Warning: This is the ending to my permanent hiatus/discontinued fic The Love of Destruction. READ AT YOUR DISCRETION.

Posting here for my loyal readers who have stuck with Love of Destruction for literal years and would like some closure. Thank you for being the best.

The End of Eternity

Eyes scanning the wreckage that remained of the earth around them, Perseus sucked in a sharp breath. Everything looked so much worse in the aftermath of battle. The earth was charred to ashes. Any plant and animal life within a fifty-mile radius of New York City was completely gone. Large swathes of the city and surrounding neighborhoods had been decimated. Thankfully, whatever spell Hecate had cast earlier protected the mortals in the affected area. The same could not be said for the demigods.

Tears ran down his face unbidden as the demigods, his friends, grieved and suffered. Unable to take the sight any longer, Perseus turned away from the camp and was met once again by the utter destruction of nature. Long-suppressed memories of Delos drifted to the forefront of his mind. Every time he blinked, the scene shifted. First, the blackened trees and charred earth of Long Island. Then the charred earth and blackened trees of Delos. Back and forth. Long Island. Delos. Long Island. Delos.

Perseus' eyes widened in horror, and he collapsed to his knees beside the husk that remained of Thalia's pine. The magical barrier that was tied to the tree was completely gone. Looking up, Percy could see no shimmer from the protective barrier around the camp.

A gentle hand on his shoulder forced him back to the present. It was Artemis. She looked equally as horrified and saddened by the ruin around them. Perseus couldn't blame her. She is a goddess of the wilderness after all. Artemis knelt beside the trunk of Thalia's tree and laid a hand on it. Suddenly, the bark began to glow with godly power. The light expanded all around them, engulfing the ruined land. Little by little, the trees around them became a little less corpse-like. A touch of color returned to the bone-dry soil. But nothing truly returned to life. Artemis gasped as her energy drained away, forcing her to release her grasp on her powers.

In an instant, Perseus was by her side, "Artemis! Are you all right?"

Artemis waved it off, taking a few more deep breaths, "Yes, yes. I am fine," She looked around at the slightly less dead - but still very much dead - clearing around them, "I don't understand. That should have been enough to restore every blade of grass in New England."

"It's Pan," Perseus said sadly, "Do you feel his presence?"

Artemis was silent for a moment before she paled. "No," she breathed, "He's faded."

Perseus bowed his head.

"The battle must have been too much," Artemis said, "I knew he was already greatly weakened. The instability caused by Ouranos targeting the Titans and gods, plus the destruction of what was left of the natural world in New York... It must have been the final straw."

"This must be why your powers won't work anymore," Perseus muttered, "Without Pan, nature is no longer protected. The life in these plants is already completely gone. I can feel it."

"I can restore nature with life still in it but still not what's died," Artemis scoffed, "Why have these powers then?" With no answer to her question, the two gods sat in solemn silence, the faint sounds of the surviving Campers occasionally drifting over to them.

At long last, Perseus stood up and walked to the stream circling the entrance to camp. Artemis' eyes widened. She knew what he was going to do. She leapt to her feet frantically, "No, don't!"

"I did this," Perseus whispered.

"Not by yourself," Artemis argued, "I and all the other deities who fought are just as responsible. Please, Perseus, don't."

Perseus mustered a smile but shook his head. He cast a determined look back at her, and Artemis knew he had made up his mind. "Be that as it may, you remember what Pan told us. 'Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world,'" Perseus recited, "This is my contribution. It's my choice." Silence descended over them.

Suddenly, Artemis pulled him into an abrupt kiss. They broke apart breathless, and Perseus glanced at her questioningly. "Go on," she said, gesturing to the sad trickle of water that remained of the Camp Half-Blood river, "I can't stop you."

Perseus' jaw nearly dropped in surprise. He had expected her to argue, to fight back with every ounce of stubbornness she's got. This was too out of character. Scrutinizing her suspiciously, Perseus walked to the water's edge. Artemis followed a step behind but made no move to do anything besides watch over him. Perseus was still confused, but he was admittedly comforted by her presence.

Stopping just shy of the riverbank, he turned to face the moon goddess. He reached for her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "Milady," he said, his voice low and solemn. "Stay with me?" Perseus gently squeezed Artemis' hand.

"Forever," she nodded, giving him a reassuring smile.

Perseus returned it and focused back on the water. He clambered down into the mostly-dry riverbed until he reached the tiny stream of water at the very center. Dipping a hand into the clear liquid, he knew that once the process began, he would not move from this location again. He knew that to reverse the damage to New York would mean giving up the last of his energy and his very being. He would fade, but it was a sacrifice worth making. A shot of pain lanced through his heart as he imagined leaving Artemis forever, but one look into her silver eyes told him she held no fear or blame. Only acceptance, sadness, and a hint of pride. He was doing the right thing.

Power began to flow from his fingertips. The water glowed an ethereal blue and began to flow faster and stronger. The trickle became a steady stream, and the stream became a gushing river, until Perseus and Artemis had to move to the original riverbank to avoid being caught up in the current.

True to her word, Artemis stayed right by his side, her hand laid gently on his shoulder. However, her eyes watched him like a hawk, seemingly waiting for something. All around them, life returned. Perseus didn't have time to ponder her odd behavior as his power depleted further. The soil fully darkened, trees and plants began to grow, and in the distance, the toppled buildings of New York City even started to reassemble themselves.

Everything was only half-way restored, yet Perseus' power was almost completely gone. He knew from experience that his life force would go next. He felt an instinctive panic rise in him as he fell to his knees. His feet rooted themselves into the ground, forming the beginnings of tree roots. His subconscious tried to bottle up the flow of energy, while his conscious mind encouraged the flow.

Try as he might to resist his self preservation instincts, he couldn't help but falter momentarily. It seemed that was the opening Artemis had been looking for. Grasping his free hand with her own, Artemis channeled her own power to him. The river's blue glow gained a sheen of silver. Life returned to the land with renewed vigor. The sounds of wildlife returned to the forest. Perseus' head whipped up in panic, and he tried to pull away from her. Artemis responded by wrapping her arms around him tightly, continuing to channel her power to him without pause.

"Artemis, no! What are you doing?" Perseus choked out, trying and failing to pull away from her.

"I have a choice too, you know," was her simple response.

"I can't let you do this," Perseus gritted his teeth, trying to block off the flow of Artemis' powers into his core.

Sensing this, Artemis fixed him with a stern look, "This is my choice."

"But-"

"But nothing," Artemis said firmly. Seeing the desperation in Perseus' eyes, she softened. She moved one of her hands to cup his jaw and soothingly traced his cheekbone with her thumb. "Like I promised, you're stuck with me forever."

Perseus snorted dryly, "This is so not what I thought you meant." Artemis merely smiled. They fell into a peaceful silence once more before Perseus chuckled, "You planned this, didn't you? No wonder you didn't put up much of a fight earlier. Gods, I love you."

Artemis laughed, and so did Perseus, as they held each other close, channeling and magnifying each other's powers back to the earth. They were both starting to feel the drain on their energy at this point. "I love you," Perseus reiterated in all seriousness.

"I know," she smiled, "I love you too." She kissed him as her power fell to a dangerous low. Dark spots were starting to dance across both gods' visions, forcing them to lie down. They rested there on the riverbank, peering up at the night sky, hands still firmly intertwined.

"You can see Zoe from here," Perseus murmured, his eyes fixed on their old friend's constellation.

Above them, the canopy of the forest drew closer and closer together. The trees were returning to their original states. As the last of Artemis' power left her and darkness claimed them both, the forest canopy extended to its original position, blocking most of the night sky from view. Just one window remained in the leaves, through which a part of the Huntress' constellation glittered brightly. However, even that gap was filled a moment later.

A refreshing breeze blew across the treetops, causing the tree branches to wave happily down at the forest floor. The glow of the river died out. All was peaceful once more.

At first glance, the forest was exactly as it had been before the battle. However, a trained eye would notice how the trees stood taller, the flowers shone brighter, the river was clearer, and the voices of the animals called louder.

That same trained eye would also notice an intriguing new addition to the fertile riverbanks. On the very spot occupied by the two gods moments before stood two magnificent river birches. Their branches spread tall and wide, and the bark on their trunks curled beautifully.

Yet their most intriguing features were their roots, which wound between their two tree trunks and intertwined in an infinite tangle. The moon goddess and the god of destruction were together once more. And so they would remain until the call of the Moirai bade them wake again.

They were happy.