A/N-Hope everyone is safe and enjoy this chapter :)

Never have I ever dreaded going into the water like today. With the exception of my slight power fritz in book two.

"Oh, come on, you've been through much worse—hell, I've tried to kill you every summer since you were every summer since you were fourteen. It's just a little dip in a river." Kronos said with a smirk.

I frowned. Since when did he become my hype man?

Today the asshole was wearing a green polo and khaki shorts. His blond hair was combined in neat strands that complimented his bright, blue eyes. Currently, he inhabited the body of my nemesis—Luke Castellan and he looked like the nineteen-year-old demigod but in reality, he was centuries older, immortal, and eviler than his host.

Speaking of hosts, one of the final steps I needed to take to become Kronos' new, more durable host was to swim in the river Styx.

You know, the river that makes one invulnerable but is so painful that it could melt your face off? As if on cue, a skull floated to top of the murky water.

"Luke did it and he wasn't even a son of Poseidon."

Half son, I thought.

Kronos snapped his fingers and a chair materialized underneath him. He sat, crossed his fingers, and looked at me expectantly. "I've got all eternity. Do you, Perseus?"

I rolled my eyes at the sound of my full name.

"According to the prophecy, my end is coming sooner," I said underneath my breath. I hadn't told my father that yet—it was a need to know basis.

I sighed, stripping off my shirt. I looked at the murky, shallow river, my jaw set.

"And you're sure Thalia won't feel a thing when I do this?"

Kronos crossed his legs with a kind smile that didn't match his words, saying, "Your concern for your ex warms my evil heart, son. But as I promised you on the way here, I had Paean convince the Fates to suspend your connection to her temporarily. After all, they have a vested interest in your survival as well—might have to do with the fact that you could bring about the end of the world and all."

"Yeah, I really regret making myself the child of the prophecy right about now." I took off my sneakers and peeled off my socks.

"I'll be so pissed if I die." I threw a distasteful look at Kronos.

"Your worry offends me. I purposefully created you with two godly parentages. Even given your mortal side, you are more durable than the average demigod. I mean, look at me. Luke did it."

And look where he ended up.

I reared my shoulders back and gave my father a middle finger salute. He waved back innocently. So, I held my breath.

And plunged.

Imagine being surrounded by a thousand, soft clouds. Weightless. Free. Rejuvenated.

Powerful.

Now imagine the opposite of that—that, my friends, is what river Styx felt like.

The first fifteen seconds were fine. I opened my eyes and found my flesh intact.

Great, right? Then I decided to open my mouth and breathe since things were all peachy and dandy. I took a step forward and that was when I first felt it. Heat. Spreading through my body like a wildfire. It clamped down on me like a vice.

I was an anchor, sinking. Panicked, I took another breath but my lungs wouldn't listen. My lungs pounded against my ribcage, begging for air. When I finally managed to inhale, my body responded immediately.

It felt like I'd been doused in lava. A slow, excruciating burn that caused me to thrash wildly in the water. The back of my head pounded to invisible drums. Water rushed into my mouth. I choked, arms clawing at the distant surface.

Joint by joint, my body went stiff and I began sinking. My heartbeat slowed down. I hit the river floor, kicking up sand. The thud was barely a whisper as I closed my eyes, the algae tickling my ear.

And just like that—I gave up.

"Percy." My mom's voice was loud and clear.

I opened one eye, bubbles rising to the surface as I spoke. "I killed you. Stay dead."

"Percy, get up." She stalked toward me, her brown hair moving like waves underneath the river. "You have to fight."

With little force, Sally grabbed my bare shoulders and pulled me up. In real life, she should've been too small to do that. I was definitely hallucinating.

"All I know is how to fight." I pushed her hands away, letting my feet slip underneath me. "I want to rest."

Before I could float back down to the floor, my mom kicked me in the chest. A painful heat flared throughout my body, making me groan.

"Get up." Gone was my mom and in her place, Paul appeared. The rush of lava going down my throat reappeared briefly as he placed his hands around my throat.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on me.

Despite my indifference, my body sprang into action, trying to wrestle him to the floor. I slapped against his tight grip but the water made me slow and sluggish.

With a violent force, Paul slammed my head against the river's floor, sending vibrations through me. I could barely take in a pained breath when someone else pulled me by the hair and punched me in the abdomen.

I fell to my knees, looking at my assaulter through gradually swelling eyes.

Gray hair and matching eyes combined with a swordsman's posture.

"Daedalus." I spat out, blood coating my teeth.

"You have not come this far to be defeated," He got on his knees to face me. His expression was cold and his eyes colder. "Get up!" He roared and shoved his fingers into my eye sockets.

I screamed back at him, retreating like a wounded animal. The water was no comfort for my wounds. It seemed to sear into them and black spots danced in my vision. Then all three of them—Sally, Paul, and Daedalus—manifested. They kicked and choke the shit out of me. All wanting the same thing: for me to get up.

I wasn't going to. I couldn't. I deserved this beating and maybe this is what was waiting for me after I died. Eternal torture.

I could endure this if it meant never living again. Never hurting anyone like I did to Sally and Paul.

Maybe the world was better off without me in it.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called, appearing from thin air. Beautiful, electric blue eyes, midnight colored hair and an equally demanding aura made up the only person I'd ever loved: Thalia Grace.

My pain subsided as she sprang into action, transforming her bracelet into Aegis, a shield so horrifying no one could stand to look at it. Sally and Paul cowered, hissing. Daedalus cried out a sharp caw and his entire body burst into a mass of darkly colored feathers. Sally and Paul shed their human skins too, joining him.

Furies. Of course.

I watched in amazement as Thalia fought all of them simultaneously. Ducking, elbow stabbing, and whacking with her shield. I smiled proudly—Thalia fought dirty. The furies squawked and clawed at her as Thalia sliced them clean in half. They dissipated, eventually to be reformed and live to ruin someone else's day.

Thalia wasn't even out of breath when she approached me, dragging her sword alongside her.

"If you're here to tell me to get up, I think I got the message." Sarcasm masked the fear in my voice at her appearance but I think she saw through that.

"You're not allowed to give up." Thalia spun her sword and it reduced into a mace canister. She held out her hand.

"I don't deserve to live."

"Maybe." She shrugged, not trying to spare my feelings. This was definitely her. "But I don't think that's up to you to decide."

Ashamed, I took her hand and let her pull me up. The action winded me as bruises littered my body, my lungs feeling like they were on the verge of collapse.

I felt much more vulnerable bare chested as she put her arms around me, tucking her head into my chest.

She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach my ears and she whispered, "Live, Percy Jackson. And maybe one day, you can prove you deserve to."

"Thalia…" I breathed, my throat closing up. A gentle wave came through and piece by piece, Thalia faded away as if a collection of water molecules. Understanding passed through me and I realized that wasn't a hallucination of Thalia but rather, the spirit of Styx. A deity.

Styx had seen many demigods pass through her river and maybe a part of her believed I could too. I wouldn't have much to look forward to when I reached the surface but I wasn't ready to die. At least, not here.

Bruised and battered with a slim restoration of confidence, I took a step forward. The river pushed against me like an indignant wave but I stood my ground. I planted another foot forward, refusing to let it push me back.

I kept Thalia's/Styx's touch and words with me as I pushed through. I screamed, I ran, I crawled. I did whatever it took to wade through the river, eventually reaching its end. Unbridled hope filled me as I scaled the river's wall, clawing my way to the surface.

I submerged, gasping for air and crawled to the river bed.

"One minute and thirty seconds. Much better than Luke." Kronos noted, his eyes glowing gold. He stood over me, not making any move to help me up.

With yet another groan, I lifted myself and winced in preparation for the pain and soreness I was bound to feel. To my surprise, nothing hurt. I looked down at my chest—no bruises. The dullness in my jaw from the punches had faded.

Like it never even happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Kronos pulled out a black colored weapon. He pointed it at me and maybe a sane person would've begged for their life, but I was far from sane.

So I laughed. Laughed until I was practically wheezing and crying. What the fuck had my life come to? Why was I with my evil titan of a father, planning to destroy the world in just a few months?

"Shoot me." I dared him, grinning.

"Okay."

And he did.

A/N-So remember in my last A/N, I was like oh, I have a couple chapters of Destined that I never published, let me whip those out. Welp I forgot that fanfic deletes your docs after like a year and I was gone for like four years so that's great. I saved my outline and all those chapters to the doc manager only so now I'm starting from scratch. I apologize for sending that A/N and y'all just getting this chapter now because I had to re outline and re write these chapters. I'm not sure if I want to commit to a schedule yet but I will post a new chapter next Thursday (4/14). Thanks for those of you who have welcomed me back with your compliments. I really appreciate it and I think we all need a little comfort during these uncertain times. As always, reviews and favorites would be much appreciated. Stay safe!