Chapter 2 - Son of Hecate, Ytel Nerva

Another demigod decided to pop in. As if Lym hadn't been bad enough.

"Hello, Nico! I see you're as bright and sunny as ever!"

"You know, I really thought that Hecate stayed away from Hades. Apparently I was wrong."

"Well, Mom wanted me to talk to you, so here I am."

"You're... not a demigod."

"That's right!" The purple-haired child gave a wide smile, brandishing a set of perfect canines. "I'm actually immortal. My mom did it 'cause I was super smart."

Nico frowned. That was a terrible reason. The immortal child in front of him seemed no older than ten, boasting bright purple locks and ruby red eyes. In his left palm, a flickering flame danced, warding off the darkness. Maybe the boy was just one of Hecate's ghost minions. She had a lot of those. Hades did not approve.

"Are you one of Hecate's immortal servants?" Nico asked, a hand on the hilt of his Stygian Iron blade. Hecate was a strange goddess, but she was usually one of the minor goddesses that stayed in the background, watching the battles that happened. But her servants were crazy. She loved ghosts and powerful spirits. Some of them were... not exactly in their right minds.

The boy snapped his fingers, causing the the flame to explode in a small flare before fizzling out. "Bingo! Son of Hades, you're pretty smart. I'm Ytel Nerva, child wizard." Raising an eyebrow, the boy's red eyes shone before shifting into an emerald green. "Or at least, that's what they called me back in the day."

"My dad doesn't enjoy the paperwork you cost him," Nico replied, slowly collecting shadows at his feet, ignoring the Ytel's comments.

"Hecate had good intentions," the boy defended, playing with a ball of lightning instead. "I was a demigod, but after I got killed, she did a bit of magic, healing potion stuff, and bam!" With a clap of his hands, a loud thunderclap boomed through the trees. "Immortality. Hooray."

Nico sighed, shaking his head. "We're getting off topic. Why did Hecate want to talk to me?"

Ytel smiled, showing a set of perfect white canines. "She said something like, 'Tell the son of Hades that his sister will be a great asset in my future plans. She may be placed in great danger, but it is necessary if you wish to retrieve the son of Poseidon and his friend.'"

Hazel?

Nico instantly felt a pool of dread in his stomach. First Bianca, now Hazel? Why did all the people he love have to get dragged into such dangerous situations? The shadows, feeling his pain, began collecting in masses around his feet, swirling dangerously.

With a snap, the purple-haired spirit caused a violent flash of light, creating a loud exploding noise. Nico gave a yelp of pain as he quickly covered his eyes, turning away from the light. His eyes weren't made for light. They were made for navigating through the dark.

After the light dimmed down, the black-haired demigod rubbed away the black spots invading his vision. "What in Tartarus's name was that?" He demanded, unsheathing his sword. Ytel smiled again, rubbing his small hands together.

"That, dear Nico di Angelo, was a simulation of a flash bang. It dispels all shadows for a short amount of time. Don't want you Shadow Travelling away from me, do we?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, great idea." Nico snarled as the shadows began enveloping him in a shadowy fabric, preparing to send him to somewhere far, far away.

The spirit raised an eyebrow. "No, not such a great idea." With a stomp of his neon green sneakers, the shadows that were supposed to be working with Nico turned against him, grabbing his arms, legs, torso, and pinned him to the ground. As his head smashed against the ground, the demigod gave a gasp, clenching his teeth in pain, struggling to see straight.

"Sorry, Nico," Ytel frowned jokingly, giving a mock shrug. "But I wanted to leave you with a little... parting gift, let's call it." Sitting down on a nearby boulder, the spirit twirled his finger, and a music box appeared out of nowhere. Grabbing the wooden box, the boy gave the handle several spins, and after a while, it began playing a quiet yet sad melody.

Nico's eyes widened as the melody began playing back in his head. It seemed... painfully familiar...

Ytel sighed and turned with a sad smile. "Recognize it, Soldatino?"

The son of Hades' breath hitched in his throat. Bianca...

"It's a lullaby," Ytel explained gently, slowly unraveling the shadowy bonds that had trapped Nico down. "From Italian, it translates into 'toy soldier', doesn't it?"

Nico didn't even notice the shadows had released him. The lullaby... it was the lullaby that Bianca used to sing to him when he was young. Whenever nightmares haunted him, the warm, alive arms of his older sister would wrap around him, whispering the lyrics beside his ear.

But that was when she had been alive. When Nico could laugh alongside her, cry into her arms, or hug her when he was alone. And now there was no one. Where Bianca once stood was a gaping hole of unfilled space in his heart. Hazel tried her best to be a caring sister - which she was - but ever time Nico turned to face her, Bianca's face would come to the surface, causing him to flinch away. And Percy... he was like the older brother that Nico never had. Always there, kind, helpful, and caring. But the son of Poseidon didn't realize how much pain he was causing Nico. Every time he saw Percy with Annabeth, happiness beaming off of his face, he felt like he was slowly breaking down, piece by piece. It was like a downward spiral toward insanity.

"Look, Nico," Ytel said, catching the demigod's attention. The spirit could see the sadness and pain etched across Nico's face. "I've been there."

The son of Hades turned with a confused frown. "What?"

"There's a reason I was called a wizard," Ytel explained slowly. "It was because I could use magic. I didn't know I was Hecate's kid, and in Europe, when they see a kid with magic, they automatically assume that they're a devil incarnate."

Nico's eyes widened a little.

"So, there I was - a simple child, born into a world where the entirety of its inhabitants wanted me dead. Day after day, I was running, stealing, sometimes even killing - all for the sake of surviving in this unfair world. Nobody was ever there for me. Except for one person." Ytel's eyes shifted to a pale grey as his pupils bore into Nico's. "A girl, not much older than me, who picked me off the streets."

Nico could tell where the story was going.

"Her name was Elizabeth. She didn't care how red my eyes were, she didn't care that I could make fire with a snap, she didn't care that everybody else hated me. She loved me, and that was enough." A haunted look glazed over Ytel's eyes before he shook it off and continued. "I finally found a person who could hug me without trying to stab a knife through my back."

Slowly sitting up, the son of Hades lowered his head.

"But one day, when we were staying in a church to hide for the night, the villagers found us." The purple-haired spirit swallowed, cranking the music box again. "They saw me use my magic to protect Elizabeth from bandits, and had assumed I was trying to kill her." An angry fire lit around Ytel's feet, but quickly was diminished by a layer of water. "They cornered us in the church and yelled for Elizabeth to get away from me. She didn't."

Nico slowly started to realize what Ytel was trying to do all along.

"And so, the villagers assumed she was a worshiper of the Devil, however foolish that was. They attacked her before me, assuming that if they killed her, I would disappear because I 'didn't have any worshippers'. But before Elizabeth was caught, she told me to set fire to the entire church. Blow it up if I had to. Anything that would let me have another chance to run away and start all over again. And I did."

The shadows slowly receded back into their normal positions, the moon still high above their heads.

"That night, I razed an entire village to the ground. Nothing survived - nothing. Not even me."

Silence reigned as the two sat, waiting for someone to speak up.

"Soldatino indeed," Nico whispered, standing and walking over to Ytel, his hand extended. The spirit cracked a humorless smile and shook hands, exchanging silent messages. I understand.

"Well, here's the gift," Ytel said cheerfully, snapping his fingers. The music box shrank down to a small pocket watch emblazoned with the symbol of Hecate on the lid. "Your personal music box. Keep it close, Soldatino, and maybe you can find the True Ending."

Nico didn't even get to ask what he meant before Ytel disappeared in a flash of light.