I Don't Own Percy Jackson
Right... First things first, calm the fuck down, get my heart to stop pounding so loud, it'll just kill me faster, I need... to think and focus.
I could do that.
I wasn't dead already because the stabbing darkness was actually stimming my blood just enough that my organs were sloshing out of my body at a very rapid rate. That's good, but bad news, I can't move or I'll have said organs expel themselves from my body and rend me dead, and I now have about a minute and a half to think of a plan before I'm dead.
Good news, I can heal myself, just not normally, the Status Effect said so itself, my body's ability to spilt and recover cells is offline, but that doesn't mean I can't still do it through other means.
Thankfully, I didn't use my Spirit on that little stunt... With that I pressed all my Spirit Points into my chest, and groaned as with an extreme amount of willpower was used to, at the same time, rip myself off the back of the spike, tried to heal over the hole in my chest. My hands shot to my side, looking for my bag, or at least I tried to, my arm grabbing around aimlessly for a long moment before I realized it wasn't on my side, the string holding it in place had be cut, and had fallen and rolled a solid few feet down the slope in front of me... Fuck...
I fell before I could try and stop myself, landing, just barely managing to hit the ground on my side to not shovel rocks and dirt into the wound, as I felt my entire body convulse in agony all the same as I curled into a ball for a long second before with a faint scream of effort pulling from my throat, as I wrapped my now destroyed cloak around my body tight, as the green was filled with a much darker colors, as my blood seeped into it by the bucket load as it was the only damn thing keeping my insides on the in side of me.
I was going to die if I couldn't get to that bag, but one hand was being used to keep the cloak in place, I couldn't feel my legs, and I was beyond light headed, so even thinking of standing was out of the question.
I had less than a minute to live, the spots of darkness were already clouding over my eyes under the moonlight, so with a scream of force, my only available hand moved, reaching out and stabbing nails into the rocks hard enough to break them, the nails that is, as I grunted with effort as my entire body roared in enough pain that I couldn't hear my own choked screams anymore, as I pulled myself forwards, one arm length at a time...
Until I hit the slop and suddenly I was rolling, as I felt the muscles in my neck flex as an unholy sound pulled from my throat as I shuddered and felt unwanted streams of tears roll down my face, I couldn't even feel the burn in my eyes with how every inch of my body screamed, as I managed to uncurl myself and continued to drag, with a single still broken arm, myself closer to the bag.
I could barely see when I got there, but my hand shot into the bag all the same, rooting around with a desperation I hadn't felt in so long, before I felt it, the glass of what I needed.
My hands curled around three of the few vials of Nectar that I had, as I pulled them out, as I did my best to pretend there wasn't a fountain of blood rolling down my chest, seeping past my cloak, leaving a trail of my life blood fifteen feet long, most of which I rolled through, as I uncorked all three bottoms at once and threw my head back as the taste of nothing filled my throat, as suddenly I was doubling over in pain as the vials were dropped, shattering on the ground next to me.
[Notice: Status Effect [Food of the Gods] has been applied, if more than two of the same Status Effect is applied then you could die]
[Notice: Status Effect [Food of the Gods] has been applied, if more than one of the same Status Effect is applied then you could die]
[Notice: Status Effect [Food of the Gods] has been applied, if anymore of the same Status Effect is applied then you have a 75% chance of dying]
I groaned in even more pain as my entire body felt like it was on fire, both from the burning of having a hole ripped through me, and from the god food reaching the edge of when it would burn me from the inside out.
I almost passed out once or twice from the blood loss, I hadn't really focused on that, my main issue was the whole, organ damage thing, it's where I directed all the healing I was capable of, to keep me alive long enough to get to the bag, as I felt my head begin to tilt about, it was getting hard to focus, I still had to big of a hole in my body, even as it tried to knit and close itself, it was going just a bit to slow...
Was I going to die?
I didn't want to die.
The thought was kind of scary actually... isn't that something?
I managed a laugh that broke into a cough of blood spitting from my mouth as I thought about how I managed to get through my entire damn list, but I couldn't manage the point I noted three times...
This fucking sucks.
...Time to risk my life then. A pale and weak arm rose up, as I huddled in on myself, as my hand reached into my bag, grabbing around aimlessly for a long moment before pulling out another two vials, my last two, as I stared at them for barely as long as I could manage for the moment.
I don't take chances, not when I can help it, this was the biggest risk I've ever taken that I wasn't sure about before hand.
My hands were shaking, the thought of that, the idea that my life laid in the hands of luck, it was scary. I really didn't want to die, but it was either be burned up or to die form blood loss, so I took a moment, before sighing, as I looked up at the sky, for a long, long moment, before holding the vial up with a weak shaking hand, and said with a huff, as blood dripped from the corners of my mouth.
"Cheers to all those watching... I hope I've been good entertainment, sorry I might lose this one mom" And with that I tossed the both vial back, and couldn't hold in the light whining pain as smoke began to rise from my throat, it was almost as bad as when I dipped my hands into the Styx, but it was everywhere, not just my hands, and that made the difference, I was screaming, my limbs spasming.
I could feel the heat becoming to much, as pain radiated out from every inch of my body Adriel was shouting something but I could focus on whatever he was trying to get across, when the most terrifying words I could see appeared in front of me.
[Notice: Status Effect [Food of the Gods] has been applied twice. You will now di-]
The Notice paused, frozen, the text uncompleted, when-
[Notice: Status Effect [Victory's Blessing: Luck] has been applied]
[Notice: Status Effect [Food of the Gods] has been applied twice, if anymore of the same Status Effect is applied then you have a 99.99% chance of dying]
I coughed, because I couldn't laugh, as I stared up at the sky, the night stars looking down on me, as I managed a weak grin, I couldn't speak, I'd probably choke on something be it my own tongue, blood, or spit, it didn't matter, but I did manage a nod, as my head slowly fell back against the hard stone.
Thanks mom.
My vision blurred out to nothingness, the last thing I saw was one last notice.
[Notice: Status Effect [Unconscious] has been applied, with other Status Effects active, there is a 75% chance you will die]
Heh... wasn't that just comforting.
I woke up feeling like shit, if that shit had been put in a blender with more shit from another person, with a lot of sand from a fire ant colony, and then that mixture was then pressed into the gaping hole a person had in their chest and also into their mouth, and that's about the start of what I felt like.
Everything hurt and burned, my bones were fixed, but my organs were still damaged, one night wasn't enough to fix the issue. Moving hurt to much to consider really, given the hike I was about to have to take, as if I shifted to hard, then my back or front would split open and I'd start bleeding again, the skin there was tender and barely held together with what felt like scotch-tape.
It was over the course of a very painful ten minutes, that I managed to shift my binder to my lower stomach rather than my tits, before tightening it to keep the skin from moving, it helped, but walking was a no go.
So I just laid there, in a trail of my own dried blood, feeling the worst I had in ever, and stuck thinking about what happened, slowly and pitifully realizing just how stupid it was to do this now just because I was being edgy and pissed about Silena and the rest of the camp. I nearly got myself killed because I didn't think this through properly. I think that almost hurt worse in all honesty.
Because I've been in pain, but never like this, never because I made such a big mistake, never because I was wrong. Because I wasn't wrong, I've always done the best I could do through literally everything, I made a mistake or two, but nothing ever was directly on me, there was always something else that I couldn't have known or could do. I won, that's it, there was never a single thing I could think of that was on me for getting hurt or in a bad position...
Until now, and damn did it make me think somethings through, as I laid there, unable to move, for hours upon hours, as the midday sky burned down on my unmoving body.
I wasn't perfect, as stupid as it was, I always kind of just figured I knew that. I had a shitty body that wasn't the one I wanted, I wasn't very good at feeling stuff, or being nice and kind, I knew all that. But I figured it wasn't important as long as I kept winning, because I could just fix that stuff later, but there almost wasn't a later. Because I was stupid and dumb and did something even more stupid and dumb well before I was ready for it, and just barely survived because my mom took pity on me.
Nothing I did myself to cause it, I hadn't thought I'd get her help, because I never even spoke to her, done nothing to win her over through clever words and a deal of some kind. It was pure chance she was looking in my direction and decided to help. Without that, I would be dead, without her blessing, I would have died in my sleep more than likely.
It wasn't my cunning, my plans, my strength, or willpower that saved me in the end.
It was because Nike thought to spare me when she didn't have to.
Because I was arrogant and stupid, caught up in the idea I couldn't make a mistake here, because I hadn't before... In a way I was no better than the gods I mock for being predictable and easy for never changing. And I got fucked for it, not because I was wrong, because I was an idiot who thought he knew everything about every god because I read some cool words about them once from a book I don't remember actually reading.
Wild ain't it?
I wondered for a while if that's what my fatal flaw was. Pride isn't the best to have, but given the context, it sure seems to fit doesn't? That or ambition, considering what I've done to get me in this state in the first place. Sucks doesn't it?
Time passed slowly,, Adriel was around to keep me company but he was a bit... out of it. I was protected because of my System, some what, but he didn't have that, and therefore he was slightly traumatized from being around Nyx for so long. I said sorry, he just whined, we went back and forth for a while, but it went back to silence after he ran out of Spirit to talk to me with.
The night came, I was hungry, but my stomach had a hole ripped in it, and I wasn't going to risk eating any solid foods until the effect that told me I was missing vital parts of my vital organs was gone.
The process looped for the next day, but the day after that, the effects were gone, expect for a new one telling me I was starting to starve to death, but that was whatever.
From there I could finally get up and move. My outfit was ruined beyond belief, there wasn't really a part of me that was clean, much less wasn't coated in my own blood, and the open holes in the front and back of my shirt and my cloak didn't really... help my imagine.
Still, even if I felt like absolute shit still, I got up and I moved, walking to the edge of the cliff and looked out for the first time about just where the hell I was.
I'm glad I actually did pack some food, because I have a feeling this is going to be a long rest of my week, like it hasn't already been a pain in my ass.
With that I started to move, one step after the other, as I began to climb my way down the mountain. I had thought of ways to make it faster, but I didn't, I think I needed the time to continue and think over everything, and this was a good enough time as ever.
Nicaragua, it's a place in Central America, in Mexico, it's... a place and I don't speak Spanish, so it was also very difficult around, and I think I pissed off a local aztec god for being in their area, but I was way to tired to give close to a shit.
I fought my way through a number of monsters that normally would have made me interested in the area and the mythologies involved with it all. Any other day and I would have loved to explore the place, to look around, speak to people, see what was happening and what I could find, if anything, that I could exploit.
Instead I killed every single thing in my way as past as possible, watching them melt into screams of pain using the Styx water I still had on hand. If that didn't work, I would just cut their heads off, Aztec monsters weren't all that strong, like, not at all compared to Greek, but then again, Aztec myths don't get a lot of day to day love, like my own section of the supernatural does.
I didn't really care, it just made them easier to kill, so I just kept it up as I moved from small town to bigger cities over the course of at least two weeks, but the days hadn't really been kept in count for the most part. I didn't see a reason to, I just needed to make sure two months didn't somehow slip by without my notice, thought even I doubt I could lose that much time, and I spent most of a year living in the woods.
So I found the closest airport, mind fucked the people who tried to stop me, and before long I was back in America, from there, three days, four buses later, and only one crash later, I was back at the entrance to the Underworld, as I just glared at Charon, no banter in mind.
Apparently my entire existence was enough to show I was in no mood to give a basic banter, we went through in under a minute. And in the next, I was in the Underworld once more, as I walked towards my Grandmother's river. I just sat at the bank of it, and sighed, rubbing one of my eyes, I hadn't exactly gotten much sleep. I had put my cloak back into my bag at some point, trading it out and my ruined shirt for an oversized on I snatched from a close line in Mexico.
It was itchy, and since my binder made me wince with chafing from just looking at it's crusted blood coated self, it meant I was in a very uncomfortable mood for weeks now, my jeans had been replaced for a similar reason. It limited the amount of times someone screamed bloody murder at me, now I just felt crappy all the damn time.
My mind was a battle field of thoughts and opinions I'd rather not think about, a lot of self reflection as well, which wasn't my strongest suit, and it was surprisingly hard as well. I'll bounce back, I always do from depressing stuff, and personally I think it's just an after effect of being nearly murdered more than anything. Like post nut clarity, just instead of a fun time, it was a spike made of darkness going through three of my favorite organs and out the back making me think over my own actions that lead me up to the point I thought I was invincible to whatever a god could do to me.
Which, considering that they were gods, was a lot. It was a surprising thing I somehow forgot that, it forced me back to realize the danger and strength they held. And just how dangerous the Titans were as well, sure, none of them would be standing up to Nyx, but she was just an example.
It was an understanding long in the making, it also didn't exactly change much. That would imply this taught me that the gods shouldn't be messed with, I disagree, it just made me remember that the gods were just as fucking dickish as the titans, and I had to be more careful in how I used them. So that if I ever decided one of them needed a solid punch to the balls, I could do it without remorse.
"Ah, so you did survive" I just tilted my head to the side and looked over to Nyx, she was there, the notice about her existing being harmful to me showed up, I ignored it and said with a smile.
"Yep, spent three days slowly not dying on a mountain hundreds of miles from civilization, before I could walk, and then I walked all the way to civilization and traveled a few hundred more miles to get back here, but I have returned as you asked" She just smiled, my tone didn't have the burning snark I wanted it to have, but fuck her, I was going to bleed her dry one day. I could be patient.
Because if spite about getting lied to by the Game Dev was enough to drive me to fight deities, than her willingly trying to kill me was just a whole new level of motivation and spite powering my every action.
"I am glad to hear that, you're quite interesting, so it is nice to see you made it" She made it sound like I made a particularly hard drive down to visit for Thanksgiving, instead of what actually happened, I just shrugged.
"Good to hear, are we going to be going over our deal from before now? You kind of stabbed and ran, which was pretty mean I must say" She simply tilted her head.
"You were the one who did not tell me the truth little mortal, and for that you had to be punished and your worth tested. My daughter will listen to your words now, and if she hears a lie, you will not be only losing the idea of my Legacy, but will be losing hers as well" I just hummed, she wanted to play it like that huh? She thought herself clever but she wasn't.
I had three weeks to think about how this would go, to figure out just why she wanted us to speak in front of the Goddess of truth. The reasons were simple, she couldn't prove under her own power if I was lying or not, she just assumed I was, because she thought my words to good to be true. Because she threatened me for my tricks, implying I had lied to her by wanting Styx to judge my truthfulness, but the thing is, I never lied once when I talked to her, I never lie directly to any god if I can help it.
I don't even work towards tricking them either, to dangerous for the most part.
That just meant she was one paranoid bitch that stabbed me just because she thought I might have said something wrong but couldn't prove it.
So I just hummed as Nyx's words, before turning back to the river and said.
"Styx, I swear on your name, I never said a simple thing that I didn't mean truthfully and had no desire of tricking the Goddess Nyx in any way, I simply wanted to get to know her and see if I could be granted her powerful Legacy because of how much I respected her power and abilities. If a single fraction of what I have said is a lie, feel free to not only strip me of your Legacy but kill me right here, right now" I waited, it was a long one, she was looking, she took this seriously, looking at what I said down to the individual word.
It's why I knew I was safe, I had that planned for a week.
[Notice: Bond [River Styx Oath] has been created... You have been judged truthful, bond [River Styx Oath] has been resolved]
See? I turned back to look at Nyx, who was frowning, looking out to the River for a moment, like she was hearing something, she might have been in all chances hearing what Styx herself had to say on the matter, as I just looked away. I was completely truthful, because I don't make a habit of lying to anyone.
Nyx spoke up once more, sounding almost close to approaching remorseful, it wasn't actually all that close, but she did sound almost sorry, so it was something.
"Are you perhaps able to lie to my daughter?" I just shrugged.
"Nope, we can't lie to each other in general without the other knowing, the oath was just to show you, but Styx can sense any lie spoken in her presence, I would know because I can do the same"
"Are you perhaps able to trick my daughter?" I shrugged again.
"Anyone can be tricked if you try hard enough, but no, I have never tried to trick Styx into doing anything, we've only made deals on mutual benefits and simple talks" I didn't say that I have never tricked Nyx by using Styx's ability, but that's something completely unrelated to tricking Styx since I wasn't talking to her right now. That's the bonus of having a Goddess's full domain for someone like Styx, anything she could do I could do, and learn how to get around from trial and error.
Just never say something directly incorrect and it's not a lie, just an implied truth that doesn't need to be true or false, just up to the opinion of who is listening to the words.
Nyx just continued to frown, staring deep into the River, getting confirmed about my words once more, before turning to look at me, I just stared back, unflinching, she could have that aura on full display as much as she wanted, I didn't give a shit about it anymore.
Surprisingly she smiled, it was small, but it was there.
"Perhaps my little test did some good for you after all. No lies from before, none now, but at least you aren't so... squirrelly about being around me, and that hate in your eyes that you act isn't there. So much more refreshing than the artificialness you created just to try and huff and puff at me like some angry kitten" That was a lie, she just thought she knew more than me at the time and did it to teach me something because she didn't like the idea of not knowing if I was truth or not.
I didn't point it out though, gods aren't often a fan of being pointed out as hypocrites of their own actions, but I could feel the faint stir of annoyance from the river I was bound to. Nyx didn't acknowledge it, and Styx didn't say anything about it because she was terrified of her mother like everyone else would be.
"Sure, you know what they say, holes in the chest make the heart grow stronger, or something like that" Nyx beamed, like that was an actual saying and not just something I made the fuck up.
"Of course! Though, I can hardly just give you everything, your little body couldn't hope to contain all that I control" I figured, she was literally darkness itself, and that didn't mean just on Earth, she was around before Earth, or Gaea at least, that meant she also was the darkness in which the infinite of space was held in. Which was mildly terrifying, so instead I just said.
"I don't need all of it, it would be nice, but I don't. Just a portion of your ability over darkness would be enough" She hummed, studying me for a moment, before saying.
"Alright, but I wish for you to meet my other child as well at some point, I want all those who hold parts of me to get along" I slowly nodded, she was so fucking weird, before saying.
"Sure, but how about we wait a bit, like... maybe until I'm around sixteen, barely even a few years in your eyes" She thought it over, but years to her were probably closer to seconds for me, so it was of no surprise she agreed quickly, and then vanished just as face, a pleased smile on her face, like she's the one that accomplished something.
I just sighed, before looking out to the river and said to it.
"You're mom is weird" I didn't get a response, but the current did sort of speed up a bit, and I think that was an agreement.
That's when the wave of predictable notices popped up.
And holy shit if there wasn't a lot of them.
[Accomplishment: Primordial God Talk: Completed
Holy hell, you are an idiot, that is the only reason you would ever try what you just did, and it is only dumb luck that you are still alive! Nyx is not someone you should be playing your games with!
+50,000 Exp]
[Notice: You have leveled up twice!]
[Notice: Perk [Legacy of Nyx] has been granted to the user!]
[Notice: Skill [Umbrakinesis] has been granted via Perk [Legacy of Nyx]]
[Notice: Special Ability [Shadow Travel] has been granted, this ability will now upgrade [Umbrakinesis]]
[Notice: Special Ability [Umbrakinetic Vitakinesis] has been granted, this ability will now upgrade [Umbrakinesis]]
[Notice: Special Ability [Darkness Generation] has been granted, this ability will now upgrade [Umbrakinesis]]
[Legacy of Nyx]
You have been given the barest bones of Nyx's domain after a very close call to death. I can't tell you just how insane you have to be to even try what you just did, but congrats you fucking menace to society.
-You gain an additional five points to all stats every ten levels (This will update to match total level)
You now gain per level 75 mana instead of 45 (This will update to match total level)
-You now gain per level 125 Stamina instead of 95 (This will update to match total level)
-Status Effect [Eyes of Darkness] has been granted
[Notice: Retrospective Perk [Legacy of Nyx] has activated four times, all stats have increased by twenty points]
[Notice: Stat [Mental: Perception] has gained more than 100 points! Congratulations! Perk [Senses of Theia] has been unlocked!]
[Notice: Stat [Mental: Intelligence] has gained more than 100 points! Congratulations! Perk [Mind of Coeus] has been unlocked!]
Huh...
Well...
At least the near death experience was worth it? I guess that's something. But fucking hell that's a lot of messages, and a whole big increase in, like, everything.
I mean, it makes sense, I just got the Legacy of a one domain Primordial Goddess of literal Darkness. She could probably smack around Zeus himself if she tried hard enough she was that strong. Great grandmother or not, her literal three fiftieths of blood that I have inside me was enough to destroy my body because it was that strong. This, everything I just got, was her watering her Legacy down, so I wouldn't pop like a balloon.
I have to admit, this was pretty cool, but now to actually look through the list of everything I just got. Starting with the biggest one, and probably the coolest just because of what it is, Umbrakinesis.
I've officially collected water, wind, and shadow powers, I'm pretty sure I'm an honorary Big Three kid now.
[Umbrakinesis] Level: 1
You have a strong grasp of the shadows and darkness that surrounds you, allowing you to bend, sense, and shape them to your will with mild effort. One day you might even be a master over them, but that's a bit off in the future.
-[Shadow Travel]
You can slip in and out of shadows at will, and with a large amount of focus, you can even come out of them, allowing you to travel incredible distances, though without skill and control, you might not always end up where you want to be.
-[Umbrakinetic Vitakinesis]
You can create patches of night which cloy to an injury or wound of a person or being that is hurt, this rapidly speeds up the rate of healing based on amount of mana used and wound applied to.
-[Umbrakinetic Genesis]
You can create limited amounts of shadows around you even when there is none, growing from a shadow already on your person, or if none are present, making one at a much higher cost.
Cost: Varies based on level of skill and desired effect [ie. shadows created, darkness moved, distance traveled, etc.]
[Notice: Your Control stat counts as a phantom modifier, for every ten points of Control, [Umbrakinesis] acts as if it is one level higher than presented here]
That is a lot of fun text... basically, I'm even more awesome now...
But seriously, I can now teleport, I can control and move shadows with mild easy unlike water which takes a lot more effort, I can literally just summon darkness now, which is super badass, and, the part I was honestly most excited for... I got a new healing skill that uses mana this time, which is good because while Adriel is kind of awesome as a partner to chill with, he really isn't strong enough to make the other healing option worthwhile.
I will have to power grind it more than a few levels to work as well as I want it to, but this is a skill I've been looking forwards to for a very long time, and I get phantom modifiers to my skills by the truck load so it honestly doesn't need to be that high of a level at all, but it's good to have. I mean, right now it's base level with just the stat boost is having it sit at a phantom level thirteen.
That's probably enough as is to be honest, with all the extra that comes from other sources, it might even be enough, but that's for later me to figure out.
Next up, let's see... I'mma look at the Status Effect I just got.
[Eyes of Darkness]
You're body has been improved based on the power of darkness itself, allowing you to become immune to the negative effects of it's presence.
-You can now see in complete darkness as if the light level doesn't matter.
Yeah, that's about exactly as simple as I thought it would be, nothing really to see there given that I now have perfect night vision which is kind of cool.
After that... The two stat perks.
[Senses of Theia]
Your senses are fine hones points that are past that of any human could achieve, and even past that of some animals. To the point that you even can sense other things that don't involve your normal senses.
+100% increase to all five senses
-You can now sense the presence of all beings within twenty feet of you
Once per day, at the cost of 5,000 Stamina and 4,500 Mana you can double both the mentioned numbers for 1 minute.
[Mind of Coeus]
You have a mind built for learning and betterment of your own existence, past the point of even that of the most natural of geniuses.
-The base modifier that makes your stat Intelligence, is increased by 25% percent.
-All skills based in Intelligence level up 150% faster
Once per day, at the cost of 5,000 Stamina and 4,500 Mana you can double both the mentioned numbers for 1 minute.
Huh, that's cool, explains why the air tastes weird now, my tongue is just better now, which is a bit strange but still also kind of cool. The mind thing is also kind of cool, since something like Language is based on Intelligence, I can probably learn those faster now, and other things that involve my noggin.
It would be good to learn some languages with how often I find myself in places that have people who don't speak English, or Greek, since I can technically speak that as well. Never have had a reason to though, but that's thoughts for never to really think about since there isn't really a lot of people out there speaking in that now is there?
Anyways, it's been way longer than I wanted it to be to get this done, nearly a month, give or take a week.
That means my people at the forge should be long since done, which is good, that means that I have another thing I can look forward to now.
That did manage to bring a proper smile to my face at the idea of what I was about to be getting from them. It's something I had though about getting for so long now, but never went through with it because it wouldn't be nearly as effective under normal circumstances as it could be in another. But with the use of the special iron that I could happen to find in the Underworld, and could give special properties to...
Well, I was excited for a very good reason when I approached the forges, as a number of spirits waved at me as I walked past, as I smiled and waved back. I got along great with them for the most part, being dead just made them all really chill and easy to get along with, they could careless about any faults that a living person would, they al just wanted to vibe and make cool new shit.
I mean, they were all dead, so I could respect that.
Anyways, walking over to my main guy, someone who I think died in the cowboy era, because I never not saw him with a cowboy hat one, I spoke up as I looked around.
"I assume everything went well?" He didn't jump, ghosts don't really get scared under normal circumstances, they're dead after all, but he did turn around pretty damn quickly, a massive grin on his face as he saw me.
"Nick! There ya are! I've been waiting for ya to show up!" I just shrugged.
"I got side tracked somewhere in Mexico" He nodded.
"Course course, never been myself, but that's unimportant, come looky here" I followed him over to one of the many tables that were filled with some strange device or another. But we didn't stop at them, no, we kept going until we stopped in front of a case, like, a proper steel brief case, as I turned and glanced at him. He just shrugged and said.
"Had to keep from cross containments, this place is filled with one kind of energy or another at any time, and that ain't good for this here thing you asked us to build, so when we finished a part of it, we put it here, and when we finished a shot, we put it in there as well. There in the case, in a box, you got a few dozen, and a few spare parts in there, but I'd be careful with them. I don't think I've ever made something so deadly. It works, but if you ain't careful, it could kill you just as easily as it could kill anything else. Oh, and the other thing is in there to, but in comparison, it's nothing to what me and the boys made!"
"Thanks for the warning, you did everything I asked for it right? Normal stuff included?" He nodded.
"That was the easiest part once we found some experts around here who knew how to caliber it right, keeps it from being as strong as we could have made it, but the kick can be next to nothing or next to blowing ya arm off, so this way you can actually practice with it without wasting it" I smiled and nodded, as I reached out and picked up the case and said with a grin.
"So, was it fun making it?" He just grinned, long and wide.
"It was certainly something, we nearly lost three idiots who messed with the Stygian stuff for to long, but they'll be fine and normally dead after some rest, though we had to restart those parts afterwards" I just hummed at that, before holding a hand out.
"Still, thanks for all the help" He just smiled and nodded back, giving me a quick hand shake before heading off to work on something else, I just grinned as I looked down at my other hand, gripping onto the case.
This was going to be good.
Now then, time to head on out and look over my new toy.
I tried to act cool, I failed as I grinned massively, looking ready to literally start bouncing with excitement, as I focused on the innate power I how held within my body, as I felt it, the forces of the darkness and shadows around me. Like I could almost connect and see through them, but not quite, expect I was still connected to them as clearly as I could breath, it felt incredible and almost natural as I pushed my mana forwards, and in an instant, the shadows around me lifted up and in under a second, had encompassed my entire body.
Then I was moving, falling and spiraling around until I landed softly onto the ground as I took a breath in and let it out, looking around at the street of a city, not any city, LA, the one I had wanted to go to, I just grinned... Holy hell was that a rush.
It was frankly incredible as I moved, finding a spot that was easy enough to not be seen by the average person, as I placed the case down on a ledge, reached down, like I was in some kind of spy movie, and clicked the locks open, before pulling the lid up and stared at the beautiful thing before me.
I laughed, it was short but it was there and it filled my chest with so much warm glee at the sight of the thing, I didn't really know if it would work exactly how I wanted it to, but if it did... Then this was going to be so fucking awesome, as I used Search on the weapon.
[Stygian Iron Revolver-
You've done it, you've made a holy metal into a fucking gun, I hope you are proud of yourself.
6 Cartridges: Empty
Rank: B-]
I picked the gun up and looked it over. The thing was beautiful, it wasn't really a hand cannon, though the barrel was still long to compensate for the insane recoil it could have, the design was based pretty closer to a python though I wasn't sure how intentional that was. But instead of the sleek silver body, it was light eating black, and along the barrel was the crystal blue color of Stygian Ice. The gun's hammer was the exact same material.
The handle wasn't Stygian, instead it was of a wood that apparently only grew in the Underworld, like that tree of the guy who can't eat or drink anything. It was a rich dark red color.
All in all, the thing was awesome, as I clicked the side and flicked it out as I looked at the six shot cylinder. Then I placed the gun down and picked up a long wooden box, and opened it up, and inside was well over thirty Stygian Iron bullets, in a silver colored casing. The mechanics of how they worked was simple enough, something even I could make the basic idea for, and then give to a professional to actually make work.
The bullets themselves were Stygian Iron, meaning if I poured some blood on it from, say, a daughter of Zeus using lightning, then it would discharge lightning and a large amount of force when in comes into contact with Stygian Ice.
Which means that they just need to be in a spot where the built up mana can cause enough pressure to launch the bullet out of the gun at an extreme speed, hence the barrel and gun part, while the bullet itself was of the Underworld's metal, the casing was silver, with a small cool part to it. Inside the casing, instead of gunpowder, was crushed Stygian Ice, separated from the back of the bottom of the Iron, by a thin sheet, a sheet that would be snapped in half by something hard hitting the base of the bullet.
Like a gun's hammer, stabbing the Stygian Ice, into the bottom of the Stygian Iron, making it release it's power, forcing that pressure out behind it, into a set of four spiraled holes in the back of the gun, which would create spin to help propel the bullet forwards at a speed and force dependent on the amount of power stored in it. And if the bullet has a skill in it, like, say, lightning, then whoever get's shot, isn't just getting a piece of monster killing metal shot through their body, but also as much lightning as the bullet is holding at the time.
Two for one, but also it's a fucking gun that I can use to kill just about anything from a shot to the head, and if it doesn't kill, then the thing I shot has a piece of Stygian Iron, draining it's life force and essence suck inside of it until it does die. No matter what, it's going to hurt like a fucking bitch. A normal gun wouldn't be nearly as effective, and to be honest, if the gun itself wasn't made out of some kind of blessed metal, then the thing would probably break like glass when fired, so it was only a side bonus that it looked so fucking cool.
Either way, it was clear this thing was probably the most deadly weapon that has ever been created by a mortal, it is a gun that can kill anything, god, monster, or human. But it also requires a lot of set up as well, since each individual bullet needs to be treated and used, and after each use, I have no idea if I can reuse them for later. Plus I had no fucking clue how to use a gun either, much less get used to this gun, so I also made sure they made it so the stygian bullets were chambered in a real bullet type.
Thirty-eight Special, and that the hammer could also function so I could fire normal human murder bullets as well, so I could get used to the feel and be able to actually practice with the thing, though being able to properly get used to how much mana gives how much recoil is a completely different equation I'll have to work out at some point, for the time being I was very, very, happy with this.
So with that, I reached into the box of bullets, pulled out six, loaded them into the open cylinder of my gun, before spinning it and flicking it shut, just to feel like a bad ass...
And then realized I didn't have a holster for it because I forgot to ask for one.
...Oops?
I found a nice place in the woods to train over the next few weeks leading up to December where the cops only sometimes came to investigate the constant gun fire. I also had a lot of normal bullets now that I totally got legally, along with an equally legal gun holster for my belt, and used the new bullets for target practice, as well as a bunch of dark spots with all the foliage about. I got a skill with using guns, which was basically just the same as the skill I had for bows but with different words, the mods were all the same per level, so that was whatever.
Past that, after I learned just how to figure out how to use the weapon fully, it was pretty easy, I wasn't a perfect shot or anything, but I have a very high Dexterity stat means the skill was a very decent level without any training at all really. So that's something, I did some experimenting with my bullets as well.
Just because my blood was insanely unstable, that doesn't mean it can't store my power, it's just the stuff is to unstable for me to store skills in the stuff, but I can still put power into it which will be released through contact with the Ice.
The bullets themselves were near indestructible, so I got a lot of practice in with them, though digging them out of trees was a pain in the ass, it did teach me a lot, there was a rate in which the power came from the bullets, and if there was just to much mana in the bullets then it could do a lot of stuff.
Like, if I put five thousand points of mana from my blood into the bullet, and fired it, only about two thousand of the mana would be burned off by the time it got about a hundred feet away and hit it's target, in this case, a tree, burring itself deep into the wood... before exploding the tree and causing it to fall over rom all the built up pressure. Which is good to know, but also getting a bullet to have that much in it took nearly like, two full days of treating it and using skills around it.
It just wasn't worth it to be honest, but I did find that for any distance between ten to fifty feet, the best amount of power to put in the bullets was about three hundred mana, it also kept it the most accurate and kept the recoil from snapping my wrist bone, like the one with five thousand mana did, because that's physics. Plus it took me literally most of a day just to get one bullet to have that much mana, it just wasn't feasible to use bullets with that much strength.
In the end, I got multiple levels in both skills and that's about it, but it was enough to work with.
So on December tenth, I packed up my improv campsite that I had been living at for a while, and decided it was time to head on back, I had a deal with keep up with Hades for, not that he knew it. But I had plans with that for later which would be fun to do all the stuff for that.
It took about half a thought to find myself moving through the comforting darkness of the shadows, before with a calm step, walked out of the darkness that I knew was created from the shadows of the afternoon sun on the Hermes cabin.
Looking around, I hummed to myself before making my way out from the wall and headed around the camp. Like always when I arrive back in the camp, there was a lot of eyes focused on me, more than a few of which there when me and Silena had our little fight, but there was even more than should have been here... Oh right, winter break, forgot because I'm not a bitch who has to go to school.
I wonder what was making them look a me this time, I guess not wearing the camp shirt? I'm still in the uncomfortableness that is that shirt I stole from Mexico. I should replace it shouldn't I? But that means talking to the Aphrodite cabin and they don't like me... Hmm, this is quite the issue isn't it?
Past that there are a lot of guys staring, or at least, more than there usually is.
I ignored that, it probably wasn't anything, as I headed around, moving and looking. I didn't really know when exactly the third book would start, but as I watched from the distance as Thalia moved about quietly, Annabeth speaking softly to her as they walked around, I figured that I hadn't missed anything yet. Heading up to the Big House, I looked around for a long moment, wondering if I should say anything to anyone.
It's not like I exactly have any close friends I want to see at the moment, at least none that would want to see me as well.
Apparently I was wrong on that front though, as a familiar voice called out from behind me.
"Nick?" I blinked and turned back around and saw Percy who was lightly jogging up to meet me. I smiled at the sight and waved back, saying.
"Hey Percy! Long time no talk, it's been a while hasn't it?" He smiled and moved forwards, blinking a bit for a second, and I thought he was about to say something important, instead he randomly blurted out.
"You look different" I blinked... slowly, and tilted my head to the side in confusion. I didn't look that different, it's only been a few months at the very least. I might be a bit taller but not enough so to make any noticeable difference, at least I thought so. Then I noticed he looked very red all of a sudden, like he just realized something else, as I looked down at myself for a moment, before smirking as I looked back up, trying to not laugh as I called out way more loudly than I needed to.
"Percy you dog!" He sputtered something about shutting up, as I moved close, placing my hands on my hips and said, "What? You don't want me to talk about the first thing you noticed was my bo-" He slammed a hand over my mouth as I just smiled at him with my eyes as he glared at me, willing me to shut the hell up. It was hilarious.
"N-No! Not that you- Ugh! No, I'm talking about, like... I don't know, aura or something, you feel different! Is that better?" He was still red, but I had my fun... I still licked his hand making him let out a small yelp as he yanked his hand away like it had been burned, I just kept my smirk at him.
"You still noticed, good, maybe you aren't that dense!" He just huffed, as I continued on, "But actually I got some cool new stuff, I've been away from camp for the last little while getting some stuff in order so I can beat you into the ground at some point" He rolled his eyes at that, but he was smiling as well, he liked fighting, he just didn't like to admit it sometimes...
"Oh, and I also lost my binder, so my tahtahs are out until I get a new one, just in case you were still curious" And he went back to being red, which was fair, he was dense as hell when it came to flirting and romance of any kind, but he wasn't blind, in fact he was a teenage boy. Equal in his lack of tact, and I get hilarious situations like this were I can mess with him.
"S-shut up!" I just kept smiling and after a moment we were both laughing a bit about how stupid that was, as we caught up with each other. I mentioned I got another Legacy, Percy rolled his eyes, he mentioned he helped steal back a chariot that belongs to Ares, and I ask why he thinks my stuff is worth eye rolls.
Apparently, he didn't think that deserves an answer for some reason, so I pouted throughout most of the rest of the conversation... And tripped him multiple times with shadows... That part was mostly just to see how long it took before he noticed.
The answer was a while, or at least that long before he called me out on my bullshit, since that's how long it took for us to get to our spot by the lake... Then I was thrown into said lake, which was totally an unjustified escalation.
About five minuets after that, Percy had been flung through darkness about seven times, ended up in a tree twice, and I nearly drowned twice and flung through a boat that two satyrs were in, but in the end we both ended up on the shore, laughing our asses off by the end of it.
It was fun, most fun I've had in months, as Percy waved his hands like he wasn't even thinking about it, as the water around and on us, or me at least, trailed back into the lake, as we just sat around for a while, quiet and simple, before Percy spoke up, a faint thing in his tone I didn't understand.
"You're... weird Nick" I blinked as I just looked over at him and said.
"Course, it's a defining character trait of mine" He quirked a smile before looking away.
"No, just... in general. You're the only one here who's never... sad or down ever I guess. I don't think the other noticed, I don't think I noticed until I started to hang around you some more. But you're never concerned about the future, or sad about something, or anger about something else, you just do stuff and have fun while you do it even if it shouldn't be fun... And then we get things like this, where I can have fun by a lake with a war basically here... You're weird, basically. like, not bad weird, just in general"
I hummed, looking back out at the lake, before saying back to the kid hero.
"Life sucks, like, all the time, it's just awful, people die all the time, the gods hardly care about anything, I spend most of my life outside the camp fighting monsters or dealing with gods who annoy the shit out of me sometimes. I have a body that I hate more than basically anything, and I nearly die more times in a month than most people do in three life times" Percy leaned back, looking at me, but I kept staring out at the lake, I had this talk already, sort of, I mostly just yelled it at Silena, and I don't think she was listening for the most part.
"And the one thing I've learned from all that shit, is that life isn't worth being scared and concerned about, it's going to suck no matter what I do, so I might as well do the most I can to live as long as I can, so I can have the most moments where it doesn't suck, by doing everything I could ever want, and have as much fun as I can get out of everything I do... Life's a game, and I plan on getting the best score and ending I can get out of it. That's all there is to it"
Percy was quiet for a long moment, before huffing, and then laughing, as I looked over at me, as he gave me this look of bizarre fondness. I just tilted my head to the side, as he said with a trance of exasperation.
"Of course, of course you manage to make an incredibly cool speech about life... And then say you're going to win life somehow. Only you man" I just shrugged, but there was a strong warmth pulling in my chest, as I glanced at him for a second longer, only seeing understanding where before when I said the same words, more or less, to my friend and half the camp, they all didn't understand a single thing I said.
I looked away from him after that. Damn, he's so fucking annoying, being that perfect. It really is no wonder why everyone falls in love with him, under normal circumstances, I think I really would to. But... I can't be having that, so I crushed the small spark of that feeling in my chest under a crushing darkness and said cheerfully into the air.
"I'm glad you understand why I need to beat you up now!"
And just like that, I ruined the mood, as Percy gave me a look, and I broke into a cackling laugh at his face.
Wasn't this just the most harrowing chapter, not for Nick almost dying or anything, I'm talking about him getting a fucking gun!
What the hell am I thinking! That psycho is going to fucking double tap a fucking titan because of this horrible decision I've made! But seriously though, I got him a gun, cause... I don't know, I figured it'd be badass, and it is, and this is me having fun with the plot being the not important part so here we are. Though I can admit, humor has kind of dropped in recent chapters hasn't it? I don't mean for that to happen, it's just I've been focusing on getting the story to move along, and using humor based on the setting Nick is in, like him getting a fucking gun and you imagining what he would do with it, more than me making the dialogue funny for the purpose of being there to be funny.
Also because Nick needs a more solid long ranged option, since I think bows and arrows are so fucking stupid as weapons, like, seriously, they make no sense at all to be used by Camp Half-Blood considering that all those arrows have to be coated in Celestial Bronze to do any damage, or the entire arrow head has to be made of it, it's clear they could be spending that same amount of metal for just straight up bullets. But Celestial Bronze railguns would be to overpowered, so I used Stygian Iron instead and make it conditional on other factors instead of just having gunpowder on hand.
Still cool though, so I don't care, plus it's more of a secondary option for the time being, as it takes ages to both make and prep the bullets for active use, so he'll still be using his other stuff primarily. And Percy is awesome, because he's Percy and he deserves literally everything, so I can at least make sure he stays awesome. Past that... the time line here is wonky, it's been wonky, technically a lot of stuff here shouldn't be happening at this time, but whatever, I do what I want because I am god of this little story so just deal with it. Anyways, that's all I really have to say, See ya.
