Percy's POV
I awoke with a start hearing the howl of a wolf and it was quickly followed by more indicating that the wolf was not alone. I hopped down from the tree that I had been sleeping in quickly thanking the Dryad that had protected me from the gods for the night. I went into a cave that I noticed close by and sensed a river flowing quickly under the ground. I hopped that I could avoid the ones that were clearing hunting me down but it would not be easy.
As I made my way down into the cave I heard the howls drawing closer quickly followed by a yelps of surprise. I instinctively ducked down as I felt something coming at me. My instincts were correct as usual in that I saw a bronze and steel blade sheath itself into the wall in place of my back. It was my old friend the Jackson seeker missile of a sword. The blade imbedded in the wall started shaking as though it was binging pulled free of the wall. My peoblems were only multipling as I heard my persuers speak to eachother. "My Lady what was that?" One of the hunters asked the goddess that lead the silver clad girls.
Her reply came as no shock to me at all. "I believe that was a self propelled sword and I want to know if it was the same one your brother was telling the council about. If it is then our hunt may finally come to an end for our target will be in that cave." Artemis explained to her hunter who was clearly Thalia daughter of Zeus and my cousin. Great the hunters are still looking for me after all this time.
I started making my way back into the cave going as deep as possible. Even as I went deeper I knew that I had to get to the water which I have been avoiding this whole time that I have been gone. If I did not get to the water then I would be captured by the hunters. I rounded a bend as arrows slammed into the wall that had been behind me if I had not swung the corner then I would have been shot through the head. In one of my moments of insanity I poked my head back around the corner. "Are you crazy? You could have killed me." I yelled at the hunters in frustration as I patted the top of my head before I remembered the situation and took off back down the cave which based on the tracks on the floor this was an abbandoned mine. I kept low and was running as fast as I could sprint toward the water source that I felt to be at the bottom of the mine.
It did not take long for the girls to come to their senses. "Bring me that boy alive, now!" Artemis screamed getting her girls in gear as well as causing a stalactite to fall landing beside me. She was going to try and take pleasure in killing me herself, but I had a slight reprieve from the girls as they squealled in fright. The stupid sword must have pulled free from the wall and be coming for me once again. I skidded around anther corner kicking up more dust as I pushed myself even harder than before with my trademark lopsided grin adorning my face. I felt the flow of the river below me and went towards the pull of the water since everything from the water must return to the water eventually. Staying close to the walls and the switchbacking of the tunnel were the only things keeping me ahead of the hunters and the Jackson seeker as I was refering to it now.
If it was not for the fact that there was only one path I might have been able to get away from the hunters with all the twist and turns. I would have never found my way out of here if there had been more than one path. The hunters would have been able to follow me at a leisurely pace if they so desired, but by the sound of their footsteps refusing to grow fainter they must have wanted to catch me quickly even before the sword we all had to keep dodging. The annoying part about it was I recognized the dual metal blade but I could not place it. I knew I was a dead man if those girls caught up to me. The only warnings I had of the approaching blade were the girls screams luckily for me and them we all continued to dodge the attacks from the sword. I heard my pursuers drop to the ground and scream. I dropped to the ground feeling a dropoff with my fingertips and knew in my heart that the river was down the hole. The blade skimmed over my head cutting some of my hair. I climbed up and looked down the hole. I noticed the blade was quivering trying to pull itself free from the wall again. The blade pulled free and cut the other side of my hair as a wolf grabbed my leg tackling me towards the hole. I felt the fangs squeezing into my leg as I gripped the edge of the hole. I knew two things at that moment. First was that if I dropped down I would plummet to the river and the wolf would die. The second was that if I saved the wolf by pulling myself up I would be caught or stabbed by the cursed blade I recoginized and remembered finally the cursed blade of my grandfather was after me. Neither option sounded appealing to me but I knew what I would do even though it was dangerous and most definitely stupid.
I tapped into my powers as a child of Poseidon feeling the tug in my gut as I pulled both the wolf and myself up the water pushed us up onto the ledge with the hunters and their goddess. I was mostly over the edge and started dragging the wolf towards the fall with me. Thalia grabbing the wolf slowed out decent and inadvertently caused the wolf to loosen its hold on me. I took advantage of the situation I twisted and kicked out with my free leg hitting the wolf on the snout and my leg was released. I only fell a few inches before my leg was captured in an iron grip that I knew belonged to the goddess of the hunt. The iron grip did not stop my fall only slowed it down momentarily. We picked up speed after a moment of being slowed momentarily, but the searing pain from the grip on my ankle told me the little twelve year old goddess was following me down the hole.
A glance over my shoulder told me that she was indeed following me down towards my father's domain all be it that is not exactly true rivers were influenced by us like all water but it was not the oceans so I had a little time before we reached our death. I did not feel comforted as I saw the blade meant to sever a soul from one's body. My grandfather's blade was finally coming to claim my soul. Time started to come to a crawl, which was starting to piss me off to no end, as I reached up and pulled her up to my chest with my leg curled up between us and spun us around so my back was to the blade which was surprisingly easy. I felt a tug again in my gut as the water rose up and formed a slide made of ice for us to slide on. "After all these years I have you in my grasp Perseus Jackson you will not escape me again." Artemis said in a dangerous voice.
I fought to focus and to remain conscious. I swung around and hit the slide hard but not hard enough to make me lose control. "And you a child of Zeus are rapidly approaching the domain of his brother Poseidon." I spat causing the goddess to tense far more than I expected considering that she was by far his favorite niece. As we slid down the slide I watched the blade sink into the ice. I used my powers to wrap the sword in ice. I felt the drain on my powers instantly and knew that the blade would be free from its prison shortly. Once we were on the river we floating and I was fading fast. We were floating down the shallow river rapidly. She released my leg and grabbed my shirt. She seemed to be paralyzed with fear. My instincts took over and I steered us down the river avoiding the rocks if only just. I heard something that let me know things would get better or worse depending on your point of view. A roaring of a waterfall was coming up and the tunnel was rapidly lightening. "Artemis I need you to let go of my shirt." I said to her which her reply was a silent shake of her head.
I knew what I needed to do because the inevitable was clear and I did not like what it meant for me. The blade was rapidly approaching my as my ice finally gave way. I pulled my shirt up over my head. The goddess never stirred from her petrified position. I quickly grabbed her arms as we exited the tunnel and were about to go over the falls. I threw her to the shore just before I tumbled over the waterfall. I knew what was going to happen next and feared it would hurt. I went over the falls to spent and tired of fighting to resist my fate any longer. I saw the blade follow me over the waterfall and knew it was time. I closed my eyes and spread my arms wide waiting for the cursed blade to take me. I felt the blade slam into me and it was followed by excruciating pain. It was worse than being dipped in the Styx. It felt as though my body was being burned from the inside out. The pain was indiscernible it felt as though my whole being was disintegrating from the inside out. I could not move even when I hit the water I felt so much pain that there was nothing I could do to ease the pain.
I knew this day would come and I would suffer from the time the fates had shown me the vision following the defeat of Gaia. I had no hope left now the blade will turn me into a monster and that is all my life would ever amount to now that I have my soul reaped by the cursed blade. It took a few extra years for this blade to reach its intended target but it had finally found its mark and now I would become the one hated and hunted by all the demigods alive. I wish I could fade like Chronos and Kronos the lords of time before me for in that instant that the blade sunk into my chest I knew where Gaia got it from. She took this blade from its original master. This blade was made from two metals and always purified in the blood of its master, the current lord of time.
Chronos was the first one the primordial of time and he stayed as an observer watching the flow of time and keeping it from going out of control unlike his successor. When Kronos was born Chronos started to fade and as the new lord over time grew. Gaia took the scythe from her brother and cut her son with it after she chopped up her brother to ensure her son's rise to power. The main reason that Kronos feared the gods being born was that he did not want to lose his power for as I was learning now that I was the new bearer of the cursed blade for that is what it truly was a blade cursed to be bound to one immortal at a time and force its previous owner to fade once its new owner emerged. Since Kronos was dust he could not stop the blade from seeking me out and no one alive knew the true curse of the blade since the former titan lord was secretive about his weakness and greatest fear. Now it was my burden to bear that was the only thought that went through my head as my mind was overwhelmed with the pain from the change that was happening to me and I passed into immortality and lost touch with my consciousness for the final time of my existence.
