Nico: Bringing the souls of the dead to life for one last fight and the "aftershocks"
Before we even had to go on another patrol, Gabriel announced that it was time to bring back the souls of the dead. "Our army awaits our next orders, it is best that we not keep them waiting any longer than they already have," Gabriel said. Quickly, we examined that Orthys was protected by revived Persian soldiers from the Greco-Persian wars then I formulated a means of countering them.
I decided to conjure the Greeks who had defeated them combined with the armies of those who had been conquered by them in years preceding the Greco-Persian wars. An army like that with vengeance in the cold empty spaces that used to be in most of their hearts was an army not to be taken lightly. I smiled because I realized that Erebus' blessing had made me much stronger than I normally would have been and I wanted to test the enhancement of my powers for this assignment. "Give me some space, I don't think they're going to be coming out with a good mood on them," I said.
Gabriel pushed Thalia and Percy back then backed up with them, wisely heeding my warning. "Hey Nico!" Gabriel called before I started with the spell. I turned to him and asked him what he wanted to say. "You have the powers of two gods in you, use their powers well and use them plenty," he said.
I nodded to implicate that I understood what he meant and thanked him for the advice. Knowing what to do in order to use Erebus powers effectively and with great efficiency, I plunged my sword almost all the way into the ground and made sure that my palms were safe from any light while they did their work. "Souls of Hades, souls of the ancient times," I began.
"Move it people, move it. This is some serious crap if it's done right!" Gabriel exclaimed. "How many souls would he be reviving if he succeeds?" Thalia asked. "Let me put it in these terms: they'll outnumber the Persian souls by nearly two times as many," Gabriel answered.
That was the last thing I heard before I continued with the spell. "Souls whose lives were ended by Persian blades, souls who fought against them even when there was no hope! I command thee to stand with the Grecians who defeated them and obtain the retribution you rightfully deserve," I chanted. Then I fell into a trance and chants of Ancient Greek came uttering from my mouth as though I were fluent in the language.
I felt the souls course through me and I even heard some of the souls of the commanding officers swear their allegiance to me and anyone of my friends immediately present. "Swear allegiance to me, Perseus Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Gabriel Johnson for the duration of your temporary return to Earth," I replied to them. They did in the mutually Greek custom of swearing on the River Styx to take commands only from the four of us as long as they were on Earth. Then I commanded them to rise from the Earth and take the vengeance they rightfully deserved against the Persians who had made them suffer a blow to their honor while they were alive.
First came the victims that had fallen to Persian blades before anyone else. Then came those who went after them and also died before their nations were conquered by the Persians. Finally, the last of the nations that had been conquered by Persia came and the beginning of the Grecian line of warriors was underway. Figures like Leonidas (who stood against the Persians at the Thermopylae pass) and Alexander the Great (who had struck the blow that destroyed the Persians, by the way) saluted me.
All of them in the order I had mentioned came surging through my body and took a firm, upright stance for the first time since they had died. Gabriel laid out the strategy for them as they arrived and I just continued to have souls fly through my body from my sword. The most frightening thing about this was that I saw all of this happening while I was continuing with the ceremony that would bring hundreds of thousands of souls back to life once finished. When at last, the Grecian warriors began coming from the Underworld, Gabriel told them that until they at least made it into Mount Orthys they were under Thalia's command.
As for me and this whole operation of bringing souls back from the dead? I felt like my own life was fading away from me fast but not that as much as my consciousness. In the case of my consciousness, I felt like I could sleep for days or even a couple of weeks since my need for recovery would be that bad. Be careful Nico, you almost sent yourself into a two-month coma doing that I heard the voice of my father say.
What's the worst I'm going to suffer from this? I know that I'm gonna be physically suffering from this I asked him. The worst you're going to take in is a three-week period of sleep that's consecutive. And trust me, you'll wake up with the desire to eat more than you've ever eaten in your whole life, which would be good for you after a three week sleep he answered.
You've done this sort of thing before? I inquired. Let's just say that I was lucky I was a god and therefore have little if any understanding of what it's like for you he assured me. I smiled and even chuckled at that happy little note from the ruler of the Underworld a.k.a. my father. Then I fell into darkness, the last memories of consciousness being Gabriel picking me up and Thalia wondering for my safety.
Percy was also assuring her that I was going to be fine and that I was going to recover from it. "Welcome to the world between death and life where all those who have been rendered unconscious go," said a god I had never met before. "Who are you?" I asked. "I'm Hypnos, god of sleep and I will be your host while you are in my domain," the god answered.
"What about my friends, will they be needing me anytime soon?" I inquired. I had to make sure my friends would be all right without me for the few weeks I would be knocked out. "Thanks to your temporary loss of consciousness, they will not only be fine but will also have the manpower to overrun Orthys in a maximum time of two days and a minimum of not half that," Hypnos assured me. "You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?" I asked.
"Hmm, you might have seen me in your sleep before Morpheus entered to grant you dreams. Unless you also saw my half-brother Thanatos, he tends to rub off some of his more-deathly-traits on me," Hypnos explained. I thought about that name for a moment because it also sounded familiar then it occurred to me. Thanatos was the god of death itself and related to Hypnos through their mother Nyx, goddess of the night.
"Do not worry, my half-brother has no power here unless I consent to him having power but even then it is very temporary. You will be safe for the duration of your stay in my domain," Hypnos told me. That was one less thing I had to worry about in all the things I had to worry about. Still I wonder if getting back to the conscious world was going to be an easy ordeal or if it was going to be very painful.