Hey Guys!
I know I am a little late, but with studying for AP testing and other tests, I have been pretty busy. With any luck I will be back in and on a regular schedule. Hope all y'all enjoy!
Percy POV
When I got my bearings, as much as I can in the dark, I noticed the obvious; I had a heavy bag, I felt a faucet, thanks Dad, heard a refrigerator, thanks cousin H, and could see nothing in the dark. Good job Percy! I determined after less than a moment's thought that I needed light to complete this puzzle. And to get light I either needed fire or a light switch. I had at this point determined that Athena's blessing was working well enough for me. I was able to quickly determine that I needed to find a light switch, because I didn't know how much oxygen I had and I didn't want to waste it on fire, in the dark room where I had no idea where the walls were. Well, if I just walk forward I will eventually find a wall. So I walked forward.
Until I tripped over a table and face planted. Then I got up, on the other side of the table, and walked forward. Good job Percy, you managed to keep your direction in the dark after falling. Must have something to do with Hades' blessing. In the process of getting to the wall I tripped over a rug, and a stool. I also walked into the fridge, and it hurt, a lot. Finally I found a wall. Step one complete.
Next step, search wall for light switch. This went surprisingly smoothly because I had something to hold onto: my friendly neighborhood wall. After banging my head on various wall fixtures, (I mean who decorated this place?) I came to the light switch. I had no memory of anything except the sharp edge of the frame I had just bumped into, and so I was somewhat confused when I came across it. At first I thought it was a painting and screamed. I swear, I had acquired a new fear of paintings in the last however long I've been here. After a brief moment, I had the intellect, or memory, to realize that this was a light switch. Used for turning on lights, which I was not sure I wanted to do.
I mean, I might see paintings.
After a few minutes, or hours, or however I measure time in here, I decided that I needed light. For some reason. At least to find a table to put this heavy bag on. So I turned it on. The walls were done in alternating wood tones with lightning bolt patterns on the walls(I think a god named Zeus is responsible) and the walls covered with a whole 7 oil pastel paintings. 1 of the paintings was of a pure white swan sitting on it's nest with two eggs out beside it, with small children in the eggs. I assume that these were Helen of Troy and Polydeuces. In another picture was a dashing blonde holding a gorgon's head, whom I assume to be the original Perseus holding Medusa's head. The theme continued all the way around; famous children of Zeus. The one picture that interested me the most was of a pine tree on a hill. I am guessing this was the same tree that held the huntress that was pleading for me to be safe just hours ago. Deciding that I had had enough looking at paintings, I proceeded to walk over to the table and pull up the stool, sitting facing the only wall without a painting; the one with the fridge and kitchen area. While I was not yet hungry, it was good to know that was there if I got hungry. I then recklessly dumped out all of the puzzle pieces. They were in the following shapes: a moon, the sun, a lightning bolt, a trident, a hammer, a heart, an owl head, a skull, a bunch of grapes, a scythe, a flame, and a winged snake. This was gonna be a long night.
After several hours of musing, I had brought together the sun inside of the winged snake with the moon cradling the sun. The moon was connected to the lightning bolt, which connected to the heart, which pressed against the snake, and the trident. The trident also met the snake and was nestled with the scythe, which worked together to house the hammer quite nicely. The hammer was sandwiched in between the skull and owl head pieces, and the skull pressed against the snake and the flame. The flame and the grapes were close together and the grapes were in between the owl's horns, which pressed against the trident. The snake was holding all of this together and pressing the hammer in close with the flame and the grapes.
I saw no other way for these pieces to go together.
But then again, I didn't have any idea as to how they would fit in the first place. I sighed and got up, intending to get myself a fifth glass of water to splash on myself. The effect was better than drinking coffee. When I was soaked in water, I felt more awake and alert. I felt like running a mile. Or cramming for a test. Or just doing puzzles. Yeah, that wore off fast. I wonder if Athena rewired my brain to be more normal except I get highs off of water and not drugs. That would be cool.
Regardless, as I sat back down, I noticed something that some would consider odd. I certainly would. I noticed that the pieces of the puzzle seemed to be sucking in all the light, like a black hole. Then, suddenly, it exploded in light and pulled me in. I promptly passed out.
I awoke in a room, feeling like Athena had decided surgery was the way to fix my brain. I quickly concluded that Athena had not done this. I reached this conclusion because a being of unpredictable gender, age, and skin color approached me. That's right, everything was changing. The color of it's hair, eyes, skin and his height always seemed to be in flux. Until it seemed to have settled for a 5 foot 8 middle eastern man that looked to be in his mid forties and going strong. He had caramel colored hair with chocolate brown eyes that are so uncommon among demigods. And he radiated power unlike that of any being I had been around in my life.
And that is a lot coming from a guy who has fought two titans at once INSITE TARTARUS. This guy whoever he was, was insanely powerful. At that moment he turned to me and said
"Hello Perseus Jackson, I am Chaos. I am the creator of your universe. Apparently your gods have deemed you worthy to take on the same tests I once did." I looked at him confused. What could he have had to do? Make a planet? I CANT MAKE A PLANET! As if, and probably reading my mind, the being, now identified as Chaos, continued. "No Perseus, planetary creation is not a test. It is a sacred event that you just may witness with any luck. But for now, let me explain. Before I was the creator of your universe, I was a hero. In a different universe. My gods decided that I deserved to go meet the creator of my universe and take on the tests that each creator must undergo. I took on the tests I was prescribed, and it took many years. Any questions so far?" Oh yes, I had questions.
"Alright," I began, "So you were a hero, just like me once?"
"Yes."
"And you are from another universe."
"Yes."
"And so there are other universes with other creators out there."
"Not all of them have creators, only the ones with religion present in them."
"Why is that?"
"Because the creators create religion."
"Got it. Go on." And thus began the monologue of Chaos.
"So in the beginning of the multiverse, there was a deity named Katira. She had a special set of gems that allowed her to create anything. So she created beings almost as great as herself, and called them her children. She proceeded to make them their own copy of her gems, with almost equal power, because she loved them. These being went on to make their own universes and select a champion from their universe to collect a new set of gems from Katira. To do this, one must be blessed by the creator of their universe and pass whatever tests or trials stand in their universe. Make sense?"
"I guess," I replied. "But how does this apply to me? Surely someone has already been blessed by you and gotten their own gems."
"Actually, this is not the case. I sent out to every planet with intelligent in my universe a key to come to here, to me. The problem is that on your planet, the high amount of divine energy is overloading the key, causing it to break apart upon approach of your world and activate immediately when put together. Because of this, I send many keys to your world. I've already sent five! Anyway, a true hero must activate the key to meet me here. Where they are given this briefing and progress with the tests." Chaos' calm demeanor scared me, like this was just another rite of passage, like driving a car. This seemed deadlier and scarier.
"Alright, what are the tests for our universe?" I asked, thinking I was so smart for trying to get information.
"In these tests, you will collect my personal set of gems from around the universe. I only have my Chaos Pearl, and when you have collected them, forge them into an armor for me to wear. Then you will be sent to Katira to receive your own gems. And make your own armor," Chaos said. "You will need to battle primordials, gods, and deities from other worlds. You will not have it easy. I hope you have wit and strength both, because you will need them. Now rest, Perseus Jackson. Ready yourself. Tomorrow you begin." And with that I collapsed on the floor.
That night, I slept well. I didn't think I would have dreams. Until I woke up looking like a chicken with a Percy head. I was confused. Then I looked around and noticed that I was in my room, floating above my body. It felt weird, and I was almost scared that I was dead. That was until I had something new to be scared of. A weird current pulling me to a place and time that I had no knowledge of, in what looked to be a desert by a river.
This was all so confusing. Normally when I dreamed it involved things about the Greek gods and I saw lush greenery or dark mazes. Never had I seen such a barren wasteland. One that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. In the distance I could see a square that seemed to be incomplete based on the wood piled around it, as if trying to make a ramp to move things up the wood. There were people moving large blocks toward the ramp. Beyond that, there was little I could see. Then I witnessed the acceleration of time and saw many large pyramids be built.
Finally, I was pulled over to what looked to be the edge of a large encampment. I looked on, not able to move, and saw Roman soldiers marching about and doing drills. I only caught a few words, but I did hear the chant to Mars Ultor, the patron of the Romans. I was pulled away to a large palace to see a woman sitting lazily across several thrones. I had expected to see the only Egyptian queen. I and I saw her, but she was bowing before several gods. One being Isis, the Egyptian magic goddess, the second being Jupiter, which surprised me, and the last being Chaos.
Suddenly, Chaos turned to me and snapped his fingers. Apparently when Chaos was in front of those who valued men as leaders, Chaos was a man. Suddenly, I knew I'd been spotted and felt myself rocketed through space and time back to my body. It was enough to make me chicken-sick. Remind me never to ride a chicken again.
I woke up the moment I hit my body and looked around confused. When I saw nobody, I checked the time. Three hours to wake up, time for more sleep.
When I fell asleep this time, I expected to dream. And I hoped to not be a Percy-chicken again. As it happened, I got lucky. Or blessed by Chaos. In my dream, I was exactly where I was, but an image formed in front of me. It was lined with weird shapes that seemed to be runes. But these were not Greek or Latin. I didn't know what these are. They glowed a dim red. I saw many scenes from what I understood to be Norse mythology. I had to admit, most of the Norse deities impressed me. And then there was Thor. He was everything you expect in a college sophomore. Rude, loud, and unclean. And dressed unfashionably in a pair of blue and purple jeans with a pure green shirt covered by a gray breastplate. He adorned a helmet and held his famed hammer, which looked like a rubber mallet. He was in the middle of combat with a group of wolves and giants. As I was watching, he turned to where I stood and looked at where I was.
"You see, hero of the Greeks? We were born so that humans may ascend."
The scenery began to return to where I was sleeping and I was pulled back into my body. By looking at a clock in the room, I could tell it was morning.
I know I have worried some of you in the past by bringing up Pertemis. And I have no idea where that was going, so I am gonna stay Periper as planned. Please review and take appropriate action regarding this story. Have a great day!