Chapter 22

Greetings readers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the last chapter! Firstly, I would like to thank the two guests, John and Perlypsofan for your continued support!

In reference to Prapann's review, I thank you for extending your support but to be honest, I don't feel that this story is underrated. The constant support and motivation from all of you really makes my day. So thank you for your support!

I want thank Ryan for your continued support! I am glad that you liked the emotional depth in the previous chapter. Thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank sanyigo45 for your supportive review. You my friend have asked a question that I wanted to expound on in the footnote. While I will not be writing an alternate scenario after this story, I will include an alternate scenario sequence in an arc. I don't know if that arc will fall in this story, the one after this or the final one. Thank you for your support!

I would like to thank ItsYaBoi325 for your motivating review. I hope you like this chapter as well. Thank you for your continued support!

In reference to RageSage's review, this chapter and the previous one was just as heart wrenching for me as it was for you. But for the sake of character development, I had to include this arc. Thank you for your continued support!

In reference to Hippie Painter's review, I know that the previous chapter was a very gut-wrenching and that is what I wanted it to be. I am glad that you liked it. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to BookOwl19's review, I am glad that you liked the previous chapter. I also sincerely thank you for coming forward and sharing your story with us. When you told me that this story connected with your life, I actually teared up a bit. I mean as an author, that's my dream and I am really happy that you could draw a parallel with your own life after reading this story. Thank you for your support!

In response to ShadowThanatos' review, I am glad that you liked the justification for Calypso's punishment. One of the reviews for the nineteenth chapter had told me that it was unfair to Calypso to do this to her without any explanation and that's the reason I included that bit. Of course, now that I have made fate karmic, I have a lot of surprises in tow :) Thank you for your continued support!

In reference to JoJo Jesus' review, I am glad that you liked the previous chapter. First of, let me just say that I am really excited about your questions. Answering your first question, yes, this will be final arc of this story. For your second question, yes, Calypso will return but it will not be in this story, it will probably be in the next or the final one. I actually liked your third question so much that I have written a part of this chapter to answer that question :) Thank you for your continued support!

In reference to IceFire99's review, I am glad that you liked the amicable end of Percy's relationship with Calypso. I did that because I felt a harsher ending would spoil the growth and be a black dot in Percy's character development. This chapter as well as the next one contains a few Percy X Athena moments so I hope you like that. I know that the my speed of updating has reduced so I am trying my best to dish out chapters faster but there's a lot going on and also, I want to maintain the quality of my updates. Nevertheless, I will try my best to update faster! Thank you for your continued support!

All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.

Percy was gazing at the sea with Calypso sitting next to him. The past two weeks with her had been wonderful. It had given him some much needed closure as well as a great amount of happiness. He had not trained for the entirety of these two weeks and in all honesty, he had never expected it to be so satisfying.

Instead, he had spent all his time with Calypso and had thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Even though he had stayed in Ogygia for two years, the background of the war had always been nagging him. Due to that reason, he had never completely stopped training and had even amped it up after his nightmare. But in the past two weeks, he had stubbornly refused to even think about the war and admittedly, that had been a very good decision.

Now, he had a newfound respect for the simple life of mortals. Free of conflict and free of divine politics, this was the life that had given him a sense of content. Alas, like all other good things, it had to come to an end.

Tomorrow, he would have to leave Ogygia forever and he was still unsure about his decision. While he had accepted his duty, he still had reservations about letting go of Calypso forever. His thoughts were interrupted by Calypso's voice.

"Still thinking about tomorrow?" Calypso questioned him with a knowing look in her eyes.

"I can't seem to hide anything from you, can I?" Percy replied with amusement evident in his eyes

"That's only because you wear your emotions on your sleeve Percy." Calypso teasingly stated before her face turned serious.

"I thought we had agreed not to think about what happens tomorrow." Calypso gently chastised.

"I know Calypso. But I couldn't help it. Honestly, I don't even know if I am making the right decision." Percy revealed.

"Percy, what does your heart tell you?" Calypso intensely questioned. Percy didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes in an attempt to follow Calypso's advice.

"It tells me that I have to do this even if I don't want to." Percy replied with a quiet voice.

"Percy, these two years have been a gift. A much-deserved reprieve. So instead of worrying, you should be happy that you had time to achieve some closure." Calypso stated.

Percy just stayed silent as he thought about Calypso's statement. She was right. This had only been a gift. Worrying about this any further would do him no good. He had to do what he had to do. Percy got up and extended his hand to Calypso.

"Shall we milady?" Percy light heartedly questioned with a dazzling smile on his face.

Calypso shook her head with a resigned smile but nevertheless, she took his hand. Hand in hand, the two of them walked towards their bedroom together for the last time.

Percy was anxious. He had been mentally preparing himself for this ordeal for two weeks yet, his limbs felt weak and they were shivering. He had been loading supplies onto the raft and Calypso had provided enough food to feed a small army for a while.

According to her, the journey from Ogygia to the mortal plane would take a few days and she had also ordered him to not get off the raft until he reached his destination. After he loaded the final batch of supplies, he turned around to see Calypso and another pang of guilt struck when he sensed the sadness radiating from her aura.

However, Calypso seemed to be hiding something behind her. A moment later, she brought it out and he laid his eyes on the most beautiful flower the he had ever seen.

"Moonlace." Percy quietly whispered.

"Plant this in your mother's garden as something to remember me by." Calypso softly requested before handing over the pot to him. Percy nodded at her with a sincere smile before his face turned morose.

"I am sorry for doing this to you, Calypso." Percy apologized for the final time.

"It's fine Percy. I will find a way to survive. You are the one who can't afford to have any regrets." Calypso replied with a watery smile.

"I swear on the River Styx that-" Percy started with a determined glint in his eyes before Calypso cut him off by pulling him into a final, passionate kiss. When they parted, Percy could see the sorrow-filled acceptance in her eyes.

"Please Percy. I love you too much not to be filled with hope by such a promise. Please, don't make another promise that you cannot keep. That will make it impossible for both of us to move on." Calypso stated with glistening eyes.

"But Calypso-" Percy tried to argue but for the second time, he was cut off.

"There is no other choice Percy. If you are leaving, you have to move on. Promise me Percy. Promise me that you will move on with your life and not let this affect you. Promise me that you will not go back to the cold, ruthless warrior that you were. " Calypso pressured.

No matter how much Percy wanted to defy this request, he could not. He had already caused her too much pain. She was right, he had to move on, at least for her sake. One day, she would meet someone who would be able to give her the life she deserved and he did not want to come in the way of her happiness.

"I promise you that I will move on with my life Calypso and I will not let this progress in my morality be undone. This I swear on my honour." Percy promised with a hollow voice.

Calypso responded by pulling him into a deep embrace and when her characteristic scent of cinnamon reached him, his heart clenched in despair as he realised that this would be the last time he ever embraced her. They stayed there for a long time before Calypso finally pulled away from him.

"Goodbye Percy. I love you." Calypso stated with a sad smile.

"Goodbye Calypso. I love you too." Percy stated with a broken smile before he boarded the raft.

Once Percy was comfortably seated on the raft, with a flick of Calypso's hand, the raft lurched forward and starting accelerating. She waved at him and after a few minutes, only a small silhouette could be seen on the horizon and that was when the dam broke.

Calypso fell to her knees as the tears freely flowed from her eyes as she let out heart-breaking sobs. Instantly, she felt someone warmly wrap their hands around her.

"Don't worry my dear. I am here for you." Calypso heard the soothing voice of her aunt and she immediately burrowed deeper into the embrace.

Selene gently stroked the caramel hair of the young Titaness in an attempt to comfort her. Little did they know that a few leagues away, even Percy was going through a similar situation.

The moment Calypso had fallen to her knees, Percy's enhanced hearing had picked up her gut-wrenching sobs. But going against every instinct in his body, he had refused to turn back and comfort her. He knew that if he turned back now, his love for her would not allow him to leave her again. And once again, he had chosen the path of despair and heartbreak. With these painful thoughts, Percy closed his eyes to try and keep his emotions in check

Poseidon was in a deep depression. It had been six months since his son had disappeared and he, along with the entire divine world, had searched everywhere for him but their search had proved fruitless.

Initially, he had been furious with Hades for letting Percy fight a gigas on his own and he had almost attacked his brother. Thankfully, his sisters had managed to talk him out of making any rash decisions.

It also helped that Hades seemed to be truly apologetic and had used all the resources at his disposal in their search for Percy. Even though his brother had confirmed that Percy was still alive, he was still depressed by Percy's disappearance.

He was extremely frustrated with himself. For the second time in the war, Percy had asked his help and for the second time, he had failed his son. It was as though Percy had disappeared from the face of the Earth after that fateful battle. To make matters worse, even the situation in the divine world had steadily worsened.

In the middle of their search for Percy, Athena's bane had managed to stealthily escape to the land beyond the gods and it seemed that his huge army of monsters had followed him. As icing on the cake, Gaia had unleashed thousands of malignant wind, mountain, nature and water spirits into the world.

Due to this, Olympus and even Atlantis to a certain extent, were constantly under attack. Currently, he was in middle of another council meeting, Hermes' voice breaking him out of his thoughts.

"There has to be another way to fend off these spirits. All of us have been constantly fighting hundreds of them every other week and it's weighing upon us." Hermes stated with a tired voice.

"There is no other way to fend them off, nephew. We have tried convincing the minor gods to join us in this fight but most of them have rebuffed all our offers. They are so afraid of the Earth Mother that it's a miracle that they are not supporting her. We have no option other than personally engaging these spirits ourselves." Hestia solemnly stated.

"I thought that some of the minor gods had agreed to join the war on our side. Why are they backing out now?" Apollo questioned.

"Apollo, that was before Percy went missing. His victorious battles had convinced a lot of them that if they fought the war on our side, they would be fighting on the winning side. But now that he has disappeared, the rumours are rife that he has deserted us. With great difficulty and only with the help of our mother, did we manage to convince them to not join the Earth Mother's forces." Demeter stated with a worried voice.

"Perseus would never desert us. If he has disappeared, it is only because his battle with Hades' bane and the sleeping Earth Mother must have caused him extensive damage." Athena defended and surprisingly, all of the other gods in the throne room nodded in agreement. By now, all of them had gained a certain amount of respect for Percy.

"But what about Ares? In our bid to defend Olympus, we have let Athena's bane escape to the land beyond the gods with Ares. Shouldn't we assemble another strike team to hunt the gigas and free Ares?" Aphrodite asked.

"Except gods and Perseus, no one has the capacity to single-handedly defeat an army of monsters. The strength of even our strongest half-brother is not comparable to Perseus' raw power and divine attributes. Most of all, no one possesses the same sort of invulnerability that he does. I have extensively strategized an assault on the forces of my bane and none of them can be conducted without Perseus. Even worse, if we try mounting a half-hearted assault, one of us could end up getting captured." Athena explained.

"Athena is right. We cannot afford to let anyone else be captured. That is the only thing that is preventing the Earth Mother from waking up. Until then, we will deal with the threat of these spirits." Zeus declared in a weary voice before turning to his wife and sisters.

"Have you asked Pan to try and pacify the nature spirits?" Zeus questioned.

"We did ask Pan but he failed since they are being birthed by the Earth Mother herself. These spirits are not like the other regular spirits, their only goal is to attack us. Reasoning with them is futile." Hera stated.

"Olympus' defences are not equipped to deal with wind, mountain and nature spirits. Even Hecate's enchanted protective wards are unable to detect and stop them. Also, the mountain and other nature spirits are riding on the wind spirits to reach Olympus and are then using our own surroundings to attack the city. We need to find a solution to this as we will not be able to fight a two-front war." Artemis stated.

"Yes, clusters of wayward water spirits are occasionally attacking even Atlantis. We have let this problem simmer for six months. It's high time that we find a more efficient way to deal with these spirits." Poseidon declared and the rest of the gods agreed with him.

Everyone was in deep thought when suddenly, Poseidon shot up from his throne with a sudden smile of pure joy on his face.

"Percy is back." Poseidon declared with a wide grin before disappearing in a blue mist leaving behind a set of speechless and shocked gods.

Amphitrite had been discussing the repeated attacks of the water spirits with Triton and the Mermen generals in the Atlantean throne room when suddenly, Percy materialised in the middle of the throne room.

For a moment, the entire room was filled with shocked silence before Amphitrite abruptly dashed forward and hugged Percy. A second later, Triton followed his mother's lead and hugged his brother and after that, Poseidon materialised in a blue mist before immediately joining the group hug.

"I may be invulnerable but, three major gods hugging me with bone-crushing divine strength is pushing it even for me." Percy rasped out. Instantly, his family members pulled away with sheepish expressions on their faces. However, his mother's face turned serious as she reached and angrily twisted his right ear.

"Oww mother! In case you forgot, I am invulnerable, not invincible." Percy sarcastically retorted.

"That is for disappearing for six months young man! Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Amphitrite chastised. Behind Percy, Poseidon signalled the generals to leave and a moment later, only the four of them were present in the Atlantean throne room.

"I am sorry for worrying you mother, father, brother. I was stranded on a phantom island and I had no way of contacting you." Percy apologized and then stated.

"Phantom island? Son, by any chance was this phantom island Ogygia?" Poseidon questioned.

"Yes father. I was in Ogygia for the past six months." Percy stated with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Percy, are you feeling unwell? You seem a bit tired and disoriented." Amphitrite questioned with worry.

"I am fine, mother." Percy reassured his mother before turning his attention to his father.

"Father, I assume that the situation on Olympus is grim." Percy intuitively guessed.

"That is not something that you need to worry yourself with for the time being, son. You have just come back after disappearing for six months. I will not let you go back to the front lines of this blasted war so soon." Poseidon firmly stated.

"Father, I have neither the will nor the energy to argue with you, don't worry." Percy stated with a weary sigh.

"Son, you are worrying me, this is not your usual behaviour. What happened to you on Ogygia? Did the daughter of Atlas trouble you in any way?" Poseidon asked with narrowed eyes. At the mention of Calypso, Percy closed his eyes in an effort to control his sorrow. When he opened them, instead of the characteristic vibrant sea green, his eyes were a dull emerald green.

"I have a flower to plant, father. Give me some time to gather my emotions and I will explain everything to you." Percy requested with his voice cracking towards the end before walking away from the throne room.

"Something happened. Percy's aura has never been filled with this much despair. Not even when he learnt about his true heritage." Triton declared as he observed his brother's retreating figure.

"You are right Triton. Clearly, he has experienced a lot of emotional trauma. Let us not pressurise him. We will patiently wait for him and if needed, we will comfort him." Amphitrite stated. The two of them nodded their heads in acquiescence.

(An Hour Later)

Percy finished planting the moonlace in a small, permanent air bubble and then turned around. When he turned, he saw that all three of his family members were standing a few feet away.

"Forgive us Percy. We do not intend to interrogate you. We are just concerned " Poseidon placatingly stated.

"It's fine father. After all, I owe all of you an explanation." Percy responded with a neutral expression before explaining the details of his stay at Ogygia, his relationship with Calypso and his choice to leave her. Once that was over, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to prevent the tears from falling out. In response, Amphitrite reached out and hugged her son.

"Oh Percy, I am so sorry that you had to make such an impossible choice." Amphitrite comforted while gently rubbing Percy's back. Percy stayed in in the warmth of his mother for a long time, trying to collect himself before he faced the rest of his family. Finally, after regaining control of his emotions, Percy pulled back

"Forgive me Percy. I should have never gotten you involved in this war. We instilled morals and loyalty in you to prevent you from taking a turn for the worse. Instead, they have made your life miserable by forcing compulsions upon you." Poseidon sadly stated.

"You have no fault in this father. You, mother and Triton have only been kind to me and have raised me with a great amount of love and affection. My string of fate may have been created for the purpose of restoring balance to the world but this was not a compulsion. This was a choice that I made. I made the choice to leave the woman I loved because the soldier in me would not let me desert my family. The past two years have been a learning experience and a brief but precious gift." Percy replied with a sad smile.

"Brother, you are lying to yourself and you know it. This was a compulsion. You had the opportunity to live a peaceful life and you should have taken it. Yet, you did because you knew that the gods' victory would be much harder without you." Triton abruptly stated.

"No Triton. The fates had told me that even without me fighting, the Earth Mother's victory was not assured. I made this choice because even if my presence on the battlefield will only make a small difference, I have to fight. " Percy resolutely stated.

"Another lie. You knew that if you returned, the tide of the war would turn in favour of the gods. Even if the fates told you that the Earth Mother's victory was not assured, deep down, you knew that you were essential to win this war. It may have seemed like you had a choice but in reality, that was just a façade of the fates. You had no other option. Why does it have to be you, brother? Why can't they give you a break? I don't blame you, I blame the fates for forcing this choice upon you ." Triton cursed.

"There is no merit in arguing about this any further brother. The arrow of time has already been released and the river of fate has been diverted. I have chosen to fight and that is exactly what I will do. But this time, I will not fight as a soldier. I will fight as a Prince and as the Champion of Atlantis. Now, it is time to end this war once and for all." Percy stated with a calm yet, steely determination.

The three of them were surprised. They had expected him to blow up and vehemently argue with Triton. They did not expect this reaction of mature resignation.

"Father, my duty is my only remaining solace. If I don't fight this war, all the sacrifices that Calypso and I have made will be futile. I have to go to Olympus. I need to go to Olympus." Percy desperately requested.

"Alright son. I will not stand in your way if this is what you really want. However, before we go to Olympus, I want you to promise something to me. You have to promise me that you will not engage any gigantes alone. Any expedition or mission you conduct has to be with a god. Be it on land or in the sea. I have failed as a father more than once and I am not going to let that happen again." Poseidon declared with a hint of guilt seeping into his voice.

"I have no desire to die father. If I die, all the pain and heartbreak that I have caused to Calypso will go in vain. At least for her sake, I have to live. Now father, I believe we have a council meeting to attend." Percy stated with a weary smile.

"Son, you just came back. Even though you seem perfectly fine, are you sure that you don't require any rest?" Poseidon asked with fatherly concern

"Don't worry about me father. I have rested for two years. I am more than ready for any challenge that comes in my way." Percy confidently stated. Poseidon nodded at his son before grabbing his shoulder, vanishing together in a blue mist.

Pride and happiness shone brightly in Amphitrite's eyes at Percy's statement. It seemed that she owed Calypso for bringing her son out of his fatal flaw. Finally, he had broken free from the shackles of being a simple soldier and had found a reason to stubbornly hold on to his life.

Unfortunately, this lesson had been taught to him in an excruciating way but eventually, he would move on. At least that's what she hoped. She would not let Calypso's heartbreak and Percy's sacrifice go in vain. Percy would get the life he deserved.

The moment after Poseidon left the throne room was a very chaotic one. Everyone had started shouting, had started asking questions and were arguing about their next strategy.

This noisy conundrum continued for an hour. But, when Percy arrived along with his father, the entire throne room went silent as all the gods stared at him with a mixture of awe, respect, affection and a small amount of fear. Apollo was the first to break out of his stupor.

"Okay I need to know something. Is this going to become a habit? You pull off an impossible feat, get injured, disappear for a few months, and then like a badass, you reappear when least expected?" Apollo stated in exasperation.

"Good to see you too, Apollo." Percy chuckled and replied.

"Cuz, where have you been for these past six months?" Hermes was the next to question. As if a flip had been switched, Percy's face lost its mirth and darkened.

"I was stranded on Ogygia with no way to contact you and the raft which had to bring me back to the mortal plane did not appear for six months." Percy answered in a low voice without revealing too many details.

"Let's push that topic aside. What is the state of affairs?" Percy brushed aside and then questioned.

"The situation is grim. We have been forced to defend Olympus due to which, we have not been able to mount any assault on the enemy forces." Athena answered with a sigh before explaining their bleak situation to Percy.

Percy stroked his chin as he absorbed this piece of information and attempted to reach an effective solution. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realisation as a plan struck him.

"What if we fortify Olympus with a defensive weapons system that automatically attacks these spirits?" Percy questioned Athena. She stayed silent for a moment as she processed this proposition. A moment later, an identical flash of realisation dawned on her.

"Are you suggesting that we build a guided weapons system which can launch projectiles at a specific set of targets?" Athena asked.

"Exactly. But instead of just firing a plain projectile, we can design it to be aerodynamic, guided with surgical precision and be self-propelling as well as be manoeuvrable." Percy announced with a small smirk.

"I assume that this will also contain an explosive payload encased in a metal rather than being a plain projectile." Athena stated with an identical smirk.

"Of course. Where is the fun in launching a mundane lump of metal?" Percy rhetorically questioned.

"Both of you are going to have to backtrack. You lost me at the first sentence." Apollo stated with confusion.

"Apollo, we want to build an automated, self-propellant, aerodynamically encased payload which can cause damage to our targets with extreme precision." Athena tried to explain but Apollo just owlishly blinked at her.

"Athena, Perseus, both of you need to explain this in simpler terms." Zeus stated with a tinge of annoyance.

"Lord Zeus, we want to build a system that, upon detecting a threat, launches a bomb that can fly on its own and strike the target." Percy explained. This simpler explanation was enough for the rest of the gods to understand what Percy and Athena were proposing.

"Nephew, niece, each assault on Olympus contains thousands of these spirits they attack us every week. We will require hundreds of these bombs just for defending Olympus once. Will it be possible to produce hundreds of such sophisticated weapons on a weekly basis?" Hestia questioned.

"You are right, Aunt Hestia. With all due respect to Lord Hephaestus, producing hundreds of such bombs is an impossible task even for him. However, he is not the only master blacksmith. If my father agrees, we can enlist the help of the Elder Cyclopes. With that, we will be able to comfortably produce the required amount of these bombs on a weekly basis." Percy revealed. The whole throne room fell silent as they comprehended the sheer magnitude of this proposition.

What Percy and Athena were suggesting would permanently alter the divine landscape and unilaterally tilt the axis of this war in their favour.

"How long will it take for the two of you to design the entire system?" Zeus questioned quietly. This was the breakthrough that he had been wanting for the past six months.

Athena looked at Percy and it seemed that they were having a mental conversation. Finally, Athena broke the long silence.

"Father, at the very least, it will take us two days to design all the components of this weapons system. Also, we will need individuals of the wind, mountain, nature and water spirits to tailor the system to only attack these targets. After all, we don't want this system to wipe out all the friendly spirits present on Olympus." Athena announced.

"The spirits will probably attack in the next two days; we can capture them then." Artemis suggested.

"That will do. Once the design is complete, Hephaestus and the Elder Cyclopes can build a few prototypes within a day. If that proves to be successful, with a combined effort, we can probably install the entire system along with the bombs before the next assault." Athena ambitiously declared.

"Athena, Perseus, I want this prototype to be ready in the next three days and I want it to be tested by the end of this week. Both of you have permission to do whatever you need to do and go wherever you want to go in order to meet this deadline. Anything that you require will be immediately procured and I want everyone to co-operate with Perseus and Athena." Zeus ordered before turning his attention to Percy.

"Perseus, it is good to have you back. For your services, you will definitely be rewarded once this war is over." Zeus stated with a small smile before disappearing in a blinding flash of lightning.

"As pops said, it's good to have you back cuz. We missed you." Hermes stated.

"Cuz, one of these days, you should join us on our expeditions to the mortal world." Apollo declared with bright smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows. Before Percy could respond, Poseidon coughed from behind Percy and Apollo just rolled his eyes in response.

"Listen to Uncle Poseidon, Apollo. You already spoilt Hermes. At least spare Perseus." Artemis scolded.

"Hey! I take offense to that statement." Hermes complained. However, he quickly looked away when Artemis shot an unamused look at him. Percy chuckled at this interaction.

Most of the other Olympians gave him a few fond smiles before disappearing from the throne room but a few stayed back.

"Percy, I can sense your immense heartbreak. I am truly sorry that you had to go through that. I have erected a barrier in your mind to prevent anyone from intruding into it and reading your emotions. If you want to talk about it, you're always welcome at my palace. Stay strong Percy." Aphrodite sympathetically stated in a mental link.

"Thank you, Aphrodite. I owe you one." Percy replied while giving her a solemn look. Aphrodite gave him a sad smile before vanishing in a cloud of pink smoke.

"Son, don't strain yourself. I don't want you to overwork yourself. Remember what you have promised." Poseidon stated with concern. Percy gave his father a reassuring smile and Poseidon disappeared in a blue mist. Finally, only Percy, Athena and Hades were left in the throne room.

"Perseus I would like to have a word with you in private." Hades ordered with a pointed look directed at Athena.

"Perseus, after you have finished talking to Hades, come to my palace." Athena stated before vanishing in a grey light. Once it was only the two of them, Hades pinned Percy with an intense look.

"You did not have to defeat my bane. That was not your responsibility." Hades bluntly stated.

"You are right Lord Hades. Stopping your bane was not my responsibility. It was my choice." Percy calmly replied before continuing.

"More than two decades ago, you supported my father on his decision to raise me in Atlantis. You didn't have to do that. It was not your responsibility either. You made the choice to support him anyway. In the same way, I made the choice to fight your bane. We are family Lord Hades and family always sticks together. If we don't help our own family members, there is no difference between us and the Titans." Percy declared with a solemn expression.

"Nevertheless, Perseus, for your help, I grant you permission to freely traverse my domain and also access any resources that are found only in the Underworld." Hades announced with a pleased expression.

"That is very gracious of you, Lord Hades." Percy thanked with a slight nod of respect before disappearing in a blue mist.

Hades could not stop the small smile from breaking out on his face. Twenty-two years ago, he had made the right choice in supporting his brother and his intuition about Perseus had proven to be right.

Certainly, Perseus was a very special man. Perseus embodied all the values that the gods had when they overthrew the Titans. He was glad that there was at least one incorruptible man left in the world. With these uplifting thoughts, Hades disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

Hey guys! I have tried to use this chapter to try and give a satisfactory ending to Percy's and Calypso's relationship. The entire purpose of this arc was to try and bring about a change in Percy's character and I have tried to convey that in the middle of this chapter.

Regarding the final part of this chapter, there's a reason that I have named it the armament arc :)

I know it may seem like I am including too much technology but don't worry, I will find a way to weave it into the story. If mortals can come up with advanced technology, two people with divine intelligence can certainly come up with advanced technology. Besides, the Greeks were known for their prowess in physics so it's not too far off a stretch in my opinion. I will elaborate on this in the next chapter.

I know that it may seem Percy is moving on too fast, but I have an explanation for that which will be given in the next chapter. I have also tried to portray the positive relationships between Percy and the rest of the Olympians to make them look more like a family. The final reference that Percy makes about the Titans is to highlight the morals that he had learnt from Calypso when she shared stories of the Titans with him.

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