Chapter 2: Aether and Offer
A/N: So here's chapter 2, this will probably just be some more exposition though I will be inserting a bit of my own lore here, and my take on existence in greek mythology here, next chapter should be when the story really picks up, thank you to everyone who is being patient with me while I flesh out Percy Jackson and the Crimson Flower, and please leave a review and tell me your thoughts.
Persie was surprised that she had stopped falling. Last time she was in Tartarus with Annabeth the fall had felt like it had taken hours, maybe even days yet here she was no longer falling after only a few minutes, "Maybe the gods just wanted me to suffer as soon as possible" examining her surrounds Persie noticed that it was totally dark, with only silver lights that flickered on and off, it was so dark in fact that Persie couldn't tell what was ceiling, what was floor, and what was wall. A being shimmered into existence next to Persie, they were vaguely humanoid though Persie couldn't tell if they were a male or female. "It's beautiful isn't it?" The stranger's voice was perfectly serene but much like its owner didn't sound distinctly male or female. "What is this place?" the stranger smiled at Persie's question, a smile that reminded her of her fath… of Poseidon with their eyes crinkling up and dimples showing.
"This is Aether, a place that exists outside of the limits of time and space." the stranger never lost their serene tone though Persie could here the kindness in their voice. "And who are you? Why are you here? Why am I here?" Persie felt like a new demigod all over again totally out of her element stuck wondering and normally not getting answers. "I am Chaos Persie, as for what I am doing here, well I came here for you. And why are you here… well that depends on you now doesn't it" If Persie were anyone else she probably would have dropped to the floor groveling at the stranger's and Chaos' feet but she wasn;t she was Persie fuckign Jackson, she wasn't just going to let this Chaos walk over her. Chaos smiled again clearly sensing her thoughts, "And that is why you're such an anomaly Persie, you don't let other beings that either consider themselves above you or are above you change who you are, I like that in mortals, I especially like that in demigods."
Persie wasn't impressed by the compliment if her tone was anything to go by, "Thanks, but you really expect me to believe that you are Chaos, the creator of everything guy?" Chaos laughed this time, "Creator of the universe guy? That's a new one, though I suppose yes I am that Chaos" Persie just started at them not believing "Prove it then" Chaos nodded "Very well, look into my eyes Persie" for the first time Persie noticed Chaos' eyes, deep blue impossibly so, like the night sky during summer, but within those eyes, Persie saw everything. She saw Chaos forming what would become the world, Gaea, the Titans, the Gods, how humans evolved and with them the world, Persie saw all the injustices the Gods ever committed, against the humans, against demigods, and nature spirits, and even against monsters. She saw herself standing strong facing Kronos down in Olympus' throne room, and herself again facing despair when Tartarus appeared, and finally she saw herself in Tartarus once again, her body broken left for dead by the so called gods. Persie stepped back in shock, "Why show me this?" Chaos smiled in sympathy "So you would understand. The Gods aren't fit to rule anymore Persie, for too long have I allowed them to ruin everything I created" Chaos's voice was filled with anger at the Gods but also with shame and disgust at themself for allowing the Gods to rule in the first place.
Persie nodded "They aren't fit to rule they took everything from me, after all I did for them, after all my friends either left more, or have died they threw me into the pit, and somehow I'm both here and there alive and dead." Chaos nodded, "Correct you understand, that's why I want to offer you something, a chance to take back all that you've lost." Persie looked lost now, "Are you saying you're going to turn back time for me?" Chaos shook his head "I'm afraid I cannot do that for you Persie, my son Chronus will not allow the hands of time to be turned back not even for me. However I can offer you something quite similar, I can send you to a world similar to your own but different in ways too." Persie looked excited, but quickly turned thoughtful, "A new world? How would it be different?" Chaos started to explain to Persie, about how Theo would be the son of Poseidon, and prophecy child and how she, Persie would be Chaos's own daughter and the adopted daughter of Sally Jackson."Well what do you say Persie, a chance to save your friends and the mortals from the gods tyranny, what do you say?" Persie grinned in response, "What do I say? I say hell yeah, lets go kick some Olympian ass!"
Chaos smiled again, "Good now before I send you back I would like to explain your powers as a child of Chaos, you are familiar with the five elements correct?" Persie nodded and counted them off on her fingers,"Earth, fire, water, metal, and air." Chaos nodded, "Yes, correct however there is one more, Aether, the divine life present inside every living thing." Persie frowned confused now, "But isn't Aether where we are now?" Chaos shook their head and began to explain, "Aether is present in every living thing, and the amount of Aether in someone or something indicates, how attuned with creation they are, take the dryads for example they are very attuned to nature and in turn Aether because they are plant spirits, plants, Earth, one of the elements." Chaos continued, "As my daughter you have control over all the elements, as well as the Aether, however after your changes, I will cut you off from the Aether briefly to hide you from the Gods in the new world." Persie frowned, "Wait changes? What changes?" Chaos laughed again "Look for yourself," Chaos snapped their fingers and a mirror appeared in front of Persie, and the demigod had to bite her tongue to avoid gaspin at the woman in the mirror.
She had grown now standing at five feet nine inches, her raven black hair had somehow become either darker, and had also lengthened now going all the way to her shoulders. Her eyes now matched Chaos' deep blue orbs, though her eyes had silver specks in them, shining like the stars in the sky. And finally, the most important change, her ears had become long and pointed just like a dryad. "What happened to my ears?" Persie's voice was filled with panic, "Don't worry" Chaos soothed her, "It's all due to your higher connection to Aether." Persie nodded fears comforted, "Now then" Chaos stated, "Before I send you back I have one more gift for you." Chaos snapped their fingers and at Persie's feet lay a sword, the weapon was rather large, almost reaching five feet in length, it was a double edged blade with strange spikes on one end, almost like a whip. "That blade is called the Sword of the Creator." Chaos explained, "I created it in hopes that my most worthy child could wield it, but none of them could. However I'm certain that you can Persie." Persie grabbed the sword and immediately doubled over in pain, the blade seared her hand as if were burning and she couldn't let go, tears stinged her eyes and Persie let out a strangled scream. Suddenly the pain was gone and the blade glowed with a comforting orange light.
Chaos smiled satisfied, "Well done, the blade has accepted you as its master, it can kill both mortals and Gods, and will allow no other to wield it. The time is now Persie for your journey to begin. Remember Persie a sword has no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. Go and do not falter my child." With her parent's words ringing in her head, Persie's whole world turned white and the first thing she saw was a face long since passed, the face of Sally Jackson, the face of her mother.
A/N: so here's chapter two I felt pretty good about it overall, tell me what you thought about it. So when I was thinking about Persie's new sword Fire Emblem came to mind immediately and so did the Sword of the Creator. Please review and tell me your thoughts.
P.S.: here is a list of Persie's powers:
Water: all her powers as a child of Poseidon but with more control
Fire: immune to fire like Leo, can shoot fire (has very little control over it"
Air: can control wind and lighting, can fly safely in the air
Metal: can control precious metal, and enchanted metal(celestial bronze, imperial gold)
Earth: can cause earthquakes, can make plants grow, strong connection to dryads
Aether: once Chaos reconnects her with the Aether she can slowly drain someone of the Aether and give it to herself, the only way for her to kill gods, can read greek, latin,hieroglyphs, and the language of the primordials perfectly, ADHD and dyslexia become even worse (Persie cannot read English anymore if she ever does read anything in English it would be because she already knows it by memory E.G.: Aunty Em's garden emporium, she knows it because she was there not because she can read the sign.)