AN: Don't worry about Perseus being a Mary Sue, his power will almost always be lesser than any godly being he fights. Atlas was an exception as Perseus had to get him under the Podium, a long and delayed fight would of ended extremely badly for him and the demigods that were trying to hold up the sky. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's mostly meant for character development (Which will be vital later in the story) but don't worry because action will be coming in the next couple chapters. (I've also done my best to try and take care of any typos, so if you see any I apologize)

Chapter 3: Shadows

2 Months Later

On top of a tall tower, in a place that rivaled the beauty of Olympus, a young man with night black hair and golden eyes sat on the roof gazing below. His shoulders sagged and he looked full of questions, one staring at him could mistake him for a jumper due to his dangerously close position to the edge of the tall stone tower and depressed and defeated look.

Perseus sighed in defeat as he stared out at the beautiful plains of Elysium, this had been the third day in a row that he was searching for his mother in the Underworld. He knew deep inside that it was probably fruitless as he didn't even know his last name, nor did he know if he mother was alive or dead. Still, he felt like he was slowly having his humanity sapped out of him from being an attack dog for Hades.

Perseus wanted to become stronger, he realized that after the fight with Atlas. He would never have been able to defeat Atlas in a real fight, he was lucky that Atlas was mentally unstable because of thousands of years of holding up the sky. Even more, Perseus had denied Atlas the pleasure of spilling Olympian blood, something that he had probably been dreaming about for years while he was stuck under the sky.

Getting praise for his "defeat" of Atlas by Hades felt wrong to him, his strong sense of Honor would never let him get over it until he was in a position where he could actually defeat him. Even now he felt like he was expecting too much, he had achieved a place in three years that would take an average demigod decades to even come close too.

He realized that the only way to truly gain the power he was seeking would be to completely sacrifice his human self, being a child of a Primordial is not the same as being a child of an Olympian. Protogenoi, unlike Olympians, have no true form unlike the Olympians whom can assume a divine form, Protogenoi encompass too much for all their essence to ever be in one place at a time.

This means that Perseus has two different types of blood running through his veins, one is his mortal genetics and the other is the primordial essence that was attached to him at birth. There were other time when a mortal was impregnated by a Protogenoi, only for the baby to not be able to handle the primordial essence and pass away prematurely, Perseus was unsure how he survived.

Perseus barely understood the concept of Primordial essence himself, he just knew that the passing down of godly parental powers is very different as a child of a Protogenoi. He felt as though Thanatos and Hades feared him ever being able to successfully tame the beast inside of him, and apart of him also feared it, but at the same time, he truly had nothing to lose by embracing it.

He'd never seen the prophecy that sparked his birth, nor did he see why he was obligated to fulfill it. He'd been conditioned to hate the Gods ever since he arrived here in the underworld, he'd just been given vague reasons as to why he should, but nonetheless, he doesn't hate them without reason. He sees the Olympians and the Titans as two sides of an old rusted coin, they both treat Humanity like ants in a colony. He especially hated the Olympians when he learned about the story of Prometheus and the hubris of Zeus.

He cut his thoughts off as he realized he was going off topic of what his current goal was. He had special permission by Hades to travel throughout the Underworld, though he had searched all over he couldn't find his mother. He was frustrated with himself that he couldn't even remember her face, but remembering anything about his past was a painful experience for him so he assumed it was just his sub consciousness blocking out painful memories.

He walked to a shadow and traveled out of Elysium and teleported on top of a rock near the River Lethe, he often went here and watched as souls entered the river for rebirth. He had heard from Aleco that a single drop of the river would erase the memories of even Gods, sometimes when he felt drowned in the life he was living he would contemplate using the river. He knew that beyond his relationship with Thanatos that he really had nothing else in the world to live for, he was an attack dog for a God that he didn't like as well as a slave to some prophecy he knows nothing about.

He stared at the wisp-like entities making their way into the river and pulled out his gemmed pocket watch to check the time. He cursed as he realized how late he was to his training, he was an hour past the set time.

He stared out at the river one last time and admired its dark beauty, he sighed and stepped back into the shadows to travel to his training area near the River Styx. Arriving he saw two figures in the distance, near the riverbank. Using his ability to see in the darkness he found a tall man groping his beard next to an equally as tall man staring feebly into the River Styx.

As he approached the two, he immediately recognized the one of the left to be his teacher Marcus Aurelius. The Man who had taught Perseus Stoicism and many laws of governance and kingship, he realized that today he was supposed to further learn about Roman myths and their difference to Greek ones.

The two men turned to Perseus and greeted him with warm smiles, Marcus walked forward to give Perseus a roman handshake.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Emperor Aurelius," Perseus said bowing his head to Marcus

Marcus gave out a laugh and said, "I'm not an emperor anymore boy, now I'm just a grumpy old man"

Perseus grinned at Marcus's reply and turned to the other man who he turned too and gave a customary bow to him.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," Perseus said as he rose his head

Grinning the man with Black Hair and Green eyes in front of him replied,

"I too am pleased to finally meet you, Perseus, I've heard a lot about you in the Isle of the Blest. I am Achilles, the Fallen Hero" He said returning the bow Perseus gave him as a sign of respect.

Perseus's mouth was agape for a second and he went into a shock for a minute, he'd always admired Achilles and here he was in front of him.

Marcus spoke up at Perseus's expression, "Achilles is here to assist you in special combat training by Thanatos's order, I'll be going now but we will continue your studies at a later date" after saying this he gave both Perseus and Achilles a Roman salute before leaving, both Perseus and Achilles also saluted him as he left.

Perseus recovering from his shock shook it off and replied, "It's an honor to meet you Achilles."

Achilles smiled and nodded his head in reply before responding,

"Thanatos has instructed me specifically on your future endeavors, we'll be undergoing training to prepare for them." Achilles said with a face that looked like he was only telling half the story.

Though Perseus was easily able to read people, he never called them out on it. And he especially wouldn't call out a hero like Achilles, he assumed that there was a reason for it and trusted his judgment.

"What will this training be?" Perseus asked inquisitively.

Achilles turned his face from Perseus to the River Styx and grimaced,

"I will be honest with you Perseus, I have been instructed to prepare you to bathe in the Styx."

Perseus looked down somewhat shocked, though the shock mostly came from that fact that Thanatos had ordered Achilles to prepare him for it. Bathing in the River Styx was something Perseus often thought about, he realized that it would be the only way for him to achieve the power he was after.

Still, he was not suicidal and had no intention of throwing himself into an extremely painful situation. At the same time, he really had nothing of value to lose, even if he died he still would be able to see Thanatos and all of his Masters. He took the fact that Thanatos personally ordered it to be a sign that even Hades was confident that Perseus could handle it.

Perseus rose his head and replied to Achilles, "I understand, if Thanatos has ordered it then obviously he has faith in me surviving it"

Achilles responded with a neutral look, after all, he was the only one to experience the pain of the River Styx and the Curse that came with it.

"You should know, Perseus that this path will curse you, your very body will be turned into a vessel for this curse," Achilles said looking at him seriously.

Perseus turned his head to the River Styx and studied it quietly for a couple of minutes, "I believe that whatever curse it gives me will just blend in with the many I already have"

Achilles shook his head and gave a small smile, "Well, the stories I have heard of you seem to be true"

Perseus replied with a grin, "Shall we begin?"

Three Weeks Later

Sweat poured from Perseus face as he grimaced in agony, he was being burnt all over his body at the same time by two skeletal torturers from the fields of punishment using false flames. Though the flames did not leave burn marks or directly damage the skin, all of the real pain of burning alive could still be felt by the victim.

For three weeks Perseus had endured this and similar methods, all to increase his pain tolerance for the River Styx. He already felt like he wanted to quit, he'd never experienced such excruciating pain before, but the memory of Mount Othrys kept him going.

I will get stronger…

I WILL GET STRONGER… ...

This sentence preoccupied his mind from the pain and gave him a rush of adrenaline, the thought of getting stronger fueled a bestial side of Perseus. He assumed this side was his Protogenoi instincts as any strong emotions usually would allow them to burst through.

He grunted as the two skeletal servants stopped their conditioning on Perseus, he stood up and tried to shake off the pain but to no avail. He wasn't allowed to use darkness healing to soothe his muscles as the entire point of this was to condition them to combat the conditions he would face.

After calming down he walked out of the chamber in the Fields of Punishment he was in, he let out a painful laughed as he realized he looked and felt like an inmate paying for his sins. He looked for a shadow nearby and entered it, teleporting himself to where he was supposed to meet Achilles for his final training before entering the Styx tomorrow.

Seeing Achilles once again at the riverbank, Perseus silently joined him and stared at what would soon be his strongest challenger yet. Staring into the menacing darkness that he hadn't ever noticed before, he felt a chill go up to his spine.

He suddenly remembered a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher he also had to learn under, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

He felt that these words directly related to the situation he was in now, he was verging the point on becoming completely absent of average human morality due to his Protogenoi nature. Yet here he was, feeding that nature exactly what it wants, his mortal body to undergo immense pain and suffering so that it can take over. He has a naive hope that gaining the power of the Styx would allow him to be able to successfully gain control over his nature in full, though he knew this was probably nothing more than another excuse for him to go through this pain.

Looking into the River Styx he realized that he could not see through it like he could see through average Darkness. He realized that the Styx was a place held sacred by even the gods and that it was a place that he had no power to manipulate the light in.

Perseus heard Achilles voice to his right,

"This river took and gave me everything I've ever had, because of it I was remembered and venerated as a Hero by the Gods. But I also lost the chance at living a long and fruitful life because of it."

Achilles finishing his sentence stared at Perseus and spoke in caution,

"Do you truly want to share my fate? The fate of one that will be remembered as a heroic martyr but live his afterlife full of regrets of what could have been?" He asked with concern and sadness in his face

Perseus averted his gaze from the River Styx and turned to Achilles before looking back at the River Styx in contemplation,

"I don't believe in fate, my very birth is a sign that fate is only a concept enforced by a false belief in it." Perseus shifting his shoulders stared at the sky of the Underworld.

"I want to make too shake the void of Khaos itself, I want to prove to those are ignorant that fate has been put before us to be broken," Perseus said this with a confidence that he hadn't ever felt before.

His words did not go over Achilles head who smiled and averted his eyes back to the River Styx,

"Maybe you will survive this river of hell after all"

Perseus grinned at Achilles and a very warm silence took over the atmosphere around them as they stared into the River Styx. It was broken by Achilles who walked over to the training area and called Perseus over, Perseus started sharpening his mental state for the River Styx by a guided meditation by Achilles that roughly went over what he would feel inside the River. Though this obviously was a complete simulation he had confidence that it would help him greatly.

After three hours of this Achilles was called back to the Isle of Blest and Perseus seeing him off started to return to his room shortly after.

He navigated around Hades Palace and decided to visit the wing that he once destroyed, it was located near the place where Persephone's hidden garden was. He was reminded of the first time they had interacted, he offered her a black rose only for him to be spat on and called a freak. He honestly couldn't blame her, even though he disliked her for breaking his hope of finding a mother figure he couldn't find it in him to hate her.

He understood she was a victim of Olympian tyranny, she was stolen from her true home and forced to marry the lord of the Underworld. Not only that, but she was also forced to put up with an unstable demi-protogenoi. His thoughts ended as he made his way to his room, entering it he was met with the typical empty chamber, save the large closet which was where he stored items he manifests to him.

Even his selection of clothing was shotty, he usually would just wear a black shirt with whatever breeches the servants would bring him during casual occasions such as training. For operations and battle he would wear his long dark coat and stygian iron armor which was purposely left without any markings so nobody could identify him, but both of these were easy to manifest over his casual clothing so he could wear them at any time he needed.

He felt exhausted and almost fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, it was the dark granite stones that made up his ceiling that kept him awake. He remembered the first time he entered this unfamiliar room as a naive and foolish child, still, here he was a naive and foolish young man. He laughed at that thought as he drifted asleep

Perseus was running, behind him he heard the maniacal laugh of a woman following him.

He was unfamiliar with the place he was at, there were no buildings there was not even a general direction for him to go.

He looked all around him only seeing darkness, before long he realized that he was no longer running, in fact he was stuck to the ground and all around him darkness seemed to get closer and closer. He tried to control it and move it back but he couldn't, he screamed out for help but his screams were met with more evil laughter.

As he was being suffocated by Darkness, all he could hear was the shrill laughter of a she-witch.

Perseus woke up in a cold sweat, he looked all around him in a panic for enclosing dark walls but only saw the usual sight of him room.

He shook himself awake and immediately closed his mind to attempt to manifest something when he did so a small orb of darkness appeared in his hand. He sighed in relief and moved to the edge of his bed and buried his face in his hands.

What a miserable way to start this dreadful day

He thought as he sighed in angst, he felt sick to his stomach and was on the verge of puking whenever he thought of what he would have to do today. He realized that he had the same nightmare repeating over and over, he tried to remember what it was exactly but could only recall darkness.

He stood up and headed to the washroom across the hall, he washed his face and stared at himself in the mirror. His golden eyes had a tint of darkness in them today, which was usually a normal sight. His black hair was in a mess and his once clean undercut was overgrown, he barely cared about his looks and only got haircuts or groomed when Hades or Thanatos would tell him to go to the skeletal barber in the Palace who was supposedly a world renown serial killer during when he lived known as Gilbert Paul Jordan.

Though he never had a problem when he cut his hair because the skeletal form takes all character out of a person, he felt odd getting a haircut from such an evil man.

He finished washing up and slicked back his hair before manifesting replacement clothing and making his way outside, he didn't shadow travel as he already felt nauseous and teleporting would only make it worst. Making his way to one of the secret exits, specifically avoiding the throne room he heard a whistle coming from behind him.

Turning around he saw Lord Hades, he quickly responded by giving a Roman salute, as Hades said he preferred it over being bowed too. Hades grinned as he saw Perseus, and Perseus noted the grimacing joker-like look on his face.

"Ahhh, Perseus, I wanted to see you in your room too see how you feel before the swimming in the River Styx," Hades said not dropping his creepy grin.

Perseus replied respectfully and kept up a soldier styled posture, "I'm feeling as ready as I can, I will not fail you, my lord"

Hades dropped his grin by biting his lower lip, "That's good to hear, someone such as yourself should be able to take the River Styx blessing without issue"

Percy thanked him and continued on his way out, his spirits were slightly lifted up at the fact that he called it a "blessing". It only went further to cement that Perseus's preconceptions of Hades were right and that he really is just a madman bent on revenge against his brothers and sisters. He shook his head as he shouldn't think about him like that in his own domain, even if reading his thoughts was probably impossible it still didn't feel right or safe.

He stretched as he made his way to the River Styx, the fact that he had to bathe in it today only hit him when it came into view. He passed the Judgement Pavilion, completely forgetting it was there and interrupted a long line of wisps trying to enter. He was full of angst and doubt, he had no idea what was going to happen in the River Styx. Achilles barely even knew as he was bathed in it as a child, leaving Perseus to only guess what he'd see. He tried to do a lot of studying about the Lady Styx but couldn't find anything of note.

He arrived at the River Styx and saw the figure of Achilles and Thanatos, they both stared ominously at him as he arrived. Achilles approached Perseus and whispered into his ear before greeting him,

"Perseus, remember what I told you? Do not give your fatal spot to anyone, not even those who you hold dearest to you." Achilles whispered seriously before playing it off as though he was giving him words of encouragement.

Thanatos stared at Perseus with a smile and welcomed him, Perseus responded back with a half bow and a greeting before walking forward so he could look over the Styx. His heart pounded as he stared at it, it was also partly due to the warning Achilles gave, he gave it in an extremely serious way almost like he was trying to commune something to him without Thanatos hearing.

He processed the info as meaning he should give a fake spot to Thanatos and Hades, he realized that Thanatos would most likely ask for the location and he couldn't just simply deny telling him.

"Are you prepared, Perseus?" Thanatos said staring at him with intensity.

Achilles watched in silence, obviously somewhat worried about Perseus and the situation at hand, it wasn't hard to tell that he saw some of himself inside of Perseus and wanted to prevent him from making the same mistakes.

"Yes, I'm as ready as I'll be all day," Perseus said staring at Thanatos then switching his gaze to Achilles who responded with a nod.

Perseus started to strip, leaving on his Boxers. He didn't bother shadow traveling them away as he was afraid he might also get rid of his underwear, something he did more times than he wanted to admit.

He looked back and forth at Achilles and Thanatos, seeing if they had anything to say before he made his plunge. To his surprise, Thanatos was silent and was just staring intently at the River, but Achilles walked forward and put his hand on Perseus's shoulder and gave him a nod as to say he believed in him.

Perseus didn't feel ready for this, but it was too late to back out now. He held his breath as he walked forward before he had time to run away he jumped in, hoping it wouldn't be his last moments.