Chapter Twenty-Seven: Heart of Darkness
Percy 4 Days 2 Hours after Eripus (Day 28 in Tartarus)
Comment Responses:
Jujp: A little Angst is good every now and then, ty for the review and enjoy the chapter!
Meryfcuckery: Glad you liked them, there's more coming down the line for both the norse and japanese demigods. As always enjoy the chapter and ty for the review!
Ariacrimsis: 3
Yoganksri: Well I'm glad that I keep surpassing those expectations, and I hope I continue to do so! Thanks for the review and as always enjoy the chapter!
Roryrex: Damn dude…. That was a huge review, and first off thanks. Can't tell you how much I love seeing these long reviews you leave. Honestly hypes me up a lot, so without sounding too needy keep 'em coming lol! I'm really glad you like my character and world building so much, I spend alot of time trying to make sure that these arent just copy paste characters and that they all have some sort of uniqueness to them.
As always my man thanks for the review and I really hope you like the chapter!
Nnntx: Well I'm glad you liked it! And managed to make your way past my terrible intro piece, I'm so bad at writing those little blurbs. But welcome to the gang/crew whatever you want to call it! Haha, enjoy the chapter and ty for the review!
MasterToro: I promise you, while it may seem a touch Ooc, I personally feel like his actions are pretty justified, given what he was going through and the proof that Cal had. I feel like many people would jump to conclusions as well, and obviously it's a story, it has a certain direction it needs to go in. However, trust me I'm not interested in cheap story telling, there's a reason why i wrote it the way that I did. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.
thanks for the honest feedback I appreciate it! I'm always trying to improve my writing, enjoy the chapter!
Darkanaksumalos70: Lol that was the fastest 180 turn I've seen yet ahaha. Glad you liked the story so much and ty for the review! Enjoy the new chapter!
Archer957: I can see how some of the chapters might seem a little long, maybe its just my writing style, but I have a pretty hard time fitting everything I want into the chapters as is…
But that said, Shadows Rise and everything that comes after this story has a drastically different world and feel than the core PJO books and I didn't want to just jump into that darker ,grittier world without building up to it, otherwise everything any of the characters did would seem OOC.
So I think part of the reason this first book is slower paced is that I'm trying to work those elements into the story in a more natural way? No matter how I write this I sound like a jackass but I hope you understand what I mean lol.
Anyway, ty for the review and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
And for those of you who arent in the discord yet, feel free to join to get access to teasers for upcomming chapters and Artwork. See link below.
Discord Info:
discord . gg/ 5VWBsymDYG
The hellhound by his side slowly sank into the ground, dragging Percy along with it. Yet, even as the icy cold shadows sucked what little energy remained from his bones, he refused to crumple or fall. Instead staring defiantly at the top of the hill, refusing to look away, wanting nothing more than to burn the image into his mind, so that he could remember everything about this moment.
The hellhounds fell silent, no longer growling or braying loudly as they had before. The wind barely seemed to rustle the trees, and atop the hill nearby, flashes of golden light descended from the heavens, revealing the unmistakable silhouettes of several Olympians standing tall atop the crest.
One clutching a trident and the other wearing a large horned helm.
Hades and his Father, accompanied by two female figures, one of whom was wreathed in flames. Of course, Olympus had sent others to finish what Ares and his siblings started. It had only been a matter of time until the big guns were sent out. However, Percy couldn't deny the stinging pain in his chest, brought on by the sight of his father standing amongst the Gods sent against him. Percy recognized the warming aura of Hestia nearly instantly, and the anger he felt knowing she was here alongside his father was just as instant and intense. She was the Goddess of Hearth and Home, and his mother and sister had been attacked in their own home by none other than the Olympians. The very thought enraged him.
As for the other one, he wasn't sure, he could feel the power rolling off of her in waves, but she didn't feel like any of the Gods he had met before. She certainly did not possess an aura like one, at least not one that he could sense at any rate.
Then she raised her arm and suddenly Percy felt a blast of heat, and heard the roar of flames as she gestured in his direction.
Percy barely had time to react to the danger before several tendrils of fire raced out across the field straight at him, and in an instant he was dragged beneath the surface. The hellhound he was holding onto having escaped into the shadows at their feet and dragged him along for the ride. His lungs filled with stale frozen air as he struggled to keep his grip on the hellhound, all the while they raced through the endless collection of shadowy structures and terrain. A wild tumbling ride through the shadow realm, in what felt like a perpetual freefall.
He couldn't afford to lose his grip, he honestly wasn't sure if he had the energy to move, let alone find his way out of this place without help. Even if it was possible, he vaguely remembered Nico saying how volatile shadow travel was. Percy knew he wasn't in the kind of shape, mentally or physically, to be risking not only his life, but Estelle's as well.
Something he couldn't do. As far as he was concerned; he had the most precious package in the world, which meant he had one goal right now. To keep her safe.
He had heard Annabeth shout out her name, Estelle…she had never met him before. But now, all they had left was each other.
He wasn't going to let anything or anyone hurt her, and most importantly he wasn't going to forgive, nor would he forget what had happened today. All of it stank of the same bullshit that had plagued his entire life. Godly interference, specifically the Olympian kind. What other possible reasons could his mother have had for being dragged into this again. But even as he raged, the smallest of voices in his head called out perhaps there was more to this.
His mother was Ardwyrian, and she had hid that heritage from him until it had reared its ugly head all on its own. Every problem that followed could have been avoided if his mother had trusted him enough to tell him who he really was.
He shook his head vigorously, he could not afford to get lost in his mind right now, he could take time to figure out what exactly had happened to his mother once Estelle was safe. But still, he couldn't shake the image of Annabeth's panic stricken face from his mind.
He wasn't sure who to trust anymore. Cal had told him all about his mother's fate, but Annabeth had been so adamant in her denial, so adamant, that it had taken everything he had to stop himself from running to her and pulling her into his arms. But, Dionysus and the Gods had attacked him, and even admitted to deciding his mother's fate as a group.
What was worse, was that he wasn't sure if he could trust her. A searing pain in his stomach flared up, as if to remind him of Dionysus stabbing him in the stomach, something he had done while looking every bit the part of Annabeth.
How could he trust her, trust any of them? The Gods had always been willing to interfere with the lives of mortals. Percy had always assumed that at least he and the other demigods were treated differently. After all, they were family, and after everything Percy had done for them…
He wanted to believe Annabeth more than anything, he wanted to run back to her and forget this whole thing happened. But he couldn't, and what was worse was that he couldn't trust any of them right now. He needed answers, which meant he needed to talk to someone who had them.
Under normal circumstances that would have meant his father, or perhaps one of the other more well tempered Olympians, but he highly doubted they would answer his questions. And if what Cal had suggested was true, which, based on Dionysus's admission, was, the Gods would likely attack him at first sight, based solely on his heritage.
That left a few individuals at best.
Cal, but Percy wasn't sure if he could trust him, regardless of the shiny sword he had brought along with him and the news of his mother and sister. Without a doubt, Percy was grateful he managed to save Estelle and thankful that Cal warned him before she fell into the hands of the Olympians. But Percy wasn't an idiot, he knew that just like everyone else involved in the affairs of immortals, Cal had a hidden agenda. Percy was sure of it, he just didn't know what it was yet.
Nyx was another option, she had the resources to get the answers he wanted, and given what he was doing for her, he couldn't see any reason why she wouldn't do this for him. But he also wasn't entirely sure he could trust her either.
Which left him in the same position as he was before, alone and without anyone to turn to, for the first time in his entire life. There wouldn't be sudden help from Olympus or his friends, he didn't have anyone to turn to.
Except the Tartarii. Eko, Thaye…he could trust them, at least he had to believe he could trust them. There simply wasn't anyone else.
All these thoughts and more rushed through his mind as he held onto the hellhound, suddenly he felt warmth return to his extremities and he could smell the brimstone in the air the instant before he exited the shadow realm. And while he wasn't glad for Tartarus, he had to admit it was preferable to the inky blackness and cold of the shadow realm.
He was greeted almost immediately by the crashing of the waves against the shore and the rumble of thunder accompanying the howling wind as Percy casted his gaze over the massive ocean stretching away before him, the aquamarine waters sparkling with light, lit from within by the flames from the river of fire.
It was beautiful, yet the tears pouring down his face had nothing to do with the sight before him. His life, the entire course of his destiny had changed today, and he couldn't go back to who he had been just a few hours prior.
Over half of the black armor Nyx had given to him was completely wrecked, bits and pieces of it clung to his body here and there but for the most part, it was ruined. The curse Tartarus placed on him was working overtime, healing the injuries he had suffered but not without its own costs.
The voices in his head were getting worse, a raging storm of screams and howls, all begging for vengeance and justice. He felt like he was lost in a storm alone, with no tether to bind him.
The silver sword Cal had given him miraculously survived the journey, having stayed in its sheath throughout the dimension hopping experience.
But just like his armor, Percy felt broken, like something was wrong. And he knew what it was.
His mother was dead, or in the best case scenario where Cal was lying and Annabeth was telling the truth, she was missing and that still didn't explain why Annabeth, Jason and Piper were on the run with his sister.
Just the thought of it sent a crackle of lightning across the sky as the waves crashed against the shore. Flaming droplets of water sizzled against the ground as the sea churned and frothed around him.
For a few moments, he stood there, his entire body aching as he stared out at the sea. His entire body rigid, the muscles tensed in anger. While he gently held his sister, fighting all the while to keep his powers under control.
The anger he felt was unlike anything he had experienced before, it felt like acid eating away at him from the inside. But that anger, he had a better use for it as he drew on the energy in the air around him, pulling from the Tartarean itself as he forced the sea to submit to his will, not even doubting for a second that it would obey him as he slowly felt energy returning to his exhausted body.
He would find time to blow off the anger that he had bottled inside, but that would come after Estelle was safe, after she was hidden away from the murderers who had taken their mother from them.
Less than a month prior for him, his entire life had changed, he had been cast into a new role, a new light. With the history of an entire people resting on his shoulders.
Zeus, Gaea. God or Primordial. They had taken everything that he cared about in one fell swoop.
The one person who could have explained it, well she was dead. Her life was used as a bartering chip in the Olympians' great game against Gaea. A game he had been a pawn in, up until recently, he thought to himself in a horrifying moment of realization.
He had given up his childhood, nearly died a dozen times over, and he wished he could take it all back. If the reward he was given for his service was for his mother to be killed on Olympus' orders then he wished he could take back everything he had done for them. In that instant he felt a pang of regret as he thought back to one notable person in his past.
Luke Castellan.
He had once assumed that Luke was a coward, that he lacked the steel in his spine and the loyalty that Percy himself so valued.
But knowing what he knew now, Percy couldn't help but think that maybe Luke had been right all along. His efforts to usurp the Gods had led to the deaths of demigods, but in the end would it have saved more lives?
Gaea had offered multiple times to spare them if they simply chose to not side with the Gods; the Titans had offered the same. It was only the Gods that had needed to die, "their reign of tyranny has to end" was a phrase he had become used to over the years.
And now?
Now he was starting to think that maybe the Gods themselves were the problem.
But for now he needed to get his sister somewhere safe, as he drew on his connection to the Tartarii. Calling out to them mentally and hoping they would hear him.
"I need you…" He thought desperately, hoping they would respond.
For a few moments there was nothing, and then he heard the sound of their song faintly in his head and he knew it wouldn't be long before they would be there with him.
The hellhound behind him slowly lowered itself to the ground, laying down as it looked into the distance. Meanwhile several more massive hellhounds emerged from the shadows around them. Their large green eyes locked into flat stares as they kept watch.
That was when the exhaustion of the day's events finally seemed to catch up with him. Almost like a rope snapping, he lost his grip on the Tartarean, and the power it had been supplying him vanished.
Percy was almost forced to sit down, leaning against the hellhound as he panted heavily, his body feeling like one giant lead weight as he stared out over the aquamarine waters.
He would have vengeance for his mother, if it was the last thing he did.
How would he have truly known if the Gods had a hand in his life, if they had manipulated him this entire time. He hadn't thought they were capable of deceit to this degree up until he saw it with his own eyes.
But he had learned more than he had ever wanted to, in these last few weeks, hell the term "ignorance is bliss" actually made sense to him now. Thinking about telling Annabeth almost drew a laugh from him, then he seemed to snap back to reality.
He probably wouldn't see her again, at least not in that way.
Just thinking about the look on Annabeth's face when he had asked if she "knew" about him and his family history, hurt like a physical wound. She had denied it but he couldn't help to think that it might still be true. What magic, potions, tricks and other lies had the Gods used to manipulate her?
Annabeth was loyal to Olympus, incredibly so…even if she disliked Hera. But for her to do something like this, for any of the seven to betray him like this. He just couldn't understand why, as it stood, all the facts were against them, and it hurt.
A snarl escaped his lips as he shook his head, nothing made sense anymore. He didn't know who to believe, not that that would make a difference. He couldn't change the past, and now he had to shape a future not just for himself, but for Estelle too.
Tartarus was not a kind place to the able bodied, much less a child. It was a literal hellhole fit for monsters and little else, but it was the only place he had left to run to. The mortal world wasn't safe.
He hadn't even meant to go anywhere specific, but the hellhound had brought him home, he thought miserably as he stared out at the ocean.
Home.
A mirthless laugh escaped his lips as he looked up at the massive mountains of black rock, and endless forest of dead trees stretching away behind him. This place would be his home for the foreseeable future. The prison for the monsters and enemies of Olympus.
It was ironic if nothing else. To go from the hero of Olympus and one of its seven prophesied saviors to a wanted criminal in the span of a week took extraordinarily bad luck. Percy just happened to have the kind of luck where shit like that was considered pretty normal.
It was almost peaceful just sitting here listening to the ocean crashing against the shore, if it weren't for the screams inside his head, or the smell of brimstone and the occasional derranged howl from a denizen of Tartarus. Percy was quite sure he could have taken a pleasant nap.
Just like he used to on the hill at camp beside Thalia's pine tree.
For a moment he just sat there, and then like some dam inside him breaking, he choked back a sob. It was like watching television with bad reception. He could remember bits and pieces, but it was scrambled and faded.
He couldn't remember who it was he had forgotten, but the memories didn't feel right anymore, they didn't feel like his memories. To make matters worse wasn't sure if they were his and he really was forgetting things, or if they were a byproduct of Eko and Thaye's combined blessings.
Even as he broke out in a cold sweat, fighting against the darkness that threatened to take him as the pain in his head built. Percy growled through gritted teeth as he drew the sword and laid it across his lap, one hand firmly grasping the handle, the other holding his sister to his chest.
He didn't have time to be weak, he couldn't sit here and sob, or break down. He was all Estelle had, and of all the places he could bring her, Tartarus was where he decided. Even unconsciously it still bothered him.
Just like the thousand other dark thoughts and memories that plagued both his waking and sleeping hours. Percy hadn't understood the threat that curse Tartarus had placed on him posed. But he was starting to understand the genuine horrors that awaited him if he didn't figure this out soon.
He could actually recall exactly what it felt like to get shot, more than once. Even now he could recall the exact feeling as several barrels of explosives and shrapnel went off ripping through his skin and charring the flesh black in the same instant. Before dropping a tower on top of him, burying him under burning rubble.
So it wasn't all his memories he was losing, just the good ones, just the ones worth keeping.
He knew what it felt like to die, or at least come as close as possible to death without crossing. And he had experienced it in full a dozen ways in the last twenty four hours alone. So he could say his fear of death might be somewhat dulled, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared.
The thought of losing all his memories, at least all the ones worth keeping was a genuine fate worse than death. His memories of Annabeth, the camp, his friends and family. That's what had kept him going so far, and now he wasn't sure how long he could continue to hold onto those .
Percy felt like he was slowly going insane, he couldn't tell if the voices in his head were memories of people he should know, or not. The pain in his body might be real and it might not, he wasn't entirely sure, nothing made sense anymore, he just knew that he couldn't fall asleep, he couldn't close his eyes. He had to stay awake until Thaye and Eko got here , until someone could look after Estelle.
His sister let out a ragged cough as he froze mid thought, looking down at her in horror as he noticed the red blotches already spreading across her skin, and the way her little chest shuddered with each breath.
A flash of memory, from what felt like a lifetime ago was drawn to the surface.
A memory of him and Annabeth, stumbling along half blind in search of the river when they had first arrived in Tartarus. Desperate to drink the fire water and save their lives before the very air itself killed them. He realized he had not been affected by the air in a while, at least not after Eko had blessed him, and he hadn't even thought of the repercussions of dragging his sister into Tartarus. She had no such protections and he had no idea how to protect her.
He could force her to drink water from the river of fire, but he had no idea where the river was and he wasn't entirely sure if he could separate the water from the Tartarean. But staring down at her tiny form, barely able to breathe, Percy panicked.
His entire body was shrouded in green light as his aura surged outwards. The sea exploded into motion as the winds picked up and the sky crackled with lightning, large waves crashed against the shore as the water slowly began to collect in the air, hanging motionless like tiny jewels.
He tried to find the distinction between the water of the various rivers within the Tartarean, instantly sweat broke out on his forehead and the runes covering his side began to glow with light as he felt the Tartarean fight against him.
Bucking like a wild horse as he tried to force it to do what he wanted, made the sea do what he wanted. The thought of failure didn't occur to him, he needed the waters from the river of fire. The Tartarean was made up at least in part from those waters, so it made sense.
His adventures, getting stabbed by backbiter, the battles through Tartarus with Annabeth, the agony of his fight with a Primordial, hell dying and coming back to life, all the pain and suffering he experienced at Gabe's hands. None of it compared to this. His entire body felt like it was tearing itself apart from the insides, and the marks engraved into his skin burned as badly as they had when Eko and Thaye had carved them, glowing brightly even as blood dripped from the still fresh wounds.
Estelle's cries were slowly being interrupted with wheezing coughs as he groaned under the strain, but eventually the water in front of him began to bubble and ripple, bursts of fire tore at the surface as it slowly faded from an aquamarine blue and took on an orangish hue.
If Percy had the energy he would have cracked a grin, but the effort it had taken was unimaginable. And he knew if it wasn't for his ability to channel Aetherium there would have been no possible way for him to even attempt this.
Yet, he could still feel the bursts of energy crackling about around him, but he could do little to control it as it took every ounce of his willpower to simply remain conscious. He needed to get his sister to drink the water before he passed out, and hopefully this would buy her enough time for Eko and Thaye to reach them.
With the last of his energy, he lifted his hand reaching out to the pool of orangish flames, his vision blurring at the edges as the screaming of voices, and the song of the Tartarii rose to a crescendo within his head.
Percy was exhausted, his body felt hollow and each breath took effort, it didn't take a genius to know that his body needed rest, time away from using his powers. But that was what he didn't have. He needed to keep her safe.
His body could wait, if he fell asleep or failed here, he might never see his sister again, and if that came to pass, he would have lost everyone and everything that tied him to his old life in a single day, and Percy knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Yet as he tried to stand, tried to walk to the water's edge so he could get Estelle to drink what she desperately needed.
His powers and his body gave out at almost the same instant.
Like a marionette with its strings cut, he collapsed, crashing to the ground in a heap, unable to so much as move. He wasn't even conscious of Estelle falling to the ground and rolling away from him. Her cries went unheard and unanswered.
Instead he simply lay on the ground twitching as smoke poured from the mark on his chest, and the marks on his side flared a bright golden color.
It was only as his eyes started to close that saw several figures dashing from the waters edge, running towards him, and if only faintly, he could hear his name being shouted out.
Then the sweet embrace of unconsciousness took him.
Lachesis (One of the Three Fates) 4 Days 6 Hours after Eripus (Day 29 in Tartarus)
"This is wrong…" Clotho said slowly as she looked over the thread, or rather looked for the thread that should have been there.
A thread belonging to a mortal whose sudden disappearance had quite literal disastrous implications for every living being on the planet, not just the Olympians.
"They don't just vanish… even the ones I cut are still visible! So where is her thread!?" Atropos screamed out in frustration as she slammed her hand against the stone wall before glaring around the room once more while Lachesis just sighed.
The room in which they currently sat was a strange one indeed, so strange in fact that even over her long life Lachesis had never seen anything equal to its beauty.
In the middle of the room, sat a massive spinning wheel, seemingly made out of some sort of obsidian stone. It glittered like a black gemstone, each grove or marking was carved into it with precision.
Yet that wasn't what Lachesis found so beautiful.
It was the intricate and nearly infinite crossing branches formed across the room, by millions of intertwined threads. They hung like a thousand bridges suspended in the air of The Cradle of Fate, their own private home away from home so to speak.
Each thread represented the entire life of a mortal or immortal, and where the strings touched, lives intertwined and fates were bound, for the good or the bad. It was everything the world had to offer, would offer and had offered.
This was The Cradle of Fate, or the Cradle as the sisters had grown to lovingly call it, was where the Fates themselves had first received their charge. From their mother Nyx. They were The Fates, destined to see, influence and control the future of mortals and Gods alike should they choose. But their mother had educated them in more than that.
That something more was the Cycle. An anomaly in the weave of fate, one which seemed to draw the inhabitants of this world into bloody conflicts, wars without reason or meaning. Nyx had given them a glance, a glimpse of the horrific truth that something was behind the death and destruction they had borne witness to over the last few thousand years.
Their mother had been cryptic even in her teachings of the Cycle. Having explained that; "Sometimes even a little knowledge can be just a little too much…" And at the time none of The Fates had truly understood her, yet none of them had dared to cross her, knowing their mother's fury firsthand.
But what Nyx did teach them was expansive, covering the history of the world from before their time, the history of the Primordial's and their creator. Chaos herself.
But their mother had also left many holes to be filled in, claiming that when the time came they would come to understand everything. Until such a time, they were merely to monitor this strange anomaly in the weave of fate.
Few knew the reality of the situation, but the weave was a physical thing, it existed within The Cradle of Fate. A place known about by few, and accessible by less. The Fates were witnesses to everything, but even they didn't fully understand The Cradle of Fate and its true nature.
It was in fact the home of their aunt, the long missing Ananke, Primordial of Fate. Or rather it had been her home. Long ago Nyx had given the place to them, saying that while it might be tied to Ananke, it was still usable by those she approved of, even after her long absence.
Ananke had disappeared sometime before their own birth, then shortly after, they were bestowed the various powers and domains of fate. From that point onwards they were 'The Fates' and they had been doing their duty, and following their mother's directives ever since.
But all three of them knew they were born in order to replace their aunt, they just had never understood what happened to her, or why she vanished.
Nyx had been clear in her description of their duty, not to ensure that the cycle continued, or to end it. Nyx had been very specific, they were to monitor the situation and inform her when and if the cycle began anew.
So they had sat and watched for thousands of years, watching as mortals shed enough blood to fill oceans, and the Gods fell further and further into hedonism and strife.
Finally, when the Great war sparked, They had rushed to Nyx, informing her that the cycle had begun once more. However, Nyx seemed unconcerned about the mother had said the time was not yet right, and so it had been for thousands of years. With each return of the violence, the destruction, the blood and death, it got worse. Each time the battles were more fierce, and for the life of them, The Fates couldn't understand what was causing it.
Yet, when they heard the prophecy issued from the oracle, the mortal girl Rachel Dare, and saw the ripples it caused. They knew almost instantly that this was what Nyx had warned them to keep an eye out for. So they had rushed back to The Cradle of Fate, ignoring the summons from Hestia and the other Olympians.
They had called for an emergency council but this far outweighed their problems.
The Cradle contained the fates of every soul in existence, every soul that had, would or currently existed in some way or another. The Cradle was massive and Lachesis honestly believed it had no end, that the web of strings continued on indefinitely.
Under normal circumstances they would simply think of who they were looking for, and like a tug in the back of their minds they would wander and find the string. But this was the first time they had been unable to find a mortal thread, and this was concerning for more reasons than one.
Only the Gods of Fate could reach the Cradle, and a few select Primordials, but not since Nyx had shown them the way, had a Primordial stepped within this place. So that meant that either one of the sisters had cut it and removed it, or something far more sinister was going on.
Life threads don't just disappear.
"If you didn't cut it Atropos, then I have no idea where Sally Jackson's string is… but we need to find it now." Clotho added as she began to slowly turn looking around the room with squinted eyes.
"The strings don't ever disappear. And if none of us have touched it, then someone else is involved." Lachesis added flatly, more enraged than anything else, that someone would have dared to interfere with the delicate balance of fate than anything else.
"Who? Who if not one of the Olympians would even know of her importance? Gaea certainly did and she has the power to reach The Cradle, but we would have known." Clotho replied back hotly. "There aren't any deities who are capable of treading here without our knowledge."
"Correction, the ones we know who could are dead and gone, so it stands to reason that maybe someone unknown to us is strong enough" Lachesis replied. "Mother told us we were filling a role, one which we have dutifully filled for millennia now. But this place was old when we were born… and it had guardians before us."
"Even if one of the other Gods of Fate decided to interfere, what benefit do they gain from stealing Sally Jackson's Life Thread?" Atrapos added. "None of this makes any sense, already the weave is shifting… and we have no idea if it's for the better or worse." Her sister finished with a sigh.
Lachesis couldn't help but agree, already thousands if not millions of the strings were slowly shifting, changing the course of destiny for an entire world.
And the fates had no idea how to stop it.
Of course they had their suspicions as to why their strings had changed course so suddenly.
It always had to do with him, and she had to admit they had not been kind to him as a boy. But the fate Perseus Jackson now faced was unheard of. An entire world depended on him and the Fates weren't even sure what choice he would have to make, or when he would have to make it.
He and the Cycle were clearly tied together, and the sudden revelation concerning his heritage didn't go unnoticed by any of them.
"Even if we find it, Even if we discover why it disappeared, how will that help him!?" Atropos asked cautiously as she stared up at their lives' collective work as it shifted and hissed above them.
"Do you have a better plan? Because I have no idea what else we can do for the boy!" Clotho raged as she whipped around and looked at Lachesis and Atropos. Gesturing to the newest addition to their spindle of fate. "He has been ostracized by our family, and even if he didn't know of his mother's fate, Gaea and those who oppose Olympus will not waste time in telling him. No doubt in intricate detail."
"What purpose does that serve them? After all Gaea never admitted to killing his mother, just that Zeus delivered Sally Jackson into her hands" Atropos added quickly as she continued to feel along one of the Life Threads almost absent mindedly.
"You honestly think she's still alive?" Clotho asked.
Her question was met with silence.
"Then why are we looking for the String of a dead woman?" Clotho shouted out as she whirled around to look at her sisters.
"All of this has to do with the Cycle. I can't be the only one thinking about it." Lachesis blurted out suddenly. "And enough of this, we know she isn't dead, or at the very least her soul isn't in the underworld, Atropos would know instinctively." Lachesis finished with a groan as she rubbed her temples, trying to figure out the situation.
"So what does that matter, you yourself don't think she's alive!" Clotho called back.
"Because I've viewed her life thread and so have you! This wasn't how she died." Lachesis replied stubbornly.
"So who would take it and Chaos above, why do we need it!" Atropos shouted back in frustration.
"Because he could use it to find her! It would fix, or at least help to fix this situation! If Atropos can't find her soul in the underworld and didn't cut the thread, then there is a chance, no matter how infinitesimally small, that she might be alive, but since none of us can find her, the only way to do it, is with the thread!" Lachesis shouted back.
"You're suggesting that someone is hiding this woman from everyone?" Clotho said in surprise, a look of contemplation passing across her face as she paused and began to think.
"I know someone is interfering with this, and if they are hiding her, it is suspiciously similar to his disappearance after the fight with the Titans..." Lachesis added as she walked towards Clotho and gestured to the room around them. "Everything changed when he disappeared, and you know exactly what I'm talking about"
"None of us could see what happened to him, we couldn't sense him. It's like he disappeared from everything all at once, if only for a few moments… It takes powerful magic to block our sights. Let alone do that." Atropos said offhandedly.
" Ananke is gone, so that leaves the other Gods of fate."
"I don't know who the enemy is … not that it would make it any better…" Lachesis said softly, gesturing towards Percy's thread.
It was different from the rest, silver flecked with gold. And seemingly overnight it had grown in size, until it was everywhere around the room. At first Lachesis had been confused. They hadn't spun the new thread themselves, which was more than a little concerning, but when they realized almost every thread in the room was connected to it in some way, things went from concerning to interesting as far as Lachesis was concerned.
Never before had she seen a string that touched so many others, that was involved so intrinsically with so many. It was only when they viewed the life thread in detail and discovered who the thread belonged to that everything went to shit. Percy Jackson had a life thread already, one the sisters had been over end to end meticulously.
Defeating Gaea, College, Marriage, Children, Death at an old age.
Everything he had hoped for had waited for him, a just reward for the champion of the Gods. But as for what his future held now, only Chaos herself knew because The Fates could barely understand the fractured sequence of images they got when they looked over his life thread.
Scenes of battles raging, bodies piled into hills and blood running like rivers, they saw untold death and destruction. They saw riders galloping across a sea of stars, and strange worlds. Yet in some of the visions, they saw Percy Jackson as they knew him.
The difficulty came to understanding when and where these parts of his life were from, which was normally a simple affair.
But of course, with Percy Jackson nothing was simple.
"For one single soul to bear the weight of millions is unheard of, I've never seen so many fates tied together, and for it to be a mortal is more than any one person could hope to bear." Clotho shouted out in rage as she walked towards the string, laying her hand on it almost reverently. "His fate changed course so quickly, he was so close to everything he had wanted, the reward a hero deserves…." she said almost tenderly as she looked at the string.
"Zeus would want it cut…." Atropos started to say before Clotho and Lachesis herself whirled about their eyes ablaze with power. "If we even can cut it…You heard Zeus, he admitted to conspiring with Gaea. And we all saw what he did to the Titans… perhaps the best choice would be to cut it? After all, we could end this right now…"
"You suggest we listen to Zeus? After everything that has happened? Even now they bicker on Olympus. I fear a new civil war is brewing, and if that's the case we may be forced to intervene, but I swear to you now, if you so much as touch that string Atropos….." Lachesis added softly.
"You know we cannot, to intervene would be to go against everything we swore to uphold when we took over the Cradle of Fate." Clotho added in a chiding tone. "I expect this rashness from Atropos, not you Lachesis."
"If we do nothing the mortals might die." Lachesis called back, "You want to sit back and watch as it happens? To the demigods? The Olympians? Even Zeus would agree with me on this, as pig headed as he is."
"Zeus has caused more than enough damage. If Perseus is to succeed in whatever fate demands of him now, we need to know what it is he must do so that we can help him… and we must pray it's not too late. … We've been playing this game long enough for me to know something else is going on. For the fates of so many to change so drastically and at the speed they did…." Clotho said before she looked back at Lachesis.
"You think someone is interfering with the domain directly?" Lachesis asked in surprise. While the idea itself made sense, there were too few Gods of Fate left, and those that were around knew better than to tread where they were not welcome.
"What other reason could there be? We knew nothing of his family history before it was exposed. And we had studied his thread from end to end a dozen times if not more during his journey as a child. So what other possible reason could there be for us to not know any of this?!" Clotho replied hotly as she turned away from Lachesis and moved towards the large spinning wheel.
"It would explain why none of it makes any sense when we try to read it. It's like parts of it are just missing? I've never seen a thread like it…" Atropos added thoughtfully as she looked at it in closer detail.
"Who, though?" Lachesis asked mostly to herself. Who would have the power to find their way here and do so while remaining unknown to the Fates themselves.
"That is indeed the question, isn't it…" A deep female voice rang out.
Instantly all three of the fates had their clubs in hand, glancing around the cradle in search of whoever had spoken.
It took Lachesis a moment to notice the shadowy figure sitting on the ground beside the Wheel. Her thin and frail body standing out starkly under the thin black robe they wore. She seemed to have appeared from nowhere, without a sound or any kind of aura.
She could have been mistaken for a corpse, were it not for the blazing supernovas she had in place of eyes.
Eyes which were currently locked onto the three Fates, Every color imaginable exploded into existence for moments before disappearing, only to be replaced by a new one. And it was under that gaze that Lachesis simply froze in fear, while Clotho and Atropos dropped to their knees immediately, feeling the wave of sheer energy that was being emitted.
Lachesis didn't dare to open her mouth, she had met and bargained with deities of all kinds.
This figure didn't feel like anything she had experienced before.
For several moments there was silence as the figure remained seated on the floor and none of the fates dared to move a muscle. However it was Lachesis who was the first to recover her senses, slowly lowering her club towards the ground as she looked at the figure.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Lachesis asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling as tried to resist the urge to cower on the ground.
"I could not allow you to interfere with the fate of Perseus Jackson…" the figure said in a quiet voice as it looked at her, before she simply raised her hand to point at the string. "It's like throwing a stone in a pond, then you watch the ripples it makes, except you don't know how to throw a stone properly." with each word she spoke the very air around her was distorted, taking on an almost heat haze like effect.
"This was your doing? Who are you to interfere with fate?" Clotho added as she stood up, looking at the woman with hesitance.
"It was not my doing alone, we each threw many 'stones'… but that was so long ago" The woman said with an exhausted sigh as she stood up. "There was a reason once… I'm sure of it. Not that it matters anymore, Those stones caused ripples and those ripples needed to be corrected. So I threw another stone."
Atropos and Clotho looked dumbfounded but Lachesis simply nodded, "Perseus Jackson" she added as she looked towards the figure.
For a moment the figure fell silent, before Lachesis saw a small smile on their face as the figure continued to speak. "They are not the first stone I've thrown, however he will be the last… and even I will admit this one seems promising."
Atropos stood up and walked towards the woman in a rush, almost as if she were going to grab her, only to stumble right through the figure. She almost tumbled into the wheel, and whipped about, her face flushed with anger. Meanwhile the figure's eyes were alight with mirth as its body rippled and waved, as intangible as smoke.
"You're not even here, you're a shade of some sort!" Clotho shouted as she pointed towards the figure. "Enough games, who are you and why are you here! And what do you know about Perseus' Life Thread?"
"Ahhhhh, that's where you're wrong. This is the greatest game ever played, and it's been played since before the dawn of time." The figure added as she raised her hands.
Clotho practically vibrated with rage as she pointed her club at the figure, "A game!? Whatever you have done here has affected nearly every being that lives on this planet!" She said, gesturing again towards the strange silver and gold thread that wove its way through everything else.
"There was no other choice" The figure replied calmly as Clotho and Lachesis were taken aback, mostly by the absolution in her voice when she spoke.
"We are the FATES, we decide the future of the mortals and immortals of this realm!" Atropos raged, her face flushed gold as she glared at the shade.
"I cannot allow you to meddle where you are not needed. Your powers were not given to you in order for you to steer fate, merely so you could watch. You three most of all know there is no true escape from destiny, from fate. Unlike his ancestors, Perseus must face this challenge, or nothing will survive." The figure replied as slowly Lachesis noticed the room was growing dark, the light fading to a perfect blackness as the Cradle of Fate slowly vanished from her view.
"We are the Morai, we can control the ebb and flow of fate within this place. If this destiny is so dangerous, why should we even allow him to live, if his existence is a threat to everything else!?" Atropos called out angrily.
"You know the signs, you yourselves have seen the evidence of fate trying to correct itself. The cycle of war begins again and this time there will be no stopping it, it has been delayed far too long and the consequences could be disastrous if balance isn't restored." The voice called out as a surge of power roared outwards, sending forth a blanket of shadows, as everything vanished from sight.
Including the thousands of strings that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, until all that remained were the three fates. Not even the shadowy figure was visible as they looked at each other in confusion.
Lachesis walked forwards feeling around for anything as she tried in vain to find anything in this empty void. With no success.
As far as she could tell it was empty, a void containing absolutely nothing.
"Do either of you understand any of this?" Lachesis whispered to her sisters as she struggled to make out where they were. "Who and what was that!?"
"Not at all, but I'm more concerned by what we are dealing with here… we were right to suspect something else was going on. We need to warn the Olympians." Clotho added from somewhere off to the right.
"Any idea how we leave?" Atropos added almost indignantly.
"Same as always we just….." Clotho started to say before she cut off mid sentence. "I can't flash out…." She all but whispered as Lachesis felt a slow dread creeping up her spine. If they couldn't flash out, there was no way to leave The Cradle. No way to warn the Olympians, and most importantly no way to prove that someone was interfering with fate itself.
"Release us at once!" Clotho shouted out in anger as Lachesis sighed, hearing and feeling the explosion of energy Clotho unleashed as she did her best to force her way out of whatever trap they were in.
"Clotho enough!" Atropos said with finality as their sister was panting out of exertion. "Give it a rest, you're throwing a temper tantrum like a little child"
"Whatever this is, or whoever this is. It clearly isn't going to fight us, and I doubt any of what you just did is going to get us out either…" Lachesis added as she began to gather her power, sending it out like tendrils, feeling for a weakness in the construct or prison that the entity had constructed. "So instead let's find a way out. There has to be one."
"You seek the wrong answers and ask the wrong questions my little Morai…. Every journey begins somewhere, everything in existence has an origin." The voice called out to them as they stopped their bickering and immediately listened, straining to hear anything that might help them escape their current situation.
"Then tell us what it is we seek! What are you doing!? And why are you interfering with the fates! Our duty is second to none!" Atropos added, her voice calm and level but Lachesis knew internally her sister was raging at the thought that any being would dare attempt something like this.
Although Lachesis had to admit she had no idea how this had happened, few beings had the power to restrain Gods. And none that she could think of would dare have tried this against them, let alone would have known about The Cradle of Fate.
"It's useless! This thing is talking in riddles and it clearly wants nothing more than to stall us!" Clotho shouted as another surge of power roared out from the angry Goddess.
Lachesis meanwhile was pondering the choice of the entity's words. The entire statement was worded strangely, but the creature clearly implied they were after the wrong information, which was the location of Sally Jackson's Life Thread, with which they could see if there had been any interference with fate, after all Perseus' life thread was clearly manipulated, a second thread would be proof.
Proof that someone was actively skewing the weave of fate against them.
Then it hit her.
"Clotho, Atropos… shut up." Lachesis said quietly as she felt the idea building in her mind.
"Whoever you are, you know what happened to Sally Jackson's Life Thread don't you?" Lachesis asked almost no one.
As if in response to her question a light flared up ahead of her, revealing her sisters standing some short distance away. Almost as if the light was acknowledging her answer. Yet beyond the small white lit area there was nothing else.
"We've been trying to figure out where her string is, but that's not the right question, and where her string is, isn't the answer we need." Lachesis continued to say as the light slowly grew brighter.
"Thanks for stating the obvious Lachesis" Clotho added dryly as she looked around, "We're trapped here, and we have no idea how to escape…"
"IF we assume that this entity is a foe, you would be correct, but not everything is as black and white as you would believe sister" Lachesis said as she walked forwards and reached her hand out towards the strange light.
"What else would it be, Lachesis?" Atropos asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. "It trapped us here and it clearly implied it knows what happened to both Perseus' Life thread and his mother's."
"Then why didn't it destroy us?' Lachesis replied back calmly. "If it wanted us dead it would have done so already, of that I have no doubt. So the only remaining option is whatever "it" is. It wants to talk."
"Clever…." The voice called out again as the strange white orb pulsed and hummed with energy. Banishing the darkness in an instant as streaks of light raced outwards from the central orb. Forming a kind of web that raced outwards, the lines splitting and interconnecting everywhere.
Like the roots of some great tree, a network as far as the eye could see.
"What are we looking at Lachesis!?" Clotho shouted in confusion, and a slight bit of fear as the robes the fates were wearing billowed around them in some unseen wind.
Lachesis was speechless, her eyes caught up in the display of glittering lights as the inky blackness around them slowly receded. Revealing the space around them to be filled with millions of tiny lights.
Yet even before Lachesis could comment on the lightshow it vanished, or more accurately it expanded.
The lights filled her entire vision before she was suddenly assaulted by sights, sounds and smells.
"As all things have a beginning, so too must they have an end." The voice called out as gray smoke billowed seemingly from the ground itself, wrapping and curling around to form what was clearly a massive room, ever so slowly, the smoke and the lights took the shape of pillars and other objects.
Within moments, the vision had solidified, and Lachesis found herself standing in a massive white room, to her left and right stood her sisters, equally dumbfounded by the experience, and no doubt, trying to discern their location.
Something Lachesis had already tried, only to be met with absolutely nothing.
Nothing at all.
Lachesis looked around, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, and what her mind was being told. Nothing made sense, but she knew one thing, they weren't in The Cradle anymore.
The place she and her sisters stood within was a ruin, with rubble tumbling from the ceiling and the many mosaics that had adorned the walls were smashed to pieces. An ornate fountain lay broken and shattered in the middle of the room. The towering statue that Lachesis could tell had once sat atop it lay smashed into pieces slightly to the side.
The room itself was massive, easily two hundred, possibly three hundred feet across, it was really just a large hallway. With a single door on each side. The one closest to them being notably larger.
Yet that wasn't what caught their attention, instead it was the two figures in the middle of the room, caught in the midst of an intense battle, fighting on a level that truly could be considered superhuman.
Their blades whipping through the air in a blur, sending sparks raining about them as the two warriors continued to weave a deadly dance across the rubble strewn floor.
Then, almost too fast for any of them to see it, one of the warriors was launched backwards and slammed into the far wall, sending a spider web of cracks running outwards before they fell to their knees.
As the dust cleared, Lachesis saw that it was Perseus who was the warrior still standing, his chest heaving as he panted with exertion, his entire body surrounded in an aura of green light. Blood ran in little rivulets down his arms and chest from a dozen or so wounds.
His right arm was covered in some kind of black metal gauntlet which reached from his fingers to his elbow, fully covering the skin. He carried the strange sword he used in his fight against the younger Olympians
"STOP THE RITUAL" He roared as he slowly approached the fallen man, who groaned and rolled over, coughing up blood as he struggled back to his feet, a faint smile playing across the lower half of his face.
"You know what you need to do if you want to see her… If you wait too long she's going to die anyway… is her life really worth less to you than mine?" The man called out with a deep chuckle as Perseus leapt at him. A rain of blows landed on the man in an instant as Perseus hauled him to his feet and slammed him back first into a pillar.
"STOP THE RITUAL NOW!" he shouted, his eyes wide with panic as he looked around the room. Desperate for anything, anyone.
"You'll have to kill me to do that.. But you know what happens if I die…and what happens if I don't" The man said, blood freely running from his ruined mouth as Perseus held him aloft. "So make your choice"
"THIS ISN'T A FUCKING CHOICE! EITHER WAY I LOSE!" Percy roared as he threw the man across the room, sending him skipping off the ground with a few sickening crunches.
The man lay unmoving on the ground as Perseus frantically rushed to the back of the room. Where a black altar lay on the floor, and chained to it was a half dead woman, her body covered in cuts and bruises, her skin caked with dried blood.
She was clearly unconscious and Perseus kept forcing his gaze back and forth between the man pinned against the pillar and the woman.
Beyond the altar was a large empty archway ringed with runes, the whole thing crackling with arcane power. Even from this distance Lachesis could feel her hair almost floating in the ambient power that the structure radiated.
"I-it would be so simple…" The man started to say before Perseus' aura flared up, "Silcato" He spoke in a strange hissing voice as the man suddenly gasped for air, his lips moving as not a single sound came out.
Then with his other hand Perseus tightened his grip on the man's throat and slammed his skull backwards into the pillar, drawing a grunt of pain from the man and cracking the pillar severely before Persus dropped him and rushed towards the Altar.
Throwing aside his sword , he almost seemed to teleport, reaching the side of the altar in an instant.
Lachesis could hear the chains binding the woman rattling unceasingly for a few moments before there was a scream of rage and both of the pillars on either side of the altar exploded, revealing Percy standing there his hands trembling at his sides as his aura flared up around him.
"WHY!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?" Perseus roared as he turned around to look at the figure laying on the floor off to Lachesis' left. Where the figure had laid quite still after Persues had dropped him.
Only now he had rolled over and laid there on the floor laughing mockingly. "I warned you, didn't I? Inevitability is a bitch.." The man called out once more before his laugh was cut short by a series of brutal coughs, leaving blood flecking his lips and the floor as he wheezed.
For a second Perseus froze, his face contorting into a snarl of rage as he looked at him before he held out his hand and the silver sword spun through the air almost gracefully, right into his hand.
Lachesis stood by watching in near complete confusion as the air around them seemed to crackle and warp, the strange runes covering Perseus' skin glowed bright gold as the air around them crackled and hummed.
He marched forwards, lifting his free hand and gesturing towards the man, his voice barely a whisper yet it echoed around the entire room as suddenly the room was filled with a faint roaring sound.
"Ishmathir ard Illwyen"
Almost all at once, everything vanished in a flash of blinding white light, followed up by a blast of air pressure that sent the rubble and everything else around them flying into the distance. the vision started to fade, the lights, sights and sounds vanishing as fast as they had appeared. Before Lachesis could even say anything, she found herself stumbling backwards, landing on the solid floor of The Cradle of Fate.
She looked around frantically to find her two sisters in similar situations.
She was too stunned to even move, let alone speak, but just looking at her sisters she knew that what she had seen was not some simple trick.
This spirit or entity had shown them something, a moment in his future most likely, and one that Lachesis innate knew was important. Yet why she couldn't understand.
What she did understand was that this was no simple conflict, Ardywr, Gods, Titans, Mortals, Primordial's and beings of which she wasn't entirely sure how to classify were beginning to surface and make their moves.
The weave itself groaned under the strain and Lachesis knew that soon it would begin, the newest iteration of the Cycle. The greatest war since the Demigod children of the Big Three started World War II.
The Cycle had begun once more, and soon, enough blood would be spilled to fill entire oceans.
Percy 4 Days 2 Hours after Eripus (Day 28 in Tartarus)
Percy woke in a daze.
The sound of ocean surf crashing against something roared out in the distance, all the while the wind screamed as thunder rumbled somewhere above him.
The air itself felt charged with power, not unlike Olympus. But different.
For a few moments he lay there, the bed was comfortable, the smell of sea water in the air reminded him of home.
Home and family.
It took a moment to kick in before he exploded out of the bed in a rush of movement. Leaping out from under the covers as he frantically looked around the room.
It was well furnished, if a little dated. A large fire pit surrounded by low couches covered in cushions dominated the center of the room. The walls were adorned with paintings and various pieces of artwork.
The bed he had been laying on, was set against the far wall, and overlooked most of the room. There was what appeared to be a balcony exit on the left, the entire wall was instead replaced by a series of columns which supported the ceiling and offered a full and undisturbed view of the Tartarean from an astonishing height.
Not that it mattered, he had no idea how he had gotten to the Black Citadel, the view alone told him exactly where he was.
But it didn't tell him how he got there, or where in Tartarus, Estelle was.
Percy rushed towards the door, only wincing slightly at how sore his entire body was. But he could ignore that, he thought to himself as he reached for his sword.
That was when he realized he didn't have his sword, in fact he didn't even have his armor.
It also took a moment for him to realize that he was almost completely naked, save for several large bandages wet with some kind of mixture wrapped around his side and chest.
"You're up… finally.." he heard a voice call out from behind him as he nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around, only to be greeted by the sight of Thaye sitting in a chair alongside what Percy could only describe as the largest dining room table he had ever seen.
Except instead of food it was covered in various bowls, linens and knives. Some of which were smeared with blood.
Thaye herself looked ragged and worn, her hair slightly frizzy and her eyes looking dull and listless, having lost the bright white luster that made her eyes literally sparkle.
Percy wasn't entirely sure what to say or do, and so he stood there frozen for a second before the reality of the situation came back into focus.
He immediately covered himself as best he could with his hands before he looked at Thaye.
"Where is my sister?" He asked as calmly as he could.
"She's safe…. For now at least." Thaye added with a sigh as she stood up and walked over to him. Looking him over once and inspecting the bandages on his side.
"Okay, that doesn't answer the question Thaye." Percy winced as he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, "Where the hell is my armor and where is my sister!?"
"She's fine but she's not here, we left her somewhere safe, with someone to watch over her." Thaye added softly as she looked up at him. "As for your armor, there wasn't much left, Nyx might have to commission you a new set after your 'great battle'." She said with a flat tone in her voice as she turned away from him and walked back over to the table, immediately grabbing a series of ingredients from various bowls and placing them into a larger silver one.
"... You'll find clothes in the adjourning rooms, as well as a place to wash up. I don't know what will fit you but I assume something will, and don't take off the bandages." Thaye said in a matter of fact tone, not even looking at him.
"Thaye I don't give a fuck about washing up, or trying on clothes! I need to go find my sister and if you know where she is, you are going to tell me!" Percy shouted as he looked at her in anger.
"Why? So you can go off and get yourself almost killed again!?" Thaye said in an irritated voice as she turned around and threw the bowl full of ingredients at him. Sending it crashing into the wall above his head when he ducked. Scattering some liquid as well as some leaves onto his head.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Percy shouted back. Reaching out and grabbing a blanket from the back of one of the couches which he quickly wrapped around his waist to cover himself at least slightly. Shaking his head as he did so and trying to ignore the faint smell of char emanating from the liquid.
"Do you have any idea how close you came to losing everything!? We gave you access to power and you immediately went wild with it! The amount of Aetherium you channeled would have killed most normal Ardwyr!" Thaye shouted back in frustration. "And when you finally come back, you're half dead! And I just spent days bringing you back from the brink … all so you can go do it again?"
"What does it matter to you what I do and who do you think you are telling me off for what I did?" Percy snapped right back as he glared at the diminutive goddess.
"I don't know Percy, maybe the Goddess who's healed you back from half dead more than once already in the short time we've known each other. And maybe I'd like you to remember me six months from now. But at the rate you're going I might as well not even bother…" Thaye added angrily as she glared at him.
"Then don't bother Thaye, I don't have time for this crap right now!" Percy shouted as he tied off the blanket around his waist more securely, doing his best to keep breathing, he was so angry. Furious didn't even begin to cover it, why the hell were they getting in his way!?
Thaye froze, the look on her face going from enraged to blank in a moment's notice as she simply turned around and walked out of the room. "You're right. It's not my place to be concerned, clearly I'm only supposed to patch you up when we find you half dead. Thank you for clarifying that Perseus…"
And with that Thaye passed through the doorway and continued off down the hall, leaving Percy alone with his thoughts, the door slamming behind her only accentuated the use of his full name. Sending a shiver of discomfort down his back as he immediately walked towards the adjourning room.
First things first. Clothes, then his sword, then he would find Estelle, and then he could apologize for nearly tearing Thaye's head off.
A checklist, that's good. It reminded him of how Annabeth always kept him on task, which was bad. He didn't want to think about her or anyone right now. Saving Estelle was all that mattered, he could deal with the rest later he assured himself as he looked over the secondary room.
It seemed to be split between a bathroom, complete with a large tiled pool, and on the other side were a series of large walk-in closets, filled with rather dated clothes.
Everything from Roman togas, and Greek tunics, to some rather medieval looking outfits. But not unsurprisingly every single wardrobe lacked jeans or a t-shirt. So he was instead forced to settle for a pair of black slacks and a black shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. He also ditched the tie as attempting to put it on was more embarrassing than anything else.
He grabbed a pair of shoes, which were pretty uncomfortable but better than nothing as his sandals had been reduced to little more than scraps of leather during his fight.
He made a mental note to tell Nyx that he wanted more durable armor next time. He thought, looking into the mirror in front of himself and wincing.
His torso was covered in scars, a few dozen of them, ranging from little white lines a few inches long, to ragged bumpy wounds that ran along the length of his chest.
It wasn't a pretty sight, but what disturbed him more was when he saw the wounds open up, and begin pouring blood as he looked in the mirror.
His head leapt to the large wound on his chest in an instant, and he felt nothing, looking down to see his hands clean of blood as was his chest.
However the ground beneath him was no longer beautiful black and silver tile, and instead a muddy red swamp filled with golden dust and weapons filled his vision.
Percy tried to slow down, but he couldn't, each breath sounding like a cannon blast as he watched a form approach, cutting down everything in its path. An angel of death and nothing more, his black armor covered in rivulets of ruby red blood, his iron shod sandals crushing the bodies of those who fell before him.
Every swing of his blade drew forth a death howl from one of the creatures nearby and Percy was forced to simply watch. He heard voices calling out for him to stop, begging for him to let it end.
But the figure simply turned around and smiled, and Percy found himself looking in the mirror at his own face, splattered with blood and gore, with a wild insane looking smile on his face.
Then Percy started hearing the voices, calling for vengeance against the Gods, against the demigods.
"Kill them…."
"Make them Beg!"
"MAKE THEM SUFFER!"
All around him he saw monsters dying, Some of them fell, clutching at their eyes and mouths as blood exploded from every orifice and left them twitching on the ground.
Others were smashed to pieces, their bones shattered and their bodies broken as he left them to die slowly. All the while Percy watched, watched as he killed anything and everything that moved, like some sort of wild animal.
"How far the hero of Olympus has fallen…." A deep grating voice rang out inside his mind as Percy felt the room tilt under his feet, his vision pitching and blurring suddenly as he struggled to stay standing.
Percy looked around for the source of the voice. "Who's there!?" he shouted out into the empty room.
The only noise he heard in response was the slow gurgle of the fountain in the corner, and the sound of the storm outside. A low chuckle was heard as Percy turned around and looked back into the mirror,and saw the mirror version of himself laugh in a high pitched cackle, before it began to speak,
"You were born to be a weapon, merciless and emotionless. You were finally let loose on that battlefield and you know you enjoyed it…" The mirror version of himself finished before resuming its hideous sounding cackle.
All the while Percy stood frozen, staring at the image in the mirror for an instant more, watching as his creepy mirror double smiled at him, blood dripping from between his lips. "AHHHHH!" Percy shouted out in panic as he lashed out with his free hand, smashing the mirror to pieces.
"Well that was handled smoothly.. Did the mirror do something to piss you off as well?" He heard a voice call from his side as Eko seemed to appear, solidifying from water in the air on the balcony before she let out a nervous chuckle and walked over to Percy. "Or you simply didn't care for the décor?" Eko asked innocently.
"I'm fine, just tired…." he replied quickly, trying his best not to look at her.
"You didn't look tired when you whipped up a storm in here… and ruined a thousands of years old mirror… so that's good, never liked it anyway" Eko finished with a grin before her look softened into one of concern.
"Really what's goin-" She started to ask as Percy cut her off.
"I told you I'm fine, just tired… I just need to go get my sister… We can talk once that's done, unless you want to come with me?" Percy asked hopefully.
"When it's time to get your sister, of course I'll come with you" Eko added softly as she walked up to him.
"What do you mean when it's time!?" Percy loudly replied as he struggled to stay calm. "What don't you understand about her being my sister and this being important to me Eko?!" Percy raged as he pushed past her back, out into the main room.
"There are some things you need to understand about the situation… things are different than when you left… mostly because you didn't follow the plan… but there isn't anything we can do about that now." Eko added as she followed him into the main room. Sitting down on one of the large couches and lounging against the armrest while she watched him.
"Okay, so what the fuck do I not know?" Percy replied quickly as he looked around the room in a rush. "And where is my sword?"
"It's in the study along with what's left of your armor, Thaye made sure to save what she could." Eko added with a slight edge in her voice as she raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "That was in between the time she spent making sure you didn't lose your mind thanks to that curse of yours."
"Okay… way to make me feel like a dick…" Percy mumbled out as he watched Eko simply raise her eyebrow further if that was possible.
"She's out of line.." Percy growled back in frustration.
"She was worried… you forget the mental connection we share works both ways. We could feel the pain you were in when you re-entered tartarus." Eko said softly as she turned around and looked out over the water. "And it wasn't all physical. Care to talk about it?"
"Honestly, no I don't want to fucking talk about it. Where is my sister Eko?" Percy demanded as he looked her in the eyes, doing his best not to be distracted by the obsidian orbs staring back at him. "And since when have you asked permission to go rooting around in my head" he finished with a bit of a sneer.
"You'll have plenty of time to tell us everything, and to apologize….. Nyx doesn't want you leaving the fortress for a few days." Eko added quickly, almost off handedly. "And clearly whatever this is, you need to talk about it. You aren't acting like yourself."
"What the hell do you mean by that!? No, fuck Nyx and fuck this, I need to get to Estelle. But first I need to fucking remember what happened…" Percy said trailing off as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. Desperately trying to jog his memory of where his sister might be.
Eko looked almost afraid as she looked at him and started talking, "You called to us when you got back, and as we were making our way to you, there was a surge of power across the whole Tartarean. Something tried to seize control, and the sea by nature fought back." Eko said a note of wonder entering her voice.
"As exhausted as you were, all the pain, both physical and mental, you forced the sea to submit. You called for the river of fire, and she answered. You practically tore the seals binding her apart yourself, if only for a moment. But that was all the time she needed, while you managed to separate the Tartarean back into the water from the river of fire she had broken free of her bonds." She added with a hint of a smile on her face. "And when you called, my sisters and I answered. But the strain you put yourself under was too much and when we arrived, you were unconscious."
"Your sister was dying, and we were unsure if our magic would do more harm than good. That was when your patron arrived, and she made an offer to take your sister. To keep her safe within the Shadow realm, at her court. For the time being." Eko said, quiet as a mouse.
Percy just stared at Eko for a moment, sure that he had misheard what she said. "Ha- sorry could you run that one by me again?"
"She's in the shadow court Percy, With Nyx…" Eko added flatly wincing as Percy's eyes took on a green glow.
Percy froze in place, looking at Eko in anger … "Why would you let her take Estelle!" Percy all but screamed as he spun around to rush towards the door, However he didn't make it far, seeing as Eko crossed the room in an instant and grabbed his arm.
"Let go Eko…" Percy all but growled out as he tried to yank his arm free.
"Yeah take it out on me as well… love how the shit situation you left us in, becomes our fault." Eko snapped back at him. "Did it even cross your mind the kind of danger you put your sister in politically? And the position you have put yourself in now?" Eko said with a sigh.
"We aren't strong enough to fight off Nyx yet, and seeing as she was there and you weren't awake. It was her show, we just did what she commanded. You can also blame her for all the servants filling this place…" Eko finished with a growl as she walked towards him and pushed him backwards.
"She said it wasn't befitting of her Herald to live without the proper servants and guards that the' Prince of the Tartarean and the Titans' Bane deserves…."
Percy stopped and looked at her in confusion, "Titans' Bane?"
Eko looked at him in disbelief, "If you really thought that the deathmatch you put on up there against the Titans and the Gods would go unnoticed, you're an idiot. The whole reason Nyx wanted you to avoid a conflict with the Gods directly was because Gaea and all her little minions are watching their every move." Eko said with a sigh.
"So….. this is pretty bad?" Percy said back in a defeated tone.
"Well in some ways yes and in others no… Gaea no doubt knows you're alive, and the Gods clearly do as well." Eko added with a smile.
"But there are advantages to the situation regardless. However, Nyx needed some time to convince the court of these 'advantages'. So we were allowed to take you into our care." Eko said the last part, practically spitting venom as she accentuated the word allowed.
"And so we brought you back here. Nyx said she wanted to talk to you once you were healed, and your sister will be fine until that point. You however run the risk of collapsing and ending up in a coma if you push your body any further. We…we underestimated the strength of your connection to the Aetherium. You nearly burned yourself out of existence, even with the runes." Eko added with a slight edge in her voice.
Percy was somewhat stunned by her claim, and froze up for a minute before he looked at her, "So what, I'm just supposed to sit here and do nothing!?" Percy said incredulously.
"You can do what you'd like, so long as it also allows you to rest and heal. The damage you did to yourself was no laughing matter, and if Thaye hadn't been able to heal the more serious wounds who knows how much your curse might have taken from you." Eko added as she stood up from the couch. "And while you're at it, talk to someone Percy… none of us know what happened, Nyx wouldn't tell us. Which means it's bad, we lost sight of you for a while and when you came back you were lost in a rage. Like a totally different person." Eko said softly.
Almost instantly Percy felt his hands go clammy, and a dull ache in the back of his head began as he tried to stop his hands from shaking and instead decided to take a seat on one of the couches, clasping them together in front of himself as he bounced one knee. "You could have looked, scoured my mind while I was unconscious. Why didn't you?" Percy asked quietly, not meeting Eko's gaze as he stared out over the ocean.
"You gave us our freedom, you fought for us against your family, even before we offered you anything. We wouldn't take what little privacy you still have. If you want us to know you'll tell us." Eko added with a smile before she walked over and sat beside him.
"Not to mention you nearly ripped Thaye's head off when she tried to force her way into your mind last time. If you don't want us there we can stay out, it's just not as fun…" she said with a fake pout.
"It's great to know you have some sort of self restraint…" Percy added as he felt bile rise in his throat. Ever since he had woken up it was like he was watching his memories run back, and they were horrific. Not just in what he saw, but in what HE did.
And the whole time he had been busy acting the grim reaper, his mother and sister had been going through Gods knows what.
"... I can't say it…" Percy said quietly. Watching as Eko's expression went from calm to concerned and she looked at him intently.
"Why not?" Eko asked.
"It still doesn't feel real… Like it happened to someone else…" Percy added dryly as he looked at the floor. "But of course, it didn't happen to someone else."
Eko sat still, her eyes locked on his and her gaze filled with concern as she watched him struggle. And it was a struggle, each time he tried to form the words, to tell her what was wrong it caught in his throat.
Almost like he was choking on the words.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite get the words out that his mother and stepfather were dead.
"It's fine Percy. We can talk about it when you trust me enough to tell me the truth." Eko said as she started to stand up. Only for Percy to reach out and grab her hand, "No… no, you're the only ones I can trust right now…"
"Sure doesn't feel like it after how you treated Thaye…" Eko said sarcastically as she sat back down beside him.
"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have called you… She's my little sister… She's all I have left and I can't lose her too." Percy said quietly as he looked at Eko, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes.
For a moment she looked confused, and then the slow look of horror dawned across her face as she looked at him.
"You saved my life… you saved my sister's life.. And you're right, I put you in this position. All of this is my fault." Percy said as he screwed his eyes shut, rubbing his palms against his eyes to ward off any tears. "I've got no right to be mad at you… no right to take this shit out on you or Thaye."
Percy couldn't stop his hands from trembling, just thinking back to the mirror, that bloodstained version of himself.
Had he enjoyed it? Had he gotten so lost in the violence and death that he had caused all of this? All those thoughts and more raced through his mind as he sat there on the couch.
Eko however didn't say a word, instead simply pulling him into a tight embrace, both her hands pulling him close, and she didn't say a word, just continued to hold him close for a little while more.
And for a moment that was it, she held him while he tried his best not to break down and lose it in front of her.
However, it wasn't long before she pulled back and stood up, walking away from the couch as the wind outside screamed and howled with renewed fury. The crashing surf against the mountainside sounded far more like a beast roaring than anything else.
"I lost everyone else today… my mum, my dad, my friends. I can't lose my sister too Eko." Percy said in a hollow voice, trying to ignore the exhaustion he felt in every pore of his body. The cost of what he had put himself through over the past few days.
Eko just watched him in silence for a few moments, before she let out a sigh and hung her head. "Nyx isn't going to be happy you ignored her direct orders…" Eko said carefully.
"Yea well, she can learn to live with it. Or not, I really don't care.'' Percy snapped back.
Eko nodded before she stood up, "Fine let's go see this little sister of yours, but you'll need to convince Thaye. And first I want to know why. Regardless of the answer, I want to know what drove you to attack the Olympians." Eko said as her face grew serious, "What happened Percy?"
For a moment Percy thought about avoiding the topic, telling her off or just refusing to answer.
But Eko and Thaye had put their trust and their faith in him, and without them he would have been dead long ago.
"The Olympians betrayed my mother. And from what I could gather she was handed over to Gaea like a slab of meat… a sacrifice so she could wake up." Percy added in an emotionless voice.
"I beat that out of Dionysus before I stabbed him in the head…" Percy added with a humorless chuckle. "Wha…w-we all did, it was a unanimous decision." Percy added mimicking Dionysus' terror stricken voice and his confession as thunder rumbled in the skies outside.
Eko was silent watching him with a look of sympathy and anger on her face. "... I didn't know Perseus, if we had… we never would have let Nyx take her to the shadow court…" Eko added as she hung her head slightly.
Percy sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "No. You're right, you and Thaye couldn't fight off Nyx yet, and I need to talk to her anyways. I have questions that need answers." Percy muttered darkly before he stood up from the couch.
"Listen Eko, I have a favor to ask. Can we keep this between us for a few days? I need to apologize to Thaye for basically ripping her head off after everything she did for me…" Percy said quickly as he looked at Eko apologetically. "But I don't want to talk about this right now. it still doesn't feel real."
"If that's what you want, but why tell me then?" She asked in confusion.
"Because you asked and I owe it to you. You haven't lied to me yet, so I can't sit here and lie to you.." Percy said as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "And I can't lie to Thaye either, I just need a few days and then Ill talk to her as well. I owe her an apology and an explanation."
Eko nodded and walked up to him, "When you're ready, we'll talk about it. Until then, I won't say a word." Eko said as she locked gazes with him, and the intensity in those obsidian orbs drew him in like they always did.
Eko in turn smiled softly, before patting him on the cheek and turning around, "I'll go get Thaye, and Illyiana… figure out how you're going to convince them while I'm gone, Thaye spent a few days nursing you back to consciousness, I doubt she's going to agree to you waltzing across Tartarus to go talk to Nyx." Eko called out over her shoulder while she walked out the door.
The minute she was gone he collapsed back down onto the couch in exhaustion, already wracking his brain as to how he would convince Thaye and this newest addition to the Tartarii to go against Nyx's direct orders.
And unfortunately for him, he didn't have long to come up with a solution to his problem. And he needed their help, he would put on a brave face if he had to, but he wasn't sure he could walk more than a few hundred feet on his own, much less back to the House of Night and the entrance to the Shadow Court.
Not even five minutes later, Eko walked back into the room, a half smile on her face, and when she saw him, her eyes lit up, it didn't take her long to walk over and sit down on the couch beside him. Close enough he could feel the warmth from her skin.
Thaye looked awkward as she stood there, stiff as a board. He could feel the anger rolling off of her in waves and he winced slightly. He knew he owed her an apology, but now wasn't the time for it.
However the third sister in the now Trio of Tartarii he had actually met was the one that caught his attention . The one Eko had called Illyiana.
She was taller than both Thaye and Eko, probably coming in closer to six feet. Her hair was a variety of shades, from brown and auburn with the ends almost glowing a dull orange. Her eyes were like two burning embers, she seemed to radiate warmth and the second he met her gaze, she smiled at him.
Similar to Thaye and Eko, she wore a simple chiton, with the exception that hers was a crimson red. It reached to just below her knees, and its edges were trimmed with gold thread. Her wrists were adorned with gold bangles studded with several large red gemstones. And just like her sisters, Percy could sense the power she held, it felt barely contained, but calm at the same time.
She walked forwards and gave him a polite curtsy before she snapped her eyes up to Eko, her eyes sparkling with mirth as she grinned at Eko. "Thank you Perseus, Thousands of years in torment and in such a short time you've already freed two of my sisters, and now me." She added with a smile,
"I knew from the moment we first felt you touch the Tartarean that you were going to be something…" she paused for a moment, looking him over before smiling once more. "Exceptional"
Percy couldn't help but grin sheepishly before he noticed Eko looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow, all the while Illyiana just smiled in return.
"Uhhh thanks, but how exactly did I get you out?" He asked in genuine confusion. "Eko mentioned something about separating the waters of the Tartarean?"
"In a sense it was the exact same way you brought Eko and 'Thaye' back" she said with a slight smirk at the mention of Thaye's name. "You called upon the powers of the Tartarean and forced it to submit to you. You were calling for the river of fire, and in doing so you put so much strain upon the seals binding me that I was able to wriggle free so to speak." Illyiana added with a grin.
The Tartarii spun about, her arms trailing out to the side as heat haze shimmered in the air around her. "You have no idea how good it feels to be free after a few thousand years." she said as she stretched out her back in a graceful and fluid motion.
"Just trying to get the water from your river did that much damage to the seals?" Percy replied it didnt seem like anything that spectacular to him.
"Do you have any idea what you did? You tore apart a mythical element into its constituent parts, and you did this without being the God of said mythical element." Illyiana said with wide eyed amazement.
"Yea encourage him Illyiana… that's a great idea. Lets all forget about how much damage that alone caused him." Thaye called out as she did her best to not look at Percy, instead directing her gaze right at her sister.
Illyiana just smirked at Thaye before turning back to Percy.
"When you beat Tartarus I was impressed, but not hopeful, there are so many other things you need to do before we are truly free. But seeing what you can do in person… I have hope to see the surface once more, to go freely where I choose" She finished as Thaye and Eko nodded accordingly.
"So what I did was enough for you to free yourself?" Percy asked, slightly confused, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked towards Illyiana.
"Well yes and no, something clearly weakened the seals to begin with, and after you freed Eko and Thaye. That small weakness began to grow, and while we still can't leave Tartarus…. Its better than nothing, for now." she finished as a look of rage crossed her features. "You have no idea what its been like to be chained down here… for thousands of years…"However almost in the same instant that the look of rage crossed her features it vanished as it was once more replaced by that brilliant smile of hers.
"So you're free but not really?" Percy asked in confusion looking between the three of them.
"The magic that binds us to the Tartarean and thereby this realm remains intact, but weakened. Enough so that while we may still be bound here, we are free within the bounds of Tartarus. Eventually you will have to deal with those seals directly." Thaye replied quickly.
"We don't know who is maintaining it or from where, so until we know that there isn't much you can do anyway Percy." Eko added in a hopeful voice.
"Until then though, I guess I have you to thank Perseus." Illyiana added, a small smile playing across her face as she walked towards him, her hips swaying side to side as she carefully sat down on his left, not even looking at Eko.
"Something like this deserves a reward…" She said, a look of contemplation crossing her features as she pursed her lips and gently tapped one of her fingers on them. "Oh!" she exclaimed with a grin as she turned to look at him.
"I can think of a few ways I could reward you for getting me out of there" She all but purred, as she gently laid one of her hands on his leg.
"Alright enough of that!" Eko called out as she stood up, walked past Percy and yanked Illyiana to her feet in one clean motion. "Not the time or place Illyiana, cool it."
"Touchy Eko, a few thousand years haven't done much for your temper I see…" Illyiana replied with a smug grin before she stepped backwards. Flashing another grin at Percy, all the while Eko and Thaye glared daggers at her. "Well perhaps seeing as my sister didn't agree with my previous offer, another reward will have to suffice, won't it Perseus, or do you prefer Percy?"
Percy was frozen and just sturred out "P-Percy is fine thanks…"
Illyiana smiled and walked up to him, gently laying her hand on his chest, "Both of my sisters lent you their blessings , I'd hate to be left out." She said coyly as Percy felt the air around him come to life, arcane sparks popping into life as he felt her gather her powers.
"I Illyiana, keeper of the River of Fire, pledge my service, and loyalty to Perseus, Prince of the Tartarean." She said in a clear voice as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. It was barely a kiss, more of her lips brushing his cheek, but Percy instantly felt a flush rise in his face.
That didn't matter much, as he was pretty sure the flames licking his arms and legs hid the red in his cheeks well enough. The surge of power that accompanied the contact was intense, and for an instant Percy could feel the flashes of fire racing across the water in all directions away from the Citadel.
Thayes blessing had felt cold in a way, his blood had felt like Ice. Ekos had caused him more mental pain than he was ready to go through again any time soon. But Illyiana… her blessing felt different. Like he was holding onto a ticking bomb, all the while an intense heat spread across his entire body.
It took him a moment as he felt the power rushing about his body in a frenzy, for him to bring it back under control. And once he had, the strange flames that had sprung into existence across his body vanished.
"So the river of fire isn't metaphorical in any way?" Percy asked with a slight grin on his face.
Illyiana meanwhile laughed, her voice was beautiful, like a musical masterpiece.
"More or less, the river has always existed as a punishment for those souls deemed unworthy, and a mercy for those souls deemed too damaged." Illyiana said in a more serious tone . "The river of fire can purge the souls from those whom it is used against, yet on the same hand it has healing properties, for those worthy and willing to deal with the pain that follows." She added.
Percy chuckled dryly, remembering the intense pain in his stomach and lungs after each time he had drunk from the river. It had kept him alive through Tartarus, but only barely and even at that, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to go through the horrible experience again.
"Ahem….. If you two are done socializing… Percy did have a reason for calling us all here…" Eko said impatiently from her seat on the couch as she looked at Percy with more than a little bit of anger.
"If Illyiana can get ahold of herself maybe he can tell us…. what was so important that you called us here Perseus…" Thaye said in a quiet voice as she looked outside.
Percy waited a second, before taking a breath and speaking. "I need to go to the Shadow Court, I need to speak with Nyx and I need to retrieve my sister." Percy said as Thaye looked at him incredulously.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be for you right now?" Thaye all but hissed as she looked at him. "If you use Aetherium right now, it could permanently damage you! WE underestimated your connection and your innate talent… you need more marks, and I'm sorry that we didn't realize… but you can't just go off and traipse around Tartarus… there are already those who want your head on a plate!" Thaye said as she looked back and forth between Eko and him.
Eko just shrugged and gestured to Percy.
"Listen…I know what you said, and you're right, I need to rest and recover. But I also need to make sure my sister is safe. One way or another, I'd rather you just come with me, because even if you don't, I'm still going to go."
"Nyx will be furious you disobeyed her orders Percy." Thaye added in a frustrated voice.
Something which Percy couldn't disagree with.
However it was Illyiana who spoke up next. "She wouldn't dare do anything, He's the rightful Prince of the Tartarean and if what you said is true Thaye, he faced down half a dozen Titans and Gods and lived to tell the tale. Nyx wouldn't risk losing him, or losing face for turning Percy from her cause." Illyiana said in a dead serious voice.
"He holds the same rank as any of the Lords and Ladies of Tartarus, and if he wants to go to the Shadow Court, who in their right mind would actually stop him?" Illyiana added with a grin, 'The servants?"
Thaye looked between the three of them before she threw her arms up helplessly and sighed. "Fine… it's not like I can really argue with that…. but the first thing we do when we get back is finish the rest of your marks… Do we have a deal, Percy?" Thaye said as she looked at him, her gaze demanding an answer.
"Deal. Whatever you want, however many you want… as long as we go see Estelle." Percy replied back impatiently.
Thaye seemed to contemplate his response for a minute before she nodded, "Fine…. Let's go to the shadow court…" Thaye finished dryly.
Authors Notes:
Terminology:
The Weave: a physical representation of fate that exists within the Cradle of Fate
The Cycle: A strange anomaly in the weave of fate, which returns consistently and brings with it great bloodshed and conflict.
Wow, it has been a few months since I've written a chapter… sorry about that.
Things didn't go well for me since the last chapter update, I had some health issues, got both the flu and covid… talk about unlucky. Then I got laid off right before Christmas, so I've been a little preoccupied with life stuff, sorry about that guys.
But I finally managed to finish this chapter, thank the gods of caffeine and music for helping me get over both the writer's block.
As for what happened in this chapter.
Main star of the show is obviously Percy, we get to see a lot of his thoughts and feelings in regard to what happened in chapter 24 as well as the Clash of Titans arc. The curse of Tartarus is starting to progress and now Percy has other issues to deal with, he feels like he's going insane and now he has the added responsibility of his sister on top of all of this.
His mothers fate is still up in the air, he knows something happened, and he wants to know what exactly happened. He's not an idiot, Cal provided plenty of proof to support his case that Sally was betrayed, Percy was emotionally charged and acted in the moment.
Heading to go 'speak' with the gods and get an answer, but that ended up as more of a fight than he wanted, the whole situation spiraled out of control and when he finally found Annabeth and his sister. He was exhausted and injured, he was doubtful of everything after all the illusions Dionysus had used, and when he let his guard down for a second Jason shot him.
So while I know that it seems like a lot, I feel like under the circumstances that's how Percy would have acted. In the sense that he's rash, prone to acting without thinking and family is the most important thing to him.
So a lot of this chapter is him trying to process everything that happened.
The other interesting portion of this chapter is the Fates PoV. Where we clearly see something is at play here beyond the Gods and Gaea.
The weave of Fate is damaged and in some way broken, and the cycle is the result of that.
The fates have been watching it for thousands of years and now it's begun again, and just as they realize it's begun and attempt to end it. An entity interferes. Wonder who that could be?
The Plot thickens, and as we get closer and closer to the end of Book 1 im getting more and more excited to start writing the fun stuff in book 2.
I also wanted to apologize to everyone, I was super super super late on this chapter and there really isn't any kind of excuse for it. Life has kinda taken a bit of a downturn for me lately but i don't want that to affect my writing and I really appreciate all of you sticking around and waiting for the chapter patiently.
No words to describe that besides thanks!
Anyhow, just a heads up, once Book 1 is complete there will be a few weeks where i wont post anything as I am going to be going back over the entire first book to correct errors that i've noticed. And once that is done I'll be shifting onto book 2.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this chapter guys, and to anyone who favs, follows or reviews you rock. Makes my day to see those reviews.
As always, until next time folks!
