PROLOGUE

"Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale."

~Peter S. Beagle

Long before the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi possessed a priestess and came to be known as the Pythia, it was originally a spring that whispered the future to those who would listen.

Gaia was said to be the first goddess to possess the Oracle of Delphi. Her daughter, the Titan Phoebe, lived there and was the first to figure out how to hear the voices from the spring.

Shortly before Python stood guard to the cave that housed the Oracle, Phoebe heard the makings of a prophecy. A prophecy that professed doom to the entire world at the hands of a 'cursed hero'.

That prophecy was certainly not the last prophecy given by that Oracle, for there were many more that came after that, but it was heralded as 'The Last Prophecy' by Phoebe herself for it was the last one that she heard from the spring before its spirit passed onto a priestess of Apollo.

When she heard what the voices whispered after speaking the prophecy, when she saw the visions the Oracle intended to share with her, she never returned for fear of knowing more about the world at its end. And no matter who asked her about the events that took place in that cave that fateful morning, she never answered.

Phoebe didn't want to think about the chaos that would be unleashed if the prophecy came to be a reality. And so, the world around her went on its way, oblivious to the words that would mark the end of existence itself. It stayed buried, but as all things must, came into the light when Percy Jackson fell into Tartarus all alone.

Camp Half-Blood

Rachel Dare often wished for a simpler life. One where she didn't have to deal with being an Oracle, one where she didn't have to worry about the start of another War. She imagined it must be nice for the other mortals to wake up every morning and be afraid of a test or a presentation at the office instead of worrying about the Romans coming to attack them.

She sighed in frustration when the wind blew her red hair into her face. The smallest things had started to irritate her. It irked her that being the Oracle didn't help her see a more concrete future, or see what had happened to the seven demigods who had all gathered aboard the Argo II by then.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and rushed towards the Big House. Her crooked fingernails made her wince as she mentally noted to stop biting them. Stepping into the room, she rolled her eyes when every eye fixed upon her.

"I'm sorry I'm late. It took longer than usual to decipher what Ella was really trying to say.", she said, as she walked to the empty chair nearest to her and sat down.

Chiron nodded sympathetically at her, taking in her exhausted, sunken eyes. Cabin meetings like these with the head counsellors were conducted almost every day now, and sometimes several times a day, in light of the information that the Romans were marching towards Camp Half-Blood with the intention of waging a war.

Chiron always insisted that Rachel attend these meetings on the off-chance that any word uttered would trigger her powers of divination. Rachel almost scoffed at that thought. They were simply just repeated meetings planning ways to keep the Camp and its inhabitants safe, and Rachel was starting to feel useless.

Trying to decipher Ella's words were starting to make her head hurt. She could feel a pressure behind her eyes, constantly building. The voices of the people around her faded and her eyes widened as she felt green mist pool around her.

Flashes of images appeared in her mind, and she couldn't close her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. She was in a cavern, and even though she knew she wasn't really there, she couldn't help but feel afraid of the highly weakened structure that shifted beneath her feet.

She heard a yell and turned around, only to see Annabeth looking into a chasm, her face streaked with dirt and tears. Rachel tried calling her name and then quietened when she realised that no one could hear her. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything as she saw Nico di Angelo pull Annabeth away from the darkened chasm that she seemed to be fighting to get to.

Annabeth continued to cry and scream, and Rachel felt her own eyes well up as she understood what had happened. Percy. There was only one person whose loss could affect Annabeth this much. Rachel's hand moved to cover her mouth as she felt tears slide down her cheek.

And then she heard a soft voice in her head that pulled her back into darkness. Slowly, the colours brightened and she saw the figure of a woman sitting next to a spring, her eyes closed in concentration.

"He'll make the earth weep. He'll make the seas roar. His touch will shatter the universe, until only he remains standing."

Rachel couldn't understand what was happening. She didn't recognise the woman, and she didn't know where the voice was coming from. And suddenly, as if sensing her presence, the spirit of the Oracle spoke to her.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, speaker of the prophecies, the time has come for the Last Prophecy to be fulfilled. One final prophecy to doom us all. One final hero, one final tragedy, before we all turn into dust."

Rachel opened her mouth to ask questions. She didn't like how ominous each word she heard sounded. Never before had she heard the voice of the Oracle as separate from herself.

Rachel watched as the woman wearing white robes opened her eyes, her horrified gaze looking down upon the spring as if she couldn't believe what she'd seen and heard.

What did she see?, Rachel wanted to ask, but the Oracle sensed her question and answered.

"Something which I wish no one ever has to witness."

And then, Rachel was back in the Big House, the green mist still around her. For the first time in her life, she could feel the Oracle inside her as if it was just another part of her. For the first time, she was awake as the Oracle spoke the words of the prophecy.

Clarisse looked at her in surprise. The Stoll brothers looked on in utter shock. Chiron's hardened gaze made even Rachel wince internally. Another prophecy was the last thing anybody wanted, but she couldn't control herself as the voice of the Oracle issued the prophecy.

" The cursed hero, destined to fall,

Faces the darkness that threatens to consume us all.

Bound by birth to usurp his blood,

His jagged powers will cause the earth to flood.

Anchored to the world by a grey streak,

Chaos will be unleashed in a fit of pique. "

As she felt herself return to normal, she didn't immediately lose consciousness, unlike the countless times before. In her mind were suddenly the missing pieces of the puzzle, the pieces which she hadn't witnessed but which the Oracle wanted her to know.

Percy, she wanted to say, but her mouth felt like lead.

Percy will kill us all.

And then, Rachel descended into darkness. Her last thought just before she fell into a deep slumber, was only the recollection of the words she'd already heard.

One final prophecy to doom us all. One final hero, one final tragedy before we all turn into dust.

Author's Note: 1,308 words in the prologue, posted on 12th February, 2021. This is my first PJ series fan fiction, so please let me know what you think of the idea I'm putting forth so far in a review! The story will focus on Percy's journey through Tartarus, and will follow the journey of the Argo II as well, as ancient forces come into play that has even the Olympians afraid. I've seen that there are many stories of this sort, and I can promise you, that I know exactly how the story will go and how it will end and I've never seen those details in any other fan fiction. Also, this is not going to be a completely Dark-Percy story, more like Powerful-Percy!

Disclaimer: Characters and settings have been adopted from Rick Riordan's masterful work. Idea for the plot and the lines of the prophecy are the only things that belong to me. I make no profit from this work.

Read, review, enjoy!