I glared at him. While I was looking into his eyes, I noticed that my own where similar to a black flame dancing wildly. Threatening to burst and burn everything around it.

With my free hand, I tore his left arm from his body, causing him to try and scream, but failing to do so. Instead, he was only able to groan. " This is what you get for gloating, Heracles. Also, that's revenge for Julia." I tell him as I drop his body like a rag-doll. His skin was starting to turn pale as his ichor was flowing freely from his wound. He attempted to clutch his stub of an arm, but it wasn't helping him. I smiled at him grimly as I snapped my fingers, causing a pitch-black long sword to appear in my hands. When I was about to strike his neck, I could see the wind attempting to keep me from hacking off his neck. When I used a bit more of my strength, I was able to cut his neck a bit before I heard someone scream, "Wait!" I turned to find who had stopped me from killing this piece of shit and found that it was Zeus. "Why do you intend to stop me from killing him?" I growled at him.

"Because it wouldn't matter if you killed him or not. Dante, you're the better man and you know it. He knows you're stronger than him. Everyone knows how strong you are, but I ask you this. Don't kill Heracles. I'll punish him myself." Zeus said. I made a low growl in the back of my throat before looking away from him. I looked at Grace to see that instead of caring for me, she ran towards Heracles who was still screaming in agony. As she helped him up and was about to take him to the Apollo cabin, I asked her one thing. "Did you mean what you said?" I asked her in a soft voice. The storm had died down completely, well besides a few drops of rain continuing to fall. She turned to look at me, her face filled with disgust. "Yes. I meant every word." She said, and before I knew it, the tears I had tried to hold finally fell from my eyes. I dropped my sword and flashed away from everyone. Heading back to the Poseidon cabin. I was, however dragged from my cabin by a few of the students who then threw me into the middle of the School where everyone began shouting at me, throwing rocks and knives or whatever else they could find.

I didn't care about the small cuts appearing on my skin as I looked down with tears falling from my eyes. My armor had disappeared and was instead replaced by black cargo pants, a black shirt, and black combat boots. I also had a black, sleeveless hoodie on that kept everyone from seeing my face, but not the tears falling from my eyes. "How could you cheat on her?!" One of the Athenian children screamed at me, throwing a knife at me that pierced my skin. "You don't deserve to live, you piece of shit!" Another student yelled. I then felt an immortal flash near by, and was mildly surprised to hear Dionysus' voice. "What is going on here?" He asked everyone, immediately followed by an assault from all of the voices in the vicinity who told him things like, "Dante's a piece of shit! He cheated." or "Dante would never do that!", but Dionysus didn't care. "SILENCE!" He screamed, making everyone calm down. " Leave. Now." He said, causing almost everyone to leave. He then stepped towards the reaming students, Nicholas Freeman, Rachel Summers, Steven and Dustin Devine, James Montgomery, Will Solace and Maria Saint Claire. They were the only ones who had tried to defend me and when I finally looked up, I could see that they were glaring at Dionysus.

"It's okay, guys. I'll be fine." I told them, causing them to turn to me, trying to say something, but I just shook my head. They nodded before walking up to me, hugging me one at a time, before leaving. As they were leaving, they each shot me a few glances every few seconds. I pulled out a couple of knives that had found their way into my body, dusted myself off, then walked towards my cabin. I was stopped a few feet from it by Chiron, who looked at me with worry. "Are you alright, Dante?" Chiron asked. I nodded before leaving him and walking into my cabin. After I got inside my cabin, I could feel my heart continue to break as more and more tears began to slide down my face. My throat was now clenched, as if restricting my airways in an attempt to strangle itself. I went towards my bed and just sat on it, looking down as my tears pelted the floor beneath me. I then grabbed a picture of Grace and I, wondering where I went wrong. After a few moments of this, I placed the picture on my shelf, then proceeded to lay down on my bed, trying to make myself fall asleep in an attempt to forget about today.

As I had just closed my eyes, the door to my cabin opened, causing me to look up to see someone I that had made me feel extremely dejected from the world. Grace walked inside, shutting the door behind her as she turned to walk towards me. "You're pathetic, Dante Apollyon. I really hope you realize that. I was only dating you to get fame and glory. You were nothing to be but a tool. A means to an end. Enjoy the rest of your lonely, miserable life, you piece of shit." She said before walking away from me, opening the door, then leaving. I could feel my thoughts swarming as her words echoed through my mind. They're right. I don't deserve to live. I'm pathetic. Maybe... Maybe it would be better for everyone if I just died... I thought to myself as I pulled out my phone from my void storage, put on a pair of earbuds, then searched through it for a song that I could relate to. At least to some degree.

I then started to sing along with the song as I snapped my fingers, summoning a short sword that was created for the soul purpose of killing me. In a sense, I was immortal. Well, I would only grow up to be the age of 19, then never age again unless I wanted to. This sword, despite being pitch-black like the rest of my weapons, had small ridges that was supposed to catch onto anything it connects with when it gets shoved into my body. I had made this sword a year ago as a present for Grace for if I had ever gone out of control. If I ever got to the point where I wasn't myself. Where I literally became what I was fighting... a monster. "Come undone, surrender is stronger." I sang to myself lightly as I felt my chest and head ache. My heart was still feeling like it had been shattered, but my mind was racing too much for me to even be able to process a clear thought. The only thought that was being screamed inside my mind, louder than the rest, was 'die'. I should take this sword, and kill myself. I thought to myself. For once in my life, I actually wanted death. I actually wanted to die. If Grace felt that way about me, then what was my reason to live? Soon enough, I believed everyone else would start to feel the same way. They would start to believe that I was a piece of shit that deserved to die.

"I don't need to be the hero tonight." I sang as I took the blade in my hands and shoved it inside my chest. The coldness of the blade felt foreign in the warmth of my chest. I looked down to see that a reddish-silver ichor was flowing from my new wound. I'm going to die. Very slowly. Very painfully, but at least I won't around anymore. I thought to myself as the poison from the blade started to wrack my body with pain, causing me to drop to the floor. What I had failed to realize, though, was that someone was screaming in my doorway. I looked at them briefly as they surged forward and picked up my head and placed it in their lap. I wasn't exactly sure what to feel about the warmth of their body on my mine, since my body temperature was dropping rapidly. I didn't even care that Artemis was the one holding my head, screaming at the sky for someone. I wasn't sure of who she was screaming to, but a bright flash appeared in the cabin, followed by Apollo rushing forward and attempting to pull the sword from my chest, to which I groaned in agony.

"J-just... let me...d-die..." I tried to say, but I wasn't exactly sure if I did since I could feel my blood pouring through my mouth. The only thing I was hearing now was the blood rushing to my head. My headache was gradually beginning to subside as I coughed up blood onto Artemis' silver jacket. I was sure that if a guy who wasn't already dying had done that, she would have killed him. As my eyes started to drift close, I could see Artemis put her hands over my chest as a bright, silver light began to envelope me, making my body start to feel a bit of warmth before it went away, just as fast as it had appeared. "...P-poison..." I told her before the pain that I had felt started to subside as everything started to drift away, no longer mattering to me. All I knew what that I was dying, and that no one could change that. Not even the Gods themselves...