Author's Note:

UPDATED ON 5th May 2023 (IST): Hello readers, It's been a way too long since I have updated and as usual I blame it on my exams nearly tiring to me death(ok, I may be exaggerating but you get the idea!). While this chapter may not have a fight as I promised(it became too long to try) it will have something that will spike your curiosity and I'd also like to than my latest readers Pathrolcus, LyraAraBlack, RaymondWard for the Love. I hope you guys like the chapter.

Chapter-7:

Third Person POV:

Chiron had seen a lot of weird things in his life but never had he imagined to watch an untrained demigod beat a legendary monster like the Manticore, if someone were to tell him something like this happened, he would simply suggest them to get some help from a psychiatrist.

But before his poor mind could form a conclusion the startled gasp of one Percy Jackson drew his attention who was coughing and spluttering, Chiron was there by his young student's side in an instant "Percy, look at me are you injured?" he asked examining his pupil to see for any injuries fortunately there were none which was another feat in itself while this went on Grover silently stood nearby trying to process what he is seeing sure he thought Percy was strong but beating The Manticore was not something even the past heroes could do, he could almost see the gears turning in Chiron's head trying to piece together a logical explanation for Percy's skill and then "(cough) Mr. Brunner wha-what the hell was that? One minute there was Dr Thorn and the next he was some weird hybrid scorpion lion, what's going on? Am I crazy?" he asked.

Percy had to admit he was really good at acting like a confused child, he thanked his quick thinking a million times for coming up with this or else his cover would have been toast and all his hard work would have been for nothing but right now he had to make sure he didn't act too much or too less but just enough to convince them, unaware of his train of thoughts Chiron took pity on the child before him he genuinely wanted to tell him the truth but the cost 'Perhaps, I could give him some information after all he deserves to know' he thought "Very well child, I will tell you what happened right now but I want you to…" "But Chiron you can't say that now" Grover practically screeched or… bleated whatever, Mr. Brunner/ Chiron shot him his best strict teacher look "Silence Child, I understand your concern but I know to give enough details to make him understand yet not put him in harm's way" he chided "Wow, Thanks guys, I'm right here anyways" Percy snarked.

Grover and Chiron managed a smile despite the dire situation "My apologies Perseus I am a little stressed out due to recent… events" he explained "What happened Mr. B…. No Mr. Chiron" cover or not he wouldn't let his favourite teacher worry over something, at this moment the stress seemed to leave the old teacher as he beamed at Percy happy that at least one of his students cared about him as much as he cared about them "I cannot say much child but the thing is my err… superiors are a little restless for a few reasons" he glanced meaningfully at Grover "But that can wait, for now I want you to answer my question, Perseus have you ever felt that the world you live in is incomplete that there's something important missing out of the frame?" he asked staring intently

"Um, I actually have felt like that but I always thought it's the ADHD" he replied as part of his cover Percy acted like he had the standard ADHD of regular demigods but he never acted like he had dyslexia because it was too dangerous and could be revealed on accident, but Chiron wasn't satisfied with this answer "That's it, nothing else?" he pressed on 'Seriously what's he expecting?...hmm alright Chiron let's see what you've got. "There's one more thing, this world we live in it… feels like an illusion like there's more to it than it seems plus sometimes it feels like everything is somehow connected to someone or something else." he finished.

The reaction was damn hilarious Chiron's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair and Grover was gawking with wide eyes after a full minute Chiron was able to get back his composure "That's an… interesting summary Perseus, you exceeded my expectations" he announced proudly "Geez man, that was deep" Grover whistled in awe "Thanks guys, now how about that hybrid guy?" he prompted "Sure child, I wish I could tell everything but now is not the time before we begin I believe you know much about the Greek Gods and Goddesses, upon seeing Percy nod he continued "Well, the thing is they are real" he said closing his eyes as if he expected an explosion while Grover wringed his hands while Percy felt a sense of Déjà vu he simply sighed in relief rubbing his forehead "Glad to know I'm not crazy" he muttered seemingly relieved over this new revelation.

Chiron and Grover were once again shell shocked "You- You are taking this way too calmly Percy" Grover asked still on guard while Percy looked a little offended "Seriously dude, you try seeing men and women who aren't exactly men and women since day one of your life and be ridiculed for it then you'll understand the kind of pain it is, I almost thought I was losing it" he exclaimed. At this short outburst Grover and Chiron seemed a little guilty but before they could explain "Guys, I'm not accusing you I'm just saying that not everyone reacts in the same way regardless of how weird some news maybe, now I get it that the Greek Myths are real and all but what's that got to do with me? Why did that monster come all the way to Yancy and target me?"

Chiron seemed a little uncomfortable as he seemed to struggle against himself but Percy's words cut him right to the core, he realized that he should not stop the children from knowing their nature, another realization was that he now understood why so many demigods die before they get to safety it's because of ignorance and the fact that no one trained them or at the least warn them of their nature and no matter what they do their scent cannot be decreased so it's better to at least give them a fighting chance instead of keeping them in the dark like he used to.

His mind made up he decided to tell his pupil everything, with a steely resolve burning in his eyes Chiron gazed straight into Percy's as he spoke "My boy, you are not an ordinary person you are a mortal offspring of one of the gods. Which makes you are a Demigod" Grover stood shocked with Chiron's uncharacteristic behaviour and weary of what's to come now that his friend realized who he is. Percy was honestly a little taken back by Chiron's honesty but he was happy that Chiron was finally changing his beliefs and accepting reality "(snorts) Yeah right and you are Darth Vader" he said chuckling "That was a good one Sir" he said but he stopped laughing when Grover and Chiron remained serious and somewhat dreadful
"Um, you guys are joking right?"

"…"

"Ok, I'll take that as a no" Chiron shook his head "You don't understand child, you are grave danger we must get you to safety and we need to inform your mother…" "Whoa, whoa hold up are you saying that I should leave my mother?" he asked his eyes darkening, though Chiron and Grover were a little intimidated they hid it well "Yeah? How about no? There's no way I'm leaving mom alone, You guys have any idea what you're asking?" his voice was still deceptively calm but if one would observe, outside the school the skies darkened with black clouds gathering together.

Grover winced but Chiron kept his face calm despite his stiffening body "My boy, I know this is... abrupt but you have to understand that by staying with her not only do you risk monsters finding you but you also risk your mother's life…" at this point Percy stopped listening 'you also risk your mother's life' the same words kept repeating in his head 'No, I will never let anyone harm her' steeling his resolve he faced his mentor "I accept." He stated but before Chiron could sigh in relief "But, I will need to talk to her one last time before I come to whatever place it is, where is it again?" he knew everything about the camp and he was annoyed to deal with all the drama in there honestly, he is a teen himself but the stories he'd seen and heard makes him think otherwise. Chiron didn't like the plan but he had no choice except agreeing "Very well, Grover shall accompany you on your way home both your present and future" Percy raised an eyebrow at that, 'he's way too melodramatic' he thought. "Fine, come on man no time to waste" he said nudging Grover out of his stupor.

Time Skip:
Perseus's POV:

Catching a greyhound to the Upper East Manhattan was easy enough but something else is worrying me other than the fact that I'm going home early only to try and explain to my mother that I'll be leaving her for an uncertain period of time. The situation was so absurd that I wanted to laugh but that's not the key problem, my instincts are going wild and I'm gripping Anaklusmos too hard something's about to happen, something big. I calmed my raging thoughts before I could be overwhelmed but Grover didn't seem that well. He was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and biting his nails off, "Hey, you ok?" I asked, I suspect he has the same feeling as me only worse or 'he's just bad at hiding it' I mused

"I don't know Percy... it's just creepy" he pointed at the road we are going "There's nothing wrong ahead but something is sending red flags inside my head off, I don't get what it is and that's what freaks me out" he took a deep breath before saying "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Percy and now you are dealing with this so quickly because we have no time, what I'm trying to say is… 'he looked down a little ashamed of himself' "I know I lied and I know I cheated on your trust Percy but I did it only to protect you, after all I'm a satyr and the one thing I didn't lie about is that you are my best friend and my bro" he finished closing his eyes, resuming silence as if he's afraid of my reaction.

I was touched that he had the courage to apologize and I meant to show it, I clasped his shoulder "Grover, you are my best friend too and don't worry about it the Past is Past" I said trying to lighten the mood a little and it worked we looked at each other and cracked up like the teenagers we were, we sat in comfortable silence until he looked at me curiously, I raised a brow in response "Can I ask you something"? he spoke "You just did but I'm feeling generous today" I smirked to which he rolled his eyes good naturedly "How did you defeat the Manticore?" now I'm put in a crossroads I don't want to lie to my best friend but I can't tell the truth either hmm "I trusted my instincts" was my only answer he looked like he wanted to ask more but the bus suddenly skidded to a halt breaking our conversation.

I sensed something unnatural only furthered by the hairs rising on my hand 'Aw Man' the bus somehow got 2 flat tires it seems and there's smoke coming out from the engine 'Great' I thought "We need to get down, it's too hot here" I stated but Grover didn't respond I looked at him only to find him pale as snow and trembling in what I assume to be fear his eyes were lost and unfocused. I narrowed my eyes and shook him "Grover" I said he still doesn't respond confused I followed his gaze towards the window and boy was it a surprise, we were at some kind of an antique items stall I could see some pretty cool artifacts with labels ranging from a decade back to 2 centuries ago I let out a low whistle at that wanting to see more I pushed past Grover since he didn't seem like he'd unfreeze anytime soon with one last glance at my friend who remained frozen in place I got down the Greyhound.

The stall was simply mind blowing everything seemed old but strong, it was beautiful in a creepy fashion I looked around but nobody else noticed the stall 'seriously how could somebody not notice a red, blue, grey tent in the middle of nowhere' it seems I got my first red flag I knew I shouldn't go in but the entrance was open and it felt like I was being... drawn? Against my better judgement I decided to go inside. The first thing I noticed was that random objects were... suspended in mid-air with nothing attached to them 'red flag number two, time for some action'

I admired my 10th birthday present a platinum ring having 2 short swords crossed against each other before willing the swords out of their confinement, the swords materialized right into my hands in a flash of darkness I grinned admiring the intricate design of the majestic swords they were a little shorter than Anaklusmos but the pitch black chains attached to them and bound to the vambraces were a pretty good design making them versatile 'now would be a good time to test them' I swung them around making manoeuvres like the ones I had seen in this nice little video game 'God Of War Ghost of Sparta' and to my surprise the swords were perfectly balanced both when using chains and using them in melee range moreover the vambraces were made of Stygian Iron just like the swords giving me defence as well.

I was so lost in my world that a movement ahead startled me I summoned the swords back 'yeah I know pretty cool huh' I took a defensive stance "Who's there?" I growled out already impatient with whole mysterious theme going on, now I want answers. "We will not harm you child put your weapons down and see for yourself" the voice or voices? sounded all I could make out is they belonged to an old woman instead of dropping my swords I felt the area for any aura my eyes widened as I felt the pure power radiating a source ahead I gripped my swords tighter as I prepared myself for what was to come before I could do anything three old ladies materialized in front of me they wore Ancient Greek style chitons of the same colours as the tent we were in, they seemed to be in their mid-50s but their faces told a different story they held pain, experience and regret that cannot be gained through a single lifetime. Upon closer inspection I could see they were holding a ball of yarn, a pair of scissors and needles... 'Oh, crap' my mind went numb as soon as I realized who these ladies were, they are the Sisters of Fate...

I felt like groaning and simultaneously punching Tyche 'stupid goddess' I grumbled. I now stood before my own mortality and a famous quote ran through my mind 'If you will die anyways, then die like a king' I regained my composure and willed my swords and vambraces back to the ring form, accepting my fate I turned to the sisters of fate to addresses them while they looked a little curious "May I know why you had to blow a perfectly normal bus to bring me here?" I asked 'Did I just really say that?' one, two, three seconds passed before the red dressed woman shook her head "See, he has proven my point" she said looking faintly amused "(sigh) Do not encourage him, but before that let us introduce ourselves young Perseus" The blue dressed woman resumed "I am Clotho" "I am Lachesis" the grey dressed one said "and I am Atropos" the red dressed one said each of them looked scarily similar to each other even having the same voice did I mention they didn't have eyes like... at all? "Welcome to the halls of fate young one and to answer your question we did it because we have been waiting for you"

I nodded slowly trying and failing to not overwhelm myself so I said something really wise along the lines of "Ever heard of a phone call?" This time all the 3 sisters shook their heads in sync which I may add spooked me out more than their speech "We wished to warn of your coming hardships but before that we would ask, Have you heard of The Great Prophecy?" they asked gazing right into my eyes "I did" I answered they nodded to that "Then, we assume you know of the potential future and the choice you will have to make" "I do" I answered again "However there is one more issue that may be personal to you but equally important as the prophecy" they stated "And that would be?" they exchanged a look with each other before they began

"Try As thou might" Clotho began

"But the force shall pull with all its's might"

"Will Or Fate thee shall decide" Lachesis continued

"For hope will be on your side"

"To put an end to the seven's plight"

"Or should you worsen each of your own fright"

Atropos finished.

"This is one more decision you must make hero, for as simple as it may sound it's depth is not be mistaken" my head spun and blood ran cold as I heard those lines 'A prophecy, another damn prophecy' my breathing grew heavier as the same words swam around my head before I could fall down literally I felt the weight lift and a new found resolve bloom withing me, surprised I turned to fates looking at me with a sad smile "We wish you courage and wisdom hero, may you succeed in your endeavours" the sisters raised their hands and just like that I found myself back at the entrance of the same tent again my audience with the fates was over and now I had one more burden on my shoulder.