The next year came and went, and when Percy's year and a half in Atlantis was up, he didn't leave. He loved living in the sea, and neither his dad, Triton, or Amphitrite had any problem with him staying, and neither did any of the other beings of the sea; his dad even granted him the ability to switch his legs between legs and a tail while in the sea, and he loved the feel of swimming with a tail rather than legs.
Once he made the decision to stay, he went to visit his friends at camp and tell them he was going to try and live a normal life away from camp and the stress of being a demigod, so they didn't worry about him not coming to camp. He told them he would stay in touch, via IMs, but that he wasn't sure how often he would be free to call; he didn't want them to call him when he was in a lesson or training or doing his duties as a Prince of the Sea – a mantel he had fully taken up after returning – and so told them he would call when he could, rather than risking them interrupting something by calling. There was even a specific room in the palace that was a dry room, enchanted to not fill with water, that anyone could use to IM someone on the surface – IMs didn't work underwater, and even if they did, those of the sea didn't want those of the surface to see where they lived.
Even while living full time in Atlantis, Percy kept his mum's apartment running as a safe house for demigods. He would return to the surface once a season to restock the food stores and first aid kits, and occasionally to bring some ambrosia and nectar up from Atlantis as well. He would also take that time to pay for the water and electricity usage – which in turn helped him know how much use the apartment had seen – and get rid of any mail that had piled up in the mail box for the apartment in the mail room. His mum's two books that she had written had taken off and selling well, so that money – along with their savings – went towards the bills and food stores, and their mortgage was already paid off, so he didn't have to worry about that; he was sure they wouldn't mind, especially because it was helping people and it would have been left to him anyway.
Perseus, now 23 and solely going by Perseus rather than Percy, had been living in Atlantis for almost 6 years when he felt the shift in the sea, the change that he had been feeling for years finally fully shifting and changing. He was in the throne room with his dad, Triton, and Amphitrite – who had convinced him to call her mother after living in Atlantis for years – holding a joined court, which they held twice a month and was with all the royals of Atlantis rather than just the King or Queen, when the shift happened.
Everyone in the throne room froze. As one, all the beings of the sea – apart from Triton, who was sitting on his throne in shock – moved to a kneeling position, including the other royals in the room.
"Hail Lord and King Triton, newly crowned King of the Sea."
The declaration was heard all through the throne room, and was declared by all beings of the sea, no matter where they were, on sea or on the surface. With the declaration said, Triton and his trident leaning against his throne were surrounded in a sea green glow for a few seconds. As the glow faded away, everyone in the throne room rose again. Amphitrite returned to her throne, one of the two bigger ones in the middle, and Perseus sat down on his, a smaller throne next to Amphitrite, both of them inclining their heads to Triton before they sat. Poseidon stepped up to Triton, who had risen from his own throne, inclining his head slightly. Poseidon then reached up to the crown of shells and coral on his head, taking it off and presenting it to his son, placing it on Triton's head.
"I gracefully step down and hand the crown and rule over to my son and heir, King Triton of the Sea," Poseidon declared, a soft sea green glow surrounding him and his own trident, before he moved to the throne Triton had been sitting on and taking a seat, bringing his trident next to the smaller throne he now sat on. Triton gripped his trident and moved forward, moving in front of the King's throne.
"I acknowledge the Sea's decision and accept the crown and rule bestowed on me and passed down to me from my father, retired ruler Poseidon of the Sea," Triton said. Triton then sat down on the larger throne, next to his mother, his trident once again leaning against his throne. The joined court then began again, the routine of the sea beginning again as if nothing had changed. Now, there was simply a new King.
Over the next year, the sea experienced another few changes in leadership. The sea had found another Queen, Rhodes, and Amphitrite had gracefully handed the crown over, although she stayed on as an advisor for the new Queen's first year on the throne – Rhodes was a sea nymph, much like Amphitrite had been before being crowned, and held ideals that the sea cherished and wanted in its queen.
Poseidon remained on the Olympian council, the gods of the surface remaining unknowing of the fact that the rulership of the sea had changed. Poseidon took the position of ambassador to the gods, holding the façade that he was still King of the Seas and conducting all the business between those of the sea and Atlantis, and the gods and Olympus. He also remained as an advisor, helping with some of the duties of King and taking up Perseus' roles and duties of secondary heir.
Perseus, meanwhile, took Triton's spot as Heir of the Sea and General of Atlantis' army. When the sea had first whispered his position to him, he had been shocked, although Amphitrite, Triton, and Poseidon weren't; they said that only those who were destined to hold a position of leadership in the sea could control liquids other than water.
Over the first six months of Triton's rule, Perseus slowly ascended from demigod to god; he hadn't even noticed the change until the sea had told him what had happened. At first, he had been annoyed, not wanting to live forever, before he actually stopped and thought about it. The sea wouldn't have started his ascension if he wasn't needed in the sea, and he loved the sea; he wouldn't mind living forever in the sea. And he wouldn't have to see his family and friends die before him; his mum and Paul were already gone, his dad, Triton, and mother Amphitrite were all immortal and living in the palace, Thalia and Annabeth were hunters and so partially immortal, and he barely saw his friends, including the two hunters, because he lived in the sea – and they were demigods, so even before becoming a god he had the risk of them dying before him. And he didn't think he would even find peace in Elysium, with all those he had lost in the wars already there.
So after waking up extremely early with the sea whispering in his ear about becoming a god and spending the time until breakfast thinking about what had happened, he came to peace with it. He swam to the dining room, taking his seat between Triton and his dad at the table, Rhode sitting on Triton's other side, with Amphitrite next to her.
"Good morning, Triton, Rhode. Dad, mother," he said, his tail switching to legs as he sat down; he preferred using his tail to swim, while having legs while stationary. The others all returned his morning greetings, before they started eating.
'Is something wrong father?' Triton asked, looking over at Poseidon who had been studying Perseus.
'Not wrong. Just different. Something changed with you Perseus,' Poseidon responded. Perseus nodded.
'The sea appointed me to take up Triton's position. And I couldn't be mortal to hold that position,' Perseus responded, adding a small shrug at the end.
'You are no longer mortal?' Amphitrite asked.
'I am not. The sea started my ascension when Triton accepted the throne, and I found out about it this morning when it finished. As of this morning, I am no longer a demigod, but a god,' Perseus explained.
'You are a god? What are your domains?' Triton asked. Perseus tilted his head slightly before replying.
'Tides, destruction, and loyalty.'
'Fitting, from the tales I've heard,' Rhode said. Perseus inclined his head.
'Thank you.'
The years continued to pass, those of the sea easily falling into a routine much similar to one they had before the shift – the only difference was the type of advice they received when court was held, as King Triton and Queen Rhode had difference experiences and opinions than retired rulers Poseidon and Amphitrite. Perseus easily became accustomed to his position as Heir, and with the help of Poseidon and Triton, became used to controlling his domains and the abilities that came with them.
Soon enough many decades had passed, and the gods of the surface were still completely unaware that the rulership of the sea had changed, and oblivious the Perseus' ascension. Poseidon continued his role as an ambassador between Olympus and Atlantis, between the gods and those of the sea, maintaining the façade that he was still King of the Sea. Hades was the only one who had noticed that something was different since Perseus' soul hadn't reached the Underworld yet. Poseidon was quite happy that he had reconciled with his older brother after so long, especially as he valued family so much and their family had been drifting apart as the centuries passed, no matter how much Hestia tried to keep their family together. Once every few years after the Winter Solstice, Hades would approach Poseidon, asking him about his oldest 'mortal' son – after Perseus had reached 18, the other sea gods and deities started occasionally venturing to the surface and having demigod children, so to the gods of the surface it seemed as if Poseidon had numerous demigods again.
The conversation between the two brothers would almost always go the same way, the only thing changing being Hades' disbelief at Perseus' continued existence – it was rare for a demigod, especially a Greek demigod, to reach 20, let alone live beyond 40, and he had to be at least 100. When Hades asked after Perseus, Poseidon would simply shrug, say that Percy – since the Olympians had finally relented to calling him Percy after the Second Gigantomachy, so Poseidon did the same on the surface – must be taking care of himself, but that he hadn't visited him on land since he had requested to try and live away from the demigod world; he wasn't even lying either, because he knew Perseus really was taking care of himself, especially with their assistance healing from his trauma, and he truly hadn't seen Perseus above the sea since he had told the others he was leaving the demigod world, which he had, since he had fully entered the world of the sea.
The sea continued on as it always had as decades blended into centuries, and centuries into millennia, and millennia into eons, and even as the feeling of the sea began to change and shift, signaling the beginning of yet another shift in rulership. Triton and Rhode had ruled for eons, almost as long as Poseidon and Amphitrite had, and longer than Oceanus and Tethys had, and wouldn't protest passing the crown over when the sea decided it was the time for the change to happen. Everyone could tell the change would fully occur within a decade.
Poseidon was up on Olympus for a winter solstice meeting, the meeting going the about as well as it normally would. At least the meeting hadn't dissolved into yelling and screaming at each other like it did every few years. Poseidon focused back on Zeus as the attention moved from whatever Demeter had been complaining about and on to him as they reached the section of the meeting dedicated to how the sea was faring.
Many of the council asked question after question about the wellbeing of the sea, ranging from Ares asking about training of their army – which was flourishing under Perseus' training regime that he had adapted from his time as a demigod – to Athena and Apollo enquiring about the education and wellbeing of their young – which Amphitrite had taken a lot of responsibility for, opening an unused wing of the palace as an orphanage for the orphaned young of the sea. Artemis asked about the wellbeing of their animals and how the population of the species they hunted, while Zeus asked about the pollution of the sea, especially the oil spills and other pollutants that the mortals were contributing to. Poseidon knew the answers to all the questions, having often helped Triton with the paperwork surrounding some of the issues, or partaking in conversations concerning different issues around the dining table.
And then Hera asked a question about an extremely obscure section of information, something about marriage rates and divorce rates in Atlantis, and he didn't know the answer to the question. He had never even known the answer to it while he was King, let alone now he was an ambassador and advisor. He tilted his head slightly, trying to portray that he was thinking or trying to remember, while actually mentally contacting Triton.
"Triton, I have no idea about the answer to a question Hera asked."
"What did she want to know? There's not much you don't know about the sea."
"Something about a comparison between marriage rates and divorce rates in Atlantis." Poseidon could basically feel Triton's confusion about the question in the pause before his son answered.
"Why does she even want to know that? I don't know that, and I'm the King. Does she realize that those of the sea rarely marry, and that those that do marry either marry for love with the blessing of the sea and are ever faithful, or by the request of the sea and hold an open relationship while they remain friends? Although, I'm pretty sure I remember reading over a file that mentioned something like that a month ago, I'll see if I can find it."
"She's the goddess of marriage. And on top of that, it's Hera. And no, I doubt she knows that, seeing as most of the surface gods don't know much about the sea apart from what we tell them, and we aren't really in the habit of talking about our marriage habits; they don't even know that my relationship with your mother is an open relationship." There was a short pause before Triton found the paperwork he was thinking of, which thankfully held the answer for Hera's absurd question, and relayed the answer to Poseidon.
"I'm heading to our joined court now, so I won't be able to help with any other questions," Triton added.
"Thank you, my King," Poseidon said, using the formal thank you as was called upon by the situation while he was acting in his role as ambassador, rather than a casual one like he would have used in the palace.
"Of course, ambassador," Triton replied.
"The marriage rate to divorce rate comparison is roughly 10 to 1, with the last divorce being within the first decade of my rule, while the most recent marriage was about a decade after the second Gigantomachy," Poseidon said, repeating what Triton had told him.
"Fates Uncle P, you're more disorganied than I am if it took you that long to remember the answer. Are you sure you're the one running your kingdom?" Poseidon paused, tilting his head slightly, trying to work out how to reply to that; he didn't want to tell them the truth, because the sea had its secrets to hold, but he couldn't lie without both Hermes and Apollo noticing – the god of lies and the god of truths were both basically lie detectors.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"He means you don't seem to know as much about the seas as you used to. Are you sure you're not just pretending while someone else rules?" Apollo added, jokingly. Poseidon blinked, really trying to work out what to say without saying anything. He blinked again when he heard the whispers of the sea in his ear. You can tell them, they did work it out ambassador, retired ruler.
"It took you longer than I thought it would," Poseidon said mildly. The other Olympians stared at him, trying to work out what he meant.
"What are you talking about Poseidon?" Zeus asked slowly.
"I'm simply an ambassador of Atlantis brother. I may be an Olympian, but I'm not the King of the Seas. I haven't been for millennia now, eons even," Poseidon said, acting as if he was talking about the weather or something else that was an everyday occurrence, rather than like he was dropping information that was world-shaking to the other gods.
"Then who is ruling the seas?" Hera asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Tri-" Poseidon cut himself off, standing and stepping off his throne, feeling the shift complete – of course it had to happen during a Winter Solstice, because that was his son's luck, although it also meant it had happened during a joint court again. He turned and knelt on one knee to the throne, which was the best substitute he had for the image of the sea's power that was carved throughout the sea, quietly saying the declaration that everyone of the sea would be saying as soon as they felt the shift, making sure the others couldn't hear him by manipulating the water in the air to prevent the sound waves of the sounds of the sea from spreading.
"Hail Lord and King Perseus, newly crowned King of the Sea."
"What was that Poseidon?" Athena asked after he had stood and returned to his throne, and he could feel the difference in the power of the sea that pulsed in the throne, embodying a mix of his power and Perseus' power, just like it used to embody both his power and Triton's.
"Acknowledgment," Poseidon said simply. "Where were we?"
"You were going to tell us who is ruling the seas," Hades prompted.
"You started to say something before that, acknowledgment, as you called it," Demeter added. "Is Triton the King of Atlantis?"
"He was, yes." Poseidon made sure he was carefully concealing his expression, keeping his face seemingly calm even as he wanted to smirk at the visible confusion from all around the throne room.
"Was? Then who is? And why are you no longer king?" Zeus snapped. Poseidon stared at his younger brother, trying to work out if he should tell them, and if he could. His debate was solved by the sea once again whispering in his ear. You can tell them of newly crowned King Perseus, ambassador.
"The sea has its secrets brother, but we of the sea know when it is time for a new ruler to bring something new to the kingdom, and we understand that change needs to occur to prevent things becoming stagnant. My heir took over from me 6 years after the second Gigantomachy. And, as of a few minutes ago, his heir took over from him."
"And who is that heir? I was unaware that Triton had any children," Artemis said, one of her hunting knives spinning around in her hand.
"He doesn't," Poseidon replied simply.
"Stop with the riddles brother. Who is the new king?" Zeus demanded, one fist banging on the arm of his throne, causing a rumble of thunder to echo through the throne room and the rest of Olympus.
"One would think you would notice when a new god is turned, oh great King of the Gods," Poseidon said mildly, a slightly teasing tone entering the voice he was projecting to the others, thoroughly enjoying Zeus' confusion, and being the one to cause it.
"Just spit it out Poseidon," Hades sighed, one hand coming up to rub at his forehead.
"I would have thought you'd have worked it out by now. Were you not the one who kept commenting to me about not seeing his soul pass into your realm?" Poseidon commented, turning his full attention to his older brother. Hades, in turn, was staring at him, the hand that had been rubbing his forehead moving to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Are you kidding? He denies it and then accepts later. What are his domains?"
"He didn't accept it so much was simply changed over time, with none of us realizing he was ascending until his ascension completed and he discovered his domains. And Tides, Destruction, and Loyalty."
"Fitting," Hades commented, leaning back in his throne, his hand dropping from his nose and back on top his lap.
"Would you two mind enlightening the rest of us, or are you going to continue to talk in circles?" Zeus snapped. Poseidon smirked, turning back to speak to the whole throne room, rather than directly to Hades.
"Hail Lord Perseus, god of Tides, Destruction, and Loyalty. King of the Seas."
