Darkness. These days, darkness was the only comfort that Percy knew. He sat in a dimly lit room, his old cabin at Camp Half-Blood. It was empty, just like the rest of the camp. There hadn't been a soul here other than Percy in years. No children running and playing. No laughter or fun. This was no longer a place of happiness. It was a battleground. A place of destruction. He felt so much pain here, yet he found himself not being able to leave. It was his prison. And yet, it was also his sanctuary. No matter how much pain this place caused him, he could never leave.
He rose off his old bed and walked towards the window, slightly opening the curtains. A part of him hoped it was all a nightmare. That his friends would be rushing toward his cabin door as he reached for the drapes. But to no avail. It was the same desolate place he came to know in the last couple of years. He looked to the Cabins. Most were burned to the ground, but some still stood, albeit battered and ran down. Cabin 5 looked like it had taken a heavy beating, but considering the things that had taken place inside its walls, it could have been worse. The Ares campers had fought valiantly, but it wasn't enough. Even the mighty warriors of the War god couldn't stand against the evils that invaded the borders of the camp. Cabin 7 was relatively unharmed compared to the others. But looks can be deceiving. The Campers in Cabin 7 had suffered a worse fate than any of the other campers at Camp Half-Blood. The children of Apollo didn't stand a chance. They had been awoken in the middle of the night to the sight of their demise. They had been tied up and tortured. And when the intruders had enough of their brand of fun, they had beheaded every single one of the residents of Cabin 7. Every Cabin inside the walls of the camp had been touched by darkness. Well, every cabin except for one. The one that Percy inhabited. Cabin 3. A coincidence that was not lost on Percy, him being the last Demigod on earth.
He looked to the sky. It was Gloomy, the darkest grey that he had ever seen. It looked Lifeless. The Lake at the camp was unruly, its waters untamed, as if it wasn't sure of role in the world. The Sun and Moon hadn't been seen for years. The Earth was dying, its people waiting for the day that would soon come where they would cease to exist. But they had bigger problems at the moment. He was well aware of the reasons for all that was going on with the world outside of his lonely cabin. The gods of Olympus were no more. They had perished along with the demigods. Percy was the lone survivor. Everyone that he had ever loved, gone. And it was all at the hands of the evil that invaded his home planet.
He sighed at the though. He had already been through his mourning period. He cry for months over the loss of his friends. But eventually, it stopped hurting. He became calloused to the pain. So, he spent his time searching for other demigods to aid him in his plan for revenge. But the longer he looked for allies, the more the he had given up hope, until he had no hope left to give. He returned to his home, but only more death ensued. Death seemed to follow Percy wherever he went. When he opened the door to the apartment where his Mother and Step Father lived with his little sister, Lila, he found them lifeless, lying on the floor of the living room. This broke Percy. It broke him more than he ever thought possible. He lost a part of himself that day. The part that loved, that laughed, and felt anything was gone. He was a completely different person from the moment he stepped outside of the apartment. He went back to Camp Half-Blood. He confined himself to its borders, afraid to leave.
In short, Percy Jackson was a shell of the hero that he used to be. The hero that used to be strong-minded and outgoing was no more. In his place stood the husk of his old self. Percy was aware of his predicament, but had no plans of changing now. Why should he? He had nothing to live for. And while the world outside crumbled, he sat in the cabin of his father, shackled to its interior like a prisoner confined to their cell.
He sat back on his bed, resting his head in his palms. Percy hated think about what was happening outside of camp. He reassure himself that it wasn't his problem anymore, trying to push the thoughts back. But to no avail. Even though he wanted nothing to do the problems of this world, he still felt kind of bad for its residents. Even more so, knowing what the threat that terrorized the world actually was.
Percy had never really seen anything like them. The Mortals have a number of names for them, but everyone of the them translated roughly to "Children of Death". And while it was a fitting name for the two beings that had brought more pain and destruction than anything he had ever been up against, Percy had actually known the children of death and the comparison was non-existent. It wasn't the mortal's fault though. They didn't know any better. But Percy did. and the thought terrified him.
They were known as Order and Khaos. A twin sister team of carnage. Even for Greek myth standards, they were legends. They have been here since the beginning of time. They were considered to be the most power beings to ever traverse the galaxy, moving across it and destroying everything in their path, leaving nothing more than dust and blood. The thing that terrified Percy the most was their domains. Like all gods and goddess alike, Order and Khaos had power over certain realms. Order's domain being Eternity, while her sister, Khaos' domain being Infinity. But they weren't goddesses. They happened to be the complete embodiment of their realms. At least, this was all according to Annabeth and the stories that she used to tell Percy.
Percy found that smile had creeped onto his face. She had been gone for years now, but he still missed her everyday. He pulled the nightstand drawer open and pulled out a small box. He opened it up and it reveal a diamond engagement ring. He stared at it for a bit, slightly losing track of time. He felt a small part of his former self shine through after years of depression. Percy closed his eyes. He thought back to the first time he had seen Annabeth. Her bouncy, blonde curls blowing in the wind as she ran. Her stormy, grey eyes that had looked into his soul time after time. For so long, he had dreamed of seeing her once more, of holding her in a warm embrace. Percy's mind shifted a bit. He wasn't the only one to lose someone to the likes of the this evil that plagued the earth. The mortals were probably scared beyond belief, unaware of the true situation that they had found themselves in. It had always been his duty to protect those that couldn't protect themselves.
And with that thought, Percy knew what he had to do. He closed the box and placed it back in the drawer, closing the drawer. Percy stood and gathered some supplies, his heart racing. This was the biggest decision he had made in years. He felt a wide array of emotions. He started to feel like his old self a bit. Over all the other feelings that he had started to display, Anger was on top of that list. He wasn't restored to him former self by any means, but he felt that this wasn't such a bad thing. He was going to win one way or another, whether it meant him beating two beings that seem impossible to beat, or he was going to die trying and see the love of his life one more. But regardless of what would happen to Percy, he knew that he would have to at least try. Because, while he had nothing left to lose, many others still had plenty. 'What would Annabeth want me to do' he thought to himself.
Percy zipped up his backpack, and started towards the door of the cabin. He reached for the handle, but stopped himself. He turn back towards his bed and the nightstand that sat beside it. Laying on top of the stand was a pen. But to Percy, it was more than a pen. It was his trusty weapon, Riptide. He dropped his pack and walked over to retrieve it. He grabbed and uncapped it, something that he hadn't done in awhile. He smiled. The bright gleam of the blade's celestial bronze was as strong as the day that Chiron had thrown it to him to defend himself against the Fury. He recapped it, storing it in his pocket. He picked up his pack and started back towards the door. As he opened it, he looked around the front room of the cabin once more. This place was no longer his prison. Percy was sure that whatever happened, he would never see this place again. But he didn't mind that. He wasn't the same person that had spent his childhood here. He had made up his mind. When he shut the door, he would shut out the person he used to be. That version of himself had no place in this new world.
He smirked, and closed the door, sealing it closed forever.