Disclaimer: does not own Percy Jackson!

Author's Note: Hey everyone, here's another longer chapter just in case I won't be able to write again for a long time.

Thanks to all those who reviewed! Also, enjoy this 7k+ chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter 15: Origin: Blood Seeker

(Percy)

The hardest part of beginning our training was not actually accepting the offer Chiron made.

What was really difficult was us trying to say goodbye to the crew.

For two years, the Sinking Rock had been our home. Perry and I lived and thrived on that ship. It was a safe haven with food, shelter, and companionship. Leaving such a secure life was an act which went against every instinct we had.

It had to be done, though, if we wanted to grow strong.

The crew had mixed feeling about our leaving. We were like younger brothers to most of them. Their feelings were conflicted between pride about our soon to be training and sorrow of our departure. Human emotions were weird, after all.

But our greatest problem was not the crew either, though. The Captain was by far the hardest person to say farewell to.

He had saved our lives. He gave us food and shelter. He treated us with respect and honour. And we were going to repay him by leaving as soon as a new offer came to the table for us.

Perry and I felt like complete jackasses when I told him about Chiron.

"…And I decided that being that Mentor's students is the wisest path we could take," I had awkwardly confessed.

Using the word "wise" would help our case. Not much, mind you, but a little bit.

The Captain did not seem mad at us. He was a hard person to read, though. To me, he always had that same gruff expression on his face.

Perry and I expected him to get red in the face from anger, though. There was a reason why ships like this were rare at that time. Sailing was a very dangerous task.

Back then, there were no compasses or any other navigational tools. The only thing that sailors had other than the forces of nature were skills, grit, and a hell of a lot of luck. That was why our presences on the ship were so helpful.

Our presence on the ship brought Poseidon's blessing to the Sinking Rock. (Bet that sounds really weird.) Without us, the crew would have more difficulty sailing. Thus, no one was exactly happy about our leaving.

"...So you're leaving us then?..." The man's dark eyes pierced into ours. My throat suddenly felt dry.

"Yes, sir," We were both tense and nervous. Silently, I prayed to any god that was willing to listen to me.

"Just like that, huh? I help you both in your time of need. I give you two food and water. I give you brothers a new chance at life, and you all leave as if none of these things have happened." He stood up from his chair and walked to the window of the captain's cabin.

"We're sorr-" We were cut off.

"I don't want your apologies! Ungrateful children! Go! Just go! Walk the path the Fates have given you both!" His voice broke at this point. We could not tell because his back was turned to us, but he seemed to be crying.

Perry and I were stunned. The gruff, hard-assed Captain was crying. Crying because of us...

"Percy, Perry, this is my last order to you as your captain! So listen well!" The next words would be burned into our minds for the rest of eternity.

"When you two first woke up after I saved you, you both cried. You cried without shame for your fallen comrades. This is something not many men are willing to do, for they think that tears are a sign of weakness. But they are wrong!"

His voice became husky and rasp with emotion.

"The tears of men only fall in times of great joy or great grief! Never be ashamed of them! Others will say that crying is wrong, but don't listen to them! If you need to cry, then cry, because there is no shame in showing your grief! Especially if you just lost a family member!"

Tears began to fall from my cheeks. Did he truly think of us as a member of his family?

Of course he did. The crew of the Sinking Rock was his family... Our family!

"So, as you walk off this ship and even after that, don't be ashamed of what you do or don't feel! You may think this is weird coming from me, but I have never hid what I felt!" He turned to face me directly. Tears ran down his dark long beard. "Go, you two! Become strong warriors who are unashamed to let his emotions show!"

"Yes, sir!" We turned and began to walk to the door. As Perry and I walked toward the door, we said, "Goodbye, Captain!"

"Goodbye, Percy, stay safe..." One of the greatest men we had ever known turned away from us.

Forever.

After our emotional departure, we immediately met up with Chiron and his other students. There was no Camp Half-Blood like now, back then. Instead, the group of students traveled with their teacher across the land, learning as they go.

Unlike other times in history, there was no country that was known as the world power. Instead, the Roman Catholic Church was the dominate force of society. This was a little unusual, but the "Dark Ages," as our birth period was later called, was not usual in any sense.

Really, I just think that all the future generations are just a bunch of pansies that don't know how good they've got it. All of this is in my humble opinion, of course...

So, the demigods traveling with Perry and I were all from different lands. They each had different languages, but our time sailing made most languages cram into our young sponge-like minds.

So communication was not too difficult. The big problem was the personality conflicts.

Like the demigods of the current era, we all had different godly parents and upbringings. Some of their origins were better than others, but most... The majority of them... Were no where near happy. But that was beside the point...

Basically there was a lot of arguments and conflicts in the group. As there is whenever a large group of children and teenagers are forced to spend time together everyday of the week. We had no cabins to run to when there was a fight. Besides, we all were too proud to walk away anyway. Even with Chiron as a peacekeeper, many of us were hurt by these conflicts everyday.

In total, we all had to worry about monsters, natural disasters, diseases, and each other. It was such a happy time!

All that mattered little to me personally, though. While I still remember all their faces and names, those children were not the reason Perry and I joined Chiron. We joined Chiron and his group to train. To grow strong.

And train we did.

Perry and I immediately went to work. While our physical conditioning was at the limit for a child, there were still many skills we lacked. Swordplay, archery, knives training, and footwork were especially focused on. Of course, my accuracy with a bow sucked at the beginning. Perry had slightly better results than me, though.

It would eventually take us almost a century to get up to a semi-master skill level...

After a while, we decided to focus on swordplay. Perry and I had a natural talent with blades and liked fighting up close and personal. With Chiron's guidance, we flourished. Our ability with a sword grew at an incredibly fast rate, and I prided myself for being a slight better than Perry.

Not much though, but just a tad bit.

Unfortunately, we could not find a sword that fit our tastes. None of them felt right. We could always find a problem with the blade. It was either too heavy, light, long, short, unbalanced, cumbersome, etc...

You might think that we were picky, but come on! I was trusting my life with a sword. It had to be perfect, because if it failed, then we died. Would you risk your life by using a defective gun?...Huh?...Huh?

Yeah... I didn't think so either.

The sword that worked best for Perry was one named Riptide. It had a great weight, and the balance worked for me as well. But... There was just a weird feeling that I couldn't shake while I held it. Something kept telling me that I wasn't supposed to be using it. Riptide did not belong to me...

However, for Perry, he was happy as he swung it around like a monkey in battle, but he was a professional monkey. Perry did not feel any of what I had felt when I tried using Riptide...

Chiron gave Perry the sword when he saw how compatible my brother was with it. I tried asking where he had received such a weapon, but he always evaded the question whenever I tried to bring the topic up. Eventually, I lost interest and stopped pestering him.

I then had to stick with a standard gladius, which felt too heavy to me, and I had lost nearly all our spars Perry and I eventually had. But it was the best weapon I had at the moment, so I sucked up my pride and just used the stupid sword.

As time went by, I did grow stronger. Through practice and battle, Perry and I grew both physically and mentally. But like always there were times that we stared death right in the face. Many times we were given new scars that came a little to close to our liking.

Years passed by quickly. Demigods came and went. Some just went off on their own to make their own story or living. Most just died from painful deaths. It was sad, but we had very little time to mourn. We were already too busy staying alive and stuff like that...

When we turned fourteen, however, someone of importance joined our little group. Well, she was important to me at least. To everyone else, to history, and even Perry, she was merely a speck of sand in the desert of time.

Her name was Sofia, a daughter of Hermes. She had short black hair and brown eyes. If I remember correctly, she was about two years younger than us. She was rather cute... Not eye boggling like Aphrodite's daughters, but still she good looking all the same.

Before anything else, however, there was one characteristic about Sofia that grabbed everyone's attention.

"Whose this big pussy?..." Sofia sneered as she looked down on Perry for the first time. "Anyone ever tell you that you look like a whore with those eyes?"

Perry and I were too shocked at her first approach to reply. After all, a cute, innocent looking twelve year old girl cussing like that would make anyone shell shocked, even for a moment.

"Big sword you got there. Riptide was it? Seems to me you're over-compensating for something." She snickered.

Need I say more?

I couldn't stand her at first, and Perry couldn't stand her at all after their first meeting. She was rude, had a foul mouth, and mocked us both constantly. Usually I could ignore most people. I focused on training my swordplay, free running, and water control nearly all the time.

She was different, though. She had the incredible talent to be able to get under my skin with merely a few words.

After some time... Okay a lot of time, I grew to tolerate her. I wasn't leaving. The gods know that she wasn't going anywhere. So we made a truce. I helped her train and she shuts up for more than five minutes a day. Perry always distanced himself from us when Sofia talked to me, unable to tolerate her harsh manner.

Yeah... It may seem like a sucker's deal, but to me it was worth it.

It was when we turned fifteen that our destiny was finally set into motion. As always the group was traveling the best we could. Recently, our small group went on a quest to liberate a village from a monster posing as a lord and two people were killed during its attack. As such, there were only a few of us during this time, and the quest only made us fewer.

In total there was now only seven of us including Chiron, Sofia, and Perry and I. I could also give you names and descriptions of the other three, but they are not very significant to this story. I will tell you that one was the son of Athena and the other two were twin children of Apollo (rather coincidental really).

The winter solstice had arrived once again, and Chiron decided it would be beneficial for us if we all traveled to Mount Olympus for the occasion. That was rare. Mount Olympus didn't actually have a set location at that time. It moved constantly because of the shifting power. Thus it is was incredibly difficult to visit the home of the Olympians.

We were all in awe of how different Olympus was compared to the rest of the world. It was full of beautiful architecture and statues. People... Gods and nymphs, if you want to be politically correct... Were all smiling and laughing. It was a paradise to us. Granted it was no where close to being as beautiful as it is today, but compared to a dark and bleak world on the outside, Olympus was a heaven.

The winter solstice meeting was rather uneventful, really. Gods yelled and argued with each other. As always, the Big Three were at each other's throats. There was nearly a war. The earth almost opened. The oceans almost consumed everything. Twisters almost destroyed all of humanity. Basically, the same old and same old.

Perry and I did see our father, but we merely spoke a few polite words to each other. We never had a good relationship with him, but surprisingly that time was when us three were closest. In fact, we probably spoke more words to him in that time than we had in centuries.

"Hello, Perseus, Pericles. I am glad to see that you both are in good health." Poseidon smiled at us.

"Greetings, Father. How is your kingdom doing?" I said respectfully. Respect had been drilled into us by Chiron for years. It was a habit we only ever broke when we lose our temper.

Even if Perry and I despised the person we were talking to with our entire souls.

Perry remained silent. His heterochromic eyes were burning with an unknown emotion as he looked as the sea god.

"Fine, fine. Nothing major happened this year. I do wish that those mortals would realize that they need to be more prepared when they head out to sea." Our father chuckled, as if nothing had happened after all these years.

"Many lack the time needed for proper preparation." I commented.

"Yes, time is always an issue. Especially these days." Poseidon rubbed his beard.

"If I may ask, Father. How is our old crew doing?" I was extremely curious and worried. They no longer had a son of the sea for good fortune.

"As well as you can expect. I have given them better conditions than most, but..." Perry and I paled.

"I cannot protect them from everything. They were raided a few years ago and... Your old Captain died. I'm sorry, Perseus." Poseidon bowed his head.

"...Thank you for telling us, Father." I said this quietly. A tear ran down my face, and I was completely unashamed of it. The Captain's final words to me rang in my ears. Perry rubbed his eyes while looking down.

There is no shame in mourning.

As I wiped my own eyes, my father spoke, "I know that your lives have been very difficult, but you should know-"

"Hey, Percy!" Sofia yelled at me. Over the year she was with us, her manners improved a lot, but she still had some loud and rude habits. As always, Perry distanced himself from the group and Sofia ignored him.

But hey, that was her.

"Chiron said... Oh! Lord Poseidon! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" Sofia bowed. "May I please borrow Percy. I have to tell him something."

"Yes... Yes, I should also get going. Goodbye, Perseus, Pericles, stay safe." Our father turned and began to walk away. We never found out what he wanted to say.

"What is it, Sofia?" I asked as she dragged me away.

"Chiron just wanted me to tell you that we will be leaving in about an hour. I said that we should just leave you and Perry here, but he said no." Sofia grinned.

"Hmm, I would have caught up in five minutes anyway. At the rate you're going, I'd be able to walk and make it too." I had learned how to make comebacks because of Sofia, at least.

"Oh, hardy har har." Sofia rolled her eyes.

"Tell him we will be ready when it is time to go." I turned and began to walk away.

"Who appointed me the messenger?!" Sofia yelled after me.

"It happens when you never stop talking!" I shouted back.

"...I liked him better when he just got mad..." She mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.

Perry and I did not have anything else to do while we were waiting for everyone else, so we decided to explore Olympus. It was truly beautiful. I was never an art lover really. But even I had to admire Mount Olympus.

As we walked, I noticed something strange. A young girl was sitting in front of the flames of Olympus. She was not from our group and no other demigods were on Olympus at the moment. She had to be a god. Yet, she was dressed in rags. Gods liked to dress themselves in the finest, richest clothes of an era. Well... At least during the solstices and other similar meetings.

And that doubled especially for the goddesses.

If my curiosity wasn't peaked by then it would be when we began to approach. The goddess was sitting on the floor! Perry and I had never seen an immortal sit on anything but the most luxurious thrones and seats in the world.

"Excuse me, miss goddess?" She turned and looked surprised to see us. "Forgive us for asking, but... Why are you sitting by the Flames dressed like a beggar?"

"...No stranger has stopped to talk with me for decades. It is nice... Forgive me, young heroes, I am Hestia and the reason I am dressed like this is because of the state of the world right now." Hestia gestured for us to sit down,. However, I noticed that she was giving a strange melancholic look at Perry for some reason...

She noticed my gaze and looked away quickly as I sat down beside my twin. Perry then took a seat across from her and said, "We should be the one asking forgiveness. We would never ask such an insensitive question to a former Olympian."

"You have manners too. Chiron has trained you two well." She smiled, although it looked slightly forced as she looked into Perry's dual coloured eyes.

"Yes, Mentor drilled the manners in our heads. Before we met him, though... Not so much." It was true. You hang around thieves and sailors all your life and you naturally tend to have a problem with manners.

Hestia chuckled, "That is the point of being a child, though. A child learns because they don't know the world and will always seek answers about it. It is up to the older generations to make sure they have a proper understanding of the world."

"Very true." I leaned forward and folded my hands in front of me. "You said that you are dressed in rags because that is how the world is. What do you mean?"

"...It is very sad when the world's greatest power is so weak. There is always poverty, but now it seems that all the good people in the world are hurting. They suffer for their goodness, and that in turn makes the world suffer." Hestia's eyes of red flames burned with sadness.

"The other gods refuse to admit it, but they are very weak right now. They gain their power through the mortals, but the mortals are at a standstill. There is no new knowledge, advancement, or improvement in this era. People are now ignorant because their rulers want them to be ignorant. It is very sad."

Hestia frowned. "But the thing suffering the most is the home. There are houses and shelters, yes. But no homes. No place to go to relax, laugh, and be loved. Everyone is so sad and serious…and I feel their pain. So, how can I not wear these rags? My very element is the home. Without it I am merely a poor beggar. Luckily, people have not yet completely forgotten, otherwise I would not be here talking to you right now."

"...I suppose that we are so used to this world that we haven't seen that it's in pain... Perry and I are deeply sorry." We bowed our heads to her.

"Do not apologize, young heroes. It is not your fault. You two are merely anther victim of the time... I never asked, what is your name young hero?" Hestia asked me.

"You are a god. Do you not already know?" I questioned politely. Why did she have to ask me?

"As I said, I am very weak right now. I cannot use my powers to learn your name. So, I am forced to ask." Hestia smiled kindly. That made sense...

"My name is Perseus, son of Poseidon." I said simply.

"Perseus... That was one of Zeus's boys..." Hestia rubbed her chin.

"My mother said that she wanted me to have the name of a hero who had a happy ending." I recalled my mother's old words.

"It is good to see a mother caring for her child..." Hestia went back to looking at the flame. "And your brother is Pericles, correct?"

Perry hesitated. "Yes... But may I ask how you know my full name. I know that Percy called my abbreviated name when he apologized for us, but even then that should not reveal my full name..."

Hestia was silent as she looked away. Did we offend her? "Just call it a goddess's intuition child. But one day, you may know the true reason."

"Erm, okay." Perry was uncertain as he replied. An awkward silence then ensued.

"Do you always sit on the floor for the same reason you are dressed like that?" I had to ask to break the silence. Also, I was curious. Clothes were one thing, but for a goddess to sit on the floor... It was so unusual.

"The other gods think so highly of themselves. They are so arrogant in their ways. They would never lower themselves to sitting on the floor. It is rather disappointing to me. I think that if you want to talk with someone, you should sit at the same level as them. The ground is the most humble place to sit. If someone is not humble enough to sit at this level to talk to me, then why should I talk to them?" Hestia explained with a kind smile.

Neither of us knew it back then, but her words would shape a large portion of our lives. To always talk to people in equal terms. It was a rule we would live by for a long time. It was also a test we would use to judge both friends and enemies.

"So if we had not sat down?..." I asked.

"Then I would not have talked to you. It would not have mattered how polite you were." Hestia had no remorse over this sentence.

"I imagine that you don't have many visits from other gods." Perry stated.

She laughed, "You would imagine correctly."

After that we three sat in a comfortable silence. We all watched as the flames danced. Even after the disastrous fire at the Hidden Cave, we still loved a good controlled fire. It gave us warmth and remembrance of the better times in our lives.

"...Hear... Come... Me..." A voice whispered in my ear.

"What?" I looked up at Hestia and Perry. "Did you two say something?"

"No." Hestia and my twin gave me a strange look.

"I could have sworn I heard something..." I mumbled.

"I... Hear... Come... Me..." The voice whispered again.

"...Did you really not hear that?" I questioned.

"Hear what?" They looked confused.

"The voice." I stood up.

"Voice?" Hestia asked as I began to walk away.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Lady Hestia. I'll catch up with you later, Perry." I did not wait for her response.

I listened to the voice. To many, it would sound strange. Why listen to a faint whisper in the wind? Why even care?

I am unable to answer those questions. There was no good reason to do what I did, but I still did it. I followed the whispers. I was compelled to do it. It was something I felt I had to do.

As I moved, the whispers got louder and more clear. They were telling that is was on the mountain. It was tired of waiting. The time had finally arrived for it to be used again...

"I am here on the mountain. Come find me. It is time." The voice almost sounded like a shout now, urging me on.

The place I arrived was a small temple. It had several pillars surrounding it. The architecture looked old. Not crumbling about to collapse old, but it was as though the place was not touched since Olympus was built.

Most people would not be able to even get close to the structure. The gods had placed a heavy shield of Mist over the structure. There were a few number of people that could even see it, let alone come close to it. My affinity with the Mist was the only reason I didn't become a gibbering mess inside that temple.

When I entered the temple, I was surprised. I had expected a tomb or some treasure, but I was wrong. The only thing in the room was a small pedestal. It was about 2 by 5 meters. There was not carvings or writings on the pedestal. It was actually more of huge block of stone rather than anything.

But on the pedestal... Stone... was a beautiful broad sword. It almost completely black, but it did had crimson red edges and crimson red cloth wrapped around the handle. The most unusual thing about the blade was the long chain that originated from the end of the handle.

I will tell you now. If you ever find a sword that is pitch black, has a long chain, and is obviously not meant to be touched, do not touch it. Just leave it alone and walk away. I repeat. Leave. It. Alone.

If someone (anyone really) had ever told me that, then this story probably would not exist right now. I would have been long since dead. You wouldn't be reading this. In fact, there is a probability that you might not even be born. I probably saved at least one of your ancestors from dying at some point.

You're Welcome.

But I did touch the stupid sword, however, and this story does exist... Damn it...

As soon as my hand touched the handle, the sword sprung into life. The chain swung itself around my arm and held it tightly. The broadsword changed shape from a large blade into a smaller katana blade.

"Ahh!" I yelled and shouted. I immediately tried to pry the chain off my arm. I tried with all my might to peel the chain off the skin of my arm, but it didn't budge. It was stuck.

Then something worse happened. My arm began to burn terribly. If felt as if the metal was branding itself into my skin. For a full minute, I writhed in pain as the blade marked me.

When the pain finally ended, the sword was gone. All evidence of it disappeared into thin air. Shakily, I examined my arm. My long sleeves hid most of it, but my hand was shown.

In my palm, was an image of a miniature blade. Trembling, I rolled up my sleeves. There on my arm was black chain-like tattoos that went all the way up my arm to my shoulder.

The sword wasn't gone, it was now connected to my very skin.

The events that followed were very unusual. I told Chiron and Perry of the sword and the whispers I heard from it. Our mentor then proceeded to tell the council of Olympians of my little adventure and they explained what exactly I had done.

The blade that attached itself to my arm was named "Blood Seeker." It was a cursed blade from a time before when even the gods were born. It was a blade forged by the Titans. It was created with one sole purpose, to entertain the Titans by making a mortal continually fight until death.

Unlike most weapons, Blood Seeker was not made to aid a warrior in combat. Blood Seeker was made to be a warrior's end. The blade had its own will and personality, but the will of the blade was very simple.

Fight. Kill. Spill blood.

If the warrior obeyed the blade, he would be continually drawn into combat. He would fight and fight until he could fight no longer. The only result possible was death.

If the warrior tried to resist the blade, Blood Seeker would turn on them. The chain would constrict to the point that bones would break and blood vessels would pop. Best case scenario, the warrior would lose his arm. Worst case scenario, the warrior would die.

After the Titans had fallen, Blood Seeker had been lost. No one knew where it was and what happened to it. The gods would have searched for it, but they had their hands full helping the bleeding world. Blood Seeker was gone for decades, but eventually it was found.

A young man found it in dark cave, next to a rotting skeleton with its right arm completely destroyed. He picked it up. The blade attached itself to his arm and the cycle was renewed once again.

For years, Blood Seeker had attached itself to different people. Each was forced to fight harsh battles. In the end, they all suffered terrible deaths.

Finally, the gods decided to step in. They found the blade and hid it in Olympus. There was some debate about how to protect the blade, but not many of the Olympians cared enough to set up elaborate traps. Blood Seeker was no threat to them. It could only hurt the person holding it. So, they decided that a veil of concentrated Mist was enough to keep the blade away from others.

They were wrong.

I found the blade. Blood Seeker was now attached to my arm. Every one of the gods already consider me a dead man. They were already making plans to retrieve the blade when I died.

I didn't like that. They were already counting me out. How dare they! Did they think I survived all those years just to die because I picked up a stupid sword!

Hell no.

I was not going to die because of this. No weapon, cursed or not, would crush my arm because I refuse to do its will. I was Perseus and I decided that I would show them all. I decided I will live. Even with a cursed weapon and all.

Living with Blood Seeker on my arm was easier said than done. The blade constantly pushed me into conflict. I had more battles in one month than I had in years. Blood Seeker would not tolerate running. So, while the others fled, I stood my ground and fought.

It didn't matter who the enemy was. All that mattered to my sword was that I cut them down. I fought hell hounds, lizard men, cyclopes, and even a couple of gryphons.

There were so many close calls, but I always made it out alive. Not by my power only, though. Sofia and Perry always stood by me during my fights. She and my twin had my back, and I was always thankful for, even if they disliked each other. Sofia had gained my total trust and confidence.

And as time went by, it began to grow into something more.

As time passed, I began to care for Sofia as more than a friend. She was the person closest to me, so it was to be expected. We laughed, cried, joked, and even bled together. Perry noticed this change, but he merely shook his head because he didn't mind.

"It's your choice after all, Percy."

She may have insulted us a lot, and I mean a lot, but she never insulted me because of Blood Seeker. The sword didn't mean anything to her. She stayed by me because of me.

I asked her about it once, and she said. "You were a moron before the sword. Even without it, you always stood your ground to protect the rest of us. That's just who you are. It is your best and worst quality"

As the third month rolled around, I was beginning to have doubts about my survival. The scars on my body doubled since I found Blood Seeker. I came close to dying several times. I only lived through it all because of my will to say alive and Sofia and Perry's efforts.

Soon, however, I was beginning to tire. It was all so exhausting. The battles and stress pushed me to my limits. Eventually I would either lose in battle or have Blood Seeker crush my arm for my defiance.

All too soon, the day I feared had rolled around. It was a dry season. There was not much water anywhere. In addition, I had a long guard duty the night before. Basically, I was weak, exhausted, and almost defenseless.

A pack of hell hounds had attacked our group. I, as always, had stayed behind to fight with Sofia and Perry. It didn't end well. Granted, I did kill about four of them, but one of the last ones got a good shot in. It swiped its deadly claws down across my chest. Three deep gashes ran down my chest. My blood flowed out of my body like a river.

As I knelt on the ground, all I could think about was my death. I had not contributed to anything in life really. I was too busy trying to stay alive. There was no way I would be rewarded in Hades for my life. But even then... The Fields of Asphodel didn't sound so bad. It would be quiet and peaceful at least.

"Hey, stupid dog! Leave him alone." Sofia came running. I wanted to yell at her to go. "Run away, Sofia!" I tried and failed to shout at her.

My vision was blurry so I couldn't see. My chest and my arm burned. One, because of the injury. The other because of anger. Blood Seeker would not accept my letting someone else fight for me. The chain began to stop the blood flow in my arm.

Next thing I knew, Sofia was on the ground in front of my unconscious. She must have diverted the hounds and came to help me, but she must have tripped and got knocked out by hitting her head on one of the rocks. Perry tried to fight to her side, but even he was being pushed back from the massive numbers of the beasts.

I looked on in horror as the hounds began to charge toward us. I was in no condition to fight them off. So, I did the only thing I could do. I grabbed Sofia and ran. The wounds didn't matter. The blood didn't matter. The hounds didn't matter. Not even Blood Seeker mattered.

The only thing that mattered was Sofia and her safety.

As I ran, my arm felt like it was being torn the shreds. Blood Seeker was now enraged. How dare I run? I was the wielder of the greatest sword in the world!

Just as Blood Seeker was about to destroy my arm, I lashed out mentally to it. Just like it could send emotional messages to me, I could send my thoughts to it.

"Shut up, you stupid sword! Can't you see that Sofia is in trouble! I don't care about you right now so listen to me! I am the master. You are the weapon. You will listen to me!" I mentally screamed at the sword.

For a moment, Blood Seeker... The tattoo version of it... Remained as it was. It seemed shocked. No previous wielder had ever stood up to it like that. Then as quickly as the pain arrived, it was gone.

My will had conquered Blood Seeker.

I had no time to dwell on this however, I was too busy running away from the hellhounds while trying to stop my bleeding and keep Sofia safe. Fortunately, Chiron and the others were not too far away, and Perry was catching up from behind.

Arrows zoomed past me. They hit the hell hounds in their heads. A pile of gold dust emerged behind me as I tumbled to the ground in exhaustion. Even then, though, I made sure to protect Sofia from the fall.

As I laid there I quickly checked over Sofia. She was covered in blood, but... It was my blood. She would be fine. With a sigh, I quickly lost conciousness.

That was the moment everything turned around for the better... But only for a moment. Blood Seeker was no longer that big of a problem. It still reminded me that it was there. But as long as I fought every once in a while there were no huge troubles from it. It knew that I was its master.

But as one problem was fixed another one was found. The gods were now watching me. They had never seen a wielder of Blood Seeker flee and live. It had never been heard of before.

As time passed, their curiosity changed into fear. For centuries... Millennias, really... Blood Seeker had been known as the unconquerable blade. Not for its power, but for its terrible curse. No person who had ever wielded Blood Seeker had lasted more that a couple of months. I had not only survived, but had also I conquered the blade.

This is where the fear came in. If I could control a blade of the Titans, then could I somehow find a way to hurt the gods? And thus we come to where our story really gets interesting.

The story of how Perry and I gained my immortality begins now. Later on, he would disobey my wishes and follow me on my quest out of love and loyalty, even though I told him not to come.

That idiot. I don't know what I'd do without him. But don't you ever dare tell Perry I said that though!

I bowed before the gods of Olympus. They were all seated on their thrones. Each gave me a stare of discontent and apprehension. "My Lords and Ladies. You requested my presence."

"Yes, Perseus, we have a quest that we would like for you to take." Zeus peered down at me. While on his throne, he was at the size a person would expect from a god. HUGE.

This got me nervous. The gods rarely... Never assigned quests on their own. This was already looking bad for me. "If I may ask, what is this task, Lord Zeus?"

The gods looked at each other. They all gave each other a knowing look. Okay, this was looking very bad.

Zeus spoke again, "There is a temple in a far away land. It was created in honor of my father, Kronos. It was not created for worship purpose, however. It was created to contain one of my father's greatest treasures, a jewel with time distorting properties. If it falls into the wrong hands, civilization as we know it could be in trouble. This is where you come in. We need you to use your... Skills to find this jewel and bring it back here for safe keeping."

"...And where is this temple?" I questioned.

Athena spoke up, "That is unknown even to us. Your only option will be to ask the Oracle for guidance."

Okay, final evaluation, this was beginning to look terrible.

I had heard whispers of this quest before. Rumours and legends said that said that this quest was a death sentence. The gods gave this quest to people who they thought would be trouble to them in the future, but had no reason to kill them outright.

"...I suppose that I am to go alone for this quest..." I narrowed my eyes. I already knew the answer.

"Yes, only you will be necessary for this quest. Bringing someone with you will only slow down your movements." Hermes spoke up with a vengeance. He obviously didn't want his daughter to be killed... Banished... Whatever you want to call it.

I looked around. Each god had a different look about them. Angry. Sad. Thoughtful. But only one god's look mattered to me. My father, the god of the sea, the earth shaker himself had only a look of remorse. He knew what this was. He knew what would happen. He felt bad about it, but it obviously mattered very little.

That was the second moment that I hated my father. The second moment when I saw again what a selfish bastard he really was.

I looked back at Zeus. "Can you at least tell me the temple's name?"

"Yes... It is known as... The Fountain of Youth..."

AN: Finally got this done! Man, I'm tired. It's 11:58, almost 12:00 a.m.

This chapter was really long just in case I might not be able to get out the next one in time. Currently, I'm in Eastern Canada for vacation. Sorry guys. =(

However, remember to review! I always make it up to everyone, so show me some love! =D

See you all next chapter.