VII - Grandma Night and Tartarus: Age 15

Perseus POV

When I stepped out of my father's embrace I found myself in the courtyard of a giant Mansion. In front of me were two giant obsidian double doors. And the courtyard seemed to be made of stone but at the same time seemed to be made of shadows. I turned around. On two sides of the courtyard and surrounding the mansion I could see an endless blackness that was the Void. But opposite the large double doors were stygian Iron steps to the edge of Tartarus. My great uncle actually.

Tartarus is a place of pain and suffering for gods and mortals, among others, designed to hurt them, with acid air, water of sadness (in case of the River Cocytus) and the ground made of broken glass. The Tartarus has a grayish atmosphere and its clouds are blood red. The ceiling is so high that it is invisible from the ground, stretching for miles and miles to plunge into darkness in the form of plateaus. Multiple pointed mountains and volcanic chasm adorn the landscape. A few long, thin, black trees (like insect hair) grow in the flatter areas, and multiple monsters emerge like worms from blisters that form on the ground. The main wall of the cave is made up of multiple precipices and obsidian cliffs, where the rivers of Hades descend. The landscape descends to the most dangerous area, where the heart of the god himself is found. As it descends, the terrain loses its composition of black gravel and begins to have a rather skin-like appearance, with a large membrane covered in a thin layer of earth or dust, smooth and warm, on which multiple cave mouths are made up of piles of stones. A dense black mist covers the lower areas of this region. Taking the source of the rivers and the obsidian cliffs as the North, in the South direction is a forest with a cold climate and humid by the dark mist, with tall black and round trees, but without branches. This ends in a cliff whose bottom is unknown. {Rick Riordan's description not mine.}

But back to the Mansion. The walls of the Mansion seem to be made of Night. There is no other way to describe it. The roof is made of Stygian Iron and other than the door seems to be the only piece of the outside that looks solid. Thanatos reached for the doors to open them then realized something.

"I have to give you your powers back."

He touched my forehead and I felt a pain erupt in my chest and flow through me. I fell to my knees for a minute. As the pain faded I felt more powerful than I ever had. My father reached for the doors again and we went through them.

We seemed to pass through a type of invisible wall that felt like it was searching for something inside of me. When we passed the doors we entered a foyer that was more colorful. Most of the colors were darker but the insides of the mansion seemed almost warm.

"Mother we're here," Thanatos shouted.

First I saw Grandpa Erebus come down a large dark wooden staircase. He grinned at me and I smiled back as we hugged. As he stepped away I looked back up the stairs. Coming down on them was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long flowing dark hair that was set gently on her shoulder. She had violet eyes like mine and a kind smile. She was very fit with large D cup breasts. She was wearing an elegant dress that hugged all of her curves. The most stunning part about her was her beautiful wings. Her wings, while smaller than her son's seemed to hold a piece of the night sky in each feather.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs she rushed toward me and pulled me into a hug. "I have wanted to meet you for so long." She smiled happily, I blushed as she pushed her breasts closer to my chest. She pulled away and kissed my cheek "I'm your Grandmother Nyx it's nice to finally meet you Perseus."

I smiled at her though I was still blushing slightly.

"Erebus, dear can you call our children that here so that they can come to meet young Perseus?" Nyx asked.

Erebus kissed her, "of course love." He walked up the stairs.

Nyx looked back at me. "Now Perseus I have only heard stories from your father and grandfather about you. Let's go to the kitchen and I can make you something to eat and you can tell me yourself."

I nodded and followed her. The kitchen had a long spruce wood countertop and a large oven. Nyx turned to face me and I started telling her my story. By the end of it she was hugging me with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Perseus," for all that has happened to you.

"It's ok… grandma."

Nyx smiled happily.

We talked for a while and then finally Erebus came back. Behind him were 4 people.

The first was a woman with sunken eyes, stringy grey hair that was matted to her head, and large amounts of dust covering her thin body. She has bloody red clawed cheeks that drip blood on her tattered dress. It is likely that this was actually caused by her scratching herself. She was sobbing. I asked her what was wrong but she started crying harder and ran off.

Nyx smiled sadly. That was Akhyles goddess of misery.

The second was a man. Who promptly went over to my father and hugged him. "Than long time no see bro." He turned to face me. "Names Ker god of torture and violent death your father's twin brother," he said grinning evilly. "He smirked so your my nephew eh, nice to meet you." he looked at me for a second then frowned. I looked at him curiously. But he shook his head "Talk later," he mouthed.

The next person was a woman with short, curly black hair and golden eyes. Who kept flickering forms between a man and her true form. Suddenly she stopped and was in the form of a man who I despise most. General Desmos. I flinched for a second before glaring. "Damn," she said, "you must really want revenge on this man if you're making me fight to keep my true form." She changed into her true form again and managed to hold it. "Names Nemesis Goddess of balance and vengeance, kid." she nodded at me. "I gotta go though. See you mom, dad."

The second to last person seemed almost out of place with the dark. She was beautiful like her mother. She had straight golden hair and warm golden eyes. She had C cup breasts and a fit body. She wore a thin golden and blue summer dress that hugged her curves. Her smile seemed to light up every corner of the room. She hugged me and found myself blushing and struggling not to get hard as her warm lithe body pressed up against mine. When she stepped back she giggled. "My name's Hemera. It's nice to meet you, Perseus."

I stuttered and she giggled again.

The final figure stood in the back and wore a heavy cloak that covered his face and body. He looked to be about 8 feet tall. I don't know what it was, but something about him made me uneasy.

"That's Moros," Ker said "god of impending doom. He's the 3 fates older brother. He doesn't say much."

I nodded.

"Several of my children are missing though Perseus, " Nyx said. "Aither, Eris, Lyssa, Hypnos, Charon…" she was interrupted by Ker snickering.

"He's too busy sucking up to Hades..."

He was cut off by his mother's glare. He looked away sheepishly. "Sorry, mom."

Nyx ignored him "Perseus come with me. I will show you to your room."

She brought him up the mahogany stairs then up another set of stairs and down a long hallway to a door with his name engraved into it. She opened the door and he was in a room with dark blue walls and a king-sized bed in the middle. The ceiling was a dome and was a map of the constellations in the sky. At the foot of my bed was a giant chest. I opened it and smiled fondly at the loot I had collected over the years.

I collapsed onto my bed and found it was the softest and most comfortable bed I had ever been on. The last thing I saw before sleep overtook me was Nyx smiling at me softly.

10 years later(5 in the mortal world)

I woke up in my bed with my constellations above me. I looked around my room. Over time it had gotten bigger. The first change that was made was my chest. With the help of my Grandma, I managed to change the chest into more of a walk in closet, trophy room type thing. The room was organized with weapons hanging on the wall, Pelts in crates with the name of their corresponding monster, armor stands with different outfits, Etc… Finally in the back of the room, there was a wall of shadows. This wall was built like the entrance to the mansion. The entrance to the mansion only allows dark creatures or people who have been granted access by my grandmother. This wall of shadows however is built so that only I can get passed. It's keyed to my soul. So that only I could pass through, for anyone else it's just a normal wall. Now on the other side of this wall was my most powerful weapon. A weapon I swore to never use. It was a gift from my great uncle Tartarus. ψυχή δολοφόνος - translation, Killer soul. It has the ability to rip someone's soul away from them. It's worse than fading. You can never regain form, you are forever trapped by the blade. I did not want this sword but Tarturus gave it to me anyway. My guess is that it was one of his cruel jokes, a gift I would never willingly use unless the world were to be destroyed.

The next difference to the room was my library. The Library as I called it was in a corner of my room and was like a little alcove. Inside it held books and scrolls of many different dialects over the world. Some magical, some human, some forgotten. I learned to read all of them.

The third difference to my room is the dog bed. I got a gift from my Grandmother in my third year in Tartarus, for my birthday. It was a shade wolf. A wolf bred from a shade and an ancient species of Wolf. Imagine a giant wolf with a glowing blue line that goes from the nose of the wolf to the top of the forehead with a circle right above the eyes. Next, imagine that this wolf is almost made of shadows. That it seems like it's fur is made of darkness and that its body can be gaseous or solid. Finally, imagine glowing sea-green eyes. That is Alpha. My shade wolf.

The final primary difference to my room was my desk, it held my diary and a quill with a feather from my dad's wings.

I stood up and walked over to the mirror. Around my neck was my necklace from Chiron. My shirt was off and I admired my scars. My first scar was from the cursed dagger that ran from my temple to below my eye. I also still had the stab wound in my stomach and the scar on my side. The scar on my stomach didn't look as bad though as it was now next to my 6 pack abs. I also still had the scar from the Nemean lion that was on my left pectoral. I had gained a few new scars as well. I had a two-lined claw mark on my right arm from fighting a High drakon and a line on my back from an axe. Courtesy of my run-in with the titan Perses, the titan of destruction. Finally, I had a cut on my hip bone from, sometime during the giant war. I had helped out the gods during the war though they didn't know it. I had fought alongside many demigods and some of the hunters too, though thankfully none remembered me. That was 2 years ago in the mortal world.

My hair was on the longer side and reached just above my shoulders, slicked back from my angular face. My scars gave my face a bit of a roguish look. My dark purple eyes had become brighter so that they almost glowed and the green, black, and gold seemed to constantly be moving. I was muscular but had more of a swimmer type body.

It had been 10 years but I still looked 15, you see my grandmother Nyx had asked a favor of her sister Anake and Nyx's daughters the Fates(people I was very unhappy to have met) to grant me partial immortality. Anake had looked me over with a smile and agreed. They had brought a thick cord that glowed black, blue, and purple, which I assumed to be my lifeline. They had each placed their gnarled fingers on the chord which made me shudder and I felt a golden glow surround me. Before they left they had each glared at me and I glared back. The Fates and I don't like each other if you didn't realize it before.

My muscles had built up over the years of training. I had 3 main trainers. The first was my grandmother Nyx who taught me how to use my powers overnight and darkness. Before we began she blessed me as well. Making me stronger in the dark as well as adding to the powers I had from Erebus and Thanatos before. She taught me how to manipulate shadows to make myself invisible and to get rid of my scent. She taught me how to bend darkness to my will and how to see in total darkness. Like with my water powers I also learned to generate darkness.

My next trainer was my grandfather Erebus. Erebus taught me how to use my darkness/death Aura. Which he dubbed my Shade Aura. He taught me how to draw in power from the dead and darkness. My abilities also allowed me to create temporary shades. Erebus described it as temporarily placing a dead soul, specifically a soldier into a shadow. Which created a shade linked to my power. I learned that I could only make 5 at once without it causing me to collapse from too much energy use. If I used this power I usually only created 3. The other thing he taught me was listening to my shadows. He taught me how to send out a shadow to eavesdrop on a conversation but also how to map out their power levels.

My third trainer was Tartarus himself. Tartarus taught me how to be a human weapon. To begin with he forced me to run for 30 miles through his domain with a boulder on my back. When I was strong enough to do that it was 50 miles and a larger boulder. He forced me to do that every day for a year each until he felt I was ready for his test that would prove whether I was worth his time. When he felt I was ready for his test he sent me to the lowest part of his domain where his palace was. If I could make it there he would train me. I was forced to fight monsters that hadn't been seen since the time of the primordials. But I made it. When I collapsed on his palace floor crashing through his doors he had looked surprised.

"You wanted me to die," I had said gasping for air.

"Don't flatter yourself brat," he had responded. But I could tell by the glint in his eye I had earned his respect.

I had been placed in a bedroom in his palace and was later told that I had slept for 3 days. Tartarus had woken me up by pouring a glass of summoned water on my wounds. He had then trained me for the next year to a level where I was strong enough to take down a god. He had made me into his assassin. Anyone who had escaped punishment or was too horrible to be left alive I was sent to deal with it.

Tartarus is a lot kinder than he is portrayed. He had a weird way of caring but he does care. Though he would never admit it to my face, I have heard him talk to others about me as his favorite nephew.

The Arena - (flashback 7th year in the pit)

I was also the Champion of the Arena. The Arena is a battleground in Tartarus where only those who were fighting in the arena can kill one another. It is a place for monsters, titans, or anyone who can prove themselves. As Well as provide entertainment for the lord of the domain. It was my 7th year in Tartarus and I was taking a break with my great uncle to watch the fights. I asked my uncle if I could participate. He had laughed and had told me that he had placed bets with my grandfather on when I would ask. He slapped me on the back thanking me for helping him win and agreed to let me fight. I went down to the barracks and as I was about to grab a weapon and armor, there was a flash behind me. I saw my grandfather holding my primary sword, my armor, and my daggers. He gave me a small look of betrayal. I grinned and placed my black armor on, strapped my daggers(one from Thanatos and the second a black dagger with a smaller blade made of stygian iron from Nyx) onto my thighs and grabbed my sword, and strapped it onto my back.

My sword was a combination of celestial steel, Stygian iron. It had a curved tip and its hilt was made from silver which melded into the base of the blade by wrapping around it.

"Your grandmother, your father, and Ker will be in the stands with Tartarus."

I nodded. He hugged me. "Good luck grandson."

I smiled as he left. And sat down on a bench.

I looked across the room and saw all sorts of different monsters and beings glaring at me and each other. I snorted and they all looked in my direction.

A tall man about 12 feet tall came over and glared down at me. "You will die here brat!" he hissed. I looked him over. He was muscular and carried a large mace that had dried blood covering the tip of it. On his side, he had a large axe that had a reddish blurry aura. It was a cursed blade. He didn't scare me that much. Though his blade made me shudder as I remembered my last experience with a cursed blade. I turned away from him.

"We will see." I shrugged. "For all, we know we could end up with you kneeling to me."

He looked at me in anger. "Do you know who I am, Brat? I am..."

I nodded "Perse's titan of destruction." I interrupted him.

"Perses Titan of.." he looked at me surprised. But got over it quickly. "Yes! And the reigning champion of the arena!"

I looked him over again then smiled evilly and stood up to my full height of 6ft 2. I was still smaller than he was but I didn't care. "Well, thanks for telling me who I have to kill then." Perses looked at me and was reminded of the same glint in the eyes of Tartarus. Perses was not afraid but I could tell he was warier of me than before.

Fighting in the Arena was like a vacation compared to Tartarus training. None of my matches lasted more than 5 minutes tops. I reached the finals in no time at all and I wasn't surprised at who the opponent I was facing was.

{No one POV}

Perseus entered the Arena to the sound of cheering. He was a fan favorite because they hoped he could finally be a challenge to Perses the reigning champ. He looked around. The walls were covered in golden ichor, blood, and monster dust. Tartarus flashed down next to his nephew and nodded. Suddenly, a door near the base of one of the grandstands opened to reveal a 12-foot tall man clad in celestial bronze armor. He carried a celestial bronze mace in one hand and a cursed bladed axe in the other. Perses approached Tartarus and Perseus. He stopped within a few feet of the primordial god. Perseus's opponent bowed to the god of the Pit before he turned his gaze toward the son of Thanatos.

Perses eyes filled with malice and hate as he looked upon his opponent "I am a Champion of the Pit; you shall face me this day!"

Perseus' eye glinted evilly. Tartarus smiled at the look on the boy's face. He had trained his nephew well. "The fight shall be to the death," Tartarus began. He looked between the two fighters with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. "There can be only one Champion of the Pit."

Tartarus stepped away from the two warriors before he disappeared into a red puff of smoke.

Perseus and Perses circled each other. Perses spun the mace in his hand as he leveled the axe toward Perseus. While Perseus grabbed his sword and placed himself in his signature stance as he had been trained. With one foot forward and his sword facing diagonally downward. His knees were tucked and he closed his eyes.

Perses seeing this as an advantage lunged swinging his axe at the son of Thanatos's head. Without opening his eyes Perseus ducked under the axe. At the same time, Perses swung his mace toward Perseus at such speeds that to those in the audience Perseus would not have time to defend himself. Just before the Mace struck Perseus jumped onto it and backflipped over the titan's head.

Perses turned around enraged at this pathetic demigod. He swung his Mace again but Perseus continued to dodge. "Fight me puny demigod!" he roared. "Or are you too weak to fight a titan?"

Perseus opened his eyes and his purple eyes darkened. Perseus ran toward the titan, shadows growing nearer. He raised his sword about to strike when he disappeared. Perses roared in pain as he felt something stab him in the back. Perseus had shadow traveled onto his back. Perseus rolled off slashing at the back of Perse's knee.

Perseus smiled as Perses fell on one knee. Perseus ran at Perses who blocked his sword with his mace. Perses the stronger of the two overpowered Perseus pushing him back. Perses smirked and Perseus realized his mistake. In his moment of cockieness he forgot about the axe. Perseus turned his head in time to see Perses swing his axe toward his neck. Perseus tried to roll away but the cursed blade slashed him across the back. Perseus grunted at the pain. Distracted Perseus didn't see the swing until the mace struck him in the side sending him flying across the arena into a wall creating a crack. Perseus felt some of his ribs breaking on impact. Perseus got up slowly as shadows began to swirl around him. Water began to surround him as well mixing with the shadows. The look in his eyes was one of calm, cold fury. A vortex of darkness and water began to surround the combatants, closing them off from the view of the people in the stands. Perseus felt the water move over his body healing his broken ribs. Perses was astounded by this demigod's display of power. Never before had he seen powers combined in this way. A giant spear of water and darkness solidified in the air. Perseus directed it at Perses and the spear stabbed the titan through the midsection and impaled him on the wall. Perses screamed in agony as he watched Perseus walk toward him. He tried to escape but shadowy hands reached out from the wall holding him still. Perseus made the vortex smaller and sent it at Perses. Perses felt his skin being ripped off and howled in agony. When the vortex faded Perses was left covered in his own Ichor. Perseus grabbed his dagger from Nyx and stabbed it into Perse's shoulder.

"Kneel," He growled.

Perses did so and Perseus raised his blade. His eyes glinted evilly and Perses shuddered. "I told you, you would kneel before me," he whispered. Then raising his sword Perseus cut off Perses head like an executioner.

The water flowed back into the ground and the shadows slinked away as Perseus collapsed using his sword as support. Tartarus flashed down and supported his nephew. He smiled kindly at Perseus then turned to his people. "May I present the new Champion of the Arena, My great-nephew Perseus!" Monsters in the stands cheered and Perseus looked at his uncle.

"Thanks, Uncle," he smiled.

"Good night Perseus." Tartarus looked down at his nephew who just collapsed.

Tartarus picked Perseus up bridal style and flashed to Nyx's mansion, carried Perseus up the stairs, and to the brat's room. Laying his nephew on the bed he smiled. "Well done today Perseus," he whispered.

In his sleep, Perseus smiled.

A.N: Longest Chapter Yet!