He leaned lightly against the cool pillar, staring up at the disappearing stars. Dawn was just beginning to stretch rosy fingers across the sky, and the night's shadows were disappearing. Although it was surprising, Nico actually preferred daylight to the darkness. He had always associated darkness with evil, and he reveled in the fact that he was welcome in the sun, since he took it as a sign that the universe still saw some good in him. Most mornings, he watched the sunrise, enjoying the way the reds and yellows bled together. The sky always seemed as though it was on fire, burning the previous day's memories away and leaving behind a clean slate.

Sighing, he checked his watch for what seemed like the billionth time. She was late, as usual. Knowing that he would have a few minutes before Reyna arrived for breakfast, he decided to check in on his friends, using his new ability.

Nico had noticed it for the first time when Reyna was training the new recruits. She had told him he was always welcome to watch, but he normally stayed in the shadows, since the other demigods tended to feel uncomfortable in his presence. That day, however, he found himself wandering Camp Jupiter with Frank and Hazel, only half-paying attention as the couple joked with one another. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. No matter how hard he tried to enjoy the afternoon with his friends, he just couldn't get rid of his unease. As they neared the battlegrounds, he felt a sharp pang in his abdomen. The painful jolt nearly dropped him to his knees, but he kept himself on his feet and broke into a run. He just knew he needed to get to Reyna. Frank and Hazel sprinted behind him, shouting, but Nico ignored the concerned cries of the two demigods. When he got to the arena, his vision narrowed and he stopped in his tracks. All he could see was the dark-haired praetor kneeling on the ground, clutching her stomach. An imperial gold weapon glistened near Reyna, the blood on its tip a match for the growing stain on her robe, and the liquid oozing between her fingers. Somehow, in that moment, he felt as though he was the one who had been stabbed. He was blind to the frantic crowd gathering, his only focus on Reyna and her quickly fading spirit. The last thing he remembered before the darkness overtook him was the sticky feeling of blood on his fingers.

When he later awoke, Nico found himself lying on a cot in the sickbay. He shot up quickly, memories of that afternoon rushing back. He turned his head to see Reyna sleeping in a bed nearby, a fresh bandage wrapped around her middle. Relief crashed over him in waves, and he fell back to the bed. Nico faded in and out of consciousness, catching glimpses of a worried Hazel and anxious Frank. Sometime that evening, Hazel came back to check on him and they worked to piece together exactly what had happened. It turned out that one of the new recruits had managed to get past Reyna's defenses and impale her with a sword. It was a complete accident, and something that the young praetor would later brag about, her pride in the young Roman overshadowing the pain of the injury. The two siblings eventually came to the conclusion that Nico had somehow felt Reyna's pain. As time went by, it began to happen more frequently.

Now, months later, Nico knew exactly what had happened. Everyone else had chalked it up to a new ability, one that allowed him to feel others' pain. Annabeth had even called him an empath, and explained to the others that Hades had probably given him that power in order to help him better understand death. But Nico knew better- his ability allowed him to feel much more than pain. It allowed him to feel the life of another. He could sense the strength of their spirit, and when he concentrated, he could see the strings woven for them by the fates. Life was fragile, and it sometimes scared him to see how a simple choice could bring someone near the end of their thread. Any time Percy or Jason chose to dive into a battle, he could see their souls become shrouded in shadows, their ties to the living literally hanging by a thread. One second later, with the swing of a sword, those feeble strings became strong cords, tying his friends permanently to the earth. Another second, and they were close to death yet again, a constant back and forth.

Eventually, Nico had learned to block out most of the pain and the shadows, with only the greatest injuries having any effect on him. Although dealing with the physical pain had been difficult, he had been pleased to learn that distance wasn't really relevant when it came to using his new power. With practice, it became a habit for the child of Hades to check on his friends, sending tendrils of power out every now and again to keep track of everyone. For the most part, he never really felt anything disturbing. Sure, he usually felt minor wounds and cuts from scuffles with the enemy, maybe even a stab or two, but never anything alarming. So when Nico decided to check on his friends at Camp Half Blood, he wasn't prepared for the agonizing pain that blazed through his skull and knocked him unconscious. He was out before he could even scream, and his body collapsed into Reyna's stunned arms.