In comes another chapter, and man I've been getting lazy.
Well, not lazy, but I have like zero inspiration.
So, in order to make up for a plot that's slowly devolving, I'm including ... the Lovecraftian mythos! Yes, yes, Cthulhu and and that. Except, the squid face won't make a major appearance here, nor will most of the pantheon. Why? Cause he's too damn mainstream.
Since I still haven't finalized who WILL make an appearance in this story, I'll reveal two that definitely will show up ... Shub-Niggurath and Nyarlathotep (but you already know that). Yes, The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young and the depraved Thousand Masks of Chaos will be active characters in this story. Perhaps I'll slot in Yog-Sothoth and maybe a few more, but that's about it. Cause in all honesty, this fic will devolve into an acid trip if I put too much of these guys in here.
Also, you'll find that the story is progressively getting less serious and slightly more humorous. I'm doing this to take my mind off some darker topics in my head. I have other stories to vent on.
Let's begin!
"The stars are murky, sisters."
""Indeed.""
"Who invited the dark one?"
Before either of the Fates could answer, a figure warped into the room they were in.
"My, my, ladies," he drawled. "Don't you know it's rude to talk about people behind their backs?"
At this, the Three Fates stood up. "Who invited you in to this world?" demanded Lachesis.
The figure laughed. "The one person you'd never suspect, you know, Big G."
Their eyes widened. "What does that fool think he's doing?"
"How would I know? All I know is I'm being contracted to take down some guys that got too close to Earth. By the way, how's the kid doing, Jackson, was it?"
This made the Fates tense up. "Why do you want to know?"
"Seems like an interesting guy," he shrugged. "Maybe I'll go give him a visit." With this, he phased away.
The three, now left on their own, fell silent for a few minutes.
"""What?"""
"Save me!" pleaded Annabeth.
Percy sighed, holding himself back from lashing out against Annabeth as she clung onto a rock, a mysterius force pulling her towards the entrance towards Tartarus.
Spying with his [Observe] skill, he tried to identify the cause of this.
[Flying Shoes] : These wings are blessed with flight, and can be activated upon will. However, these particular shoes have been cursed to automatically activate upon being within a range close enough to Tartarus. Additionally, they have been enchanted in order to not run out of energy.
Defensive rating: 0/10. This item has legitimately zero defenses, so a scissor could probably destroy it.
[Choose!
1) Destroy the shoes and have Annabeth basically idolize you ... whether that's a good thing or not is up to you. I mean, she'll live, but does she really matter to you?
2) Let her get dragged into Tartarus. I mean, what idiot takes stuff given to them by shady teenage boys without doubting them? Sure, she'll die, but she's been nothing but a nuisance. You have partners who do everything she can do ... but better.
What is your choice?]
Blinking at the sarcastic tones of the choices, he picked choice one and prepared to destroy the shoes.
He rushed forward with his blade in hand. After dashing forward two meters, he felt a rush of power, indicating that Ares' gift had kicked in. He gave a slash, and the resulting attack destroyed the flying shoes.
Dealt 9,036(*1.5) = 13554 damage!
[Flying Shoes] have been destroyed!
Option 1 has been cleared!
Congratulations! You have accomplished your choice, and received 10,000 EXP for being the bigger person, even if the person you saved is a legitimate prick. You have also received a bonus dark magic: [Gehenna's Anguish] !
Due to rejecting Option 2, you have rejected the following rewards: [Wrath of a Grieving Goddess] , [Annabeth's Soul] , upgrade of [Fallen Knight] to [Sociopath's Schadenfreude] , skill of [Necromancy] , the spell [Cocytus Zero] , and [Societal Disgrace] .
Dark Magic: [Gehenna's Anguish] : You are darkness incarnate. There is no escape from your overbearing presence. You may hide, but they can't run. Deals damage equal to 1000*Atk , raises def by 1.2* for five seconds, maxes crit rate for five seconds (up to 100%), raises Atk by 4* for five seconds, and raises crit damage level by 14 levels for five seconds (140% damage), and triples MP regen for 1 hour. Additionally gives the user the [Stealth] perk for 5 seconds. MP usage: 600 MP to cast
[Stealth] : While under the effect of [Stealth, you cannot be damaged by single arrows, stabs, or any attack designed to hurt one target only. Additionally, you gain invisibility during the duration of the perk. However, this will not protect you from attacks designed to hit multiple targets, status ailments, nor hide your presence.
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
Usage of [Champion Charge] has increased its level by 1!
[Champion Charge ] (Level 2): if the user travels more than two meters on an attack, the next attack has an extra damage multiplier of 1.75*
Percy's eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets when he saw the fruits of his labor. Honestly, it slightly terrified him, considering how quickly he was gaining power.
Well, at least he avoided the fury of Athena if she found out that he had left her daughter to die.
There was bound to be certain deities out there that would not take kindly to this.
"Thank you!" shouted Annabeth, slowly getting up after realizing that she was safe. "Since you saved me, does that mean that ..." she began, a blush growing.
"No," he stated bluntly, and began walking towards Hades' palace with the others. once they neared the god's presence, Percy motioned foe them to stay quiet while he handled the diplomacy.
"Hello, cousin."
"Greetings, Lord Hades."
"Although I probably know by now, I will ask you anyways: why are you visiting?"
"We were looking for who stole Lord Zeus's bolt. We were wondering if you knew who that person was." At this Annabeth opened her mouth to protest but Ia punched her in the head and knocked her out. Neither speaker appeared to notice this.
"Well," mused Hades. "Actually, yes. I've heard rumors that a certain God of Strength had acquired a new weapon. Whether or not that is true is not for me to decide. However, I would advise investigating him. If you were not going to do so before, I'd appreciate it if you can see if he has my helm as well." Percy nodded.
"Thank you, my lord."
Hades waved his hand, and a portal to the aboveworld appeared. "Your friends can go track him down; however, we have some matters to discuss."
After the group had left, a smile found its way onto Hades' face. "How have times been, Percy?"
"Manageable," shrugged Percy, before being choked in a bear hug.
"Percy!" sqealed Persephone. "You're here early!"
"Ha, yeah," winced Percy. Even if he couldn't feel pain, he did feel the effects of lack of oxygen due to his ribs being compressed.
"Persephone, let the boy breathe," laughed Hades. "Even so, we appreciate the visit."
"No problem," replied Percy, managing a grin.
It quickly fell off when he realized a problem: he was smiling.
Although he had smiled before, they hadn't looked as genuine or full of emotion as the one he just gave. And the two deities had noticed.
"Percy?" asked Persephone. "Did something happen?"
[Choose!
1) Tell them the truth. They are the closest things to parents that you have, besides Thanatos and Artemis, and are clearly better than Poseidon. How can you hold back such an important piece of information from them? They love you as a parent loves a child. The least you can do is show them proper respect.
2) Some things are better left unknown. Who knows what could happen if they find out? Will they shun you? Reject you? What if they tell others? You will be targeted by those seeking your powers, and your loved ones can be harmed in the process. Can you afford that guilt on your conscience?
What is your choice?]
Percy sighed, picking choice one. He wasn't a good liar, and besides, he trusted them.
"Guys ... I have something to tell you."
As he described his condition to the duo, a sinking feeling entered his chest. What if they did reject him? Would they see him as a freak? He had been branded by Satan, after all. Who knows how anyone would react to that?
"Percy," began Persephone, noticing the look of despair in his eyes. "Look at me.
"You've been with us for many years. Even if your condition is unique, we wil never think if you as anything other than our surrogate child."
Percy blinked before his face exploded into tears.
Skill Unlocked: [Crying]
[Crying] (95%): You can now cry on command. You can either use it to convince someone for something, or just to release some stress. I mean, if gods can cry, why can't you?
Effect: user will cry until user decides to stop. Also alleviates any mental stress that may build up, and heals 10 HP every hour of crying.
Chance to convince someone of something: 95%
Crying was odd to him. Why would people cry if they were already feeling weak? It just made them look weaker, as though tempting predators that you were ready to be eaten. However, as soon as the first tear slid down his face, he found out.
It was a strange comfort. He had never expected to be able to cry, especially not after he had been born with the inability to feel emotions. Years of apathy meant that there was a lot of
It was strange.
But not frightening.
"There, there," murmured Persephone. "Just let it out."
Option 1 has been cleared!
Congratulations! You have deepened trust between you and them. They will be ready to defend you in case anything happens.
Meanwhile, the group had been transported to a park near the DOA studio. To their surprise, a large man was waiting for them their, wearing a fur coat despite the heat, and a baseball bat on his back.
The only thing was, the baseball bat was 10 ft long.
"So," the man grinned, spitting out a wad of saliva. "The gloomy bastard found out about me. Well, now what?"
The group settled into a battle stance. "Hercules," spat out Ia. "I've been told you are guarding the Perimeter. Why are you doing this?"
The god shrugged. "Some guy offered to do my job, handed me the bolt, and I gotta say, I'm liking this thing." To emphasize his point, he brought the bolt out and made it shoot a single streak of lightning at a tree, obliterating it.
"Now, I can't have you running around spreading that about me, so it looks like it's time to end you brats." With that, he hurled the bolt at Ia, hitting ehr squarely in the chest and sending her flying backwards, effectively neutralizing her for the battle.
The others surges forward. Forced to rely on his club to to losing his grip on the bolt, he took to brawling against the kids by himself. Blocking a slash by Silena, he prepared to clobber her, but was blocked by Beckendorf. Using his remaining hand, he tried to punch the teen away but his hand was held back by Clarisse, who had held it back with a chain.
"Now, Annabeth!" roared Beckendorf.
With that, the blonde shimmered into existence, having concealed her presence with her magical cap. With the god being distracted, she plunged the knife into his back.
Or she would have, if it didn't break against the coat Hercules was wearing.
She gasped, scolding herself for forgetting the Nemean Lion skin that the god donned, leaving him immune to attacks.
The god roared in fury, realizing what they had tried to do, and let out a pulse of sheer pressure, knocking them all down.
"Not bad," he growled. "But it's all over. It's like the rules of the Wild Hunt: join, hide, or die. You ain't joining, and you sure ain't hiding, so looks like y'all gotta die now."
His form changed, revealing a man covered in scars, donning a lion's skin as a cape. He wore nothing else except a cloth acting as his underwear.
"I'm going to enjoy breaking you girls first, though," he grinned savagely. "The boy will have to die, now." With that, he raised his club and brought it down on Beckendorf.
*Clang!*
Before the club hit the stunned boy, a figure had intercepted the blow with a blade.
"Looks like I'm here on time," grinned Percy.
Hercules snarled, attepting to kick Percy out of the way. Percy jumped back to avoid, then lunged forward to slam his blade on the God.
Dealt 2 damage!
Percy stared in disbelief. So this was the power of a god...
"You see now the futility?" snarled Hercules. "I am a god! You are nothing but a demigod! Bow before me, half-blood!"
Percy began to fill with despair. The only one in their group that could pierce through defenses was Ia, and she was incapacitated. He s prepared to change fate before he realized his one advantage. Summoning a few D'Archangels to distract the god, he swapped his scythe in favor for a weapon from before.
[Pit Lord's Vorpal Blade] : a blade that sugnifies the status of a Pit Lord. Infused with the essence of hate, it consigns an individual to suffer from an endless fury before the accursed blade takes its prey. This curse only works on the first individual struck by the blade per day.
[Weapon Effect: Vorpal Curse] : offers no damage boost; however, you will not need it. Will mark an individual as [Hateful Frenzy, resulting in a damage over time effect that will eventually kill the afflicted individual. Time until next available charge: 00:00
[Hateful Frenzy] : the target gets an attack increase of at least 99999%, increasing depending on the hate that the individual may harbor. However, the target is unable to do anything but fight mindlessly, targeting themselves if no opponent is within range. Target will take damage equal to 10% of their max HP every three seconds. This curse can only be healed by a deity with the [Holy] status.
Gripping the blade, Percy lashed out with it just as Hercules had finished deatriying his minions.
Dealt 1 damage! [Hateful Frenzy] effect applied!
Hercules howled in pain as the curse began eating his mind. His whole body shuddered wirh power as the side effect of the [Frenzy] variant took its hold on him
Warning! Extremely powerful individual in the area!
Hercules fell to the ground in a manic fit , pounding his fists against the beach. The earth shook with each slam, and qhen he threw his club at a car, the vehicle blew up.
Percy quickly herded the group back to Ia. If what the description said was correct, all he had to do was survive half a minute, then have Ia purify Hercules in order to capture him.
"Hmpth," a voice said. "That's no fun."
An aura enveloped the enraged Hercules. When it subsided, the gid was knoxked out and no longer rampaging. Instead, he was bound up and gagged in Celestial Bronze chains.
"Much better. A cow has more manners than him."
The group stared in awe of the tall figure who had pacified the god. His face had a cold smile, most of hia bpdy was covered by a cloak of darkness that seemed to fuse into the ground. It was impossivle to categorize his looks as anything except ... a face.
"Well then, I suppose introductions are in order. I am the Nyarlathotep, and I'd like to know the easiest way to destroy this world. Oh, where are my manners; I would like to know the easiest way tk deatriy this world please.