The Minotaur bore down upon Percy, hundreds of pounds of pure muscle and killing intent. Percy felt something snap and and heard a thunderous crack before an intense pain filled his head. He screamed, barely registering being thrown several meters, a thousand needles striking his neck. It was an agony beyond anything he'd ever felt before, and, with a horrifying feeling of dread, Percy realized that he was dying.
The pain had almost become too much now; he was struggling to stay awake as he watched the Minotaur saunter almost lazily toward him. He tried to summon the infinite rage he'd felt when he watched it crush his mother, but his muscles failed him.
He was broken. His spine was probably crushed, as was half his ribcage. His heart thumped faster, struggling to make up for the blood loss. The pain rose up like a tidal wave and threatened to overwhelm him. And still the monster drew closer…
Sorry, mother. I've failed you.
Percy struggled against the darkness for what felt like an eternity longer before his mind, like his body, snapped. He closed his eyes as nothingness took him.
The world faded to white.
"Percy?"
He opened his eyes. His surroundings where an endless ocean of white. Light mists filled the air, obscuring everything beyond a few feet. A man stepped through the haze.
Instantly, Percy felt an overwhelming sense of terror. This man radiated strength, a kind of strength that felt ambient and palpable.
"Hello, Percy. I am Prometheus, the Titan of Forethought." the man said.
"Am I dead?" Percy whispered.
"Yes and no." Prometheus replied cryptically. "It all depends on your decision."
He offered his hand.
"Join me." he said simply.
Percy frowned. "What?"
"I can help you, Percy. If you join me, you shall live to see another day- and perhaps save your mother."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll die." Prometheus said. "Your injuries are too great for a mortal to sustain."
Percy scowled. "You're not giving me an option, then."
"There is always an option." Prometheus replied. "Death isn't such a bad thing."
Then something hit Percy.
"By join you, do you mean join the Titans?" he asked. He recalled Mr. Brunner's lecture on the Titan Wars- one of the only lessons he'd had any interest in. "I'd sooner die!"
"And abandon your mother?" Prometheus replied. "The Titans and the Gods are not inherently good or evil. There is no such thing; nothing is so simple as that. The information you have been taught are records created by the Gods- history is always written by the victors."
He spat the latter sentence with forceful bitterness.
Percy looked conflicted. A part of him somehow believed what Prometheus said.
"Choose quickly, child. Time is running out." Prometheus urged.
"Fine. I'll join you." Percy said resignedly. "If only for my mother."
The world suddenly shifted to black. Rain beat down upon his face, and then receded to nothing. Percy opened his eyes. He was lying on a hill, in the same position, the Minotaur looming above him.
Somehow, however, he felt no fear.
There was a new energy in his mind. A warmth in his chest that spread to his limbs and his entire body.
He tapped upon it, and the world shifted.
Time slowed. He looked up, and he could see a strange, ghostly image of the Minotaur thrusting its battleaxe to the ground in a wide arc. Percy moved to the side at a leisurely speed, avoiding the ghost-thrust. A second later, the blade embedded itself in the dirt- exactly where Percy had been just a second before.
The Minotaur's eyes widened in alarm as Percy leapt through the air, avoiding the path of a ghostly fist. A second later, the Minotaur's physical fist ripped through the preimage, missing Percy by several feet. He landed on the monster's head.
Look deeper. a voice urged. Every action has its consequence. Percy closed his eyes and flared his energy.
A dozen images of himself appeared, translucent, each in a slightly different position. A dozen ghostly minotaurs appeared beside his ghostly doppelgangers, each rearing in pain. One, however, was bent upon its knees, blood all over its face. A specific nerve cluster on its forehead had been ruptured.
Percy struck the minotaur at that specific spot with all of his might. Blood instantly burst from the creature and it fell to its knees, roaring in agony.
Sharp pain rippled across his temple, and Percy instantly knew that he had overextended himself. Maintaining view in the future realm for extended periods of time evidently cost a great deal of energy, and Percy'd exhausted all of his strength.
He collapsed to the ground. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a group of teenagers standing above him, muttering and whispering and pointing.