Chapter 1: Resurrection is Hard Work
I was floating. Everywhere around me was darkness. I was on my back – or was I on my front? - drifting through the void. How long had I been there? How long had I been dead?
Just the thought sent chills through me. I was dead. After all I had fought for, all of the trials I had undergone, I had made a careless mistake and now I was dead. And I was not the only one. Annabeth had died from my carelessness, from my belief in Luke's strength. My fatal flaw had come back to bite me one last time. I tried to look around for any sign of Annabeth, a sign that maybe I wasn't alone out here. But it was pointless. Everything was just black. No matter how hard I tried, all I saw was darkness.
Time crawled on as I stayed like this. It felt like an eternity and just a few minutes at the same time. Just as I was beginning to wonder what was going to happen, I heard a deep laugh all around me. I spun around, trying to make out the source of the laughter, but again the darkness clouded my vision. "So the Hero of Olympus has finally graced my territory," it said. A familiar feeling crept up my spine. It was similar to how I felt around the many monsters and Titans I had faced, that I was merely a very small human standing before insurmountable power. Suddenly a force took hold of me, like a giant hand grabbing me around my stomach and pulling. I flew forward, toward something that was getting closer quickly. Despite how dark everything was, whatever I was approaching was infinitely darker. It was as if the darkness the surrounded me came from it originally. As dense as I may sometime be, it was not hard to figure out who was in front of me.
"Erebus," I whispered, though no sound left me. Realization dawned on me that I had not heard the voice of the Primordial God of Darkness, but instead it had been projected in my head. It seemed as if only darkness existed in this realm with its progenitor, and nothing else was allowed without his will. The infinite darkness molded and shaped itself, changing into a cloaked figure who's face I could not see. It was very much like what most mortals thought the Grim Reaper looked like, and it would not surprise me if his presence had inspired such imaginings.
The god floated toward me, stopping when he – it?- was only a foot away. "You are a very interesting boy, Perseus Jackson." I gulped at the use of my full name. Only my mother and the Olympian Gods ever used my full name, and usually it spelled trouble when they did. Erebus must have noticed my expression, as I had no doubt he could see everything here clearly despite my own difficulty. "No mortal who has ever taken the Curse of Achilles has survived more than a few years with it, and yet here you are," he explained. I was confused. I was dead. Annabeth had died and as my anchor, I had died with her. Only then did it hit me that it was strange I was not in the Underworld. If I was dead I should have been taken by the River Styx. I could not see it, but I could sense Erebus' amusement.
"Yes, you are right to wonder why you are here," the God of Darkness continued. "You see, We live in quite interesting times, young Perseus. Do you remember when you were twelve, and you saw the Fates for the first time?" I nodded, remembering the string they had cut in front of me. Later I guessed it was my own life they were prophesying. "Ah, but you are wrong, boy. It was not you, but your companion's life they foretold," he clarified. This revelation shook me to my core. It had not been my death, but Annabeth's? I had seen one of my best friend's deaths foretold right in front of me and I never knew?
Erebus gave me time for this information to sink in. "Perseus, you were not fated to die yet. In fact, you have never been fated to die. Your destiny lies elsewhere, tied to the mortals and yet beyond them." A massive headache was forming from all of the information I was receiving. I wasn't supposed to die? I would no longer be mortal. I shook myself out of my stupor and glared directly at the hidden figure in front of me.
"What the hell are you talking about? Annabeth died, and that means I'm supposed to die too, right?" I shouted at my host, though no words came out again. Erebus acknowledged that he heard what I said. "Besides, I don't want to return, not without her. I don't know if I can survive." My thoughts trailed off as the full meaning of my fate sunk in. If I was supposed to live, then I would be living in a world without Annabeth. My heart pounded in my chest at the thought, and tears that I didn't know I still had poured from my eyes. "She was everything to me. I would trade anything to have her back, even immortality! This isn't fair! I don't want this!"
The darkness in front of me swelled, surrounding and suffocating me. I struggled against the binds that held me, but it was no use. Even at full strength I could not fight a Primordial God. "Be silent, you selfish child! Do you think you are the only one who has lost something that you could not live without!?" My struggles grew weaker as his words hit home. I remembered all those who had fallen. Bianca, Zoe, Beckendorf, Luke, Silena, and Annabeth. So many people had died at the hands of Kronos. So many loved ones who would never return to parents and friends. My rage and anguish calmed. I could almost see the smile that Erebus was giving me. "Good. Now you are beginning to act like a god.
"You must return to the world of the living, Perseus, as it is fated that you do so. However, it is not within my power to simply return you. As with every great task, there is an equally great trial. Though you will eventually be immortal and unchained from it, the Curse of Achilles is still a very powerful enchantment. The Styx wants to claim what is rightfully its, and it will stop at nothing to do so. You must find someone to be your anchor for the few moments that you are mortal before you ascend to godhood." Erebus released some of the darkness around me and in a tiny sphere I saw light spill into his realm. My eyes burned at their first contact with it, but they quickly grew accustomed again and I was able to see what was being shown to me.
It was Olympus, and it looked to be a small private room. I was looking from above, like a fly on the ceiling. The walls and floor where white, with the only furniture being a bed with white sheets. The color reminded me of a hospital, and I mustn't have been far off when I saw the God of Medicine, Asclepius, enter the room. He moved to the side of the room's only occupant, and I couldn't help but gasp when I saw it was myself. Sweat covered my face, and randomly dark, creeping shadows would roam around my skin. I turned back to the God of Darkness, awaiting an explanation.
"Death has still not relinquished his hold on you yet, Perseus. You have only one day to find someone to be your anchor." The portal began to grow, flexing and shifting until it was big enough for me to pass through it. Despite its size the light never penetrated the darkness. In fact, the dark seemed to be eating the light, as the portal was growing slightly smaller by the second. "To make matters worse, you must find someone who will fill the shoes of your Annabeth." The thought of replacing Annabeth pained me, but I was confused by exactly what he meant.
"What do you mean 'replace'? Wouldn't Grover or Tyson, or even Dad be just as good as an anchor?" Erebus shook his head, the action weird with only the hood visible.
"When one creates an anchor, it places a binding enchantment between the two. You need to find someone who can fill what Annabeth was in your heart," he explained as I felt a growing sense of dread over what his next words would be. "You need to find a new lover, Perseus."
My anger and sorrow boiled over at this point. "No! Never!" I screamed. I could feel a pain like fire spreading through me. It attacked my nerves until I could barely take it any more. But still I resisted. "No one can take Annabeth's place. I will always love her!" The fire raged anew, and I could feel my life essence disappearing. But I didn't care. I would rather not exist than live without Annabeth. The darkness covered me once against, but it was far less oppressing this time. With all of the sorrow in my heart, it even felt comforting. I felt Erebus will my face forward, towards where his face was covered in shadow. The hood of his robe pulled back, and I was left staring at a bleach white skull. It was unsettling, but even more so when the lower jaw began moving and I could hear Erebus once more.
"You stupid child! I am sorry that you must suffer in such a way, but you cannot go against the Fates. To do so would not only signal your downfall, but also that of your world. You and your world are intricately bound. If you fade, so too does all light from your world. And I do not want to deal with an entirely new realm." If there was anything he could have said to stop my tantrum, that was it. Once more loyalty would make me suffer. "I am not saying you must forget or replace your old lover, but you must open your heart to another. If you do not, everything that you have fought for, everything that you have ever loved and have yet to love, will be lost," he explained calmly, accepting my anger at the turn of events that Fate had placed upon me. I remained calm as he beckoned to the portal to Olympus. "Hurry now. My realm is of darkness, and light will not last long within it. Leave now before the portal closes and you are stuck forever."
By now, the opening to my world was just big enough for me to squeeze through. I had only a moment before I would be unable to leave. An eternity with Erebus was not my idea of a vacation, no offense to him. But before I left, I had one more question to ask him. "Lord Erebus," I said, earning a chuckle as only now I started to use a title for him. "Why is it that you have offered to help me? What compelled you to rescue me?"
The skull before me stayed still for a moment before answering. "My realm calls to all who have lost all light within them, Perseus. When you knew Annabeth was dying, you lost the last light within you, the last beacon of brightness." My face must have showed my confusion, for I heard another chuckle from the God of Darkness. "You lost hope, boy. The minute you lost hope you were destined for my realm. As I am just as bound to the Fates as you are, it was then made my duty to make sure you made it to the other side. And yes, I am aware of the irony of me instilling the light of hope in someone." I smiled at his words. Erebus shook his head and pushed me into the portal. The craziest thing was that I thought the last thing I saw was the eternal smile imprinted on the skull grow a little wider.
I landed with a thump on the floor of my recovery room. In the time since I had glimpsed through the orb, Asclepius had left. I was expected to experience some form of pain at the fall, but I only felt a mild discomfort much like I had when shadow traveling with Nico. A grimace crossed my face as I thought about trying to explain everything to everyone, but even despite my pain I smiled at the thought of seeing my friends again. Maybe they would help lessen the loss of Annabeth. Of course, first I had to figure out how to get out of my current predicament. Erebus had said I would need to find another anchor. I blushed as I remembered the specific details, but shook any embarrassment out of my head. I only had one day to find her. Those thoughts led me to wonder how I was able to exist in this world if I would die without an anchor.
My body lying in the bed gave me the answer to that one. I was shocked to see myself. It wasn't everyday you didn't need a mirror to cast a reflection. I still looked to be in incredible amounts of pain, but the shadows had stopped creeping along my skin. Perhaps because my soul had left the Realm of Darkness? I reached to touch the sheets and found my hand slipping straight through them. It was an odd sensation, not unlike passing through a wall of water. I shivered at the feeling before pulling my hand back. So I was some sort of specter or ghost. At least I wouldn't have to explain why there were two of me right now. As I was beginning to piece things together the door opened, and in stepped one of my closest friends.
Rachel Dare was a strange mortal. She was able to see through the Mist, the force that hid the supernatural from most mortals. Stranger still was her gift of prophecy. Before I died, she had told me of her choice to be the Oracle, and from the green tint to her eyes, I doubted she had changed her mind. If anyone could help me through this, it would be Rachel. "Thank the gods you're here, Rachel," I said before realizing how stupid that was. I was a specter, it was unlikely she would be able to hear or see me.
To her credit, she must have been incredibly sensitive as she turned toward me, as if she had heard. But she shook her head, muttering under her breath how she must have been hearing things. A moment later and she was at my side. Well, my body's side, not my specter's side. Oh jeez this was going to be confusing. Anyway, she was at my physical side and was staring at me intently. "I don't know why, Percy, but something draws me here. I don't know what, but the others think that maybe my heart was not quite ready to give you up. But I don't think it was that," she said to my unconscious self, unaware of my presence. My heart hurt a little from her reaffirming of our relationship, but at least I could cross one girl off my list of anchors. And it didn't mean she would stop being my friend.
Just as she started to say something else, her body went rigid, and a familiar green light glowed around her eyes and from her mouth. I watched wide-eyed as Rachel went into a trance.
"A hero lost will be reborn
And with his birth shall create storm.
A vow is broken, debt is paid,
A lasting love will soon be made.
Through trials thrice the Fates will test
Which only faithfulness will best.
Should god and virgin love defend
Then both shall through their birth ascend."
Rachel collapsed against the chair, gasping for air after delivering the prophecy. Not a second later the door burst open as Apollo rushed into his room, gathering his oracle in his arms. He was quickly followed by Hermes and, surprisingly, Grover, who looked as though he hadn't slept in days. Just how long had I been gone?
"Hermes, inform our father at once. Grover, I want you to go back to Camp Half-Blood and let Chiron and Dionysus know about the prophecy. Though its strange," he said, making both stop as they were rushing to fulfill the Sun God's demands. "Usually a prophecy is only given in front of the ones who will help fulfill it." Apollo stared straight through me, at where my body was resting. One of his eyebrows rose as if he sensed something that interested him, but he said nothing as he and the other two left, leaving me with my soulless body once again.
I held my head in my hands as I replayed the prophecy again and again in my head, leaning against the wall of the room. If I concentrated, I was able to keep myself from falling through, floating slightly in order to avoid needing to do so with the floor. The first line was obviously about me, being a hero that was 'lost', or dead in my case, and being reborn as a god. But what about the other lines. Some were a little more clear, like a lasting love, though I was both angered and embarrassed by the thought. But with who was the love going to be with. It was a virgin, whoever it was, but the idea brought a blush to my cheeks. How was I to talk to anyone? Rachel was the Oracle and Apollo a God and they still hadn't seen me. Even if I was able to talk, I would have to be insane to go up to a girl and say something like 'Oh, by the way, have you ever had sex with a boy before?'
I sighed deeply. Annabeth had been great at figuring out the prophecies they had received. The thought of being without her guidance and warmth renewed my depressive feelings. A part of me wanted nothing more than to fade into oblivion and forget everything. But the part of my that still held my loyalty rang strong. I would not allow Mom and Tyson and Grover and Thalia to be hurt or worse because of my actions. I allowed myself to pass through the wall of my room, if it could be called that, and into the main city of Olympus.
Where there had usually been several minor gods and immortals going about their business, instead there was an overwhelming feeling of sorrow. Though the city had been rebuilt, the sky above was gray and lifeless, and no one wandered the streets. I floated through them without company, making my way toward the throne room. Hopefully I could find a lead to my predicament there.
Apollo and Rachel stood before the assembled council, or at least part of it. Rachel still looked very tired, and even the ever-joking Apollo looked serious for once. Zeus and Hera were present, both looking as regal as ever but with a hint of concern on their faces. My father's throne was empty, and I noticed that Dionysus was absent as well, though he was presumably at Camp Half-Blood given what I had heard from Apollo earlier. Athena was present physically, but from the wear on her face she was not there mentally. She stared blankly as Apollo repeated the prophecy Rachel had given an hour ago. All of the gods chattered nervously at the declaration, some more so than others.
p"A hero reborn. That couldn't possibly mean Perseus, could it?" My name being mentioned brought my attention back to what they were saying. Apollo was attempting to decipher his oracle's words. "Of all heroes to be reborn, it would make the most sense. It has to be a male based on the second line, so that leaves out some of our more recent fallen," he said, casting a glance to Athena.
Aphrodite stood up, a sly smile on her lips. "Oh a lasting love. Rarely is love mentioned in prophecy. I cannot wait to see who they are." She trailed off, a dreamy look on her beautiful face as I had no doubt she was imagining how she could get herself involved. The gods gave their own opinions on who it would be, and my name was guessed many times. Zeus brought order back to his council.
"What concerns me more is the second line. If this hero brings about a storm, it could cause no amount of trouble," he explained. A few of the gods nodded in agreement, including Athena. It was Hera who spoke up next.
"While a storm does usually mean trouble, god of thunder," she said with a glare, which even almighty Zeus cowed under. "It does not mean that this one will. Storms can nourish as much as they can harm," she reminded her husband. He closed his eyes at her remark, and I could see he was considering her words.
"Very well. Regardless of how events will unfold, we cannot go against a prophecy, especially one that was not given for a quest." Though he had not said it, it was clear Zeus was referring to the Great Prophecy, which was given decades before my birth. The King of the Gods turned to his daughter. "Artemis, I task you with attempting to find the woman mentioned in the prophecy. It seems that she will be very important to its fulfillment, and I'd rather she at least be under our watchful eyes than attempt to track her down."
The Goddess of the Moon rose indignantly. "You are asking me to find a maiden and deliver her to be taken by a man. Do you even realize what you are saying? How can you-" she was cut off my a massive clap of thunder as Zeus rose from his seat. He did not say a word, but merely locked eyes with his daughter. I could almost see the sparks flying between their eyes, no pun intended, as they engaged in their silent battle of wills. It seemed to last forever before Artemis huffed and averted her eyes. "I will do as you ask father, but I will make it known it is done under protest." She snapped her fingers and Thalia Grace appeared at her side from behind her throne.
Being one of Artemis' Hunters left a girl young and radiant. Being a lieutenant usually meant you were not only the strongest and most trustworthy of the Hunters, but also most likely the prettiest. Though normally Thalia matched all of these descriptions, even in her punk outfits, I nearly wept when I saw how she looked now. Her eyes were sunken and red, her skin was a sickly pale, and she looked dead inside. I had no doubt that the loss of three of her closest friends would leave her broken inside, but I had never expected this. I wanted nothing more to reach out and tell her I was alright, but it was hopeless. There was no way I could get anyone's attention.
"Yes, my lady," Thalia said in a quiet whisper. Artemis' eyes softened at the sight of the girl, and Zeus turned away from her, not in shame but in sorrow. Artemis laid a hand on her shoulder. I could see the pain that Artemis was experiencing at her lieutenant's grief. The war with Kronos had no doubt been hard on everyone, but I knew that Thalia must feel extremely guilty since she'd been incapacitated by the statue of Hera.
"We move to hunt immediately. Please assemble the other girls." With her orders given, Artemis vanished from sight. Thalia moved to exit the throne room, but stopped as she moved away from her patron's throne. She was staring right at me, eyes open in shock. It took me a second to even realize that she was looking at me and not through me. There was a thud as she fell to her knees, tears streaking from her eyes. Her next words struck me like the lightning her father was known for.
"Percy?!"