Chapter 6

Greetings readers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter!

In response to the guest reviewer and Arden2709, well, this is the fastest I could do for this chapter. I'll probably be back to weekly updates after this. Thank you for your support!

In response to Walter Ha's review, well the showdown between Percy and Atlas is not very far away and don't worry, while Percy is seriously OP, I've beefed up the villains as well to level the playing field. And Koios' will be playing a very important part in this story. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to Guest9302's review, that's a fantastic idea really! Maybe having Kronos do that is a bit of stretch but I know just the right character that is required to mess with Percy's mind. Thank you for your support!

Responding to Shadowhunter2077's review, I did seriously considered having Kronos possess Percy but then eventually chose this route because it had more potential in terms of character and plot development. You are right, I have a lot of creative freedom when it comes to the power scaling of Titans in comparison to gods and I think that I will give out a relative scaling of power in the next few chapters. Yes, Percy will be able to go toe-to-toe with Atlas, eventually. And I will make sure that the Olympians don't have a stomp fest and thank you for informing me about the names of the Titans involved in the First Titanomachy. Thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank the guest reviewer for your continued support! I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

I would like to thank the emoticon using guest reviewer for your continued support!

In response to Pjofan's review, oh no, I am definitely seeing this story through to the end. Maybe there may be a few occasional hiccups here and there but I will definitely not just abandon the story. Thank you for your support!

I would like to thank Nice for your continued support!

In response to John's review, thank you for being so understanding. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank SonGoku76 for your continued support! Glad you liked Percy's return!

In response to the guest reviewer, yes, the general is back. But he's not the only general who is back :) Thank you for your support!

In response to the guest reviewer (the one who reviews without fail:) ), thank you for understanding my perspective. While I would have loved to upload this chapter a few days ago, it was not ready and I had up make sure it was good enough. I don't want to just upload some half-hearted piece of work. I really want to upload something that is actually worth reading and thank you for understanding that!

Yes, it will take a good amount of time for Percy to get back to his original level because three thousand years is a very hefty amount of time. Atlas is going to make an entry soon. I'm not going to say when but just watch out for a prison break scene :) Yes, just like you, I honestly cannot believe that Krios got so much screen time while Koios got practically none. That guy is supposed to be the smartest Titan out there and he's just absent during the second Titanomachy? Doesn't make any sense to be honest. Luke isn't necessarily evil in this AU. He's going to be more of a grey character. Thank you for your continued support!

Responding to guest nemo's review, thanks so much for your words of encouragement. It really does mean a lot to me and it gives me a great deal of motivation to know that I have such an amazing bunch of readers! I'll try to pick the pace after this chapter! Thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank YP for your continued support!

In response to Hunter's review, I really appreciate your words of encouragement. Really, I am very grateful that all of you have been so understanding. Of course, giving all of you a heads-up was a responsibility because all of you have emotionally invested in this story and it would be wrong to keep you in the dark about it. And I definitely will not be abandoning this story. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to Zoe Hunter of Artemis' review, I cannot talk about other authors bit I love interacting with my readers so I am really glad to be able to respond to your reviews! Thank you for your continued support!

Responding MegaRayquaza8121's review, I am glad that you liked the little snippets of humour that I had embedded in the previous chapter! And no problem, I am really happy that you could review! Thank you for your continued support!

In response to Callum Runchman's review, yes, Leo is a good guy. And his ideals are very similar to Percy's so Percy's swords deemed him worthy. Yes, the interaction between Percy and demigods, especially Roman ones will be very fun to write! Thank you for your continued support!

Responding to Darksaber14's reviews, while Kronos possessing Percy did have a potential for more drama, one of the main reasons I avoided it was because I didn't want Leo to end up becoming the central character for the better part of this story. While I love the character of Leo and all, I wanted this story to be about this version of Percy. Also, after writing some notes to see how it would go if Percy got possessed by Kronos, I thought that following that path would make the storyline a bit draggy and take away the opportunity for some character development. But anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion with me and thank you for your continued support!

Responding to IceFire99's review, I am thrilled that you liked Percy's reintroduction! I have a lot of plans for him in this new era! Thank you for your continued support!

In response to Ryan Fowler's review, I had not thought of that and to be honest, I don't know if that could work in this story because Percy is already as OP as it gets. But I would love to incorporate a Kyogore like magical whale in the Percy X Diana crossover that I plan to write after this story! It honestly sounds like a fantastic idea! I will tweak that a little bit and incorporate it into the crossover, if you are okay with that. Thank you for your ideas and your continued support!

I would like to thank DaoGodPrimus for your continued support!

I would like to thank picking-up-story-from-abadoned for your continued support! I definitely will be getting back to weekly updates and maybe will pick up the pace even more after a few chapters!

In response to Kronosbluehairbrush's review, first of all, welcome back! I am glad that you enjoyed the past few chapters! None of the Titanesses who will be involved as antagonists will be pushovers. They will give the goddesses a run for their money. Well, that won't be the last taunting session between Koios and Artemis. There are plenty left and I am super excited to write the arc involving Percy and Atals duking it out. And yes, Zoe is still alive and she will be playing an important role in the Atlas arc. Thank you for your continued support!

Responding to Romeslayer's review, don't worry, Leo is definitely not going to be main character of this story. That was actually one of the main reasons why I decided not to stick with a plotline which involved Percy being possessed by Kronos because it would put Leo in too much of a spotlight. I am very proud of the character of Leo and all that, but this trilogy is called the Tale of Perseus so I really want it to be about Percy. But thank you for sharing your concerns with me and thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank lukie321 for your continued support! I am stoked that you enjoyed Percy and Athena's emotional reunion!

I would like to thank HellRaiderS for your continued support! Believe me, I don't intend to stop updating until I finish this story.

In response to Jubby1905's review, Percy will not get stronger than the Big Three in this story. He'll eventually get to their and Atlas' level but that's still quite some time away. So, to make the power scaling clear, I will be giving out relative power levels soon. Yes, Nico and Bianca are still alive and you are going to see them soon! Thank you for your continued support!

In response to QwertyWriter122's review, I am very glad that you consider this to be your favourite series and I hope that you enjoy the rest of it as well! Thank you for your support!

All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.


Percy couldn't believe that he had been in a coma for three thousand years. He had had the glimpse of such a realization in the Olympian Throne Room but that had been pushed to the back of his head when he had been reunited with Athena and his family.

However, now that he had talked to practically every god on Olympus, he had noticed the changes in people's demeanour, the language they spoke and the clothes they wore that made him realise that he was now a man out of time.

Olympian Balls had always been a bit over the top. The Muses sung timeless, beautiful melodies in the background while gods danced in the centre of the Olympian Plaza, dressed in their finest robes in a slow, steady and mellow way. The Plaza would have been decorated in a very ornate and regal way and there were an almost uncountable number of varieties of Nectar and Ambrosia. But barring a few instances, the balls were always very formal events.

It had been no secret that many gods attended the balls only to find a bed warming companion for the night but their advances were always subtle. And while many gods did intoxicate themselves due to overconsumption, at best, there was only a silent chatter. But now, everything had changed.

It seemed like all the formalities and sense of dignified politeness had vanished. Gods made advances on each other and other participating spirits in a very brazen and unabashed way. Everyone clothed themselves in whatever way they desired rather than sticking to different varieties of silk robes.

The Muses sang a vide variety of songs which were broadly classified as pop music. The songs were a lot more energetic while the lyrics were very suggestive. Gods danced around in a myriad of different styles of dance that were anything but elegant. The Plaza's loud decorations changed through a rainbow of bright, striking colours every minute and there was a rambunctious chatter in the background. Percy's thoughts were interrupted by Athena.

"This must seem like a colossal shift to you, even though you have knowledge of what's going on, I figure that you are having a hard time adjusting to it." Athena sympathetically stated from next to him. She had not left his side even once the entire night and when Percy turned to look at her, her breathtaking beauty left him speechless for a few seconds.

Athena was wearing a grey silk blouse and a black pencil skirt that had been designed to suit her perfectly. Her luscious raven hair flowed down her back and shoulders while a necklace and earrings made of Atlantean pearls magnified her beauty. Her face sported a radiant smile while her stormy grey eyes shined with unbridled joy and deep love as she stared at him.

"Tell me something, how did I end up with someone as like you. With all due respect to Aphrodite, I don't think anyone can be as beautiful as you." Percy stated with a wide smile.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on? Will you just stare at me and compliment me every time you look at me or every time I talk to you? Because if you are, I won't be complaining." Athena stated with a content smile.

"You know me, I am a hopeless romantic." Percy replied with a resigned yet happy smile before his face turned serious.

"This world is very different to the one I lived in, Athena. The gods are different and have been influenced by this new culture that the mortals have adopted. I always thought that mortals were primitive beings. I thought that even though they have very high potential, they were incapable of making the right decisions and that they needed the vision of immortals to make the world a better place. But what did that lead to? War. I now understand why the Ancient Laws are in place." Percy stated with a distant look in his eyes as remembered Achilles.

"Percy, don't think about all that. The past has passed. What matters right now is that you are back." Athena softly stated as she held Percy's hands. That's when Selene made her way towards them.

"She's right nephew. It would bode well for you to simply forget about the past and enjoy this moment. You have plenty of time to engage in deep thoughts tomorrow. Today is for us and for you to celebrate your return. The energy and morale on Olympus has never been this high for a very long time." Selene kindly stated as she gave Percy an affectionate hug.

She had already given him a tearful hug upon seeing him earlier the night but the joy and surrealist feeling of having her favourite nephew back with her had caused her and most of their family members to check in on Percy every five minutes.

"Listen to Aunt Selene, Perce. Unless you want Aphrodite chastising you once again for not having enough fun and getting too reminiscent." Hermes stated with a smirk as he waltzed over.

"I don't think our definitions of fun are the same." Percy dryly stated.

"Cuz, you need to lighten up. Come on, Ares and Hephaestus are having a drinking contest. We should compete too." Apollo stated with a goofy grin as he showed up next to Percy.

"I think I'll pass. However, I saw Boreas boasting about how his new palace on Olympus is the iciest shade of blue there is. Maybe we could brighten it up a little." Percy stated with a mischievous smile. The opportunity was too good to pass up.

"Cuz, glad to see that you haven't lost your edge." Hermes replied with a similar smile as Apollo nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Not today boys. Your little prank will have to wait for a few days. I don't think Percy is ready to outrun an angry wind god yet. You know how riled up Boreas gets with things that even remotely involve Notus." Athena strictly stated.

"Come on Athena. I'll be fine. Really, the three of us against Boreas is almost unfair." Percy stated as he levelled his pleading and mesmerizing sea green eyes at her, resulting in her resolve wavering. Thankfully, Amphitrite decided to pop in at that moment.

"Young man, I will not have you trying to escape a blizzard on your first night back. And don't try to use those eyes on me. Believe me, after four thousand years with your father, I have acquired an immunity to that gaze." Amphitrite firmly stated but the edge of her lips curled up when Percy pouted.

"Is it me or have all of you been hovering only a few meters away from me all night. Father, Uncle Zeus and Uncle Hades are at that table diagonally opposite to us and have been shooting glances at us all night. Ares and Hephaestus are drinking themselves to oblivion but are still looking at me every now and then. You, Aunt Hera, Aunt Demeter and Aunt Hestia have never left the Nectar bar next to the one where father is. Aphrodite, Artemis and Aunt Selene have been behind me this entire time. Even Apollo and Hermes have not ventured very far away. And Athena hasn't even left my side the entire night. You are treating me like I am two once again." Percy stated with an amused smile.

"Looks like you caught onto our little plan. No point in hiding from you anymore." Aphrodite stated with a sheepish smile as she revealed herself.

"Well, I am the world's best tracker. At least I was. Maybe Arty has gotten the jump on me in the past three thousand years." Percy mused.

"Don't call me Arty." Artemis huffed with annoyance from the other side, causing all of them to chuckle.

"I certainly am not leaving your side until someone pries me away." Athena firmly stated.

"I can live with that." Percy stated with a small smile as he leaned back and a conversation developed between the different immortals sitting around the bar.

Soon, the other Olympians also made their way towards the bar and all of them spent the remainder of the evening drinking together and reminiscing about old times. They were away from the loudest parts of the party but none of them wanted to be anywhere else because that moment was a small yet immensely satisfying moment for all of them.


Percy woke up with a wide, content smile on his face as he felt a weight on his chest and he remembered the very memorable and passionate experience that he had been a part of the previous night.

He stroked the long strands of Athena's silky, raven hair as he observed how happy and content she seemed to be. A pang of protectiveness coursed through him as he gently pulled her closer, promising himself that he would never leave her ever again. A few minutes later, Athena woke up to the wonderful sensation of Percy playing with her hair.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Percy stated with a small smile as he kissed her forehead.

"Good morning Percy. Did you sleep well?" Athena questioned with her head still firmly on his chest. She was too comfortable to voluntarily change this position.

"It was the best sleep I had in a long time. For starters, you were next to me. And secondly, I didn't like I was a prisoner of my own mind and body." Percy replied as he traced circles on Athena's back.

"Must have been a dreadful experience." Athena softly stated as she lifted her head and stared into his mellow sea green eyes.

"Most of the times, I had no idea where I was or what I was doing. I was just floating around like a piece of kelp. But sometimes, I would receive an influx of energy and gain some heightened awareness. At those times, I could vaguely recognize that you were next to me. But I could never reach out to you. Especially for the past few centuries, during such moments, every time you held my hand or kissed me, I wanted to do something, anything to show you that I was still there but neither my body nor my mind would ever respond and then, it all went black again." Percy recalled as he stared at the ceiling.

"Those days are gone Percy. Now, you can do whatever you want." Athena comforted him as she traced his sharp jawline with her finger.

"Whatever I want?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, I can't go back on my words, can I?" Athena replied with a salacious smile.

"Definitely not." Percy stated with a smirk as he pulled Athena closer. There was no point in wallowing about the three millennia he had lost. He would just have to make for all that lost time now.


After a rather eventful morning, Percy and Athena sat opposite to each other around the mahogany table in the garden of Percy's palace to have some Ambrosia and Nectar. They had been sitting in silence for a few minutes when Percy decided to start a conversation.

"Without the gods directly guiding mortals, it seems like the past three millennia have been filled with mortal wars and constant conflict. But despite that, mortals seem to have flourished in every way. Perhaps conflict is in their nature. But so is innovation. And since Olympus moves with western civilization, the way of mortals has always influenced us to a very high degree. And I have to say, it feels like some of the societal changes that they brought about have also had a positive impact on us." Percy admitted.

"I am surprised that you don't oppose this societal shift." Athena stated with an impressed look on her face.

She had expected that Percy would be very disappointed with how selfish society had become. Percy had always been a person of very strong opinions and while he valued freedom and individualism very highly, he had always believed in a sense of community and had been a symbol of unity.

It was a consequence of his fatal flaw. A trait that made him extremely dependable but also obsessed with uniting everyone who were not his enemies under one banner.

However, he had changed from being a soldier who followed orders and rarely broke rules to someone and tended to stick to his ideals. If it meant that he had break some rules and exploit loopholes for doing the right thing, he would do it. And he had always had faith in the bonds of family, love and friendship which he believed transcended everything else.

"I am not a fan of the cynical, short-sighted vision that seems to pervade the minds of mortals nowadays. From what I can gather, they seem to have a tendency of looking out only for themselves and don't believe in the advantages of unity. At least not as much as they should. They don't realise that they have far more in common than they believe and seem to have divided themselves along unnecessary lines. There is always some or the other form of civil strife. Yet, they seem to have embraced an idea of unconditional egalitarianism which I believe is a fantastic development. While the point where they become a purely egalitarian society is far away, they have made a lot of progress and I am confident that they will be there eventually." Percy paused before continuing.

"They also take a much more logical approach to accepting and solving problems. And while it will take some time for me to get used to the openly and unashamedly expressive turn that society has taken, I think that it's a wonderful thing. While there are still responsible limits, I think it's wonderful that now men and women can freely interact with each other in any way they desire amd define their own relationships and I love the fact that for the most part, people can openly express their opinions without the fear of being banished or punished. That was the atmosphere that had been so close to creation just prior to the Trojan War and it's commendable that mortals have reached this stage, and thus positively influenced even us, entirely on their own." Percy stated with a small smile as he leaned back and took a sip of Nectar. And that was when Hestia decided to pop in.

"Even though you have been away for three millennia, I see that you have already adapted to this age, to a certain extent. That's an incredibly pragmatic view, nephew. I am very proud of you. I dearly missed your wisdom. And I am very glad that you are back." Hestia stated with a warm smile as she approached Percy and gave him a hug.

"It is great to be back Aunt Hestia." Percy replied with a content smile as he returned the hug before continuing in a more serious tone.

"This world has a lot of problems Aunt Hestia. But then again, the world had a lot of problems in my time as well. At least, this new form of society encourages innovation and embraces change. And with this train of thought, mortals have achieved a very high degree of self-sufficiency. That can only be a good thing." Percy calmly stated.

"Well, you are indirectly responsible for that. When you saved Aeneas, you told him to build a civilization that would unite everybody who worshipped the gods under one banner. The Trojans gradually evolved into the Romans and the Greeks became a part of this vast empire, giving philosophers and social thinkers access to your egalitarian and moral views. Of course, it's a different thing that the Romans were anything but egalitarian but atleast they spread your message." Athena stated in an impressed voice. This was a classic example of the butterfly effect.

"Ah, the Romans. I was about to talk about them. When I advised Aeneas to build a unified society, which was just a few weeks ago for me, I had half-expected that he would fail. Not because I thought he had any personal shortcomings but because I thought that it would be impossible for him to unify such a divided society. Yet he did. And I can't be prouder. But I have to say, Aphrodite's children have always been wonderful leaders thanks to their excellent understanding of emotions. After all, logic reaches people only when it is delivered under the pretense of some emotion. It is a pity that such a great civilization crumbled but unfortunately, disorder and division is the stable equilibrium of society." Percy answered as he downed a glass of Nectar.

"Someone's feeling philosophical today." Triton stated as materialised in front of them. He had already hugged the life of his brother a few hours ago but he couldn't resist the urge to just drop in and check up on his brother.

"You could say that. But it's equal parts amazing as well as terrifying that a great society which was heavily influenced by my ideals was built, vastly expanded and crumbled in the time I have been a vegetable. Everyone tells me I have been gone for three thousand years but even for me, it is quite hard to understand just how gargantuan that amount of time is. Even with my almost fully immortal biology, I walked the Earth only for something like eight decades. And now, I have been gone for so long that I have turned into some mythical figure." Percy stated with a deep sigh as he refilled his glass.

"Nephew, you had already been elevated to a very high pedestal when you were alive. You were a legend even then." Hestia stated.

"True, but I was never a mythical figure. Sure, I was the face of Olympus. I was living, breathing, physical proof that the gods existed and everyone in our sphere of influence knew that I actually existed. And even though I was revered, I was seen more as a divine enforcer and a person who was the best of both worlds. Now, I am just as mythical as the rest of the gods and there are practically no mentions of my almost imperceptible but ever-existent mortality." Percy stated with a twinge of frustration.

He was extremely impressed by what the Romans had done. There was no doubt about that. The Romans had given the Greeks the opportunity to spread a lot of the ideals that Olympus was built on to the rest of the world. And he was very happy about that. But they had also turned him into a deity.

Percy had never wanted to be a god. Primarily because he valued his freedom very highly and knew that becoming a deity or even being worshipped like one would severely limit his scope of action. He had wanted the mortals to be able to identify with him and for him to be able to empathize with them.

He had wanted them to look at him and realise that for all his power, he was only man with one heart. He wanted them to realise that he was neither a mortal nor an immortal but someone in between. Someone who wanted to use the best of both races to make the world a better place.

That world view had been shattered when Achilles had been killed because he had realised that too much immortal influence could severely devastate mortal society but he had never intended for the mortal world to be completely disconnected from the divine world.

He had just intended for the gods to guide mortals in an indirect and less manipulative way. But he felt like things had gone too far. He was now in an era where mortals believed that gods did not exist and that they were masters of their own destiny as well as the destiny of the world. And he did not know how comfortable he was with letting them call all the shots and with the gods isolating themselves to the extent that they now were.

"I protected and was molded by a very different age. I did realise my mistake of creating excessive linkages between the mortal and divine planes but I never thought that they could exist almost completely isolated from each other. But now that all of you have learnt to draw almost all of your power from your domains rather than worship, the need for extensive connection with the mortals has ceased to exist. Obviously, I need time to get adjusted to that feeling. And I also need to understand the influence the Romans have had on me." Percy stated as stared into the small bubbles in his glass of Nectar, prompting sympathetic looks from the other three.

"Nephew, are you having any problems? Because it took quite a bit of time for our Roman and Greek aspects to coexist peacefully rather than war with each other. The effects should not be as pronounced for you though." Hestia stated.

"No, it does not feel like two aspects of me are warring. In fact, I do not even feel like I have two aspects. I am still Perseus Diaboles. But I do feel indifferent to the sufferings of mortals. I feel like I no longer have the empathy required to regularly interact with mortals and to patiently understand their day-to-day problems. I feel like I have lost that desire to make the world a better place for mortals. And apart from my family, the only other people I now care about are demigods. That doesn't mean that I want to see mortals hurt or under the rule of the Titans but I just don't feel like getting involved in their squabbles anymore." Percy revealed as he took another deep sip from his glass and Athena went silent.

She was hoping that Percy would not notice this change in his way of thinking so soon but of course, his excellent understanding of his own state of mind and his ability to conduct deep introspection would make any change obvious to him.

"You are right Percy. Unfortunately, you may never be able to empathize with mortals to the extent you once could ever again because you are now a deity." Athena stated in a low voice, causing Percy's eyes to widen.

"A deity? I don't think so Athena. I can still feel that sliver of a mortal soul left in me." At Percy confusedly stated.

"No Percy, I am not implying that you are a full immortal. You are still partially mortal which means that you are still free from the Ancient Laws. However, you now think almost exclusively like an immortal. You don't have any serious inclination to settle mortal squabbles. You wouldn't want to meditate or interfere in mortal wars. You accept that conflict is in their nature and just let them resolve their own conflicts. You are not the same man that you were three millennia ago. You are a very different man." Athena somberly stated. She thought that these changes would affect his life positively but she knew that this would be hard for him to accept.

"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked, with a bit of fear.

"Percy, you have the same memories, the same body, the same relationships as before. You still have the same values of family, honour, justice and the desire to protect the world still burns bright in you. But now, you will fight to only protect your world. And your world is your family. The gods and demigods are the only ones who can be classified as family. Other mortals are no longer a part of that equation. Your mortal soul and body are the only things that tie you to your old self. But your immortal essence is completely different. And that is because your existing immortal essence was built on a belief that is very different from what your first essence was built on." Athena expounded. And even Triton and Hestia seemed to be confused after hearing this bit of information.

"I assume that it has something to do with the fact that the Romans saw me as more of a mythical deity rather than as a real hero?" Percy questioned after understanding a bit of what Athena was getting at.

"Exactly. The Greeks always revered you, but they never worshipped you as a god. You were a legendary hero and a decorated divine general for them who led by example. The Romans on the other hand, never interacted with you like the Greeks had and as centuries passed, you became less of a hero and more of a powerful deity who watched over them. And that in turn influenced the regrowth of your immortal essence." Athena confirmed.

"I thought that the mortals believed that I died after blowing myself up to defeat Tartarus." Percy stated.

"Yes but after a few centuries, the rumours among mortals evolved. And most of the mortals believed that you were turned into a god after your sacrifice and were watching over them." Athena answered.

"How different is he as a consequence of that?" Triton questioned.

"Depends on who he is dealing with. When interacting with us or with demigods, he will be the same person. But with mortals, let's just say he will not be as eager to help as he once was." Athena answered.

"Well, as long as I don't become an arrogant douchebag or some crazed megalomaniac, it doesn't matter. But I'll tell you, this indifference, it feels natural yet it feels so wrong." Percy revealed.

"Nephew, it will take time for you to come to terms with this new dimension to your personality. Your immortal essence may be different but your mind is still the same and like you said it yourself, there will always be a part of you that will stay mortal. So don't worry, you will never become totally disconnected from that part of yourself." Hestia assured.

"It seems like I am always in the process of overcoming one personal problem or another. But I guess that's my destiny." Percy stated with a bitter chuckle. Before anyone else could say anything, Percy decided to change the topic.

"Moving on, Athena, I will need to meet this generation of DSS agents. I assume that Leo and the two others are three of them. Where are the others? what are their assignments?" Percy asked.

"There are no other field agents Percy. These three are the only ones. And they're only temporary field agents." Athena stated with a sigh.

"What? The DSS has only three agents? That too temporary? Did you downsize the entire organization because fourteen agents were not required? If that is the case, we'll have to go on a recruitment drive." Percy stated as he ran a hand through his hair.

"We can't recruit anybody Percy. The DSS does not exist anymore. It was shut down seven centuries ago." Athena stated with a twinge of frustration.

For a moment, Percy was left speechless due to disbelief. Once he regained his senses, he groaned in frustration as he introduced his palm to his forehead.

"Let me guess, the other members of the Divine Council found out about this and passed a vote to shut it down?" Percy asked with unconcealed annoyance.

"Yes." Athena confirmed.

"Then it's time to call a Divine Council meeting. We cannot win this war without the DSS. Not when it seems like the enemy already has the upper hand." Percy grimly stated. He had only objective on his mind right now – permanently reinstating the Divine Secret Service.


A few hours later, the members of Divine Council had assembled in the throne room of the Divine Council and after exchanging a few pleasantries, Percy made the objective of this meeting crystal clear.

"Esteemed members of the Divine Council, you know that I have never been someone who beats around the bush so let me get to the point. I have spent the better part of this morning in devouring every single piece of information we have about this war and I have reached one conclusion – we are losing." Percy stated in an ominous voice, shocking everybody and leaving them speechless for awhile.

"General Perseus, that may have been the case before you were resurrected but now that you are back, this war will be just like the Gigantomachy. The Titans may have gotten the better of us in the first phases of this war, but now that all of us know what who we are up against, it will be a rout once we find their location and fight them head on." Hebe confidently stated.

"Cousin, I would hold that thought if I were you. While I can certainly even out the odds a bit, unfortunately, even with all my freedom to work outside the bounds of the Ancient Laws, I alone will not be able to do anything more than cause a significant dent in the enemy's forces." Percy calmly replied.

"You won't be alone, general. The entire Divine Council will fight alongside you and will vanquish the threat of the Titans." Bia proclaimed and all the other immortals in the room nodded in agreement.

"We are not enough. Ladies and gentlemen, gone are the days where a war just meant that our immortal opponents clashed with us in a series of titanic battles. Our enemies have adopted a much more complex and dare I say, robust approach to war. We are not just fighting a group of Titans. No, we are fighting a full fledged army. An army that has a weapons supplier who equips them with advanced weapons, a standing army of dangerous monsters led by powerful demititans and traitorous demigods stationed in multiple bases all across the country. The Titans are neither brainless brutes like the Gigantes nor are they arrogant lone wolves like Tartarus, at least not this time. They don't want to beat us in one great struggle. No, they want to bleed us to death, little by little, with a thousand cuts." Percy loudly declared as he rose from his throne.

"We cannot and will not win this war on our own. We will need to eliminate these bases one by one and rip apart this army that the Titans are building. And to do that, we will need an army of our own. We will need an army of demigods, satyrs and nature spirits. And every army needs an espionage division. A division of elite agents who will ensure that we are always one step ahead. We need to reinstate the Divine Secret Service. Because this war won't be won in daylight. No, it will be won in the shadows." Percy firmly announced.

"Are you being serious here, Perseus? You want us to reinstate an organization of trained heartless assassins in whom you have entrenched ruthlessness. During the Gigantomachy, you were authorized to run this organization only during times of war. But you lied to us and instead kept it running, hiding this information from us for millennia. Not only that, you even had the audacity to secretly expand this secret service such that your spies knew about everything that went on in the divine and mortal worlds. You spied on anyone whenever you wanted to." Eris stated with a small scowl.

"You are right. I did hide the existence of Divine Secret Service from most of the Divine Council. But this is exactly why I did what I had to do. We had started the Gigantomachy on the back foot and Ares was captured during the beginning of a war due to a massive lack of intel about our enemy. It took us years to overcome that initial deficit and I wanted to ensure that we would always be prepared for another Divine War to avoid starting on the back foot ever again and to crush the enemies of the gods even before they could coalesce to mount a challenge. The DSS may have had some moral vices but it was a necessary evil. In fact, if the DSS had not been disbanded, the problem of the Titans would never have worsened to this degree. We drove an axe into our own foot." Percy shot back with a twinge of frustrated anger.

"Your paranoia does not justify your actions of using children like expendable ammunitions. Three thousand years ago, we allied ourselves with the Olympians because we thought that you were better than the Titans. But if you are willing to brainwash children and turn them into ruthless killing machines, what makes you any different from the General?" Nemesis angrily questioned.

Most of Olympians seemed offended by this remark and Ares even rose up from his throne with his broadsword materialising in his hands but Percy held his hand up, stopping them from igniting an argument.

"What makes me different is that I did not kidnap toddlers and turn them into assassins. The DSS was always made up of volunteers. It is true that I did identify demigods with potential and then screened the ones best suited to this life when they were eighteen and then trained them until they were twenty one. But I never abused them psychologically or physically. I always treated them with respect and genuinely looked after their well being. Ask any of the retired agents that are still around, make them swear a solemn oath to attest to this and they will confirm this." Percy staunchly stated.

The minor gods reflected a bit on their words and realised that perhaps they had been a bit too harsh with their words. But they were still not convinced about reinstating the Divine Secret Service.

"The DSS was never a group of mindless assassins who robotically followed every letter of my instructions. If I had wanted that, Athena, Hephaestus and I would have instead built an army of automatons. My agents eliminated threats, I agree. But that was only a side objective. Their main objective was identifying threats. They might have had their missions but those missions were not to eliminate targets. Their main job was to closely observe people for a lengthy period of time and deduce whether a certain someone was a threat or not. They had a license to kill. But a license to kill is also a license to not kill. I put my faith in those people to make the right decisions. And I put my faith in them because they were the only ones qualified to make that decision." Percy proudly defended.

"You make it sound like a very noble job, general. But I believe you are aware of why the DSS was disbanded in the first place. These agents, these people who you had faith in, failed you. They betrayed you, stole your advanced weapons and they made the world a horrible place. If I am not mistaken, that is how the Titans now have an arms dealer who provides them with advanced ammunition that were once only available to us." Kratos listed.

"All of that only happened because Percy was not there. I can show you the records, as long as Percy headed the secret service, it had the most loyal group of people you will ever find. All of the first field agents are still alive and are still loyal to Olympus. The DSS only started falling apart after Percy's sacrifice." Athena defended.

"We don't disagree with you on that. We know the magnetic effect Perseus has on people and have no doubts about his leadership skills. Your first set of field agents will be fantastic, Athena. The Divine Secret Service will be the crown jewel of the Divine Forces as long as Perseus heads it. But what happens when Perseus decides to take a break? Perseus, like it or not, you have created the DSS in a way such that it will not work without you. But how long will you be willing to do that? Centuries? Millennia? All eternity? And if you say yes, you can't possibly be serious because everyone here knows how much you crave for a life of uninterrupted peace." Hecate seriously questioned.

Percy fell silent at this question. She was right. He could not do it for eternity. This war was his last mission, his last battle. After this war, he did not want to spend the rest of eternity worrying about the next threat. He wanted to live.

"You are absolutely right, Hecate. I cannot and I will not do this for all eternity. However, I am not asking the Divine Council to reinstate the DSS permanently. Do it just for the duration of this war and we can discuss whether it has to remain or be disbanded once again." Percy calmly stated.

"How do we know that you won't lie to us and just hide its existence from us like you did after the Gigantomachy?" Nike suspiciously questioned.

"I swear on the River Styx that I will let the Divine Council make the decision about the continuation of the Divine Secret Service after the war." Percy unhesitatingly accepted a solemn oath and thunder boomed in the distance to confirm it.

"Convinced?" Percy asked the minor gods and all of them nodded their heads, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"We have an army to assemble and a secret service to reinstate. Let's do that and then crush the Othryian Forces and send the Titans on a family vacation to Tartarus." Percy boomed as his voice reverberated across the room, filling everyone with courage.

"Oh and Ares, sound the horn of war. Let it be a signal to all the enemies of the gods that we are coming for their heads." Percy stated with a cold smirk that reminded everyone why he was called Diaboles. It was high time he brought down damnation upon the enemies of Olympus.


Hey guys! I know that this is much longer than I usually take to get a chapter out but like I said, I am just going through a rough patch and needed to sort out a few things. Good news is that things have mostly been sorted out and I will probably be back to weekly updates, barring any exceptions. I just want to thank all of you for being patient with me and I hope that this chapter was worth the wait.

I really wanted to explore and showcase the man out of time trope with Percy in this chapter. I just want to make sure that even with all his almost fully immortal biology, his struggle to identify with a completely different era is very human.

Also with this chapter, I wanted to show that this Percy is not the same Percy who sacrificed himself three millennia ago. He's not that valiant protector of the world anymore. He has lost his desire to make the world a better place and just wants to protect his family, that's it.

At times he may seem a lot more callous and indifferent to what he was like in the previous stories but I just want to explore something new over here because he hasn't gotten his old immortal essence back, he has gotten a completely new one. And thus, there are bound to be some changes in his way of thinking and personality. I will explore this in more detail in future chapters.

Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter! Have a fantastic day!