Making it clear while an OC is featured in this chapter, this story is not OC-centric.

Unknown Location, Erebos

"Get in line everyone!" A ghostly figure, complete with ghostly armor, ghostly hair, and the good looks of the undead, yelled out. "I say this again! First, get your papers from the right desk, then get in the line on the left to go back up to earth. No shortcuts! Right then left. Obviously, you won't remember to go left after getting wiped by Lethe, but do not worry! We have the best ghouls on payroll to guide you."

Upon the words, a ghoul came up the Achilles-lookalike. "Uh, sir, one of the guiding ghouls fell into the Lethe."

Nodding his head, the ghost corrected himself, "Most of the ghouls on our payroll are the best in business," With a very forced smile, he continued, "You do not need to worry."

The ghoul started whispering again, "Sir, that was the last ghoul on duty."

"I am not paid enough for this shit."

The souls in the right line whispered among each other, doubts festered in their minds whether their rebirth process would be done properly by considering the ones in charge were fools. One straight out ran away and because of that, the entire line got pushed up by one. Hours later, all of the souls who had an appointment for that day were reborn.

And then somewhere nearby, yet way beyond the mortal plane, a meeting place for countless cosmic energies, where the overarching sky met with the rising walls of Tartarus, from where the gloomy edges of the palace of Hades were clearly seen, three of the oldest grandmothers in the universe who had been knitting their socks, paused their work.

"The hero of the prophecy. He has been born. But… which one of the two will it be?"

For on earth, where Percy Jackson would have been born in another universe, a boy named Evan Jackson opens his eyes. Far above this place, as far Tartarus is below Hades, that is, in Olympus, the Goddess Demeter gives birth to a boy who was born with greatness in his blood, destruction in his eyes, and the power to take the world in his hands should he choose to wield it.

"Perseus."

For that is all it takes. From the moment when the universe emerged from the bottomless Void, an infinitesimally small change in how it emerged led to the birth of two heroes whose fates were entangled with the Great Prophecy instead of just one.

One soul ran away from choosing rebirth and destiny changed to its whims. For that is the value of a life.

Camp Half-Blood, Long Island Sound - 12 years later

"—hear about—"

"—killed the mino—"

"—ig three materia—"

"—water up my nose—"

Evan made his way across the volleyball court, ignoring the looks that were coming his way. He had thought that after five days the interest in him would have died down but apparently since the last big three kid died before she had even entered the camp, there were a lot of rumors surrounding him. And Evan was just big three material. He would hate to be in the shoes of an actual big three kid.

In fact, only today morning had he been told by Annabeth about the newest controversy surrounding him. Evidently, he was a monstrous child of Zeus and Echidna who had been turned mortal and sent to Camp. And it seemed that he was here to kill demigods and eat their flesh.

Basically, weird and exaggerated shit that everyone knew was untrue yet spread it around for fun.

"Hilarious. Comedy at its finest," Evan had replied dryly, to which Annabeth made him repeat their entire conversation in Ancient Greek.

Morning classes were a pain in the ass. Evan did come to camp to study. What was the point of school then? The other activities done by the campers looked far more interesting to Evan even if he had that slight risk of dying. Apparently, it was common knowledge that unless you climb a lava wall once a week, your life isn't complete.

Although all of those activities had been pretty exciting to do, Evan had been more interested in the sword-fighting lesson they were having today afternoon. The same thing he was probably going to be late for. Breaking into a run, he circled around the arena, hoping to join the group from the back and not get noticed by Luke.

Spotting his chance as Luke turned his back towards the group and reached over to find a good sword for himself, Evan sprinted and melted in with his cabin's members. On either side of him, the Stoll twins grinned at him brightly.

"So, Evan," one of them started, Evan had no idea which twin was which, "Ten drachmas and we'll convince everyone to tell Luke you were here all along."

"I don't have ten drachmas," Evan replied, "Even if I did, I wouldn't give them because I was at the back of the group all along."

"Uh-huh, sure," the other Stoll started speaking, "How about that minotaur horn of yours and Luke won't be able to do a thing."

Evan hesitated. Punishments at camp weren't that strict. But if Luke did call him out for being late, Evan would have to act as a partner for Luke. And he didn't want to lose face in camp so soon. Or at all. While the minotaur horn was basically worthless. Camp wouldn't buy it and it's not like he could show it off, with the chance of someone stealing it.

"Ah, Evan," Luke interrupted the boy's thoughts cheerfully, "Glad to see you here! I thought you were bunking class when you didn't respond to the roll call."

Evan narrowed his eyes and slid them over to the Stoll on his right then the one on his left. Both of them didn't look the least bit apologetic. "It's all business. Nothing personal, man."

Evan scowled and looked back at Luke who was still speaking.

"—nd remember that you won't get the same practice sword you got last time since we change them every time. And no one should be using their own swords, guys! I am tired of saying this. Now split into two groups and start the drill." Luke finished speaking as everyone dispersed and headed towards the straw dummies after grabbing a sword.

Evan did the same and hung around the back, hoping to be put with the second group because he had no idea what was going on. That is until he felt a shove from the back and went stumbling forward to one of the dummies. Frowning, he looked back trying to find who did it but the second group had already split into pairs to duel it out.

Evan groaned and glanced around him, trying to see what the others were doing. Gripping his sword in what he hoped was the right way, he started hacking and stabbing at the dummies.

Evan noticed that Luke and a couple of other older campers were supervising the two groups though they didn't seem to do much, and seemed more interested in dueling along with the second group.

By the time the break came, Evan's face was covered with sweat, and his camp t-shirt was soaked with it. This was less fun than he had thought originally.

After the two-minute interval was over, Evan scanned the arena for someone who could pair up with him to do the second drill. Finding no one, he looked over to where Luke and the other supervisors were standing. As soon as they got distracted from watching the campers, Evan started moving towards the second group since he did not want to draw attention to himself by saying something.

But before Evan could reach the mutilated straw dummies, Luke blocked his way and guided him back towards his original group. "Don't have a partner, hm? I am sure we can do something about that, Evan." Picking up a sword, Luke stopped Evan and stood roughly six feet away from him, "You are going to be practicing with me."

Evan groaned at his misfortune and then for what felt like an hour, Luke showed him the ropes, how to handle a sword, footwork, basic moves, defensive stances, offensive stances, and then proceeded to knock him around.

Luke called for a break after Evan landed on his butt for the dozenth time. "You guys do this every day for fun?" Luke grinned and pulled Evan up. "Yep, these scheduled classes are just done for the sake of it. It becomes more apparent in bigger cabins like ours. If you really want to advance, it's best to ask someone to train with you when you both have time. No one will ask for anything back, so don't worry about that."

Evan nodded. He understood. These guys may crack jokes, behave like any other teenager would, but at the end of the day, they had to fight for their survival. It wasn't fair to them at all but they tried to give everyone a fighting chance.

"Okay, everyone, form a circle around me and Evan! I am going to be showing you one of the tricks I learned from the campers before me," Luke paused and let the campers snigger at the boy's bad luck, "It's difficult and many have to practice it for months before mastering it, so no laughing at Evan."

Luke first showed the move in slow motion. The flat of his blade hit the base of Evan's sword, which was twisted out of his hands and fell to the ground because Evan was unable to keep a grip anymore.

"Usually, you can execute this move on an opponent much stronger than you easily, but sometimes they're too strong. In that case, you're better off not fighting them," some people laughed and Luke smiled and continued, "Although those are rare cases, more often than not, your opponent will let go of their weapon otherwise their hands will be injured and render them useless. That's because you can use your entire weight while executing this move while your enemy is holding out with his wrist. Under optimum conditions, you would be using minimum strength," Luke paused to catch his breath, "I will be trying to create those optimum conditions while fighting real-time with Evan and once you have mastered the move, you should too. Now, watch!"

Evan gripped his sword like the way Luke had shown it and fell into a defensive stance as Luke started circling around him. Falling into the same pattern, Evan tried to spot any sudden movement by the blond. Good thing too because when Luke started attacking, Evan was barely able to hold him off. The other boy seemed to realize a complete offensive was a useless strategy since Evan didn't seem to be giving the opening to execute the move in the fight. Falling back, Luke started circling again.

Circling along with him, Evan let his thoughts run wild while studying Luke's stance. If Luke let his hand drop, he would lunge at Evan's midsection as he had done during their teaching session. The impact of the swords would put him at a disadvantage because of Luke's superior strength, and the boy would immediately pounce on the opportunity to sweep Evan's leg off the ground with the flat of his blade.

Then suddenly Luke lunged forward, coming from the left, swiping at Evan's midsection. But Evan's sword was already moving and stopped the advance to which Luke responded by going for the boy's legs. Evan was already moving to counter Luke's strike but in an instant, Luke's sword came up and the flat of his blade hit Evan's sword. His weapon was twisted out of his grip and lay on the ground. In front of him, Luke stared thoughtfully.

Friday afternoon came and Evan sat down with Grover near the lake, cooling off after the climbing wall. He had gotten distracted by Grover when the satyr reached the top and had almost burned himself.

"Sorry about earlier, Evan. I shouldn't have called out to you like that," Grover smiled sheepishly, "The other satyrs and I usually do that to other campers in good humor but I got in the moment and forgot you were new."

Evan shifted slightly to get out of the sun's burning glare and smiled back. "No worries, this is why we have a medic near the wall. The nectar and ambrosia patched me right back up."

"Still, I shouldn't have done that. I could have gotten you killed," Grover's smile disappeared and he mumbled his next words. Evan stayed silent. Grover had been riddled with self-doubt last year but he had become a lot more confident as time passed. It probably happened because he had to look out for Evan and protect him. And it had gradually evolved into not only monsters but bullies too. This time Evan decided he had to help Grover. He cared a lot about the satyr since he was the first real friend he had, even if his intention was just to get close to Evan at first.

"Hey, remember the time someone filled Josh's covers with whipped cream? He thought it was me but instead of letting me take the fall, you told the teachers you did it. That was brave of you, man."

"That was just because he would have complained to Mrs. Dodds, who was a monster. I tried protecting you from monsters but in the end, I am the reason you lost your mom to a monster."

"Josh hates Mrs. Dodds more than me. You know he would have complained to our gym teacher. And from what I remember, you're the one who dragged me inside the camp boundaries. If you had tried getting both of us, we all would have died."

"I am supposed to protect you… how can I do that if I am the one trying to get you killed?"

Evan remembered Chiron saying something about Grover and his dream of a searcher's license. "I am assuming the talk with Mr. D didn't go well?"

Grover shook his head. "He didn't let my request go through. Said something about good talent going to waste. I don't believe him though."

"Grover. Mr. D let you have his tin can. That speaks a lot. You know how many satyrs he has given a can to?" Grover looked at Evan with a weirded-out expression. Evan waved his hands in his defense. "Annabeth told Luke who told me. It's apparently a big deal. Just like it's a big deal if he says our real names."

Something seemed to click and Grover nodded. "Weird kinks and Gods are synonymous."

"Exactly," Evan nodded back, sagely, "So anyway, are you in trouble or not?"

"My mission was to protect you which I did so Mr. D is not punishing me but that just makes me feel worse about what happened!"

"Don't worry about it, Grover. I didn't do anything except land the killing blow on the minotaur."

Grover brightened a little, "Yeah, I didn't expect my nature magic to work, but it did, and you got the strength to tear that horn off his head."

Evan smiled. "You should get that horn. You distracted the minotaur, and technically killed it."

"We have been over this!" Grover protested and one thing eventually led to another, and Grover and Evan started different Gods, their domains, and what powers their children could get.

"Would the children of Nike get the ability to win every battle?" Grover had thought out aloud. "I wouldn't mind Nike being my divine parent. That'd be such a cool power."

Eventually, the conversation moved on to the empty cabins. "There are four of them, the Big Three and a very clean-looking warehouse? Or is that a cabin of another God?"

"No. That pure silver cabin, there?" Grover pointed in the direction of Cabin Eight. "That's Artemis's. She's a maiden Goddess. It would be against her oath if she had children but her hunters stay there if they ever stay at camp."

"And the other cabins are for the children of the Big Three?"

"No, just listen to me, man. The one at the center? The cabin you called a warehouse? It's Hera's. The cabin is more of an honorary thing as she's the Goddess of marriage so it goes against her nature to have demigod children. That's more of her husband's job."

Grover paused and pointed to the other cabin in the center. "Coming to her husband, that's Zeus's cabin. He's part of the Big Three as I told you before. Cabin number three? The one that always lets off the scent of beaches and the sea? That's Poseidon."

"And Hades? And uh… Vesta?"

"Hestia. They don't have cabins here. Don't know why, and better to steer off that topic."

"But Zeus and Poseidon had like a shit ton of kids in the myths. Did their wives castrate them or what?"

Grover shifted around uncomfortably. "60 years ago, after the end of the Second World War, the Big Three decided not to have any children as their kids affected the course of human history too much. Both World Wars were just demigods of the Big Three fighting between themselves. The first time it was the children of Hades and Poseidon against Zeus and the second time, Zeus and Poseidon against Hades. So many lives were lost. So much carnage. The Olympian Council came to a decision and the three Gods had to swear an oath on Styx."

Grover paused and looked around nervously. "This is sort of a taboo topic because of how much civil unrest it can cause, but Zeus broke the oath. He was punished accordingly, but the damage was done. Hades sent the worst demons from Tartarus to chase the girl down and ultimately would have killed her if she hadn't been turned into a tree."

"You told me she was killed but…"

Grover nodded sadly. "We don't speak much about this topic here but you deserved to know especially since…"

"People think I am another Big Three kid," Evan finished glumly, "Guess I'll wait for Hades to send some more monsters for me."

"Hey now! We could all be wrong. You could be the child of another God! Like Nemesis, God of revenge."

"I thought Nemesis was Goddess."

"Eh, God can be referred to for both."

Evan nodded but it was obvious he didn't believe Grover. Hades had already sent one of his minions after him. The chances of being a child of the Big Three were too high. Grover seemed to his mood and nudged his shoulder. "Leave those thoughts for now! Wait until after dinner when we play Capture the Flag and you'll have the time of your life! Oh, and Percy will come! You have to meet him."

"Percy?"

Evan didn't like the smirk on Grover's face. "Ares Cabin is gonna wipe the floor with you guys. No way you are winning with Percy on their team.

AN: Evan is NOT a replacement Percy. I have drawn up character sheets and arcs for him which are very different from Percy. You can already see some of the changes to the story in this chapter.

Other than that, I kind of wanted to add Percy in this chapter but the next scene is Capture the Flag one and that would be way too long. But I promise to have Percy pulling some cool shit next chapter. The starting comes off a bit weird but I honestly do not understand how to fix it. I hope to get better while writing and updating frequently enough. Trying to keep it to once a week but shit comes up and life happens. Hope y'all understand.

Oh, and a big thanks to Rohan Rodrigues for helping and finalizing a lot of world-building here. Another thanks to Arkadianx who motivated me to write. I have literally wrote and finished this in two days because we had a bet. And lastly, thanks to KloseKom for putting a final effort while all others were not there to help.

Also, I know Connor and Travis aren't twins. Evan just thinks that.

See you by next week! (Hopefully)