Prologue

It was midday when my life changed.

I was in the woods, with nobody but him and myself. He appeared to be a teenage boy, about the age of 19. He had pale blond hair and eyes that were the color of ice. Many people would looked like this, except the light scar that was slashed across his eye, and on to his cheek. He stared straight into my eyes.

"It's very simple," He began, "you steal the Helm of Darkness and bring it to me. Then I will give you the location where you could train with no fear. There are others like us, you know. This quest will proof you are...worthy." He seemed a little uncertain with the last part.

I sighed and closed my eyes, I felt my head drip down, so that my eyes were to the floor. I knew this was a horrible deal deep inside. Though, his voice seems to drill into my brain. I should've yelled, "No!" at his face and ran away, but it was like I couldn't say 'no'. I wanted praise, I wanted to belong somewhere. I wanted to prove everyone wrong.

Instead, I opened my eyes, with my head still facing the ground, I was about to whisper a word that would change my whole life, and history itself. I wasn't even sure he even heard until, at the edge of my vision, he gave me a crooked grin when I finally whispered, "Deal".

One

Until I was kidnapped, my week was great. Oh, I haven't introduced myself to you. The name's Shaft Serpent and I am 11 years old. As I was saying, I first spent my morning at a cafe close to the beach. I ordered a smoothie and a blueberry muffin ( The lady at the cashier offered me a croissant. I had no clue what a 'croissant' was). It was about 6:00 in the morning.

I was wearing oversized tattered jeans and a ripped 'rock and roll' shirt. You could see the sun peek over the ocean. Sometimes, I wish I could freeze time, just to enjoy this moment with any monsters. (Sorry, I keep forgetting. If you have not guessed, I am a demigod, or that's what Luke told me.) Luke... I absolutely hate him. He freaks me out. Luke explained to me that the world was a lie and the ancient gods of Greece, have been chillin' in the United States since...who knows when?! I realized it was 7:00am, the library was just about to open. I quickly ran out the door so I can get to the library before it opens, and before the waitress asks for a tip.

I kept running through the streets of Beverly Hills until I was certain I was lost. I started to slow to a stop, I finally saw the library. You might be thinking why this library was special. This library had everything about Greece and Rome. I ran inside the library, with hope of finding what I was looking for.

After hours of looking for the book, my eyes drift over to a thick, rusty looking book. I pulled out the book from the bookshelf. The title was in Greek runes, but I somehow managed to read the title; The Guide to The Underworld. My heart started to quicken its pace. My mind screamed, THIS HAS TO BE IT!!! The other part of me, that is more 'used to disappoint', told the other part of me to quiet down.

Author's Note: You will understand why he needs this book in the prologue.

Anyway, after reading and reading forever and ever, my eyes drifted over to an enormous window. The time was about dusk. I was disappointed when I couldn't find any important details about the Helm of Darkness, but I was more upset when I couldn't take home the book. Apparently, the librarian never even heard of the book. Huh, I thought.

Before I could put to much thought into that, I decided to find my way back home, before total darkness blanketed the sky. After maybe an hour of walking in, probably, circles, a female-like voice spoke, "Hello~, young one." She dragged out the words as she spoke. I should've ran away, (now thinking about it, I should've done many things) but curiosity got the best of me. I glanced around to find to voice. Though, all I could see was darkness. Being the idiot I (apparently) was, I answered back, "...Hello?" All of a sudden, more female voices joined the conversation.

"You must stay! We offer hospitality!"

"Come join us!"

"Play with us, young one!"

"Join us! It will be more fun than eating you for dinner!"

Something in the voice made me unfazed. I felt my eyes adjust to my surroundings, since a few of the town's light poles started to glow. I noticed that there were only one sphinx. She had most of her body as a lion. She had elegant wings of a bird.

"Oh, finally you see me. It's about time!" She began, "Now, where was I? Oh, right, the part where I eat you for dinner!" She let out a loud roar and began to charge at me. I did the most obvious thing and yelled, "Wait!" It was a good thing she had curiosity in her because she halted to a stop. She growled, "What now! I never get to eat demigods right away!"

I had to think quick, before she would change her mind and cobble me for dinner. If it was not for my amazing memory, I would been feasted upon. I remembered reading about the Sphinx and her riddle. Before I could change my mind, I desperately shouted, "What about a riddle? If I answered the riddle correctly, will you let me go?" It sounded like the sphinx groaned,

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" She roared and swatted at a light pole. The light pole timbered towards me. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I heard a loud THUMP. I slowly opened my eyes saw the light pole less than an inch away from the right of me. The Sphinx kept yelling about useless riddles, how she never ate demigods, and something about demigods not being as heroic as they used to be. While doing this she let out all her anger on the street's buildings and light poles. I spun around and fled before I was next.

I didn't look behind me until I reached the abandoned apartment. I as soon as the apartment came into view, I thought I would've cried from relief. I gasped for breath as I slowed from a sprint to a walk. Instead of using the front door, I climbing into the side window. This apartment looked as if it was from a horror movie. The wooden floor creaked with each step you took. When the wind blew through the broken windows, it sounded like faint screams of horror. Well, people consider 'home' in many ways.

As I reached the third floor, from the stairs, a hammock came into view. Followed by a stack of clean clothes, a beanbag, and some toiletries. Well, this was my life, plus, demigod stuff, and the quest of the Helm of Darkness. I used my last remains of my energy to change into clean (well as clean you can be, being 'homeless') clothes. As I made my way into one of the bathrooms in a room. As soon as I opened the door, I saw myself in the mirror. I scrawny figure, with tattered and dirty clothes. What made me wince the most was my eyes. My eyes were not brown or blue, like the sky. They weren't green either, like jades. My eyes were the reason why my last name is 'Serpent'. My eyes were bright red, the color of demons and blood.

My mortal side of the family was believed to be cursed, because of our eye color. I could barely go to school without blending in went I was little. When I would by, people back away from me, like I was the plague. Since then, I would try to put sunglasses on whenever I can. My mom and I both had the same eye color. We would both comfort each other, when the other felt down. Well, at least we did. 5 years ago, my mom disappeared with no trace. Which left my dad to take care of me. He sent a sreach out for her. After about two years, he gave in and believed she was dead and moved on, but the worse part was that he tried to change me. He forced me to sports. He forced me to wear sunglasses outside are house. He forced me to be like him. Though, the thing that made me snap was when he talked trash about my ma.

I realized that I was breaking the sink from gripping it too hard. It took an extra long second to let go of the sink. I finished up in the bathroom and went to bed (hammock). I don't exactly remember falling asleep, but I do remember was the last thing I thought when I reflected on my decisions throughout the years without my ma, what have I gotten myself into?

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Of course, being a demigod, a 'normal dream' does not exist.

I was standing in the middle of a garden. Not just a normal garden. The flower petals were pure black, full of darkness. The leaves on every plant was shaded with gray. There was not a single bright color in sight.

On the end of the garden, was a gazebo. The gazebo was made of pure, solid shadows, literally. If you were stabbed by a weapon of this shadows, you, well, disintegrate into shadows. Anyway, there was a man in the gazebo, looking around the garden like he owned it. He was dressed in a hooded cape. It was impossible to tell what he was wearing underneath. It was like he was formed from shadows. It was possible because he had an aura of shadows, the shadows were created from him. His hood was on, so I could not identify who he was.

A man came rushing past me. He was small and chubby. He was dressed in a suit. A bow hung effortlessly around his collar. His dark hair looked as if a bottle of hair gel exploded above his head. It was then I realized he had no feet. His legs seemed to dissolve into darkness. I also noticed he was actually made of shadows.

He sprinted (the closest thing to sprinting with no feet) across the garden and up the steps of the gazebo. He seemed be nervous he said, "My great Lord! I have come to report some news about the whispers of the people!" He seemed rethink how to phase his next saying. He shook out of his daze when the man in the cape, snapped, "Well? I don't have all day! Do not test my patience again, Damon!" I tensed at his voice. A memory was nagged me to remember the voice, but I couldn't think who.

Damon winced, while he answered, "It's just that...the people are muttering about a child of one of the big three and his mischief."

That seemed grabbed the caped man's attention. He muttered mostly to himself, "A child of one of the big three hasn't been born for...as long as I can remember." He repressed an exaggerated sigh then continued, "I supposed I should not be shocked. The "superior" gods are breaking their own rules." He laughed at that as if that was the funneist thing he ever heard.

I dazed out from the conversation of the apparently "special" child. A special child?, I thought. My mind started to part millions of ways of who could be this special kid. I only dazed out when Damon said, "My king, his something, really! I have heard whispers of him stealing Zeus's lightning bolt and Hade's Helm of Darkness." Damon started to say something else when my dream changed.

I was then sitting on a high mountain of Texas with...my ma. She was wearing a plaid jacket with a gray shirt underneath. She wore fitted blue jeans and hiking boots. Her dark brown hair was blowing wildly with the harsh gale. Freckles danced across her cheeks. Her eyes were red, like mine. Before you would even make a comment about her eyes, she would flash her infectious smile.

We watched as the sun would disappear. When the sun had vanished, I snuggled closer to my ma. She let out a chuckle and told my 6-year-old self, "Even when the sun goes down for the night, light is still there, you just have to look a little harder, my darling." She then grabbed me from under my arms and spun me around. Every once and a while she would toss me up to the air and I would throw a fit of giggles. After a few tosses up into the air, and after I threw a fit of giggles, she laughed along beside me. "Even if you can't find the light in the dark, I will always be your Sun, my darling." She gave me one, last infectious smile just before my dreams ended and I woke up sobbing.