I didn't know how long I fell for. It certainly felt like longer than when I fell with Annabeth. It may have been because I was alone this time, or perhaps because I fell from Olympus and not an underground cavern this time.
After what felt like an eternity, just like last time, the chute I was falling through opened into a massive cavern. I was able to see the ground, and it was approaching fast. A black river snaked across the landscape, before emptying into a large lake. As I dropped closer, I let out a defiant yell. I felt a tug in my gut, and the river surged up to swallow me whole. That was my first mistake.
Thousands of voices flooded my head, and pain overwhelmed me.
The pain! They wailed. Make it stop! I didn't mean to! It was an accident!
I could feel my willpower slipping away, and I struggled to retake it. 'Any other river,' I thought, a harsh laugh slipping out, then having to spit the briny water out of my mouth. 'But no, I had to fall into this one. Stupid Underworld Rivers' I swam up to the surface, desperately trying to block the voices out of my head.
With a final rush of strength, I burst out of the river, pain fading away and the voices becoming a dull undertone. I dragged himself further away from the river, ignoring the pain from the glass embedding itself in my hands. My random burst of strength abandoning me, darkness flooded my vision and I passed out on the banks of the River Acheron.
Percy slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, making sure what he was seeing was real. Or rather, what he wasn't seeing. He wasn't on the banks of the Acheron anymore, Percy could tell that much. Where he was, he wasn't sure. He looked around, taking in the area around him. The lighting was dim, but he could see that he was in a small room. The walls were made of worn dark-grey bricks, and the room was bare, apart from the small torch next to the door that was the only source of light.
Percy shakily got to his feet, feeling the remains of the pain from the Acheron as he made his way over to the door. He tried the handle. Locked. He cursed and sat back down. Before long, Percy returned to his feet and started to pace around the room, his ADHD driving him mad. He stopped his pacing as voices came into earshot.
"Are you sure that it's Jackson?" A male voice asked. In his head, Percy nicknamed him Steve.
"Positive," a soft female voice responded. Percy shivered. The female voice sounded awfully familiar.
The lock to his cell clicked, and the door swung open. Percy's mouth dropped open, and a cold chill made its way down his spine.
"It's been a while. You never did come back for a second tour," Nyx smirked.
A second figure stepped into view, and the dread Percy had been feeling increased tenfold.
"I wondered if I'd be seeing you Perseus Jackson," Kronos said, a sinister smile adorning his face, gold eyes shining with a sadistic glee.
"Kronos? I- Wha- I thought you wouldn't reform for ages!" Percy stammered.
"Oh, Perseus, you really thought I put my whole consciousness into one little demigod? Only a sliver was needed to control that pathetic son of Hermes."
"Luke was a hero! He wasn't pathetic!" Percy shouted, but Kronos ignored him.
"Thank you for the gift, Lady Nyx," the Titan said, before turning back to Percy.
"Gift? I'm no gift!" Percy protested.
"Oh Perseus," Nyx said, shaking her head in mock-sympathy. "You really have no idea, do you?"
She turned back towards the hallway. "Guards!"
Nyx and Kronos stepped out of the doorway and a group of shadowy figures rushed into the cell. Percy fought against them, but they overpowered him and knocked the demigod unconscious.
Nyx turned to Kronos. "Our deal is complete," she said, as the guards cuffed the unconscious demigod and dragged him out of the cell.
"That it is." Kronos handed Nyx an intricately engraved golden box, before making to leave the cell. Nyx stopped him from leaving with a hand on his shoulder.
He turned back to the primordial. "What is it?"
Nyx's smile was almost feral as she held out her hand, palm upwards. The darkness solidified in her hand, swirling into the form of a pitch black dagger with silver engravings, which she handed to Kronos.
"You will know what to do with it when the time is right."
Kronos matched Nyx's smile, as he thanked her and departed.
Nyx left the cell and watched the retreating back of the Titan, her feral grin slipping off her face, leaving a mischievous expression in its place.
It felt like an eternity I'd spent with Kronos. And let me tell you, it wasn't a tea party. Any kind of torture you can imagine, you can bet that Kronos did it to me. I still remember when Kronos found out about my fear of drowning. Oh boy did he have a field day with that. He didn't even have the decency to clean up my ichor that he spilled.
Hearing footsteps approaching the door to my cell, I groaned, flopping onto my back on the hard floor. The door creaked open, and I looked over to see Kronos grinning sadistically down at me.
"Hello Perseus…" He purred.
I ignored him and turned away. Yeah, I know, turning my back to my tormentor was probably not my best idea, but I was tired. Gazing upon the thousands of scratched lines that I'd scraped into the wall, I didn't see Kronos's boot swinging towards my back. I let out an 'oof!' as the Titan's boot connected with the small of my back, right where my Achilles point used to be, and tumbled over onto my stomach.
"Get up!" Kronos growled, his cheerful attitude from earlier disappearing. I'd long ago decided he was bipolar.
I scrambled to my feet, for the first time seeing what Kronos was holding. In the Titan's hands was a dagger with a sharp black blade that seemed to suck all the light out of the air and a silver hilt that was engraved with symbols that I couldn't make out from where I stood.
"You know what this is?" Kronos asked, running a finger along the blade. A few drops of golden ichor bubbled up and dropped to the ground.
"A knife…" I replied skeptically.
"Correct!" Kronos grinned, his eyes filling with a sadistic light. "You know, Nyx gave this to me," he continued. "She was ever so mad when you escaped from her the first time. She said I'd know when to use this. I feel that our 75th anniversary's the perfect time!"
It'd been 75 years now? Wow. It felt longer.
"Do you have a preference as to where we use this?" Kronos questioned sarcastically.
"Well…" I said, tapping my chin in fake thoughtfulness.
Kronos growled. "Doesn't matter!"
He grabbed my shoulder and shoved my against the wall face-first, before plunging the dagger into the small of my back.
I couldn't help it. I screamed. The pain was excruciating, like a thousand poisoned knives that were on fire were being stabbed into that one spot all at the same time. I don't know whether it was the fact that it was my old Achilles spot, or the knife, (probably the knife) but I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. Then the knife disappeared, and a tingling feeling spread across my skin, numbing the pain. But it hadn't been pulled out. It was like it had melted, or dissolved.
I felt power rush through my veins, my vision was flooded with a rainbow of colours, and my ears were filled with a dull ringing, a symphony of different voices filling my mind. The power flowed free with a BANG. The voices silenced, and my eyesight cleared.
I gaped at the destruction. Did I cause this? Kronos had collapsed in the corner, stones strewn across his slumped figure. The walls were crumbling, with holes blown in parts of them. I jumped out of the way as part of the ceiling caved in, crashing down where I had stood a mere seconds before. I took my chance and dashed out of the cell. As I ran, I thought of the voices I'd heard, and the weird power that still pulsed through my veins.
Percy ran and ran, not knowing where he was going. He didn't know how long he ran for, as his mind was whirring. He ran blindly, his eyes not taking in any of the landscape as it rushed past. Percy stumbled and fell down to the ground, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. As he pushed himself to his knees, a soft laugh broke him out of his internal monologue.
Percy looked upward, and sprang to his feet, bringing Riptide out of his pocket and uncapping it in one smooth motion.
"What do you want Nyx?"
Heya!
I'm trying out something different, changing points of view during the story. I hope that it's okay. Btw, unless I specify otherwise, the first person POV will be Percy.
Don't worry, I haven't abandoned my other story. I'm just finding more inspiration for this one currently, but have no fear, WOTSTW (OH) will be updated soon. Or at least, my version of soon.
Mkay bye.
-Badger
