I'll warn you one last time: CHARACTER DEATH!
"No. No, it can't be. Not him. No, NO!" I scream, stumbling forward, my brain refusing to process the image I see in front of me. He can't be dead. He was always invincible. Quite literally, for a little while, but even after that it still seemed like it. I can still picture him whirling through crowds of monsters, killing them left and right while they were barely able to touch him. That's how it was always going to be. He was going to survive until he was old. He was going to be famous, even to mortals. Everyone knew it. It was just accepted.
This is the one thing I never thought I'd see.
I always knew he was dangerously stupid sometimes. He messed up, got hurt, drew the wrath of the gods down on him, and got away somehow. He'd bested most Olympians at one time or another. He broke all the rules and got away unscathed. That's just how he was. Always in danger, and always making it out with some fancy fighting or some quick words. By the skin of his teeth. But this time he couldn't escape.
It can't be true.
He's still smiling, just a little. He loved to laugh, even though his jokes were usually terrible. I laughed anyway, because those corny jokes sounded good coming from him. My favorite picture is a candid shot of us. His arm is around my shoulders and we're both cracking up at some joke. I don't even remember when it was taken. But I always look at it whenever I'm feeling down. He was the best at bringing me out of my moods. He was the reason I smiled, half the time. His jokes, his smiles, they were catching. They still are, even in death.
But I just can't believe it.
He kissed me just before he went into battle. He held me close and whispered into what he calls my 'princess curls'. The same words, over and over. I love you. Forever. I love you. Forever. He was wrong. I told him he was silly, not to worry, and kissed him back. I was wrong too. So wrong. I can still feel his arms around me, his fingers in my hair, his lips against mine. Just a faint, ghost-like warmth, like he's holding me one last time as he goes.
He's gone.
I crumple to the ground at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably. I watch his chest rise and fall one last time, then stop. Someone comes forward and closes his eyes. I don't know who. I don't care who. There are people all around us, around me. there are hands on my back, trying to comfort me. they don't matter, none of them matter. My one constant, my forever, is gone and nothing will ever be the same.